Chapter 144 – Chapter 144. Suspicious Officer
This world we live in.
Or, this place, which is called the continent, is often compared to the moon by scholars.
Originally, it had a round shape like a full moon, but the center was completely blown away by the cataclysm that occurred when the first demon king descended on this land.
The groove created as a result did not end with a lake, but was eroded over time, and soon changed into a crescent-like shape.
The coastal area we arrived at now was a place called the Langrenus Ocean, the lunar sea created by the flow of such time.
A place where pirates made up of oceanic tribes are active now…
However, it was unimaginable that what the coalition created to avoid such a risk would be such an absurd thing.
“Whoa, what is this again?”
As he admired him, Ymir exclaimed as he came out of the carriage.
Her body had been intoxicated with sleep before, but at this moment, as if she couldn’t overlook what was in front of her eyes, admiration was drawn beyond her glasses.
“Anyone like you must have been quite surprised this time.”
“Well, yes. No matter how many geeks there are in the world, I never thought they would build a castle in the sea where they could dive.”
Huge rock… Beyond that, it’s a scale that can be seen as an island.
At the same time, an artificially designed structure can be glimpsed inside, visible through the stairs connected to the land.
The most notable thing is the head hanging from the front and the four legs sprouting from the side.
As a result of putting it all together, the name of a creature slowly began to emerge in my head.
“… If you look closely, it looks like a turtle, not an island.
-Whoops, isn’t it strong and good?
A faint laugh came from the lens of Ymir’s evaluation.
It seems that the part about the form was somewhat influenced by his influence.
I thought he was black on the inside, but maybe his senses also have a weird side…
However, aside from personal taste, the design itself was not considered bad.
In fact, all kinds of sea monsters inhabit the lunar waters, and some of them are dangerous even to pirates made up of oceanic tribes.
If you’re in the form of such a gigantic creature, you’ll feel the danger and step back rather than analyze it in detail.
No one can deny the fact that you can safely go to the Demon King’s Territory as long as you go under the sea, not above it.
-It was originally made with naval battles in mind, but it will be a very good experience for you as well. There won’t be many days to see the bottom of the sea in my life.
“Huh, it’s a cozy honeymoon on this giant turtle, so I’m really looking forward to it~”
“… Why are you suddenly falling in that direction after going well?”
“It’s a joke, a joke~ I’ll put it off until the kid wakes up, so don’t be nervous~”
Ymir looked back at the carriage he came out of with a wry smile. There, the workers who had just escaped from the fort were working on bringing the wagon into the cargo compartment.
Celica, who has not yet regained her consciousness, will be headed to the fortress’ rest facility in the process.
For now, since they are members of the royal family, you can trust them. As if thinking, Ymir, who took interest there, looked back at Heira who immediately followed him.
“Little boy, you only live in the mountains, so you haven’t seen anything like this before, right? They say this is a creature called a turtle…”
Come to think of it, Heira was very curious about things she saw for the first time.
Looking at this giant tortoise, he thought he would stare at it for a while, but unlike Yumir and I, Heira’s interest was directed toward the sea, not the turtle.
With blank eyes as usual, I just stared at the vast sea that stretched beyond the horizon.
“Water…”
I looked at him, wondering what he cared about, and immediately Heira said.
“Water, plenty.”
Words that were perfectly natural, but never expected to come out of her mouth.
“… Oh what there must be a lot Because it is the sea.”
“Ocean?”
“Is this your first time to the sea?”
“Huh. First look like this.”
Heira answered and stared blankly at the sea again.
It seemed to her that the sea that filled her eyes was more mysterious than the giant turtle.
Is it natural that we have lived only in the forest even though we have lived for 100 years?
“Is this… A very, very large lake?”
Heira quietly asks a question while staring at the sea.
Ymir also stopped paying attention to the fortress and began to spend time watching the sea next to Heira.
“A lake refers to something stagnant in the ground, and the sea should rather be seen as covering the land.”
“Do you cover the land?”
“Yes, you can say that the land we are stepping on is built on the sea.”
“On the sea, the land is built? So where does this water come from?”
“It’s mostly raining from the sky.”
“When it rains… Where does all this much water go? To the waterfall?”
“Heh, maybe it’s because our little boy only lives in the forest, he must be mistaken for the world as flat. To let you know, the world we live in is actually round…”
Ymir ignores Heira’s question and continues to explain. Judging by the excitement in her voice, she didn’t seem to mind giving Heira her lessons.
Come to think of it, Ymir was not particularly inclined to play pranks on Heira.
Around the time they smiled happily at the sight, the sailors who loaded the wagon approached this place and prepared to guide them.
