第８５３堀：蒼乃底へ (Part2)

第８５３堀：蒼乃底へ (Part2)

By the way, we've told General Lake and the Seasiphon group that we're returning to Weed to organize a survey team.

"There's nothing here, is there?"

"Well, it was just built in a rush."

Since it was made on the fly, the walls are just bricks, making it feel like some kind of tunnel. Well, I suppose a basic dungeon like this isn't so bad.

And then, just as we were about to move deeper into the Blue Hole Dungeon...

"Deep-sea monsters!! Uncharted territory!!"

"Alright, time for research!!"

With that, the two research fanatics abandoned us and dashed off.

"It looks like the big sisters are also excited about the aquarium."

"...I feel like it's a bit different, but not entirely wrong. So, Firia and the others will chase after them!!"

"Yeah!!"

Just as the two were about to dash off, imitating the irresponsible adults, Labyris and Shera immediately caught them...

"You don't need to run on your own two feet. First, you can go to the monitor room via a transfer trap."

"Yes. The dungeon tour will be after that. After all, this dungeon, which follows the Blue Hole, has fifty floors."

"Fifty floors!! That's amazing!"

"It's amazing! It's half the size of Big Brother's harassment dungeon!"

Ah, there was something like that, wasn't there?

And surprisingly, Taiki was surprised to hear that.

"Huh? There's a dungeon like that? And half the size!?"

"Oh? Didn't I tell you, Taiki? There's a dummy dungeon in the adventurer district, as one of the small dungeons, right?"

"Ah, *that* one. Why would you put something so dangerous in a place like that..."

"No, we made it because there was talk of everyone making one each to attract adventurers. See, Weed is a residential dungeon, after all."

"...The fact that I can understand the term 'residential dungeon' is something, isn't it? Well, I get it. I'm definitely not going to that dungeon."

"What's that? Now that you've heard about it, isn't it a man's duty to try it at least once?"

Chatting like that, we teleported to the monitor room.

"This place is certainly well-built."

"Well, it's tough if there's no place to relax. More importantly, fifty floors is an awful lot."

"Oh, by the way, what's the current depth in meters?"

"Roughly around 250 meters."

"Whoa. It really is the deep sea, isn't it?"

"Indeed, it's a hassle. Alright, let's start the monitor."

Saying that, I turned on the surveillance monitor...

Nuh.

And then, a fish filled the entire screen...

"Hyaa!?"

"Kya!?"

"Hih!?"

Seeing that image, Kagura and the others screamed and recoiled.

Well, it's understandable, because what was on the screen was...

"Ah, it's a Fangtooth fish! The real thing!!"

"Oh, it's so cool!"

Yes, it was a Fangtooth fish, a somewhat clumsy deep-sea creature known as the 'gangster of the deep,' sometimes starving to death while holding prey larger than itself. Even without being demonized, its appearance was menacing enough to be classified as a dangerous monster. It's amazing how Aslin and Firia didn't flinch but rejoiced when that fierce face suddenly appeared before them. They're too tough. Kagura and the others screamed, you know.

"Um, Yuki. Aren't Fangtooth fish supposed to live in the deep sea below 500 meters? This is only..."

"Don't worry. That's a monster."

"Monsters are so nonsensical, aren't they?"

"It's surprisingly easy when that's all it takes to explain things."

On the other hand, there's also the risk of dismissing everything as 'because it's a monster' and failing to grasp the true nature of things.

"Well, now we've confirmed monsters other than Shira's kind, but..."

"I just suddenly thought, aren't the monsters limited to deep-sea fish?"

"You're right. Well, this is only the second type. We can't say for sure until we investigate further."

As I said that, I looked at the image where only darkness stretched out, and then...

Zzzt...

I saw a gigantic tail fin appear on screen.

"""..."""

Everyone seemed to have seen it, and they were naturally frozen.

...Stop it. Is this going to turn into a panic movie? I've seen this in some movie before, incidents at underwater plants! The story plunges straight to the seabed. What kind of story unfolds in the deep sea? Will it turn into some kind of panic movie?! Will sharks fly through the sky, or will there be multiple heads, or an even more terrifying enemy?

I'm quite interested in the deep sea. Though I wouldn't actually want to go there myself. It's best to observe these things from a safe distance.