The next morning, Vermeer is waiting for me in Tetra’s harbor.
We didn’t really settle on a place where we’d meet, so it’s nice that it wasn’t a problem.
“Good morning. It’s been two days. Thank you for coming along today.”
Vermeer says with a smile.
“Thank you for having me.”
I respond politely.
Well then, the capital of the Kingdom of Atlanta, Escarole, is at the bottom of the sea, so a human can’t just go there as is.
That’s where my water magic spell Water Protection comes in. It envelops my body in water magic energy, which allows me to breathe underwater. Vermeer is surprised to see it.
“You can even handle Water Protection!? W-wow!”
“Every mage can.”
“That is not true! You would have to be a master rank!”
Really?
It feels like the beginner magic spell Protection, so I’ve never thought of it as a master rank.
I don’t mention magic further, and just accept the compliment. She’s saying that out of good faith, so there’s really no reason to pick at it.
After that, we leave the harbor.
Vermeer got a king turtle so we can go to Escarole smoothly, so we go to the bottom of the sea on its back.
A king turtle is much faster than a horse, and we move through the water really fast.
We’ll probably get there in three hours.
As we move with the king turtle, I ask Vermeer about Queen Undine. I think I can learn more from her subordinate than from books.
“She is not too fussy about small things, but it seems she had romantic trouble again, so it’s best not to touch that subject.”
“Understood.”
According to Vermeer, she fell in love with a man from Merzelia, and was thoroughly rejected.
As a result, she has been grieving and crying a lot, and causing a raging storm in the seas near Merzelia for about two months now.
Apparently she’s calmer now, so the storm is subsiding.
“The more I hear from you, the less confident I am about making it home alive. Are you sure about this?”
“Don’t worry, Mister Loyd. She is normally a very nice person. And she just happens to be in a good mood right now!”
She keeps insisting that it’s fine, and it all just sounds to me like a flag being set.
Still… Something that big was going on, and I had no idea.
Apparently her rage has subsided, but it really is scary.
I’d honestly rather just go back to Minerva, but I can’t back down after accepting.
Queen Undine would definitely flip her lid if just went home.
I need to be as careful as possible during our audience, and not use negative words regardless of context.
I call this the grand strategy of nice and warm words. Thank you very much, I’m glad, what an honor, very moving. This is the set I’m generally going with.
I brace myself for what’s to come.
◇ ◇ ◇
A few hours later, we arrive at Escarole, in the Kingdom of Atlanta.
Sunlight doesn’t reach the bottom of the sea, but sea light stones mean the whole city is illuminated by a faint emerald light.
Also, they are made of a special ore that doesn’t get moss even though it’s underwater, and every building in Atlanta uses it.
The whole city has a mystical feel to it, and it’s strange to see schools of fish casually swimming around.
I keep swimming, guided by Vermeer, and see a lot of giant scallop rest areas. This society isn’t exactly like human society, but a lot of things are similar, and I ask Vermeer why.
“I don’t really know either, but the Kingdom of Atlanta has a history that goes back over ten thousand years. Could it be that construction techniques made their way to the surface from here?”
I see. So she’s saying we inherited this stuff on the surface. I don’t know if her hypothesis is true, but it sounds plausible.
Also, the fact that it’s ten thousand years old is impressive. What’s the secret for lasting that long?
“That’s really incredible. What’s the secret to keep a dynasty going for that long?”
“That is Queen Undine, of course. Nothing in this world can beat her.”
“Has she been alive for that long?”
“It’s difficult to express the concept of ‘living’ here. She is a spirit, so when she dies, she is naturally reborn a hundred years later. But she does lose most of her memories.”
Come to think of it, the demon king also has that Phoenix ability. She inherits about half of her memory, but that also means she loses half of it.
Descriptions of Queen Undine’s personality are different depending on what book you read, and that might be why.
“Ah, but her wiping out a country because she is heartbroken happens every time. It’s almost tradition.”
Don’t make something that scary a tradition…
Wait, she said that very casually, but isn’t the Kingdom of Merzelia in danger?
I try asking, and…
“I see. I think you are correct. All her vassals tried to soothe her, but it was pretty bad how her anger was not subsiding. But then she received news of the king kraken being defeated, and her mood improved a lot. And I took this chance to invite you.”
Is that so?
Sounds like I became the savior mage of this country and didn’t even know it.
Much like how Vermeer said before, Queen Undine doesn’t like to be kept waiting, so we’re leaving the sightseeing until later, and going straight to her palace.
The palace is magnificent, and gives off the feeling of a holy shrine.
I’m led to a spacious audience hall, where Queen Undine awaits further in the back.
She has five mermaids on each side with spirits.
The moment we look at each other, we both raise our voices with surprise.
It’s the spirit girl from the lighthouse. The girl that seemed to me like a frail maiden in love. The one that felt like she could not hurt a fly.
So the girl whose interspecies love struck a chord with me is actually Queen Undine…
For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m too shocked to stand.
“Oh? Do you know each other?”
Asks Vermeer, and I politely answer. Then I kneel in Queen Undine’s direction, and bow.
“It is an honor to meet you. I am Loyd, the one you met in the lighthouse the previous day. I am very sorry I did not know who you were.”
My heart is beating really fast, but I somehow keep calm and speak.
“No no, you and that other person, Iris I believe, helped me feel a lot better. Thank you very much.”
She is still sitting on her throne, but she thanks me with a very friendly tome.
Her soft disposition makes me breathe a sigh of relief.
It really makes me feel like treating strangers with respect is always a good idea. Then she introduces me to Vermeer.
“Vermeer, I owe a debt to this person, so make sure he receives the best treatment we can offer.”
“Ah, understood.”
Vermeer answers promptly.
It was mostly Iris who helped her, but I’m not going to point that out. How could I in this situation?
I just want to get down on my knees out of gratitude and happiness. It’s because of what Iris did then that I’m in this situation now. I need to get something for her.
◇ ◇ ◇
The audience goes on for about an hour.
How do I normally live, what is Minerva like, what is my relation to Iris, have I looked around Escarole… Very simple questions keep flying my way.
She doesn’t go too deep into it, but she does ask about my relationship with Iris, and I naturally say she’s a good friend.
And when I tell her I haven’t done any sightseeing here, she tells me about a few famous spots.
“You’re staying here today, right?”
That wording makes me feel like it’s not a choice, and I go along with it.
“If it’s all right with you, I would like accommodation.”
I answer politely to the end, and after bowing again, I leave with Vermeer.
After checking that the big door is closed, I sigh, releasing all the air from my lungs.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I thought I was gonna die from nervousness.
I was ten times more nervous than I was with the elegant queen.
She’s pretty lenient, and laughed off any rough wording on my part, but considering Queen Undine could blow away Merzelia, I can’t afford any funny business.
This is a deep sea twenty-four seven life of absolutely not making her mad.
I feel like my lifespan was shortened by three days.
She didn’t seem like a bad person yesterday, but an audience with her is really bad for the heart.
But after that, nothing much happens. Vermeer acts as my guide, and I have fun going around notable places in Escalone. And this being an underwater city, means there are a lot.
There are mermaid concerts, mermaid relay races, turtle games… Turtle games are about shooting arrows at targets from the back of a turtle.
It’s like the king turtle version of what I did in the Luminous farm.
But for me, the most fun part is the concert. Mermaids are known for their beautiful singing voices, so getting to hear that up close is a nice story to tell Iris and the others.
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