Editing The Unexplored Summon Blood Sign:Volume7 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 7===

Even if the world did not revolve around them, the others still had to fight for their lives.

“Crap, crap, crap, crap…”

In this case, it was the black-haired shrine maiden named Meinokawa Renge.

She had already experienced Bridesmaid’s insanity back in Toy Dream 35. Rockets had poured down like rain, but she had avoided a lethal injury by escaping into her home’s ice room and into the vast network of underground tunnels. However, things had not ended there. The soldiers in control of the village would notice the absence of corpses and they had to be finding the entrances to the tunnels.

Houbi Village’s tunnels had become a deadly dungeon.

Turning the corner and finding a summoner or Repliglass soldier could bring a quick end to your life. Renge was a professional summoner in Freedom, but this had progressed too far for that to matter.

It was the Queen.

The White Queen was wandering around.

And not just one or two of her. A great swarm of them inundated the village like zombies. To make matters even more frightening, they were all residents of Houbi Village. These same people had greeted her and shared leftover food with her until now. But as soon as they were grabbed, dragged down, surrounded, and bitten by the Queens’ canine teeth, they became the same. Renge had yet to fully process this.

The one blessing was how little interest they showed in her. No matter what might happen, that monster was only interested in Shiroyama Kyousuke.

She did not care if anyone mocked her as a coward.

But in these extreme circumstances, simply taking her twin sister with her and keeping her lungs and heart moving was a major accomplishment.

“R-Renge, will we be safe here?”

“Shh.”

“And I’m hungry…”

Doing a bit of research in books or on the internet would tell you that humans could live for several days on nothing but water and that stranded people would not starve on the very first day, but that all assumed they were in an ordinary condition. A situation on the verge of death would greatly shake your autonomic nerves and biological functions. When in a state of extreme exhaustion, it was not uncommon for people to quickly lose the ability to keep walking and for no amount of water to soothe their dry throat.

Black-haired Renge and blonde Higan wore ''zori'' sandals<ref>A type of traditional Japanese sandal with sole made of straw.</ref>. and white ''tabi'' socks<ref>A type of traditional Japanese socks, worn with ''zori''.</ref> which were not at all suited for outdoor use and they soon arrived at the large underground lake that altered the currents and dampness that kept people away from the sacred ground. The complex tunnels with plenty of blind spots were certainly frightening, but wide open areas were also a problem. They of course had to check behind large rocks and in the deep shadows, but they also had to look up at the limestone cave’s ceiling to thoroughly ensure their safety. After all, they were up against the White Queen and she could be hiding anywhere.

(It’s safe…isn’t it?)

Renge gulped.

“Higan, there’s a shelter hut on the edge of this lake. Let’s use this opportunity to get some blankets and food, okay?”

“Uuuh… Finally, some food…”

''Finally? You just ate at lunchtime, you old granny.'' Renge wanted to make that complaint, but Higan’s condition did not seem normal. That concerned Renge whose artificial body moved as accurately as a clock’s hands. They looked just like twins, but she began to wonder if she could never be human in any meaningful sense.

But regardless.

They had no idea if it would be any help in their bright red and white shrine maiden outfits, but they crouched low and moved quickly along the edge of the lake. They soon arrived at a small wooden shelter hut that resembled a small shrine. It was meant to help in case the cave collapsed or someone was buried alive on the sightseeing course. Renge opened the double doors and looked inside.

“Some of it’s gone, but this should be enough. Did someone visit here ahead of us? What do you think, Higan? Higan???”

There was no response.

Renge quickly turned around and found the familiar blonde girl was not there, so she ran out of the hut.

“Uuuh…”

Higan was curled up by the edge of the lake and she scooped up some of the water in her hands like she could not wait any longer.

“Wait, stop! There are water bottles you can drink!!”

Renge frantically grabbed Higan’s hands and made her dump out the water.

The water might look clean, but the amount of germs in it could not be judged by eye. Even famous regional water was processed before it was sold. Taking a bath might be fine, but you had to be careful when drinking it. Higan was already under a lot of psychological stress with those monstrous Queens wandering around and if she was taken out by food poisoning, their odds of survival dropped even further. Plus, Higan’s situation was bad enough already if she was so hungry she felt the need to fill her stomach with water.

“Here, Higan. I’d rather not light a fire here, but they have bread and biscuits that don’t need to be cooked.”

“This is enough for me…”

“Don’t say that. Higan, you really liked the canned food when the typhoon came through, remember? You said that was your only chance to eat things like that. Now let’s go check inside the shelter hut.”

Renge tried to forcibly cheer her sister up and then pulled her to her feet.

At that very moment, she noticed something on the path to the shelter hut. She had not noticed it before, but there was no way she would have overlooked something like this when she was so on edge that the stains on the walls looked like faces to her.

Which meant…

(Huh? Did it wash up???)

The lake did not have waves as large as the ocean, but it was different from the water in a wash basin. Since water flowed in and flowed out, there were some waves which washed in and out at the edge. So had this been floating on the surface or sunk at the bottom of the lake until it was finally washed up here?

It looked like a thick and bent piece of driftwood.

But it was oddly white for a tree branch.

And it drew an alluring curve.

“R-Renge…”

“Higan?”

“Is that…?”

The blonde sister trembled and rubbed her hands against her shrine maiden outfit. Almost like she was trying to rub off some kind of strange impurity. Almost like she had touched something she should not have.

But Higan had only touched the clear lake water.

They had no idea how many germs it contained, but it at least looked clean.

“Is that…? Renge, is that…!?”

“…”

Guided by her sister’s pale face, Renge turned her head again. And she once more viewed the driftwood washed up a short distance away.

No.

That object with five points sticking out from the end was…

“Urp!?”