Chapter 969 – The Sea

ㅡwoo, woo woo woo… Woo woo woo woo…

The maddening chants continued for a while.

This is never a song.

I suppressed the urge to summon Seol Woon-do’s compass and exorcise this demonic chorus. It was quite an ordeal. Enough to bleed from his lips.

“Kreurreuk…!”

You have to open your eyes and look at what the chews are boring…! It’s an irresistible urge! But I am a mature person. I know when to be patient and when to be patient.

ㅡwoo, woo woo woo… Woo woo woo woo…

Anyway, I put aside my anger and analyzed the situation.

At first glance, this sounds very ominous. However, it did not seem that the vocal cords of the sailors were transformed into those of the seabed.

Just as humans whose souls have been pledged by the devil are reborn as evil beings, I thought the sailors’ bodies were surreally twisted by some pagan power.

There would have been no way to salvage it, but fortunately the sound came from normal human vocal cords. When you’re around me, you don’t have to pull out your vocal cords to check.

“…”

But.

ㅡwoo, woo woo woo… Woo woo woo woo…

The voices of those nuns standing on the podium were… Distinctly human. It feels like the structure of the vocal cords is a little different.

I focused on the sound.

ㅡ…

As soon as I did that, the sound stopped.

ㅡ…
ㅡ…
ㅡ…

With that as a signal, the sailors also fell silent.

“… Land waste goes to land. Sea waste goes to land. We humans have been polluting the sea for hundreds of years.”
“I’ve polluted it.”
“I’ve polluted it.”
“I’ve polluted it.”

For a moment, I thought there was an echo.
The sailors followed the nun’s last words.

Is it time to speak now?

“It is a clear sin. We must atone for it. We must atone for the act of forgetting the love and grace of the sea and polluting it unreasonably.”

Make atonement for your song

“Because the Mother Goddess is self-arrow, if she makes atonement, she will surely be able to go to the sea of ​​​​abundance.”

As if those words had been heard quite well, the sailors held each goddess statue tightly and muttered something similar to a prayer.

“Do you know that a monster from the sea made a landing some time ago?”
“I know!”
“I heard!”

It’s so famous that everyone here has no choice but to know about it. Anyway. That nun is also aware of this situation.

Let’s hear it.

“That’s the fury of the sea. But there’s still a chance. She said that if the Mother Goddess were truly furious, no one would have been able to stop the monster.”

The fury of the sea.

“So, from now on, we must act even harder to protect the sea. That way we will be able to catch more fish and be able to get out of the storm…”

The meeting went on like that.

By protecting the sea, they pray for their own safety and a prosperous harvest. Excluding that bizarre chant from earlier, it would be an extremely ordinary religion. Well, you specialize in polluting the land, killing humans. Those words didn’t come out.

It is said that among the human pirates, there are even those who are completely immersed in this religion and eagerly kill the same humans in order to go to heaven called the sea of ​​​​abundance after death.

I think this could be different depending on the denomination or the person teaching it… It seems like everything is fine today.

Still, those nuns are suspicious.

“…With this, we will end today’s meeting, dear believers.”

Eventually, the meeting came to an end. The sailors began to go outside in an orderly manner with expressions of satisfaction. I swayed moderately, fixing the structure and scale of this cellar in my head.

Looking at it, it seemed that there was no other passage unless there was a secret passage.

Shall we go out at once?

Wait near this building and if they don’t come out, it means there’s a secret passage, and if they come out, you can just follow them.

I also went outside with the sailors.

*          *

I went outside and climbed the wall of the tavern to the roof and watched the surroundings. It was dawn past midnight. It is very dark because there is no light source other than starlight and moonlight obscured by clouds.

It’s the perfect time to sneak.

It was a time when he was stealthily looking around the tavern building and killing time.

“…”

At the entrance down to the basement, a person came out. However, looking at their physiques, it seemed that they were not women, but men who ate well and grew up excessively.

Didn’t I see you inside?
Going underground through a secret passage?

No. That’s not it.

If there is a secret passage, there is no reason to honestly come out through that entrance again. It must have been hiding somewhere in the meeting hall earlier. Because I couldn’t see all the places because of the angle.

The hunks wore capes with hats on them, as do normal people. There were five of them, and they stood in front of the entrance and looked around as if on guard.

An escort of nuns?

There’s nothing strange about being a member of a religious group.

While doing so, three people who appeared to be nuns from earlier also appeared. As expected, the body and face are covered with a cape, but judging from the body shape, it is clear.

“Let’s go.”

The hulking spoke, and with it the eight men began to move very carefully. I stayed still until they made their way, and followed them while maintaining an appropriate distance while heading to the roof of the building next door.

ㅡ…

The guys were moving pretty busy.

It seemed that the level of alertness of the hedgehogs was considerable, but it was not enough to catch me.

Are you hiding something?
It’s a pretty brutal escort.

It was when I continued to follow him for about forty minutes.

We arrived at a pier overflowing with anchored ships. There was almost no presence as much as the darkness that fell around. They moved away from the most well-trodden roads.

ㅡ…
ㅡ…

They went near the pier and took a quick look around.

ㅡ Plop.

Very naturally.

As if it is natural to do so.

All at once, they went down through the gaps between the anchored ships. He had dived into the murky waters of the sea. Quietly, barely making a sound.

All eight jumped into the water.

