第８６１堀：見えた解決と新たなる問題 (Part1)
Chapter 861: A Solution in Sight and a New Problem
Side: Comet
"Mikos, you can do better than that!! Gaaaaahhh!!"
"Kagura, you too, come on—!!"
"Don't compete with me at a time like this!? Grrr!!"
"Princess Stasia, leave the support to me!"
"Yes! I'm moving in!"
"Tch!!"
On the other side of the monitor, Kagura and the others were engaged in a battle that resembled a final showdown.
My, how passionate they are.
"Oh, Kagura and the others, they're surprisingly holding their own, aren't they? What do you think, Comet?"
Agil, who was watching Kagura's fight with considerable interest, said this to me.
Unlike me, she has a history with Kagura and the others.
She's probably concerned as a friend.
"Hmm. My specialty is research, so I don't know much about combat, but their movements became extremely sluggish after Sea-chan came ashore. I think the match is decided."
"Right? Wow, Kagura and the others can do it if they try. Amazing."
"Ah, amazing. Normally, one would be intimidated by such a giant monster. Oh, except for Aslin and the others."
"We know that."
Aslin and the others are a bit of a miscomparison.
In fact, they won against Sea-chan by completely disregarding common sense.
"Yuki seemed to want Sea-chan to win, but their experience points would be higher."
"Of course. They're packed with so many things: Demon Lord, Hero, Saintess, and knowledge from Earth."
"I never thought they'd use solidified magic power to create a foothold and even leap onto the surface of the sea."
"Normally, that's impossible."
As Agil said, it's normally impossible.
First of all, to create and extend a foothold strong enough to reach the surface while maintaining a magic spell that allows breathing underwater would require an absolutely insurmountable amount of magic power.
Moreover, the moment they were dragged underwater, it was game over.
Normally, sea monsters would latch onto you and you'd be in their stomach in no time...
However, in Aslin's case, Sea-chan was wary and didn't approach them.
It was the correct decision, actually.
Well, children grow on their own.
That's all there is to it.
"Anyway, that aside, if we don't do our jobs, we'll be kicked out of here, won't we?"
"Oops, getting fired for cheering on our friends, that would be foolish. However, is there anything particularly noteworthy left in this blue hole? At best, there are fragments of a sunken ship and some cargo. Oh, if it's deep-sea creature research, we could do that forever, though."
"I feel the same way. I'd love to research deep-sea creatures indefinitely, but Yuki said no. Well, I owe him a debt... Yes, because I owe him, I'll do my best."
Why am I emphasizing the debt so much?
I don't know, but there's no lie in my words, so I won't correct myself.
"Well, that's true. I'll try my best to be liked by Yuki too."
Agil agreed with my words and returned to her work at the adjacent desk, saying something like that.
"Speaking of which, Agil, what do you mean by 'trying to be liked by Yuki'?"
"Just as it sounds. I'm not going to hide it like Kagura. I'm aiming to be Yuki's wife."
"Oh? Is that so? You've taken an interest in that as well?"
I was genuinely surprised.
Agil, like me, is a researcher.
I thought she had no interest in romance at all.
"Hmm. I find it strange myself. Well, it was originally an order from the country. You see, Enaria hasn't been able to send any women to Yuki's side, right? Initially, there was talk of sending Rurua..."
"Ah, Rurua is originally from the Rogari Continent. Or rather, she was a former Saintess of the Litea Holy Kingdom."
That would be too much, no matter how you look at it. It could be seen as provoking the Litea Holy Kingdom.
So, by somehow assigning a woman, Enaria sought stability.
"Exactly. So, Enaria, who was late in assigning a woman, hastily decided on someone, and that someone was me. I've known Yuki for a long time."
"Come to think of it, you also went to Popuri's academy together."
"That's right. I went to learn from your student. Well, that's beside the point, but after thinking about it, I realized something. I'm a general, after all. I'll have to enter into a political marriage someday. In that case, I won't be able to choose my partner. So, what about Yuki, who is right in front of me?"
"I see, I see. Thinking about it that way, there's no man as ideal as Yuki."
He's a Dungeon Master, possesses technology and knowledge from Earth, has the base of Weed, nearly infinite resources and funds, and doesn't restrict our activities as long as we don't do anything too strange.
He's a wonderful partner who understands research.
"Exactly. For my own happy second life, I thought of Yuki. And when I started thinking about him that way, I felt my heart flutter in various ways."
Agil's face, as she spoke, looked very happy, and reminded me of Hifi when she was with Taizo.
"...I see. It seems people often don't realize certain things until they are in a particular position."
Love, romance.
Perhaps those are the furthest things from me right now.
After all, I'm a corpse.
"That's how the world works. I've realized that anew since coming to Weed. I've learned far more since coming here."
"I have too. Even though I'm a dead body, I've learned so many things since coming to Weed. Oh my, the knowledge alone is immense. Wait a minute. Something has been caught on the dungeon's surveillance network."
Good grief, can't they let me have a more human conversation?
Well, problems tend to arise at times like these.
I immediately expanded the surveillance monitor to check the situation, and Agil also looked at the surveillance monitor...
"Hmm? Let's see? Is this… a monster reaction? Why? Isn't this entire area supposed to be non-solidified magic power...?"
"That's it. This area must have been the boundary. The proof is that the monsters are coming from the outer ocean side, which is presumably outside the range."
"What do you mean?"
"It's simple."
I continued to explain while watching the numerous monster incursions on the monitor.
"By making this area a dungeon, the magic-rich area has connected to the area outside the barrier created by Hiren."