We quickly ran to a large rock nearby and huddled behind it, trying to hold our breath.

  I could feel my heart pounding.

  “What is that thing?” I whispered.

  “It looks like a creature from the depths, and it doesn't look friendly. It may be responsible for the tremors on the island,” Samejima replied.

  I swallowed hard.

  I looked at Umino beside me, who couldn't stop shaking.

  I peeked out to observe the creature and then noticed that its head resembled that of a hammerhead shark.

  “That thing... it seems to have shark-like features.”

  “That's right!” exclaimed Samejima. "It looks a lot like a hammerhead shark!I know! Maybe I can talk to it and find out what it's doing here.“

  “It's very dangerous, Samejima-san” I said, trying to stop her.

  But Samejima didn't seem to hear me. With determination, she got up and moved toward the monster.

  “Samejima-san, wait!”

  In an instant, she was already in front of it.

  “Hello! I'm Samejima Aoi” she said cheerfully. “What are you doing here? And what do you want?”

  The creature stared at her for a few moments. But instead of answering, it let out a roar and lunged at her before she had time to react.

  My body moved on its own. I ran towards her and managed to push her out of the way just before the attack reached her.

  We both fell to the ground and slowly got up.

  “Daichi?” she murmured.

  “What the hell were you thinking? You can't put yourself in danger like that!”

  “I'm sorry...”

  Then her gaze shifted to my leg.

  “Daichi!” she exclaimed, rushing over. “You're hurt!”

  I looked down and saw blood seeping through the fabric of my pants.

  “It's nothing,” I replied, trying to downplay it. “It's just a scratch.”

  “That's not just a scratch!”

  The creature turned back toward us.

  “Samejima-san, you have to get out of here.”

  “I'm not leaving you alone!”

  “Stop being silly and get away!”

  Suddenly, a trembling voice was heard in the distance, catching her attention.

  “L-Leave them alone!”

  Samejima and I were surprised. It was Umino-san!

  “Umino-san?!”

  “Takoko-chan?!”

  The creature, provoked by Umino's scream, turned and headed toward her.

  At that moment, I felt a soft hand rest on my shoulder. I turned and saw Kujira, who had silently approached my side.

  “Hamasaki-kun, don't move.”

  She knelt down and placed her hand on my injured leg. Suddenly, I began to feel a strange tingling sensation.

  “Kujira-senpai? What are you doing?”

  “I'm going to heal your wounds.”

  I couldn't believe what I was seeing... she could do that?

  “With my current power, I can only heal superficial wounds, so you may still need some help moving around. But at least you'll be able to recover.”

  Samejima, who was next to me, looked at me with relief.

  “Thank you, Nozomi! You're amazing!”

  At that moment, a loud impact was heard in the distance. We all turned around in alarm, worried about Umino.

  I looked around, but no matter how hard I searched, she was nowhere to be found.

  The creature was confused and began moving back and forth looking for her. That's when, suddenly, we could see Umino running back and forth, making herself invisible.

  “Look!” Samejima exclaimed in amazement. “Takoko-chan is fighting that thing!”

  She stood up quickly, with a defiant look on her face.

  “I'm going to beat that thing up!”

  “Samejima-san...” I muttered.

  “Daichi,” she said, turning to look at me with a smile. “Remember what I told you the first day we met. I'm very strong, and this is the perfect time to show you.”

  Following that, she turned to Kujira.

  “Nozomi! Finish healing Daichi's wounds. I'll take care of this!”

  Kujira nodded, and without wasting another second, Samejima lunged forward, taking advantage of the fact that the creature was still distracted looking for Umino.

  “Take this!” she shouted, landing a direct blow to the creature's side, causing it to recoil.

  Watching the fight, I felt a knot in my stomach.

  “H-Here I am, ugly monster!” Umino shouted, drawing its attention again.

  While Umino distracted it, Samejima attacked. The two fought in perfect sync.

  “Hamasaki-kun...” Kujira said beside me. “I've finished healing your wounds. You can try to get up.”

  I thanked her and, with effort, managed to stand up. The pain was still there, but it was manageable.

  I watched as Samejima and Umino continued to fight. Although they were both strong, if the fight went on too long, they would end up exhausted before it did.

  Kujira approached me, interrupting my thoughts.

  “Hamasaki-kun, I have an idea. I have a special ability that might be helpful.”

  “Really?”

  She nodded.

  “Yes, my singing can temporarily grant strength. I could help Aoi launch a powerful attack that would defeat that creature.”

  The idea clicked in my head, and I immediately turned to the girls who were fighting.

  “Samejima-san! Come here! Nozomi has a plan! Umino-san! Please keep it busy for a little longer!”

  They both nodded, and Samejima ran towards us.

  “What's the plan?”

  “My singing can boost your strength, Aoi-chan,” Kujira explained. “So I need you to listen to my song to give you enough power for a big attack capable of eliminating that monster.”

  Samejima was speechless.

  “Can you really do that?!”

  Kujira nodded.

