Chapter 483 – The Circumstances of the Mermaids

First, I’ll restrain the shark-man with Light Bind. Hmm. Will he be alright if we take him ashore? I’m also concerned about the mermaid girl’s injuries, so I’ll try asking both of them.

“May I have a moment?”

I spoke to them, but Weltes and the mermaid were completely stunned, staring at the shark-man lying stretched out.

“Um…”

When I called out again, they seemed to come back to their senses, shaking their heads slightly before Weltes spoke.

“…No, we’re indebted to you. We sincerely thank you for your assistance.”

“Thank you. I’m Rovisa. He is Weltes.”

The mermaid girl appears to be named Rovisa. After receiving their thanks and introductions, I returned my own introduction.

“I am Theodore Gartner, the Otherworld Ambassador of the Kingdom of Verdugal. She is Mahr, the Water Spirit King.”

“Spirit… King…?”

Hearing “Spirit King,” their eyes widened again. Mahr gave them a smile that seemed to ease their tension. After a brief pause, their stalled thoughts seemed to restart.

“I see… somewhat. So you’re someone who receives the Blessing of the Spirit King.”

“But even with that blessing, to be so overwhelmingly powerful… I never imagined a land-dweller could defeat him underwater.”

Hearing their words, Mahr showed a somewhat thoughtful expression.

“From my assessment… it seemed like you could have won without much difficulty even without the blessing.”

…Is that based on your experience fighting alongside the Seven Sages?

“No. It was actually very easy to fight.”

“Fufu~”

When I answered, Mahr laughed happily. …Well, it’s true that by fighting inside a water bubble like I did with the Magic Light Water Vein, I could ignore water resistance. And with Mahr’s Blessing, there’s no need to repair or maintain the bubble when taking attacks, making it very convenient.

With a bit of practice, by securing footing with Shield, I could probably fight almost as if on land.

Now then. Since Weltes and Rovisa seem to have regained their composure, let’s return to the main topic.

“If we go to the ship, I think we can treat Rovisa-san’s shoulder injury. Actually… I heard that mermaids have been sighted in these coastal waters recently, and I wanted to hear your story.”

“That would… be helpful. As I mentioned earlier, we have rules about not getting too deeply involved with land-dwellers…”

Even as he said this, Weltes seemed more hesitant than before.

Hmm. There’s no doubt they’re caught up in some trouble.

I can understand why sea dwellers wouldn’t rely much on land-dwellers.

Even if they explained their circumstances, most humans would be powerless in underwater conflicts. Conversely, mermaids and fishfolk can’t fully exert their strength on land either.

With their domains clearly separated and living arrangements distinct, there’s little reason for conflict to arise.

So even this shark-man’s master probably has no intention… at least for now, of actively making enemies on land. That’s likely why there hasn’t been any commotion ashore.

“As I mentioned earlier about my position, if friendly other races are in crisis, it’s part of my job to assist and build good relations… and there’s a Duke on the ship who might be able to help in some way.”

“Weltes. We alone… probably can’t stop them. If the legends are correct, they might eventually bring disaster to the land as well.”

At Rovisa’s words, Weltes seemed to think for a moment before nodding.

“…In that case, it would be proper for you to meet our Queen.”

The mermaid Queen. She might possibly have taken refuge in these coastal waters.

“I’d like to question this shark-man after he wakes up, so I want to harden him with Earth Magic and take him along… Will he be alright if we bring him ashore?”

When I said this, they both blinked.

“…I don’t think there’s a problem. If the legends are true, they’re a group that has attacked the land before. Even if not, they’re tough enough to deflect all our weapons.”

Indeed… they’re reinforced with Fighting Spirit and have tough skin and bodies.

Given the nature of my attacks, I can completely ignore that kind of defense power, and the shark-man’s techniques were crude, making him an easy opponent. But if it came to a direct clash of Fighting Spirit against Fighting Spirit, he might be a troublesome foe.

