Chapter 45: Chapter 40: Undersea Stroll and Request

“Allen, Elena, you alright~?”

“”Al~right””

“Don’t get too far away, okay?”

“”Ye~s””

Although unfamiliar to swimming, Allen and Elena keep on swimming without any problems.

Moreover, they can swim at such speed I thought they had a propeller attached.

A world record is not a problem.

There is a big difference between them and myself who is still swimming somewhat awkwardly. I should get quickly used to it......

“Mirena-san, what kind of monsters are around here?”

“The monster around here are mainly Sand Crabs and Bomb Shelters, they are not that strong. When we get a little bit deeper, more powerful monsters will appear, but...... the most troublesome among them would be probably the Giant Killer Shark.”

Giant Killer Shark... a C-Rank monster.

Although it’s C-Rank, will it be okay since we are not used to the underwater combat?

“Ah, that’s Hammerfish.”

While speaking about monsters that appear in the vicinity, it appeared at once.

Hammerfish is an E-Rank monster.

A monster of Bluefin tuna size with the point of its head shaped like a hammer. It’s not that dangerous monster if you pay attention to its head which it uses as a blunt weapon.

“”Yaa!””

Ah, Allen and Elena swim at superspeed and kick it.

Yeah, that’s instant death.

It seems that being underwater doesn’t hinder Allen and Elena one bit. Rather, I feel like their attack power and speed is better than on the surface.

If one is a relative of the Water God, is the underwater combat his specialty?

“Onii~chan.”

“Fish~”

“Thank you.”

Allen and Elena return with the Hammerfish by holding it by its hammer part.

“”Ah.””

After the two hand me the Hammerfish, they notice a monster again.

N~ The one who appeared seems to be the Sand Crab.

It’s about 6~70cm tall counting its shell. It will be even taller if it extends its legs, though.

“Weird~!”

“Is coming~!”

Until now, their opponents were only animal and insect type monsters, so seeing fish and crustacean type monsters for the first time gets Allen and Elena in high spirits.

“Be careful of the claws. Don’t get hurt okay~”

“”Ye~s.””

I remind the two who swam towards the crab right after discovering it to be careful.

It would be dangerous if they get caught by the crab’s claws...... ――Is what I thought, but it looks like I didn’t have to worry.

The two quickly defeat the Sand Crab and return while each holding one of its claws.

“”This, what is it~?””

“Sand Crab. It’s a crab.”

“”Crab~?””

“It’s delicious when boiled. Would you like to eat it next time?”

“”Will eat~!””

Sand Crab’s raw meat itself is gritty, but it seems to be delicious when heated.

It’s alright to eat it as is, but when it comes to crab, it’s a Kani Nabe after all! It’s out of season, but it doesn’t matter, right?

Let’s make it immediately once we return to the surface!

After that, Allen and Elena crisply defeated all monsters which appeared.

Mirena-san who saw Allen and Elena defeat the monsters one by one says in amazement with her eyes blinking.

“......... They are strong, aren’t they?......”

“Hahaha~......”

Yep, I tried to laugh it off for the time being.

◇ ◇ ◇

About two hours after diving into the sea.

“Wha!?”

“Welcome and thank you for coming. This is our village.”

Suddenly, something like a blue crystal appeared in front of me. The size is of a small mountain.

Even though the scenery was just a mere seascape until a while ago...... Which reminds me, I just passed through something like a thin membrane.

Camouflage? Some kind of illusion barrier?

“What have we passed through just now?”

“You have noticed? It’s as you guess. An illusion that makes it look like nothing is there and a barrier which prevents monsters to invade. Two barriers are set up here.”

“Since we have entered it means that humans are able to enter?”

“Even if it’s humans, they won’t be able to enter. It’s possible to enter only if they go together just like us.”

I see. If Mirena-san weren’t with us, we wouldn’t be able to pass through the barrier.

Nevertheless, just what is this crystal-like thing......

