Chapter 489 – Conversation with the Siren

Since Queen Eldorene wanted to see inside the Sirius, I decided to give her and Rovisa’s group a tour while we waited for the Sirens to arrive at the plaza.

The interior was filled with air, making it unsuitable for mermaids who couldn’t swim, but as expected of the Queen and her Water Guardians. They created something like a water carpet to float on, allowing them to move around on land without any problems.

“Well, we could use the Humanization Spell… but these garments aren’t quite suitable for that,” Queen Eldorene remarked.

The Queen was wearing a dress made from water spider silk… if she used the Humanization Spell in her current outfit, it would likely expose much of her legs, and she didn’t have any boots prepared either.

She probably had preparations back at the palace, but since they normally lived underwater, touring the Sirius was unexpected. She likely didn’t bring them for what was supposed to be just a short trip to the plaza.

Well, since both of them could move around without issue, I continued showing them the Sirius’s facilities.

“These ship’s facilities seem quite compatible with the Sirens.”

“Yes, I believe they could be used with that intention as well.”

What caught the Queen’s interest were the Sonic Cannon and voice pipes. While the Sonic Cannon’s nature is fixed, the voice pipes could effectively deliver the Sirens’ Cursed Songs outside the ship.

The core technology behind the Sonic Cannon comes from Seraphina’s abilities. Combining Seraphina’s abilities with the Sirens’ could lead to some interesting possibilities. It might be worth testing some coordination later.

After showing them around the ship’s facilities for a while, we were talking on the bridge when the monitor showed Weltes and the others returning to the plaza in the distance. They were leading a group of mermaids… but that looked more like a group of Sirens rather than Mermaids.

“It seems they’ve brought them.”

Well then, let’s go outside and hear what they have to say.

“My, my. This one eats stones. How interesting.”

“Land creatures… fascinating. Some are fluffy, some glow…”

“This one has a hard body, like a shark.”

“This one too… it’s like a stone.”

When we went outside, the animal group was surrounded by mermaids and Fishfolk in the plaza.

Since Aianos’s residents seemed very curious, I thought they could interact while I was showing the Queen around, and it appeared to be quite popular.

There were adults, but many children too. The mermaids were a mix of adults and children, while the Fishfolk seemed to have more children. The adult Fishfolk were watching the interactions between the mermaids and children from a slight distance with warm smiles.

Corulis was sitting beside the Sirius, being fed ore by a mermaid.

Lavigne and Alpha, along with Pietro and Flamia, were being hugged and petted by children.

Ramriya was being held in hands and petted, while Lindwurm had its scales touched with interest. Eclair’s metal body also seemed to be a subject of curiosity.

Caduceus was guarding near the Queen and not participating in the interactions… but Balor was on Princess Stephania’s shoulder, drawing the mermaids’ attention.

“Is this one’s back alright?”

“Yes. Corulis is fine.”

When Princess Stephania answered with a smile, the mermaid children clung to Corulis’s back rather than riding on it. From the conversation flow, it seemed they were refraining from riding on Lindwurm’s back.

Seraphina appeared to be swimming around the plaza happily with the mermaid children. Sion and the others, Oscar and Vanessa, Leslie and his group were looking at the underwater city with interest or having friendly conversations with the mermaids and Fishfolk.

“Hmm. Many had dark expressions due to fleeing from the Sea King… but this seems to be good for their mood.”

Queen Eldorene narrowed her eyes as she watched. …As their leader, their emotional state would be concerning.

“Ah, Your Majesty!”

When a mermaid child saw Queen Eldorene and smiled, the others turned their attention our way. Queen Eldorene nodded “Umu” and waved slightly from the deck.

Just then, Weltes and the others arrived with the group of Sirens.

“We’ve brought Lady Justia’s relatives and friends.”

Weltes and Solgiol also bowed.

“Umu. Well done.”

“Your Majesty, we’ve heard that someone from the surface knows where Justia is?”

This came from one of the Sirens in the group. Even after arriving at the plaza, the Sirens seemed somewhat restless, still concerned about Justia.

The one who spoke as their representative was a Siren with her hair tied up, giving off a calm atmosphere… and it probably wasn’t just my imagination that her appearance resembled Justia’s.

