I, Yuhaka, am hungry!

Yuhaka shook his head, wagged his big tail, and said to Riko:

"It's okay, I still have some."

As she spoke, Yuhaka put her Felyne headgear into the dimensional portal, and then took out a hat that was similar to the brand-new cloak and Nanachi's and put it on herself.

"Wow, that's kind of cool! I want one too!"

However, at that moment, several small stones were thrown at the location of Ehaka, Regu, and Riko. Ehaka and Regu looked warily in the direction from which the stones were thrown, and then they saw a group of tentacle-like creatures with arms looking at them warily.

Regu warily looked at the creatures and asked Riko:

"Rico, what are those?"

Riko adjusted her glasses and looked at the creature opposite her, saying:

"Those are wind-catching monkeys, I think they're saying 'This is their territory,' so we'd better leave quickly."

Hearing Riko's words, Regu and Yuhaka nodded in understanding. Soon, under Riko's guidance, Yuhaka and Regu slowly made their way towards the surveillance base.

………In the surveillance base………

A "loli" dressed as a maid looked at Yuhaka, Regu, and Riko through binoculars and said:

"Master, something is coming..."

The "loli" dressed in a maid outfit looked at Yuhaka and the others through the telescope and said:

"There are three people. One of them is Red Flute, another one is... who doesn't even seem to be a cave explorer, and the third one is wearing a strange beast-patterned cloak and a hat with some kind of beast skull on it. He looks very suspicious. Should we prepare a hanging cage?"

"------"

"Eh? Master, you...?"

........................

"The wind seems to have calmed down a bit here."

Reig walked across the log bridge, feeling the wind speed, and said this. Riko, standing beside Reig, explained:

"Perhaps it's because we're far from the center of the Abyss, which makes the creatures here much more docile."

Soon, after walking for a while, the three of them saw the surveillance base.

Below the surveillance base, Yuhaka and the other two looked up at the building with a huge telescope built above. Regu pointed at the building and asked Riko:

"Is this the surveillance base?"

Rico nodded and said to Regu:

"Yes, that's right..."

Li looked at the cage on the monitoring base with some confusion and said:

"I remember there were always guardians on duty in the surveillance base, so whenever someone approached, the cage in the surveillance base would be lowered..."

Regu glanced at the surveillance base above and said with a puzzled expression:

"Really? But it doesn't seem to have come down yet..."

Hearing Reig's words, Riko's face showed an embarrassed expression as she thought:

"They probably find us suspicious, after all, there's the Red Flute, the cyborgs, and the undead..."

Then Rico positioned herself and said to Regu:

"Regu, how far can your arms reach?"

Regu looked in the direction Riko was pointing and said:

"Two hands should be fine, I'll give it a try!"

With that, Regu interlocked her fingers and launched her arm in the direction indicated. Regu was startled, and Riko, watching Regu's reaction, asked in confusion:

"What's wrong, Regu?"

Regu, trembling and looking somewhat frightened, said:

Something... grabbed my hand...

Soon, in the sight of Yuhaka and the other two, a very tall woman with a strange hairstyle emerged from the shadows. A white flute hung around her neck, symbolizing her identity.

[White Flute, the Immovable Mountain of Osaka]

...In the surveillance base...

"I never expected to see this flute again..."

In the reception room of the surveillance base, Olsen sat expressionlessly, stroking Lysa's flute in his hand. Sitting opposite him, Riko looked at Olsen nervously and said:

"Well, um... you must be Ms. Olsen, right? I heard you're the one who found this white flute..."

Olsen glanced at Rico and said to her:

“That’s right, I am Olsen—”

Upon hearing Olsen's answer, Rico stood up and said to Olsen:

"That, that!"

Then, in front of everyone, Rico bowed deeply to Olsen at a 90-degree angle and said:

"Thank you! You saved my life!"

“I heard it from the captain! I was born in the Abyss and placed in the Cage of Curse Removal, and then you and my mother carried me to the surface…”

Before Rico could finish speaking, Olsen gave her a strange smile and said something that caught her off guard.

"Oh, well, it's so heavy, I've thought about throwing it away halfway through the journey several times..."