  “All right, let's not waste any more time! Go ahead, Nozomi!”

  Kujira stepped forward, closed her eyes, and began to sing; the beauty of her voice and melody echoed throughout the cave.

  As I listened to her, I felt each note vibrate through my body, and not only that, I also sensed Samejima becoming stronger.

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  Samejima opened her eyes, accompanied by a bright aura surrounding her.

  “I FEEL AMAZING!” she exclaimed, clenching her fists tightly.

  Kujira, who had already finished her song, took a step closer to her.

  “Aoi-chan, to defeat it, you must use all that power in a single blow. So you'll only have one chance.”

  Samejima nodded firmly.

  “All right!”

  She took a deep breath and immediately ran back into battle.

  At that moment, the monster noticed Samejima heading towards it and prepared to counterattack. Immediately, Samejima's expression changed to one of concern.

  “Samejima-san! Stop, it's going to counterattack!”

  “I can't, Daichi!”

  That's right! Samejima can't stop when she's running at full speed, just like what happened in the physical education incident.

  Just when it seemed that all was lost, a jet of ink fell directly onto the creature's eyes. It instantly writhed, causing it to lower its guard.

  “I-I did it!” Umino exclaimed.

  We were all left speechless.

  “Takoko-chan! You're amazing!”

  Taking advantage of the lowered guard, Samejima took a big leap and raised her fist. With a loud cry, she lunged forward and unleashed all her power in a single blow.

  The impact was so powerful that the air was filled with a shockwave and threw the creature to the back of the cave.

  After that, complete silence filled the place for a few seconds.

  We slowly approached, our hearts pounding. The monster was no longer moving a single muscle.

  “We did it!” Samejima shouted.

  Our emotions exploded and we let out a cry of victory.

  “That was incredible! But you were even more incredible, Takoko-chan! Without you, we would never have been able to defeat it!”

  “No... I didn't do anything special.”

  “Umino-san, you did great,” I praised her too.

  Kujira smiled and nodded, joining in the praise.

  “I told you before! Your powers are great. Don't underestimate what you can do!” Samejima said, hugging her tightly.

  Umino smiled, a little more confident this time.

  After taking a moment to catch my breath, I decided to approach the monster's corpse.

  “Why would a creature like this appear in this place?” I asked aloud.

  Suddenly, the echo of footsteps was heard in the cave, and we turned around in alarm. Tension gripped us again as the sound drew closer.

  “The creature appeared here because the seal on the shrine is weakening,” said a mysterious voice.

  My heart stopped for a moment. That voice... it sounded all too familiar.

  It was Principal Sasaki, who was walking toward us. What was she doing here?

  “Thank goodness you're all right,” she said as she looked with relief at the creature's motionless body on the ground.

  I looked at the girls, who were just as surprised as I was.

  “What are you doing here, Principal?” I managed to ask.

  Principal Sasaki sighed.

  “At this point, there's no point in hiding it... This place is the Dragon God Sanctuary. This is where the pact between him and humans was established. That pact is responsible for protecting the island from evil creatures of the ocean, like the one you just saw.”

  “But if the pact is supposed to protect the island, why did that thing appear here?” Samejima asked.

  The principal looked down for a moment.

  "There have been some complications in properly fulfilling the conditions of the pact. I am part of a group known as the guardians of the sanctuary, and for generations our lineages have sought to uphold it. But times have changed, and the truth is... there are very few demi-humans left on the island today.“

  Samejima immediately interjected.

  ”That doesn't make sense! There are three demi-humans right here: Takoko, Nozomi, and me."

  The principal nodded, understanding what Samejima meant.

  “That's true. However, there are only the three of you and a few others on the entire island. That scarcity is precisely the reason why the seal is weakening.”

  Samejima seemed to understand the situation.

  “I see...” she murmured.

  The principal smiled, as if trying to ease the tension in the air.

  "You have nothing to worry about.

  We are currently working on a project to attract more demi-humans to the island. There are many like you who need a safe place to live.“

  Samejima smiled with relief.

  We felt our shoulders finally relax.

  ”Even so, it is important to be discreet. We don't know how people would react if they found out about the existence of demi-humans and the sanctuary. That's why I need you to keep all of this a secret.“

  We all nodded, understanding the situation.

  ”I'm proud of you for working as a team and defeating that creature. And you, Umino-chan, you were very brave to fight to protect your friends. You did a great job."

  Umino blushed instantly.

  Moments later, the principal regained her intimidating demeanor and looked at us seriously.

  “If you ever sense something abnormal again, you must contact me first. Don't expose yourselves to dangerous situations on your own without informing me,” she said, scolding us.

  Without hesitation, the four of us bowed.

  “We will, Principal!” the four of us replied in unison.

  “Well, then it's time to go,” she declared as she walked toward the cave exit. “Please follow me.”

  We set off behind her, and as we walked, I couldn't believe that we had discovered the sanctuary of the legend and faced a sea creature together. It was all too much to take in.

  ◇◇◇

  The days flew by, and summer vacation was coming to an end.