“Umu. I hear she’s currently in Termwills. Apparently, Theodore-dono, the Otherworld Ambassador of the Kingdom of Verdugal, rescued Lady Justia from villains including demons.”

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Theodore Gartner. To get straight to the point, Lady Justia is unharmed and doing well in Termwills now.”

When I first conveyed the information they’d most want to know about Justia, the Siren showed a relieved expression, closed her eyes, and patted her chest. The other Sirens behind her exchanged looks and brightened up.

“…Justia-san, that’s wonderful.”

Grace said this with narrowed eyes, while Ashley and Marlene exchanged happy smiles. Seeing those two, Claudia also smiled gently.

Rosemary was covering her mouth with her feather fan… but she seemed to be in good spirits.

Umu. Well then, let me tell the Sirens more details.

“Now then, I’d like to discuss this in more detail…”

Given the nature of the content, a calmer location might be better. Though it’s not bad news, so here might be fine too.

“If you’d prefer a more settled location, how about on the deck? Since the Sirens will be participating in the operation, I’d like them to know about the Sirius too.”

“Understood.”

So we moved the Sirens to the deck for brief introductions before continuing the conversation.

The Siren representative was named Marion. She’s Justia’s eldest sister with a significant age gap, and currently holds a position leading one of the Siren tribes.

After mutual introductions, I explained the detailed circumstances. About the kidnapping incident, how she was later protected by the Adventurer Guild, how she’s now become friends with Irmhild and Dominique, and helps with the treatment team at the guild office, etc. I conveyed that she’s working in basically safe conditions, so there’s no need to worry about injuries.

“In Verdugal, that sort of thing is prohibited… if Theodore-kun hadn’t saved her, she might have been sold off to some foreign country.”

Irmhild said this while recalling those times.

“Since those people saw the people they captured as merchandise, they apparently didn’t injure them or handle them roughly. This information comes from the Magical Inquisition, so it should be accurate. For the demon involved in the incident… I think it might have been just a byproduct of summoning magic and teleportation magic experiments.”

According to information extracted through magical interrogation from the kidnappers after the case was resolved, Linette apparently believed that if discipline broke down, the situation would be more easily discovered.

Those who went against the policy were mercilessly punished by Linette herself. Well… considering he was a demon, he was probably efficiently collecting fear from his subordinates that way too. Since he himself was hiding his identity and lurking, avoiding discovery of the situation was both pretext and true intention.

Anyway, even if it was a byproduct of magical experiments, they apparently strictly maintained the line that merchandise was merchandise.

“And so… besides helping with guild work, she also sings at the theater with Sheila, Irmhild, and Dominique. Not Cursed Songs or Cursed Melodies, but regular ones.”

When I said this, Marion and the other Sirens’ eyes widened.

“That’s… I might be a little envious.”

Marion glanced back slightly at her companions and said this with a wry smile. This was probably a statement made with awareness of their own nature.

“That, it might be hard to understand due to our racial characteristics… but having friends to sing with and people to listen to us is an ideal lifestyle.”

“That seems to be the case.”

When I answered, Marion looked somewhat embarrassed and apologetic.

“From here, we plan to head to Duke Driscoll’s territory and establish more teleportation magic bases. At that time… I thought we might be able to arrange a meeting with Justia too.”

“Really?”

Marion’s expression brightened.

After this, we’ll proceed with our original plan – teleport to the Duke’s headquarters and then coordinate with Termwills to prepare countermeasures against the Sea King.

“If it’s alright… could I come along too?”

Marion asked. At this time, having Justia come here… might be worrying. She probably wants to verify the story with her own eyes too. To help the Sirens feel reassured by hearing the story directly, it might be good to have Marion accompany us.

“What do you think, Your Majesty?”

“I shall permit it. I cannot leave this place now.”

When I sought Queen Eldorene’s opinion, she nodded.

“Then we must move as quickly as possible. Under normal circumstances, I would have wanted to welcome you with the full territory’s celebration, but…”

The Duke groaned while crossing his arms.

“Then that will have to wait… until the Sea King-related incident is resolved, I suppose?”

“Hmm. At that time, let’s hold a grand feast on both land and sea.”

“That sounds wonderful. I look forward to it.”

Queen Eldorene smiled as she said this.