Chapter 23
「! Something is ahead!」
While advancing, Lilia shouted and readied her bow.
On the ground was a male merman.
「This man is a ...... warrior!」
Approaching to check, the merman was already dead.
The cause of death was clear.
Half of his upper body was missing.
There were marks as if he had been bitten and torn apart by something.
Judging from the condition of the body, it seemed like some time had passed since his death.
He was barely recognizable in this state.
Blood continued to flow on the ground, indicating that he had kept moving for some time even after receiving the fatal wound.
「Um, I don't know how to bury a merman, but would you like me to bury him?」
「Burial......? We will send him off to the sea. As food for fish and other creatures.」
「Um, I come from a family of Grave Keepers, so I'm somewhat familiar with burial and memorial service ...... I don't think it's right to leave him here without anyone to see him off. On the surface, we burn or bury the body and return it to nature. It's a pity to leave him here abandoned and alone...」
Sion agreed to Hazuki's suggestion, so Hazuki burned the body and turned it into ashes.
◇◇◇◇
The journey continues for a long time.
Even after advancing for over a month, they couldn't find a single staircase.
Based on their previous maps, Mars guessed that there were no separate levels, but a series of floors.
By this point, they began to encounter more and more mermaid corpses.
Although their numbers were few, it seemed like they were split between traveling by land and by water.
Despite being of the same race, the warriors did not seem to be related to Sion, and she didn't appear to be too saddened by their death.
From what he heard, it seemed like Sion had lived a lifestyle close to that of a shut-in.
「This dungeon is definitely a fair fight, isn't it? If you advance, there will definitely be some sort of monster.」
「And we can't proceed if we don't defeat them.」
Progress is slow because they can't advance while avoiding fights.
「These monsters are all strange......aren't their eyes creepy?」
「They are oddly inorganic,......, or rahter, lacking in emotion. Their eyes are just like those of dead fish. They're alive, though. They're so big, so they have an unnecessary sense of intimidation.」
Even normal fish are a bit eerie, but when they're several meters long, it's even more so.
In addition, soft-bodied creatures like octopuses and squids are inherently eerie.
Unlike land creatures, it was hard to tell whether they had hostile intentions or not.
――Nevertheless, not having any elements of getting lost is quite reassuring.
If it's just combat, there are forces that can handle it if you're careful.
If all you need to do is cross each gateway, it's simple and straightforward.
「......」
「Sion-san?」
Sion, who was walking at the back, had a somewhat melancholic expression.
She usually kept her eyes closed and her facial expressions were hard to read, but having seen many faces before, he could tell to some extent.
「Oh, no, it's nothing.」
「You must have something you're worried about. Please tell us if there is anything. We might end up in danger too.」
Lilia reprimands Sion who is trying to avoid the question.
「.....Didn't I say before that I saw the corpses of my fellow species and said that my husband wasn't among them? Actually, I don't know.」
「You don't know?」
「Yes. I don't remember what my husband's face looked like because I haven't seen him since our wedding a long time ago. That's why I think my husband might have been among the corpses――You would think I was being heartless if I said it out loud, wouldn't you? I didn't want you all to hate me, so I didn't want to say anything.」
Sion said in a gloomy voice.
Mars can't think of an appropriate answer.
It was hard to judge whether she was heartless or not.
「To be honest, I am not confident that I would feel sad even if he were dead.」
「Isn't that fine!? Why should you care about someone who doesn't care about you!? This is more of a beatdown case! If I met him, I would have to hit him!」
「I agree. It's just a formality, so there's no need to go out of our way. You're better off being cuckolded, right?」
Lilia and Hazuki berated Sion's husband.
Regarding these kinds of situations, Marth shuddered at how severe women can be.
I need to step up too
「Nemu can hear the sound-nyaa! There's a big place up ahead-nyaa!」
「I-It's a battle!」
Feeling the heavy atmosphere and sensing it could affect him eventually, Mars pointed ahead and tried to escape.
Lilia, who was quick to notice, gave Mars a cold look before quickly changing to a smile.
Regardless of whether he can or can't do it, Mars's history of striving for someone's sake is the source of trust.
Previous Chapter --- TOC --- Next Chapter
Comments
Post a Comment