Chapter 503 – Camping Underwater

Aianos had the water spirits commanded by Auria. With Ambrum remaining in the duchy, he would serve as a lookout to monitor whether enemies appeared there.

Having thus eliminated concerns about their rear, Queen Eldorene, accompanied by her knights, was advancing toward the City of the Sea, Grantios, aboard the Sirius.

The knights surrounding the Sirius rode Hippocampi, monsters with the lower bodies of fish and the forms of horses. It was quite a magnificent sight.

It was unclear whether to call them infantry or swimming soldiers, but there were also soldiers accompanying them who were not mounted. Well… the marching speed was relatively fast. It was incomparable to a person swimming, and their toughness seemed considerable. This was likely due to the resilience of those who lived underwater.

The Sirius was positioned roughly in the center of the formation assembled by the officers and soldiers. As usual, they were conducting reconnaissance using Dark Vision and Life Sense magic… but for now, it was quiet.

Old Siegmund, Sion, and the familiars were also checking the monitors, but they only spotted ordinary sea creatures.

Since nothing was absolute, they also considered the possibility of overlooking enemy scouts and were using a Light Magic field to conceal their forms. They placed colored Aqua Golems as markers near the bow, stern, bridge, hull, and both wings. This allowed the accompanying officers and soldiers to grasp the space where the Sirius was located to some extent.

And… on the bridge, the main members had gathered and were continuing their discussion. In such cases, perhaps it should be called a war council.

“Given the current scale, they likely don’t have numbers large enough to be called an army,” Elliot stated his estimation based on the vanguard’s numbers, and Queen Eldorene nodded.

“Indeed. Their weapons have also changed. I believe we can handle their numbers with our forces here.”

“It may also depend on how many of those magician and knight classes remain. We won’t know until we engage them, though…” Weltes said.

True. If we’re talking purely about numbers, we have an advantage due to our improved equipment. However, if we use the shark men as a baseline, it wouldn’t be strange for individuals with even higher abilities, like Hybla and Largo, to be waiting.

Well… regarding Hybla, being a magician meant her close combat proficiency was lacking, and since she used Water Magic, I could overwhelm the enemy’s techniques with circulating magical power—it was quite a favorable matchup for me when I fought.

But compared to the shark men, I felt Hybla was superior. It was simply that the compatibility made it easier for me.

How formidable would such individuals be underwater? There was the question of what would happen if five officers and soldiers engaged them.

“In that case, eliminating Hybla and Largo from the vanguard might have been significant,” Princess Stephania said.

“Indeed. They must have been valuable assets to them as well,” Princess Adriana nodded.

“Next… how much will forces other than cavalry and swimming soldiers work to our advantage?” Princess Elham, who had finished her work, said.

On our side, we have us and the Sirius, the Sirens’ Cursed Songs and the queen’s and Water Guardians’ magic, Silvatoria and Halvaronis’s Barrier Magic, and so on… The point would be how much this could tip the scales in our favor.

“I estimate we can handle just the subordinates advantageously,” Queen Eldorene said.

“So the problem remains Waldom, I suppose?” When Rovisa said this, Queen Eldorene nodded quietly.

“Hmm. That man Hybla spouted nonsense about the sea’s wrath and such… but even if he doesn’t possess the power of a High Spirit whose emotions directly disturb the sea, according to legends, he is said to be in a different league from the subordinates.”

…Waldom alone was on a different level, even compared to the subordinates.

“I will handle Waldom,” I said.

“My apologies. For me, that is the most distressing part.”

“No. Regarding the Sea King, let’s proceed as we’ve discussed and speculated so far.”

When I smiled, Queen Eldorene’s expression briefly looked pained, then she smiled somewhat troubled. After that, she shook her head and returned her expression to its previous determined state.

“Hmm. Very well. I must also brace myself and face this.”

