Adventurer's Guild Café: I Was Wrongfully Exiled by the Saint, So I Will Enjoy My Second Life with My Fluffy Friends - V 2.1 Chapter 3.19

“…Ah!”

I was yanked upward into a blinding light. The brilliance made my eyes sting, and I reflexively shut them.

My consciousness swayed, like the dizzy moment right before waking from a dream.

No… maybe I really was asleep all this time.

Everything that happened in that darkness—it almost feels like it was all just a dream. From somewhere far off, I could hear the sweet chirping of birds, pyururu, pyurururu, a beautiful melody drifting in. That sound slowly brought me back to awareness.

“Are you okay!?”

“……”

A cool breeze brushed softly against my cheek.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Gier’s face, filled with concern.

“Gier…?”

Huh? I should’ve been pulled up from somewhere, and yet somehow, I had awakened in his arms.

Gear’s worried eyes peered down at me.

And then, Kiril and Simon also popped into view, peeking at me curiously.

“Huh…?”

I rubbed my eyes, trying to make sense of where I was.

Everything felt floaty… like I wasn’t quite on solid ground.

“Are you all right?” Simon asked, his voice laced with worry.

I nodded slowly.

“Haa, that scared the hell outta me! You just dove into the water out of nowhere!” Gier said.

“I-I’m sorry…”

My senses were gradually coming back into focus. I sat up and looked around to get my bearings.

“Kuuna-chaaaan!?”

“You okayyy!?”

From a small island off in the distance, everyone was waving in my direction.

I did my best to wave back, trying to let them know I was all right.

“Hm?”

As I waved, I suddenly wondered—where was I? I looked down.

“…Wait, what!?”

I froze in shock.

“Right after you were swallowed, I cast a binding spell to stop the fish’s movement,” Simon explained.

Gear nodded. “And while you were inside its belly, Kiril and I carefully struck its weak points to make sure you wouldn’t get hurt.”

“We cut open its belly and pulled you out. So basically, what you’re lying on right now… is the fish’s stomach.”

Kiril said with a sly grin.

Apparently, we were on top of the overturned undersea fish. That explained the strange floating sensation.

“I…”

There were so many things I needed to say, but the shock had locked the words in my throat.

“I’m really, really sorry… I… um…”

While I stammered out fragmented words, Simon gently shook his head with a smile.

“What matters is that you’re safe. It was only about five minutes, but staying inside that fish any longer would’ve been dangerous.”

“Five minutes…?”

But I could’ve sworn I’d been wandering in that darkness for over an hour…

As I blinked in confusion, Simon gave a wry chuckle and said,

“Dreaming Fish. That’s the official name of this undersea creature.”

“Dreaming… fish of dreams?”

Somehow, I felt like I understood why it was named that. Simon nodded.

“The inside of this fish’s stomach is another dimension. It puts its prey to sleep… and makes them see strange dreams.”

“!”

“That way, they don’t struggle while it digests them.”

So… everything that happened in that darkness was just a dream…?

Which means I had a dream within a dream…?

“But I…”

Suddenly, I remembered Lili—and my heart leapt.

“Lili!?”

If that darkness was just a dream, then what happened to Lili—!?

I frantically searched for her. But despite all my panic, there she was, fast asleep in my pocket, letting out soft little pissu~ pissu~ snores through her nose.

Relief hit me so hard, my legs nearly gave out beneath me.

And what’s more—she’d actually evolved!

“My magic was just a tiny bit too strong. I nearly obliterated the fish entirely,” Simon said, rather casually, though the words themselves were terrifying.

“Look for yourself. While you were gone, the Mokomotts evolved.”

“!”

“It seems their singing voices helped paralyze the fish,” Simon explained, pointing up at the sky.

Up above, soft swirls of pink and pale blue light danced gently through the air.

“Pipi? Lala?”

Pyurururu, came the sweet call, and the two of them fluttered over to me.

“Wow…”

Just like Lili, both of them had evolved into tiny birds that looked like shima-enaga—adorably fluffy and snow-colored.

As they chirped and trilled, Lili slowly stirred awake.

“Pi?”

“Pyururu.”

“Pyuu.”

The three of them nuzzled their fluffy bodies together, then took off into the air in unison. They soared in gentle loops above the underground lake, their beautiful voices echoing throughout the cavern.

It was a song of joy
Their voices layered and intertwined, forming a shimmering harmony.
We could do nothing but listen, entranced.

“Still, it’s kinda strange,” Kiril remarked. “They all evolved at the same time.”

“There might be some kind of unseen bond connecting them,” Gier added.

“Even after evolving, they’re still just as round as ever,” Kiril chuckled with a little hehe.

I totally got what he meant. They were just so… round and squishy-looking, like soft mochi.

But compared to before, their flight range had definitely improved. (Before, they sort of just floated and bobbed in place—they couldn’t go very far.)
Now their movements were sleek, light.
They looked amazing.

As I gazed up at the ceiling, light began to filter back into the once-dark hall.

Just like rays breaking through clouds after a storm, beams of sunlight reached down to touch the surface of the underground lake.

The water began to sparkle and shimmer.

“Waaah…”

Gleaming waters.
Melodic birdsong.

As if celebrating our return, the surface of the lake continued to shine, endlessly.