Using Gacha to Increase My Companions and to Create the Strongest Girls' Army Corps

After wrapping up our discussion with Runa and finishing preparations for the escort mission, we headed to the Testudo Shrine, our designated meeting point with Irina and her group. I thought it might be better to meet at the guild near the stables, but it seemed there was something they wanted to do before departure. When we arrived at the shrine, Irina and three others from the shrine were waiting at the entrance. It looked like they were all ready to go. I hope we didn’t keep them waiting too long.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting."

"Oh, no need to worry. Even though it’s an urgent matter, we are the ones who asked for this favor."

"So, how are we going to travel? You’ll be riding in a carriage, right, Irina-san?"

"No, please leave the transportation to us. Come here, Dara."

As soon as Irina murmured what seemed like a name and clasped her hands, a massive figure leaped into the air from the far side of the shrine. It had a long, flat, blue silhouette with a slender, sharp tail waving up and down as it flew toward us. Is that… a manta ray!? And it’s huge! It must be at least 5 meters wide. And it’s flying in the air… What the heck is that? It’s like a sky fish—totally a UMA!

The ray slowly flew down and landed near Irina.

"Let me introduce you. This is Dara, a Caelumray who serves Testudo-sama just like I do."

As Irina gestured with her hand, the ray responded with a somersault in the air. Even after that, it remained hovering without touching the ground. What on earth… As I stood there, stunned…

“What is this?! It’s so cute!” 

Noru shouted and rushed over to the ray, touching its body with excitement.

"Noru, that’s your first reaction...? Shouldn’t you be surprised that it’s floating?"

"It’s huge and looks powerful. Is it a monster?"

"It is not a monster. It’s a servant of Testudo-sama."

“… It’s a monster, right?"

“I told you, it’s not a monster! Dara has lived in the shrine as a servant of Testudo-sama for a long time!”

"Oh, I see."

Irina suddenly moved her face close to mine and shouted back, quite fiercely. Whoa, such intensity. I guess calling a guardian’s servant a monster is unacceptable to her. It sure looks like a monster… but saying any more would just make things worse, so I’ll stop. But more importantly…

“Um, so… we’re going to travel to the destination riding on this servant?”

“Yes, Dara usually helps us with our travel. Even during the regular shrine visits, Dara is always there for us.”

As Irina gently petted its body, the ray seemed to wiggle its pectoral fins in joy, though it was hard to tell from its appearance. So, we’re going to ride this ray to our destination. It looks like a monster, but it’s calm and seems to understand Irina’s words. Even if it is a monster, it’s not an ordinary one.

"Is it friendly like Mofuto?" 

"It’s not affected by Testudo-sama’s presence, so maybe it’s something like a familiar."

“If we’re traveling on this creature, I guess we won’t have much to do on the way.”

Mofuto was influenced by the presence, but it could still operate normally in town. So this ray must have something special. And as Sisya said, it looks pretty strong. Let’s check its status just to be sure.

---

**Dara**  

Species: Caelumray  

Status: Familiar  

Level: 85  

HP: 186,500  

MP: 5,600  

Attack: 3,800  

Defense: 2,600  

Agility: 225  

Magic Resistance: 60  

Unique Abilities: Levitation, Mind Resonance  

Skills: Tail Spear, Poison Tail

---

Whoa, it's strong! Like, really strong! It looks like we won’t need to do much on the way. Dara is stronger than Diabolos… It seems to have the strength of a dungeon boss or a high-level monster in a large-scale hunt. Hmm? This “status” item was also on Diabolos. Does “familiar” mean it’s a servant of Testudo-sama? Maybe that’s why it’s unaffected and can freely move in town.

"Alright, we’re departing now. Please be careful not to fall. Dara, let’s go."

With that, we boarded the ray’s back and set off for the shrine in question. As its status suggested, even with all eight of us — four from our group and four from Irina’s — Dara didn’t flinch. It quickly ascended above the shrine and headed out of town at a steady altitude.

“W-whoa… it can fly pretty high up, huh.”

“Yes, this way, we probably won’t have to deal with any monsters along the way.”

I had expected to be traveling by horse, but instead, we were flying on a manta ray. Why are there so many flying fish-like creatures in this area? There’s the Sky Fish, and I’ve heard of something called a Tornado Shark too. Well, at least it looks like the trip will be easier than expected… Oh, right, how should I set the beacon? I guess I’ll have to wrap it in Centibar and drop it without Irina noticing.

“The wind feels nice up here. Freesia would have loved this.”

“Yeah, but it’s better that she isn’t here…”

“She’d get too excited and cause trouble…”

It was hard enough managing her on the magic carpet. Putting her on this ray would be asking for disaster. The speed might be slower than the carpet, but we’re much higher up, and a fall would likely result in serious injuries… Though I get the feeling she’d be just fine even from this height. Listening to our conversation, Irina spoke up.

“Is this ‘Freesia’ the person who accompanied you last time? I remember there was also a small child with you.”

“Ah, yes. Those two are sort of acquaintances.”

“I see. They both seemed quite tense…”

“N-no, please don’t worry about it. They just weren’t used to that kind of atmosphere.”

Last time, both Runa and Freesia were wary of entering the shrine because of Testudo-sama’s influence. It seems they may have made Irina worry unnecessarily.

“I see… If you’d like, please bring them back to the shrine sometime. I would love to introduce them to Dara.”

“Really?! We’ll definitely bring them next time!”

Irina’s suggestion made Noru so happy that she acted like it was her own idea. Yeah, I bet Freesia would love to ride on this ray. But if we go near that shrine again, those two would probably be on high alert… It’d be great if there were some way for them to avoid the influence without becoming familiars like Dara.

After some time, with Irina guiding Dara by calling out to it, we continued toward our destination.

“Excuse me, Sisya-san, may I ask you something?”

Irina suddenly addressed Sisya.

“Yes? What is it?”

“I couldn’t help but notice… Are you a high-ranking priestess?”

“Ufufu, you’ve seen right through me. It seems I cannot hide the aura that emanates from my body.”

Sisya smiled smugly and puffed out her chest. Honestly, with the way she’s acting, she doesn’t look like a high-ranking priestess at all… If anything, Irina seems more like one. Could there be some kind of connection or recognition between people who can use healing magic?

“Ever since you visited the shrine, I’ve had a feeling… How much training must one undergo to attain such… Who do you worship, Sisya-san?”

“…That’s a secret. But rest assured, my faith is unwavering, and I pray every day. My motto is ‘ichi-nichi issatsu.’”

“‘Ichi-nichi issatsu’…? I’m not sure what that means, but I can see that you have a deep devotion, Sisya-san. I will strive to be more like you!”

“Ufufu, do your best!”

Irina pressed her hand to her chest and gazed at Sisya with sparkling eyes. Stop it; stop leading this innocent person in such a dangerous direction! You should not try to emulate someone like her! Also, didn’t she just say something ominous? ‘Ichi-nichi issatsu’…?

“Is something wrong? Are you curious about my object of worship?”

“…No, I’m good. I just have a bad feeling about this.”

“Oh, don’t be so cold. It’s okay to be a little curious, isn’t it? Though it’s a secret.”

“You don’t intend to share it anyway… Now I’m curious too.”

“I also have a bad feeling, but I am curious…”

I feel like we’ve just stumbled upon something we shouldn’t have… With a strange atmosphere hanging over us, we continued our journey on the back of the massive ray toward our destination.