-Then I have a lot of work to do, so let’s end the call. I’ve talked to the people in the fortress, so until we get to the Demon King’s Territory, let’s rest in the mood of going on vacation.
After finishing the call, Darkan retrieves the crystal.
As she took the lead and stepped into the entrance of the fortress, Verdia, who was following her, implied a question to the waiting passenger.
“Is there a prison here by any chance?”
“Yes, this way.”
“Bardos, follow me.”
“Khehe! I came to a huge facility made with taxes, but are you saying that I will be in prison again?”
“No matter how much you talked to Her Highness, as long as there is a record of kidnapping Celica, there is no choice but to restrain her during our party. Please accept it sweetly.”
“Tch, I can’t help it. Still, will you give me a proper meal?”
Bardos grumbles but reluctantly follows Verdia to the prison.
It’s fortunate that at least that defector’s treatment doesn’t look good, I thought and looked back at the other two who came in after me and said.
“Ymir, you and Heira are looking around here. I’m going to meet with the person in charge here.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll leave all the troublesome things up to you. Come on, kid, you go this way.”
“Ymir, what is this here?”
“Oh, that’s right…”
After breaking up with the two of them, I was guided by the sailor who managed the fortress and headed to the navigation room where the person in charge was located.
The inside was shaken a lot, probably because of the mid-dive, but I didn’t feel uneasy.
It would be ridiculous for a person who became the head of an organization to become anxious for nothing, when even the sailors he encountered on the way did not feel much anxiety.
“Im here.”
A sailor who gets out of his seat after arriving safely at the navigation room.
I had time to look inside for a while where he left.
The appearance itself resembles a ship’s helm, but there are many complicated-looking engineering facilities everywhere.
The slight blue light seen here and there must have been due to magical power. It seemed to be a structure that controlled the facilities inside by obtaining energy from the power emitted by the magic crystals stored inside.
In general, mobile fortresses like this are supposed to replace high-end magicians, but did they fill the magic needed for power with magic stones and cover the rest with pure technology?
I’m sure I’ve often seen people who used this kind of technology in the Demon King’s Territory. What’s surprising is that the Human Union wanted to use this, but where the hell did they get this usage…
“Is that the head of the Anti-Human Alliance?”
The voice that I heard while looking around the inside like that and evaluating it.
When I looked around, I could see a man in a military cap wearing a furry coat approaching me.
Just by looking at his outfit, he looks grandiose enough to be called an officer, but his age seems small enough to be assumed to be similar to mine or less.
Other than that, if it’s something special… Yes, it must be that he is hiding his face with a peculiar mask.
– Hoo-wook, Hoo-wook.
A distinct breathing sound with every breath.
Upon closer inspection, it was confirmed that the sound was coming from a barrel attached to a mask that concealed the entire face.
A very peculiar appearance.
“Are you in charge of the fort?”
But I didn’t let that feeling come out of my mouth for nothing.
Even if it’s something you’ve never seen in the human realm, you can see a lot of things that are more unique than this once you enter the demon lord.
“Yes, I am Alexei, the temporary president of this underwater fortress, Atlantis.”
The moment when such a man answered right away and fixed the clothes island of his coat.
The voice was quite resonant, perhaps because of the air passage, but it was not difficult to understand.
It just bothers me that there are words that are hard to overlook even when it comes to self-introduction.
“… Interim president?”
“Would you like to hear more details?”
A man asking questions.
Before answering him, I looked around and noticed that none of the crew paid attention to his existence or what he said.
At least, everyone here doesn’t deny that this person is in charge of this place.
“… No, that’s fine It’s only temporary anyway, so there’s no need to dig into it in detail.”
“That is unfortunate. I was looking forward to meeting you quite a bit.”
The person in charge speaks as if he is sorry for the attitude of drawing the line.
I wondered if I had hit the wall too much from the point of view of being indebted to them, but in the end, I decided that it was better to maintain this distance as the forces were different, so I did not correct my behavior.
And that is a bar that the other person also understands to some extent.
“But since we met like this, a handshake would be fine, right?”
Even so, the person in charge stretches out his hand as if he has no regrets.
I wondered if he was too aggressive in his first meeting, but I quietly held his hand, thinking that a polite greeting would be fine.
“Did you say Alexei? Please, please drive safely to the Demon King’s Land.”
“Yes, you too…”
Right after that, the words were cut off, and the sound of rough breathing was exhaled.
After that, he fixed his mask and lifted his head, and the lens that hid his eyes staring at me began to emit a slight reflection.
“I hope you have a good time with them at the facility I manage.”
A light that was so clear that I couldn’t tell what kind of emotion was in the gaze staring at me from beyond.
