第８５２堀：海の穴 (Part1)
## Dungeon 852: The Hole in the Sea
### The Hole in the Sea
Side: Yuki
The impossible task of finding a magic gear no bigger than the palm of one's hand in this vast ocean, surprisingly...
"I found it!" Shera announced, having easily discovered, retrieved, and solved the problem. And without even turning the sea area into a dungeon.
"Well, I just happened to go exploring in a deep area and found it quite easily. I feel bad for Kirika-san, who was working so hard," Shera said with a laugh. It seemed she had discovered the magic gear while we were in a meeting, rendering our lengthy discussion almost meaningless, though I wouldn't call it a testament to our wisdom. No, I should probably praise Shera for achieving such a feat, just like Aslin and the others would.
"Shera-chan is amazing!"
"Shera-chan is incredible!"
"...So such coincidences do happen."
"They do, don't they?"
"No, really, it was just a coincidence. A coincidence."
Her humble demeanor, despite that expression, was somewhat irritating, but...
"...Tch, you damn fish. I'll fillet you."
"Kirika. I understand your frustration. I do, but control yourself."
"My apologies. However, you, fish. How did you find the magic gear?"
"Huh? Oh, well, like I said earlier, I found it when I searched in a deep area. After all, Princess Aslin said..."
"Coelacanth-chan lives in the deep sea, it says so, right?"
"That's right. This book says that coelacanths currently living reside in the deep sea."
"Ahhh."
Hearing that, I understood. Indeed, coelacanths are classified as deep-sea fish. While they apparently lived in freshwater and shallow waters in ancient times, on present-day Earth, they only inhabit the deep sea, and their discovery caused quite a stir.
"So the monsters also have the same habits?"
"Right. That said, they hunt normally even in shallow waters, so it seems they can live in shallow waters too."
"Of course. We even used coelacanth monsters for training in Weed."
Their adaptability, enhanced by monsterization, is truly formidable. Normally, deep-sea fish swell up and die due to water pressure when they come to shallow depths, but such common sense doesn't seem to apply here. And yet, they die if they mistake freshwater for seawater...
"So, even if it's the deep sea, it must be quite vast, right? Was there some kind of landmark?"
"Ah, well, in this area, I don't think the deep part is that wide. It's more like there's a hole in the seabed, though I don't really know the actual size."
"So there's a blue hole around here, and the deep sea only exists there?"
When she said "deep sea," I imagined trench depths like those on Earth, exceeding mountains, and pictured the Mariana Trench, potentially over ten thousand meters deep. But Shera was talking about a blue hole. However, on Earth, blue holes tend to form in relatively shallow waters... Ah, right, this is another world. Besides, if it wasn't shallow, it wouldn't be found, and there might be some overlooked ones on Earth too.
...It's also a mystery why there are creatures other than microorganisms in the deep sea, which is called the world of death on Earth. Ah, but with magic power, it's not strange for them to exist, is it? In fact, crustaceans and transparent fish have been confirmed on Earth too. For example, monsters like the messengers of Ryugu Palace, something like that? ...The thought made me scared. Let's forget about it. Deep-sea creatures are grotesque even on Earth, so here, they probably feel even more monstrous. Anyway, thoughts of deep-sea creatures can wait for now. First, the magic gear.
"I understand what you're saying, but the magic gear wasn't just sitting there by itself, was it? Were there no other shipwrecks or anything?" It's hard to imagine only the magic gear falling into a blue hole.
"As Master says. Were there no other shipwrecks or anything? We know which ships departed from Seasipho, but we don't know which ones were affected. If we knew that, we could determine when the monsters appeared." Yes, as Kirika said, if there were other remnants, a lot of information could be obtained.
In fact, we know the names of the ships that departed from Seasipho port, as Kirika mentioned after investigating, but the destination for ships passing through that sea area is beyond the Great Mountain Range, so we don't know if they passed safely or sank. This is because no ships have come from that side since the monsters appeared. No, strictly speaking, a few ships did return, but their numbers dwindled and are now zero. At the time, there were some rumors about which ships went missing, but they were just rumors, lacking any concrete evidence.
Because of this, we've reached a dead end regarding when the monsters first appeared. This isn't due to a lack of information-gathering ability on Kirika's part, but rather the circumstances making it impossible to investigate. Of course, there's also the method of crossing the Great Mountain Range and going to the port of Gusdo Kingdom to confirm, but that's... a last resort, as it's highly likely to lead to more trouble. That's why I had hoped to find out the names of the sunken ships, but...
"Hmm. It was dark, and since I found the magic gear, I came back right away."
"Ah, I see. That wasn't the wrong decision."
It's a classic trope that getting greedy in situations like this leads to disaster. It was correct not to let adventurous spirit take over.
"But from a quick glance, there didn't seem to be any wreckage nearby."
"I see. Still, that's the most suspicious spot."
"Right. Shera-chan, please focus your search on the area near where you found the magic gear."
Well, just as I was about to give the obvious search order...
"The deep sea. So many mysterious creatures! I want to see them!"
"Firia and the others want to go too!"
"...I'm fine either way, I suppose."
"...Aslin and the others seem full of excitement."
Aslin and the others started saying they wanted to go.
Yes. It's a childlike, adventurous idea, but...
"Absolutely not."
"Whaaat!?"
I couldn't possibly allow it. The deep sea. It's a hyper-harsh, alien world where humans cannot easily set foot. Moreover, there's a possibility of strange monsters residing there. Their strength is also unknown. I couldn't send Aslin and the others to such a place.
"No, Master is absolutely right. It's an activity in the sea, and it's dangerous. Even if it's the Princesses' wish, this one thing is a no-go." Shera, as expected, was a soldier in such matters. She wouldn't do anything to take Aslin and the others to a dangerous place.