Chapter 484 – Towards the Hidden Village

First… I should confirm the facts. I’ll decide our course of action after that.

Let me ask Claudia and Marl as well. Lowering my voice slightly, I inquire with both of them while including the party members.

“Do either of you have any knowledge about what we just heard?”

“I do. Since I manifested from a lake on land, I only learned much later from other spirits that there had been confusion in the sea. That the Queen had died, and the sea dwellers were grieving. The other details also generally match what those two said. As for the timing… it would be after the leader was sealed, I suppose?”

Saying this, Marl furrowed her brows. A lake. Marl probably stays there normally.

“As for me, I’ve been deep in the labyrinth the whole time, so I don’t know the facts… But that shark demi-human is heavily shrouded in negative power that resembles a grudge. It doesn’t quite reach the level of miasma, but its nature can’t be called good. If left alone, something terrible will surely happen.”

“Then if the Sea King’s side wins, it won’t end peacefully…?”

Ashley made a worried expression. Marlene also looked at me with some concern, but when I met her eyes and nodded, she showed me a bright smile.

“Yes, indeed. Moreover, since spirits have no stake in such power struggles, if Marl has heard about it, then those two’s words are likely true.”

In other words, their story is credible.

While it’s still unclear whether the Sea King will attack the land, judging from that shark man’s attitude, if he continues to expand his influence, that possibility is quite real. At the very least, he would likely pursue persecution, retaliation, or revenge against the Queen’s clan and their descendants.

“Verdgar’s policy won’t change because of this. If we maintain our position of protecting the mermaids as trading partners, a clash with the Sea King will eventually become inevitable.”

Rosemary, who had been pondering, said this. That’s true. I don’t think King Melvin would side with the Sea King either.

“So does that mean it’s better to fight sooner rather than later?”

Grace asked while tilting her head.

“I think so. What about you, Claudia?”

When I made eye contact with Claudia, she nodded firmly.

Well then, now that we understand the circumstances and facts, I should contact King Melvin first. While waiting for his reply, I want to decide our specific next moves.

I approach the Grand Duke and the Duke and speak to them.

“It seems the facts are essentially correct. Marl-sama was aware of them.”

“Hmm. This is becoming quite serious.”

“Indeed. At this time, we’d prefer to avoid chaos in the oceans.”

“Depending on His Majesty Melvin’s intentions and those of the Mermaid Queen… I’d like to deal with this before it becomes any more serious.”

When I answered this way, the Grand Duke and the Duke understood my meaning and widened their eyes slightly.

From what we heard from Weltes and Rovisa, while we might not be able to match their individual combat power, numerically speaking, the Sea King’s forces should still be small. If that’s the case, then if we can provide supplementary forces, the Queen and her people should be able to resist.

There’s one more thing. While it wasn’t mentioned in Rovisa’s story, something has been bothering me a little.

“If there’s anything… I can do to help, please let me know. I’ll arrange it immediately.”

“Unlike the Duke here in this territory, there’s little I can do… but I can at least work to ensure Theodore-dono and Claudia-sama’s intentions are understood.”

“I appreciate that.”

I expressed gratitude for the Duke and Grand Duke’s words.

The fact that this is Duke Driscoll’s home territory is an advantage for us.

“Regarding my return, let’s follow the ambassador’s judgment for now. I’m aware I can’t contribute much to the fighting, but in this situation, wouldn’t you want to preserve teleportation magic as much as possible?”

The Grand Duke said this. That’s certainly true. The Grand Duke is… probably torn between not being able to easily leave for a safe location alone since trouble occurred in the Duke’s territory, and not being able to contribute much. On top of that, he’s also considering the circumstances around teleportation magic.

“Then… you might need to wait somewhere safe.”

“Hmm. Understood.”

Either have him wait in the air aboard the Sirius, or assign trusted escorts and have him stay in the rear with the Duke. That way he shouldn’t be subject to the Sea King’s attacks.

While we were finalizing various discussions, we received a reply from King Melvin.

It stated that if the facts are correct, Verdgar is prepared to formally establish diplomatic relations with the Queen’s clan and provide support. They can offer assistance such as providing evacuation sites and supplying materials.

And—he wants us to determine whether it’s better to fight now given the current scale, or retreat to prepare our stance, by listening to the story and seeing things with our own eyes, then report back once more.

Hmm. With Claudia’s teleportation magic, we might be able to postpone the decision until the last moment.

“Since His Majesty’s intentions are clear, I should also pay respects to the Queen as his representative.”

“That’s right. Silvatoria also trades with the mermaids.”

“I might also be able to help in some way.”

Princess Stephania, Princess Adriana, and Princess Elham said this.

Hmm. Well then, first… it would be best to have Weltes and Rovisa guide us to the Queen.

The Queen and her people’s hiding place seems to be—within the Duke’s territorial waters.

There’s apparently a dangerous sea area where fishing boats don’t approach because it’s off shipping routes and has many reefs. Indeed, that’s noted on the sea charts.

While it’s different from the City of the Sea, the mermaids’ hidden village exists there. First, we must go there and speak with the Queen.

While continuing to use Life Detection to check if there are any companions of the shark man, we accelerated the Sirius’s speed and rushed toward that sea area.

“Um, I don’t want you to misunderstand…”

Rovisa spoke in a somewhat fearful tone.

“What is it?”

“Well, um. It’s not that we’re intentionally causing ships to run aground. We just made it our hidden village because there are reefs and people don’t approach…”

Rovisa seemed somewhat anxious.

“Ah, that’s fine. I have a Siren friend too, but she’s gentle and enjoys letting people hear her songs and music.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. She sometimes performs with Irmhild.”

Rovisa blinked her eyes. Irmhild, seeing Rovisa like that, smiled and played her lute.

Mermaids, Sirens, Nixies—they’re all collectively called mermaids, but the legends about causing shipwrecks probably refer to Sirens.

But even then, those would be individuals who became violent due to the magical environment. So Rovisa’s worries can be said to be unfounded.

“Her name is Justia. Do you happen to know that name?”

Justia and Dominique said they didn’t know how to return home and settled in Termwills… but it’s possible the sea dwellers might have some knowledge about Justia.

I had originally thought that if we could encounter mermaids, I’d collect information about that too. Well, I haven’t told Justia since I don’t want to disappoint her if it comes to nothing.

“…Sorry, I’m not quite sure. If we go to the hidden village, there are Sirens too, so perhaps…”

After thinking for a while, Rovisa answered this way. So that means Rovisa is probably a Mermaid. Nixies, if I recall… are spirit-like races that live in rivers and lakes.

“Thank you.”

Marl seems able to contact other Spirit Kings, so perhaps regarding Dominique too, using the Wind Spirit King’s connections, or rather… utilizing the wind spirits’ network, we might be able to search.

“The Sirens… huh. Those beings seem to find purpose in letting others hear their songs.”

Weltes said this.

Hmm. Indeed. Those two also said they’re happy to sing at the theater even if they can’t return home… but they should definitely be able to decide for themselves whether they can visit their hometown or not.

In any case. Since there’s a possibility that Justia’s relatives belong to the Queen’s faction, I should confirm that aspect as well.

While we were having such conversations, the Sirius arrived at the sea area with the hidden village. Well then… let’s go meet the Queen and speak with her.

As companions for the audience with the Queen, it would be Claudia, Marl, and the Duke, plus Princess Stephania, Princess Adriana, and Princess Elham.

After all, they’re acting as representatives of their respective kings.