I actually purposefully didn’t ask what the underwater temple was like.
I wanted to come here without preconceived notions, to preserve the sense of excitement of seeing it for the first time.
And now that I’m faced with the underwater temple…
I-it’s a strange place.
Of course, I’m impressed. After all, it’s people living underwater. Whether divine beast people are like humans or not is besides the point, I really feel how mysterious life is as I see them living here.
And it’s a difficult place to describe compared to everywhere else I’ve been.
There are boulders that look like jellyfish or mushrooms lined up, with places where I think people live on top.
There are also giant coral reefs with holes, which also feel like they have people living in them.
And are those snails? They’re big enough to have monsters inside them.
It’s amazing, and unquestionably a fantastical space. But at the same time, it’s so beyond my comprehension compared to something like the alfar and demon gods’ villages, that my sense of excitement moved away somewhere.
“Weird.”
“Ah, come on, Snow. This is Livia’s home, you can’t say that.”
“Uu…”
I press her mouth to zip it, but Livia is smiling and doesn’t look bothered.
She wouldn’t get angry at a kid in the first place, or anyone besides Elga for that matter.
“Ah… How beautiful…”
“Hn?”
Was that Merlin? I turn to her, and see her more entranced than ever before, to the point where her eyes are shining.
“To think such a paradise existed in this world… I’m glad I came to this island!”
“…”
I reflexively turn to Reina, and she comes closer to whisper in my ear.
“Merlin has always liked weird things related to the sea. She’s very fussy about beauty, but for some reason, this one doesn’t fit with the rest.”
“I-I see…”
Well, everyone has their own tastes.
And it fits a water magic user. Yes.
Livia takes the lead as we go in, and people gather.
These are the divine beast people that live in the sea. I just sort of get that.
After all, they have human upper bodies and fish lower bodies.
But I don’t know who is what, because my knowledge of beasts here is limited compared to the surface, so it’s pretty odd.
Actually, aren’t they menacing?
There’s a strange mafia like feeling to them. Are we unwanted guests here?
But Livia told them we’d be coming here today…
Then I notice their eyes are focused on Elga.
“Damn you Elga! You have some nerve showing your face here after you forced our big sister to leave us!”
I look at Elga, and he looks really annoyed.
Well, seeing how Livia is normally, and how lovey-dovey they are, it’s clear there was no force involved.
Actually, wasn’t Elga the one who was trapped due to Wil’s involvement?”
“I didn’t kidnap anyone. If anythin’ I was the one that was caught…”
That’s what I’m saying.
“She was always nice to everyone, since she was a little girl! You took advantage of that.”
“She was a little curious and went to the surface, and all of a sudden she was getting married!”
“We went straight to the boss, and got scared when he threatened to cut our fingers!”
“That’s not my fault…”
“““No point arguing!”””
The divine beast people all attack.
The fact that the sea is their territory means they swim incredibly fast, and approach Elga immediately.
“Orah!”
“““Gyah!?”””
He sends them flying back with a swing of his tail.
“Ooh…”
“Eh, strong.”
They’re divine beast people too, so they’re definitely not weak.
Surely they’re strong enough to be up there with Gyes and Graham.
And Elga, also a divine beast person, swept them away.
“U-uuu…”
“Dammit.”
“You? What possessed you to suddenly attack my husband?”
“““…!?”””
Livia approaches the three people taken down by Elga, who immediately get up and stand straight.
They desperately try to make excuses, but I can feel the scary aura from behind her, as she listens with a smile.
I look away, and turn to Elga.
“Elga, are you actually way strong even among other divine beast people?”
“You’re asking now… Why do ya think I’m called a great warrior?”
“I see…”
I guess I’ve never seen him fight seriously.
But apparently he’s really strong, because he led divine beast people into battle against other strong races when Suzaku wasn’t around.
“So what’s the relationship between the land and sea divine beast people like?”
“Normal. Well, Livia is the daughter of their boss, so she grew up with a lot of love, and they resent me…”
I can’t say that doesn’t make sense.
And since they spoke to Livia’s father about this, there’s no need to create a problem here.
In the end, the three that Elga took down glare as we leave. I guess this is why he wasn’t too happy about coming here.
“This is my house.”
I turn to look, and see a building built into a big boulder.
It looks like a really big boulder was carved, but once we get inside, we see it’s been properly worked on. It feels strange.
“I imagined something Japanese style, like Suzaku’s place…”
“Why did you think there were buildings underwater?”
“Well… I know about the Palace of the Dragon King.”
“Tell me more.”
When I respond to an exasperated Elga, Merlin jumps at it.
And she’s disappointed when I tell her it’s an old fairy-tale, not reality.
She really loves the sea.
But differences between cultures and peoples are interesting, so we enter the house, that’s still in the sea, of course.
We can’t walk on the ground, so we swim around it.
There are beautiful shells all over the hall, and a jewel that looks like a pearl in the center.
Is that like a vase or a painting would be like for a human?
I catch Snow as she sees an opening to touch it, and we pass through a big door into a room.
Thanks. 🖖