＝＝＝＝＝

Sea Crystal

A crystal that the sea itself crystallized into.

Conceals the power of the sea.

＝＝＝＝＝

“...... Sea Crystal?”

“Yes, that’s right. Because this is the Blue Sea, we all call it the Blue Waters Shrine.”

Because I see people coming in and out of the Sea Crystal, the crystal itself must be the residence...... It’s probably something like the Mermaid Castle.

The semitransparent blue crystal has the appearances of a simple castle. If I had to say, the blue crystal looks more like a mountain than a castle.

However, it has a very magical, overwhelming aura.

Blue Waters Shrine...... This can only be called “incredible.”

“Sparkly~”

“Pretty~”

“Yeah. It’s very pretty.”

“Fufufu. Thank you very much. I will guide you inside later, but could you follow me to the back of the Blue Waters Shrine first, please?”

“Ah, yes.”

After a while of gazing at the Blue Waters Shrine, Mirena-san guided us to the back of the Blue Waters Shrine.

There is a rock face in the back, behind the Blue Waters Shrine, but―――

“I would like you to do something about this.”

“A ship?”

There is a fairly large ship at the place where Mirena-san guides us to.

It beautifully sunk between the rock face and the rear of the Blue Waters Shrine.

“There is an entrance to the cave where we raise corals, but as you can see it has been blocked by this ship. The people of the village gathered to do something about it before, but we weren’t able to move it even an inch...... While greatly perplexed what to do, the Blue Waters Shrine’s lord, Miko Princess received an oracle.”

The ship fell exactly right between.

There are almost no gaps between the rock face and the rear of the Blue Waters Shrine.

If the ship was slightly bigger it wouldn’t block the entrance and if it was slightly smaller, the mermaids would be able to move it themselves.

Iya~ It fits in perfectly.

Indeed, it’s possible for me to remove it. After all, I just have to put it in the Infinite Storage.

“I can remove this immediately.”

I approach the sunken ship and store it in the《Infinite Storage》.

When I confirm the Infinite Storage list, the sunken ship (Dietlinde model) was properly showing up.

The Dietlinde model seems to be a cargo ship as many barrels, and wooden boxes were collected together.

Well, I would have to check the boxes one by one as I don’t know what’s inside.

What to do with this? It’s sunk into the sea, and the boxes are soaked wet.

It depends on the objects, but I expect most of them being ruined.

What should I do if it’s food?

It wouldn’t be spoiled, but it would definitely be in a totally terrible condition...... I don’t want to check the contents......

U~n...... for the time being, let’s leave it like that.

Nevertheless, as there were no dead bodies, the sailors must have been able to escape before the ship sunk.

As expected, I would feel awkward carrying people’s corpses in the《Infinite Storage》.

“Is it all right like this?”

Whoa!

When I turned around, other mermaids gathered beside Mirena-san before I noticed.

“Thank you very much!”

“It’s nothing, rather than that, shouldn’t you take a look at the coral?”

“That’s right.”

I see a cave entrance in the rock face, that must be it.

Mirena-san gives instructions to the other mermaids in a hurry and several people enter the cave.

“Is that coral an important one?”

“Yes. It’s used as the ingredient in various medicines. Especially us, mermaids, need a specific medicine to cure illness, therefore we can’t afford to lose that coral.”

That is very important then.

I’m certain that corals...... inhabit only places with clear water?

I don’t know when the ship sunk, I hope it didn’t wither away......

“Fortunately, not much time passed since the ship sunk, so there wasn’t much damage done. You have really saved us.”

“Is that so? I’m glad I could be of help.”

Unexpectedly, the ship seems to have sunk only a few days ago.

Although I wouldn’t be blamed, I would not be able to bear it if the coral got destroyed.

“Well then, Miko Princess is waiting, let me guide you there.”

Next is the meeting with Princess, huh~ She said that she’s the Lord of the Blue Water Shrine, right?

Now then, what kind of person is she?