Chapter 18 - Interlude Part 3: Tears of a Mermaid
We're in a hidden room in the [Chalk Temple].
We've already wiped out the kidnappers.
And yet, the hostage boy looked pale and afraid of something.
"Are there still other kidnappers out there?"
Isabelle asks the boy.
"You're wrong. These people are adventurers hired by her, and they're just here to keep watch."
"Ehh? Wait a minute. But if they were watching over you while you were tied up, then they must be accomplices to the kidnapping, just her men."
I questioned the boy, and he nodded.
"Yes, these people knew that the job was a bad one, but they took it for the money because they were having a hard time making ends meet. More importantly, you guys are in danger now. You're the adventurers my father hired, aren't you?"
"Yes, we're."
"I knew it. If that's the case, she'll think you're my father's servants and won't forgive you. It was all my father's fault, or rather, the adventurer who made the deal with my father!"
"I don't understand what you mean. Of course it was the other person's fault, kidnapping a child and tying him with a rope."
I think Isabelle is right, too.
"No, it's definitely a bad thing, and I think so too, but she also said that her child was kidnapped and killed by adventurers. This is revenge, you know!"
"Revenge: ......"
"Ahaa~, I think I'm starting to see the story here. So the bad guy was on the side of the quest client, right? Isabelle, I'm going to leave you here if that's the case."
"Wha, Ai, after all this time, you think you can't help the child in front of you?"
"Well, I'd like to help him if I could, but ...... it's too late. I think she's already here."
Ai held the dagger toward the side of the passage, but from beyond it came a strange sound, a slurping, drip-pattering sound.
"W-what's that sound......"
"There's only one enemy!"
I grasped the number with the [Enemy Counter], readied my sword, and gripped the hilt.
The one that approached us , her face poked out of the passage.
"Eeekkk!"
Isabelle screamed in horror, but I also got goosebumps.
Long, long, wet black hair that reached the floor. The face that peeked out from between her hair was in a terrible shape, and her bloodshot eyes were glowing brightly, which was not normal.
The lower half of her body was not human legs, but covered with scales and had a fish tail. I had never seen this before, but I guess this is what people call a [Mermaid].
"Well, well, well. Three scumbags caught in the middle...the scoundrels who grabbed Ten Vyal's dirty money. Don't think you'll make it out of here alive."
She smiled happily in a hushed voice.
"Wait a minute! I didn't get a gold from that Ten Vyal. I know exactly what happened, and I'm out! It's all the fault of that shiny gold guy over there."
"Ai! You're selling me to the kidnappers just to save your life!"
"Of course. She's a mermaid who got here from inland where there is no sea. I don't know what to think, but I'm no match for her. It's Isabelle's fault for bringing this quest to me!"
I don't know if I can understand the logic behind it, but I'm not so sure about that. Ai seems to be getting desperate.
"Wait, it's not like Isabelle knew what she was doing when she accepted the quest."
I'm defending Isabelle.
"Y-yeah, that's right."
"Hmph, I don't care about that. You should feel the pain of the parents who had their children taken from them, the storm of hatred and the hammer of anger. You will all go to hell."
"Wait! I have nothing to do with this. I told you not to involve people who have nothing to do with this!"
Ai shouted, but the mermaid seemed to have lost all sense of perspective.
"It can't be helped. I don't like the idea of defeating someone like this, but ...... there seems to be no way to escape."
Isabelle made up her mind and readied her sword.
"Yeah. We'll survive. And we need to question Ten Vyal."
I also readied my sword.
"You said you'd survive? Did you really think that would be allowed?"
The mermaid woman lowered her upper body as if she were bending down, and then leaped at once from there.
"Kkuhh! Kyaaa!"
Isabelle barely managed to avoid it, but she lost her balance and fell down on the spot.
"Isabelle!"
"S-She's fast!"
"All right, it's chance now!"
Ai seemed to have already decided that she was going to run away on her own, and she ran towards the exit of the hall. ――But.
"――Our dear and great protector, Poseidon, King of the Sea, with your deep and raging power, swallow and sink all our enemies! Tidal Wave!"
"No good, this spell is!?"
"Uwaaahhhhh!"
"Ai!"
Suddenly, a large amount of water came pouring in from the passage. Ai, who had almost escaped into the passage, was pushed back by the water at once, and I was swallowed by it as well.
"*gasp!*"
The hall was filled with the overflowing seawater.
"Kkuhh, Aahh, my goodness! The golden armor is three times heavier than that of iron!"
That's a really skilled for Isabelle, who can swim with such dexterity while wearing such armor.
But I――
"Kkuh!"
"Come on, Serina, you should swim by yourself."
"T-thank you, Ai."
She supported me from behind so I didn't sink from the surface, but I was surprised that she would help me like this. However, there was another boy who was being held hostage, who was drowning.
"H-Help me!"
I want to help him, but there's nothing I can do.
The mermaid woman who had cast this spell seemed to be under water, and I couldn't see her. If I were to carelessly approach him, I could easily foresee what would happen.
"I'm sorry, Serina, Ai. If only I had done my research better. ......"
"No, it's not your fault."
I wish you had at least researched the reputation of the client, but I don't know how much she would have found out. According to the boy, it was the adventurer who was killing the mermaid children, not him, and it would be impossible to find out that much about him.
"I-I'm drowning! Huff!"
"Don't talk!"
The boy seems to have mis-timed his breathing, swallowed some water, and fell into the water.
If only I could hit the mermaid with my trump card, the [Starlight Attack], but there was no mermaid in sight, so there was no way I could hit her with my sword even if I could find out where she was.
All is not well――
If only Alec were here at a time like this ......
Just as I was feeling helpless and frustrated, the water suddenly started to recede.
"Yes! Looks like this magic won't last long!"
Ai was pleased, though.
"No, if she cast it again, it won't last! By then――!"
Once our feet were on the floor, the three of us hurriedly searched for the mermaid.
"There she is! Behind us!"
When I used [Enemy Counter], the mermaid, holding the boy in both hands, was standing right behind us.
Previous Chapter --- TOC --- Next Chapter
Join Our Discord Server
Comments
Post a Comment