Queen Eldorene had a bold personality, but she did not take kindly to her officers and soldiers getting hurt. That was precisely why she had resolved to confront Waldom even at the cost of her own life.

But now that things had begun, she couldn’t show weakness. She was acting with the clear intention of boosting morale and such.

Well… for those being led, having someone like Queen Eldorene in charge was undoubtedly a blessing. She was thinking about how to minimize casualties.

“I must also do my best,” Auria said.

“Yes, let’s do our best,” Marl also nodded in agreement, and they seemed to be psyching themselves up. This was likely due to Queen Eldorene’s virtue.

The two were tasked with calling upon water spirits to retrieve the injured to the Sirius. Since Marl was a High Spirit, direct combat was difficult for her, but she could ask non-manifested spirits for assistance.

Hmm. I should also brace myself to keep casualties down.

Into the seabed—the quiet strains of a harp and singing voices echoed. The Sirens’ songs. It was a Cursed Song that healed fatigue and accelerated the recovery of Vitality and Magical Power.

The effect wasn’t rapid… but I could feel my energy and Vitality steadily and surely replenishing. They were also replenishing the magical power of the Sirius, Caduceus, and Balor… and that effect was increasing as well. Alpha, waiting near the helm, was purring happily.

Around the Sirius on the seabed, several tents had been set up. Faint light leaked from the tents… The officers and soldiers were probably having their evening meal inside right now. We were inside the Sirius. The officers and soldiers would spend the night in the tents.

Since the Sirius was carrying quite a few personnel, besides just using the cabins, they planned to prepare sleeping bags on the bridge and in the corridors for rough sleeping. We also planned to sleep on the bridge so we could respond if anything happened… but listening to the Sirens’ songs seemed like it would make falling asleep quite easy.

“Theodore-sama, would you like seconds?” Ashley came to the helm and asked. Today’s dinner was white bread with cheese, grilled fish, and seafood soup.

“Thank you. Then, could I have more soup?”

“Yes.”

Saying this, Ashley took my wooden bowl and brought me more soup.

Now… regarding the journey to Grantios… normally, it would involve several encampments. Though it’s more of a seabed camp than a field camp, in any case, they needed rest and sleep time to recover from the march fatigue.

“I went to check outside the barrier, and not a single sound or light is leaking through,” Weltes reported upon returning to the bridge. Queen Eldorene nodded with satisfaction.

“It’s hard to believe it’s a simple-type barrier. Truly marvelous.”

“Halvaronis has always been researching such things. But I’m glad this technology can be of use here,” Forset smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly, but Queen Eldorene shook her head.

“No. It’s truly helpful.”

In attacking from here, they were on a rather forced march to prevent the enemy from making the next move… and what made this possible were these Sirens’ Cursed Songs and Cursed Melodies.

Cursed Songs and Cursed Melodies inevitably produced sound, so normally they would also bear the risk of being discovered by the enemy, but the concealment barrier functioned even against sound, and the personnel packed into the Sirius could take turns monitoring distant areas.

This allowed them to head to Grantios more safely and quickly.

In a relaxed mood, after finishing the meal… I transformed Caduceus into a sea chart and calculated the distance covered, the remaining distance to Grantios, the marching speed, and so on.

“Please look at this.”

“Hmm.”

Everyone gathered around the helm and peered at the sea chart.

“This is the distance covered today. If we proceed at a similar speed… and adjust the time and distance a bit during the rest here, I think we could launch an assault around dawn.”

“Rather than a night attack… it would be a dawn raid, wouldn’t it?” Rosemary hid her mouth with her feather fan and shook her shoulders happily.

“Then it seems best to start adjusting the marching and rest times from now on,” Grace said, and Queen Eldorene nodded.

“Hmm. Let’s shift them gradually within reasonable limits. It would be better to have some time after waking up rather than immediately, as our minds and bodies would be more active.”

After making those calculations, Weltes left the bridge again to notify the officers and soldiers.