…What the fuck.

I held my breath and watched the surroundings. Could it be… Are you secretly trying to board the ship? Or go ashore for a while to evade any tailing?

It can’t be.

When it’s dark with this shit, even me has restrictions on swimming. There is absolutely no reason to dive in a place like that unless you are a pup who considers the water as their home.

ㅡ…

I waited and waited, but they did not appear again. As if it had sunk forever. As if it had disappeared into the sea. They are gone

“I missed the fucking thing.”

I came down to earth

“…”

Could these pups be mermaids who turned into humans? I don’t know if mermaids can transform into humans, but if it’s possible, I can understand it. It would make sense if they released the transformation as soon as they went into the water and went to their base.

A mermaid would of course be able to do it.

Longing for the prince’s love, the little mermaid sold her voice to a witch and acquired two human legs.

Were those guys over there able to transform into humans at will without such restrictions? If that is true, it would be the sound that transformed mermaids are walking freely on this land.

Maybe… This voodoo city has already been eaten by mermaids?

Just as the demons dig into the hearts of humans and hide in the back alleys to increase their power, were the mermaids secretly expanding their power to take revenge on the land dwellers?

This was a wild conspiracy theory.

A conspiracy theory of the sort that beings under the sea would rule the land. It’s just nonsense that no one will believe. But now I saw the truth… I saw those crazy nuns diving in this darkness!

This is dangerous!

Triton and the fishermen who have landed…! If properly prepared mermaids use fanatics obsessed with sea faith to carry out riots and military operations on land at the same time, and use the infinite sea to constantly land marine monsters, the coastal city will be lost!!!

I saw the power of Triton smartly! If they acted properly, it would be enough to destroy the land and turn it into the sea. That’s how the land of humans disappears, and the territory of mermaids expands.

Maybe that triton is something like a weapon used by mermaids!

“Te… !

I couldn’t stand it without tearing my hair out after such a terrible imagination.

Prophecy of the Sea!

That something like this was happening…! Humans have lived so easily! Even if the Paladins are active, we can’t crack down on all of these things! Maybe something similar is happening in other coastal cities!!!

—-The conspiracy of the mermaids!

They were very diligently preparing for a war of revenge!!! Otherworldly invaders are not unique to otherworldly! Right in front of you! Even in that sea, our enemies were there…!

The most terrifying thing was that the base of the mermaids was in the depths of the sea. That’s why we can’t destroy their kingdom no matter what we do. Isn’t this the real world?

I can’t even dream of going to conquer from this side, but the other side attacks at will. Ah! The future of mankind is dark!

It is clear that even the truth will not be able to find out properly.

But fortunately, I found out the truth. Above all, the paladin had been called. You won’t be able to wipe them out, but at least you will be able to get rid of the sea faith that is prevalent in this dock city.

But… Getting rid of it doesn’t mean it’s no good. Such faith must have already been established in the hearts of the sailors…

“It’s so inhumane, jaaaaa!!!”

I screamed and ran and ran back to the dorm.

*           *

“So, the mermaids were transforming into people and spreading the faith of the sea?”
“That’s right…!”
“Hmm… Well, if it’s serious, it’s serious.”

Karin ran her finger across her chin and narrowed her eyes.

“If you listen to it, it sounds very serious.”
“I thought the mermaids were plotting something like that…!!”

Liz’s sister had a similar reaction to Karin’s, and Hilde was enraged.

“How the hell am I supposed to do this!!!”
“Eh… I see? What should I do?”

Claudy, held in my arms, just rubbed her face against my neck as if she liked things like mermaids and sea gods.

“Cloudy! Seriously!”
“Yes. It’s a serious matter. That’s why I’m thinking about it.”

I told her it was serious, but Cloudy still smiled and touched my face as if she still didn’t take it seriously.

“But bastard. Is it really serious? Even if it’s not a big deal, bastards over-interpret things and get enraged.”
“It doesn’t.”
“That’s right.”

At Winia’s words, the two older sisters nodded.
No, what the hell are you looking at me for…!

“Mermaids can’t do that for good reasons…! What should I do with this situation!”
“But, Father. I don’t think this is an issue that Father cares about with all his might.”

Then, Ari spoke in a calm voice.

“Hmm? Arya?”
“The mermaids’ home base is somewhere in the sea, right? You can’t catch them. And if you see that here, other places must be similar. It’s not just here.”
“…Not like that.”
“It would be better to just report it to the church and leave it to them. If you are a saint, you have ties to the royal family, so I think we have no choice but to have the coastal lords crack down on them… Of course, it won’t work out. Trust can’t disappear all at once. That’s why it’s not something my father can do through his efforts. To solve it, we’ll have to leave it to the group.”

That’s right.

Why are you so good at talking

“Why is my Ari so smart?”
“I used to be smart, but you don’t know…”

For a moment, Ahri lowered her head as if depressed.

“No! Of course I knew! I was just surprised that you said the right thing!”
“Is that so? That’s fine.”

Ari nodded her head.

“… Realistically speaking, Ahri is right. How can we prevent and defend against this?

Lisa said the same.

“Even if you catch them, won’t it solve the problem?”

Fuck.

“It’s unavoidable.”

As they said, this wasn’t a problem that I could worry about and solve. Then we should delegate this task to a group that can solve it.

Let’s take a break today.