“If he seems like he might suffocate from being hardened with Earth Magic, I can handle it even if he stays like that, so it’s fine?”

Mahr tilted her head. Hmm. That’s true too. Then I’ll rely on you.

First, Rovisa’s treatment. Let’s quickly package up the shark-man and guide them to the Sirius.

A faint light appeared in Ashley’s palm, and the wound closed up. Rovisa’s expression, which had been slightly grimacing from the pain, relaxed accordingly.

“Is there any pain?”

“Ah, thank you. That’s amazing Healing Magic. The wound has already closed.”

Seeing Rovisa’s happy expression in response, Ashley also smiled.

“We thank you again and again. A magician blessed by the Spirit King, a Duke of Verdugal… and now a flying ship, such powerful magical beasts… This is beyond my comprehension now…”

Weltes looked around the bridge and closed his eyes.

We had just finished guiding both of them to the Sirius along with the packaged shark-man, treating the wound while exchanging introductions and explaining what had just happened.

Now then.

“If it’s within what you can share, may I hear about your circumstances?”

“Yes… that’s right. Where should I begin…”

Rovisa showed a slightly troubled expression, seeming to gather her thoughts, before quietly beginning to speak.

“We are residents of the City of the Sea. The City of the Sea had lived peacefully under the Queen’s rule for generations. But one day, the Queen instructed the city’s residents to flee from the city. That’s how we escaped to these waters.”

“Why… was that?”

“Because the Seal beneath the city was beginning to break. There’s a legend in the City of the Sea. Long ago—someone driven by ambition appeared, falsely claiming to be the Sea King. They formed an army and rampaged through the sea. They even attempted to invade the land, it’s said. But… they were lured into a deep fissure in the seabed by the Queen of that time… and confined there with a Barrier the Queen staked her life to create. Thus the Sea King’s Rebellion was quelled, and a tombstone was built to mourn the Queen… and the city was constructed as if to cover that fissure.”

…A seabed fissure. That would be something like an oceanic trench, I suppose. The Queen of that time pretended to be cornered and was prepared to sacrifice herself to wipe them all out at once.

“But their descendants were living in the trench?”

“No. They don’t appear to be descendants. When we realized the Seal was beginning to break, an emergency investigation was conducted. According to reports, they seem to have survived the long Seal by transforming their bodies into stone using the Sea King’s power.”

I see… So the residents of the City of the Sea have direct reasons to resent them.

“Many had decayed over the long years, and the number of stone statues wasn’t particularly large… But precisely because of that, the survivors were tough and vicious. They attacked the investigators, and there have already been casualties.”

“…So the shark-man is a subordinate of this self-proclaimed Sea King.”

“Most likely. It’s said they’ve grown stronger from the resentment accumulated over many years.”

Rovisa closed her eyes, and Weltes continued as if taking over.

“It was pointed out that if the Seal breaks, the Evil Energy accumulated over many years might be released throughout the city. For us too, abandoning the city was a bitter decision… but if irreparable harm would come to the young and those yet to be born, we had no choice. We evacuated to these coastal waters and were calling for military forces to gather from those scattered across various seas.”

Magical beasts—can become violent depending on the magical environment during childhood. The sea dwellers knew this.

Come to think of it, even with the Alliance Leader’s Seal, in Silvatoria they regularly release pressure through the King’s ceremony.

In the case of the City of the Sea, they thought it was over with the mermaid Queen’s Seal, so they didn’t have that process.

So they evacuated the city before the Seal broke completely, gathering military forces and preparing interception measures. The increased sightings of mermaids and fishfolk were probably part of that process.

Then, that shark-man was likely on reconnaissance. He said he would take us to his master… Perhaps he was trying to capture Rovisa to find out the Queen’s whereabouts.

A self-proclaimed Sea King and his remnants. It would be best to deal with them before the scale grows too large… Well then.