While everyone was still bewildered, Olsen covered his forehead and continued speaking with a strange smile:

“I remember now, even such a valuable clock was left there. Hmph, anyway, if we don’t do anything about it, ‘that child’ will follow us anyway.”

Chapter 51 [The best way to deal with fear is to turn it into something delicious]

In the surveillance base, Olsen looked at Giluo's letter in his hand and said to Riko and the others:

"Hmm... I know the details... I'm quite interested in how Red Flute got here, but I have things to take care of right now, so let's talk about the details tomorrow."

With that, Olsen stood up, left the reception room, and instructed his disciple:

"Ma Lulu, please take care of these three children for me, and while you're at it, please listen to their stories."

After hearing what Olsen said, Maruluk, who was standing nearby, said to her:

"Yes, Master."

Then, with Riko looking completely bewildered, Maruluk handed the three Azure Flutes to Yuhaka and the others, saying:

"Um... please put these on, all three of you..."

Rico looked at Cangdi with a surprised expression, and Olsen, who was at the door, said to Rico and them:

"It would be troublesome to explain why Red Flute is here to other cave explorers while you're only here."

Then Olsen took out Lysa's white flute and said to Riko and the others:

"As insurance, I'll take this first, and you can exchange it for the Azure Flute when you leave."

"You can stay here for today. I hope you can take a good shower. I can't stand the smell of your vomit."

Upon hearing Olsen's words, Riko immediately showed a panicked expression and said to Yuhaka and Regu:

"Did I smell bad when I threw up at the door?!"

In response to Riko's question, the two perceptive little girls nodded in agreement.

Riko then knelt on the ground in an OTL-like manner, while Maruluk, standing to the side, looked at the three people present with an awkward yet polite smile.

After that, Maruluk led Riko and the other two to a room, during which time Maruluk also showed them around the surveillance base.

Well... although during this time, there was an incident where curious Yuhaka lifted Maruluk's skirt and asked Riko and the others why this male was wearing female clothes, everyone still got along quite well.

........................

That night, in the surveillance base, in Riko's room, Riko, who was lying in bed asleep, suddenly felt an urge to urinate. She rubbed her eyes and got out of bed. Yuhaka, who was sleeping beside her, immediately opened her eyes, turned to look at Riko with some confusion, and said:

"Riko?"

Riko waved her hand and said to Yuhaka:

"Youyou, I'm going to the bathroom. Don't worry about me."

After hearing Riko's words, Yuhaka lay back down, and Riko got out of bed and went to find the toilet.

Just as Riko was walking down the dimly lit corridor looking for the restroom, she heard a creaking sound coming from the doorway of a room behind her. Curious, Riko went to the door and whispered:

"...Um...is anyone home?"

Crunch!

Accompanied by a strange sound, a creature with only an upper body and no head appeared in front of Riko's vision.

On Yuhaka's bed, Yuhaka closed his eyes, curled up in a ball, and lay on the blanket to sleep.

Just then, Riko, who was running like an arrow, suddenly dove under her own butt, startling Yuhaka. But when Yuhaka saw Riko hiding under her big tail with her butt sticking out, he looked puzzled.

"Riko?"

Rico, her teeth chattering, said to Yuhaka:

"Yoyoyoyo, there's a strange, terrifying creature in that room!"

Hearing Riko's words, Yuhaka tilted his head in confusion and looked at Riko. Then, Yuhaka pulled his big tail out of Riko's hand, jumped off the bed, and walked towards the door.

"Huh? Youyou!?"

Seeing Yuhaka's appearance, Riko knew that Yuhaka had probably gone to find the terrifying creature she had just mentioned. Riko glanced at Regu, who was fast asleep, and then quickly followed behind Yuhaka.

Although somewhat frightened, Riko wanted to figure out what that creature was, and she also didn't want Yuhaka to face that terrifying thing alone.

...Although Yhaka is very strong, I am very weak.

Soon, Riko and Ehaka, who had grabbed Ehaka's big tail, arrived at the place where Riko had just been frightened.

"Eek—! Youyou! Where is she?!"

Looking at the location Riko pointed to, Yuhka immediately saw a creature without a lower body or head running around on its two forelimbs. Upon seeing this scene, Yuhka immediately gave an "OwO?" expression.