  I was sitting on the sand, watching Samejima and the others play on the beach. I preferred to stay on the sidelines, enjoying the atmosphere.

  Suddenly, Samejima stopped and turned to look at me.

  “Girls, I'm going to get something to drink.”

  She started walking straight towards me. When she reached me, she took a bottle of water out of the cooler.

  “Why are you here alone?” she asked, sitting down next to me with a smile.

  “I'm just enjoying the sound of the sea.”

  Samejima laughed, breaking my moment of tranquility.

  “You know, sometimes I wonder if that day in the cave was real or a dream. I can't believe we actually fought a monster from the depths!”

  “Yeah, I still can't quite wrap my head around it...”

  “Daichi... I haven't had a chance to tell you this, but... thank you for saving me that time.”

  Samejima looked at me warmly, and for some reason, that made me nervous.

  “I-It was nothing...” I said, feeling the heat rise to my face.

  I wanted to change the subject quickly.

  “Hey, Samejima-san, I brought this.”

  I took the conch shell she had given me out of my bag, and her eyes lit up as soon as she saw it.

  “You kept it!” she exclaimed, almost jumping for joy. “I can't believe you still have it! Why don't you use it now?”

  “Right now?”

  “Yes, come on!”

  “Well...” I muttered, hesitating for a moment.

  I remembered that Samejima had blown very hard that time, so I decided to imitate her.

  I held the conch shell in my hands, took a deep breath, and blew with all my might... but the sound that came out was so weak that it was barely audible.

  Samejima burst out laughing.

  “You could barely hear it!”

  I blushed, feeling embarrassed.

  “Shut up!” I replied, crossing my arms and looking away.

  Just then, Umino, who was playing with Kujira on the shore, looked up in surprise.

  “Hey, do you see that? Something's moving in the water.”

  I turned to where she was pointing and saw a huge school of fish gathering in the water.

  I looked at Samejima and couldn't help but smile proudly.

  “Looks like I did it.”

  Samejima smiled at me, leaning slightly toward me.

  “Not bad.”

  Our laughter filled the air.

  After a while, Samejima, Kujira, and I were resting on the sand. Umino had stayed near the shore, playing with the fish that had gathered there, when she suddenly began to struggle.

  “Uh... I think something is holding my leg...”

  Panic quickly took hold of her.

  “Guys! I can't get away!”

  We immediately ran to her to help.

  Then, a girl with orange hair emerged from the water right in front of us, still clinging to Umino's leg.

  When she saw us, she quickly let go.

  “Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to scare anyone,” she said, raising her hands in a gesture of peace. “I felt a presence very close to me and reacted without thinking.”

  She bowed slightly.

  “I'm Kaniyama Rei. Is this island where Ryūshio High School is located?”

  “Yes... it's here.”

  The mysterious girl was excited.

  “Great! I'll be starting my studies at Ryūshio Academy soon. By the way... you're students too, right? I hope we can get along.”

  The girls excitedly approached her to say hello, but suddenly Kaniyama took a defensive stance, as if she were ready to fight.

  Surprise was written all over our faces. However, she quickly relaxed and began bowing repeatedly in apology.

  “I'm sorry! It's just that my territorial nature makes me react like this sometimes.”

  “Territorial nature?” Samejima repeated. “That means... you're a demi-human too!”

  Kaniyama nodded.

  “That's right!” she said, puffing out her chest. “I'm a crab demi-human. Also, I've heard that more demi-humans will be coming to the island soon. Word has spread that this place is great for us.”

  I smiled when I heard that.

  “It seems that Principal Sasaki has been working hard to attract more demi-humans to the island.”

  Samejima nodded.

  “Yes,” she replied with a bright smile.

  She immediately stepped forward and pointed to herself proudly.

  “My name is Samejima Aoi! I'm a shark girl! She's Nozomi, a whale, and she's Takoko-chan... an octopus.”

  Hearing that last part, Kaniyama gasped and took several steps back, adopting a defensive stance again, her face pale.

  The girls were confused.

  “I-I'm sorry!” she hastened to say. “It's just that... octopuses are natural predators of crabs. My instincts reacted unconsciously...”

  Samejima was silent for a second and then burst out laughing.

  “Don't worry! Takoko-chan won't do anything to you.”

  Umino, red with embarrassment, waved her hands nervously.

  “I-I wouldn't be able to!”

  Gradually, Kaniyama relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.

  That's when her eyes fell on me.

  “Eh... wait. He's human, right? Is it okay for him to know about us?”

  Samejima smiled confidently.

  “It's fine. You can trust Daichi.”

  Kaniyama looked at me for a moment longer, then bowed her head with a smile.

  “Well then, I hope we can get along.”

  “Yes, me too,” I replied.

  As the four of them began to chat animatedly among themselves, I couldn't help but sigh.

  It seems that demi-humans keep appearing in my life...

  At this rate, my daily life was going to become more and more chaotic.

  ...Although, come to think of it, that wasn't so bad.