Chapter 69: The Quest Isn't Done Yet (4)

He immediately gathered all the information he needed to know from the mermaid. Then he took off his own camouflage artifact. He put it on the mermaid. (Maetel once again became enraged at this gesture.) After he somewhat disguised her identity, he gave her a skirt and an adequate top for her to wear. Then he returned to the city with her.

Of course, the Lunatic Wave was still going on, so the streets of the city was as quiet as ever. Everyone was trying to survive until the end of the Lunatic Wave, so they had changed their way of life.

"Fortunately, there aren't any people here that'll make a fuss after seeing you."

[Human clothes are uncomfortable.]

[Endure it until we reach a place with no human eyes.]

[Understood.]

A mermaid's lower body turned into that of a fish when one was underwater. However, when one came out to dry land, the mermaid's lower body naturally turned into human legs. The mermaid became bipedal.

Even if mermaids were capable of walking on two legs, human clothes were incredibly uncomfortable to them. The mermaid was restless as she kept grabbing and letting go of her skirt.

[Do you perhaps have a name?]

[I do. My name is Sheryll Anaid. For your convenience, you can just call me Sheryll.]

[All right. You probably won't have any occasions to call me by my name, but my name is Artpe..... Wait a moment. Did you just say Anaid?]

He reacted way too late. Artpe had been trying to foster a friendly atmosphere by exchanging each other's names. However, something about her name had caught his attention, and he furrowed his brows.

[Didn't you just say the mermaid kingdom was called Anaid?]

[That is correct. I am the 37th Queen of the Anaid Kingdom.]

They were like fishes. Their population number was incredibly high. Fortunately for Artpe, Sheryll wasn't the future Queen, so he hoped there wouldn't be any complications. As he had these thoughts, he opened the door to the inn, and he led her in.

"So that's what I did to the Kraken....."

"Give me one more beer! I still can't forget that bastard's face······."

"Hey, innkeeper!"

It was as if the quiet street outside had been a lie. The 1st floor of the inn was crowded with people. Soldiers that were finished with their shifts on the barrier wall were inside the inn. Then there were the mercenaries that were quickly called into the city. There were even merchants from other countries present there.

Artpe didn't want to fault these men, who were boasting as they drank alcohol. If one thought about the endless stream of Lunatic Wave in the near future, it was good for them to rest and let off steam like this. When the next shift on the wall was relieved, the inns and pubs would continue to be busy.

"Uh. Look over there....."

"It's a woman."

"My eyes just brightened. She brightens up my eyes."

Artpe's party had entered in the midst of such men. They glossed over the presence of Artpe, but the atmosphere clearly changed when they saw the women, who followed in behind him. It wasn't just a single woman. Three beautiful women had come in.

Two of them looked young, and they were equipped with imposing weapons. The ratio of men to women was incredibly high inside the inn, so they became the focus of the men.

"What about them?"

"Hey, you better avert your eyes. You'll follow my advice if you don't want to die!"

However, everyone quietly retracted their gazes from them.

First, they remembered the sight of Maetel and Sienna fighting each other in the square. They had been incredibly scary. Secondly, they had crushed and cut down the Demons, who had mowed down the humans as if they were stalks of wheat. Lastly, the person that stopped the Kraken was here. The monster would have devoured Frate and the entirety of Diaz if he hadn't been here. Everyone here knew the face of the young magician, who possessed incredible amount of magical energy.

"For him, I might......"

"I can see why the two of them were fighting over him."

"I heard he has a dirty personality. My employer grinded his teeth with vexation because of him."

"Shut up, you idiot!"

Artpe completely ignored all the idiots gathered here as he approached the counter. There was a woman working behind the counter. She was working the counter instead of the innkeeper. The innkeeper was delivering food, but he quickly retook his position. He greeted Artpe.

"Wow. You are back! You are a magician!"

"I'm not here for anything important. I've added another party member, so I want to ask you if I have any additional fees I have to pay.....?"

"All I can say is that I'm jealous of you! Shit! You already gained one more woman in such a short span of time! Moreover, she is very pretty!"

The innkeeper was brutally honest! Of course, his reaction would change if he found out that Sheryll was a monster. Still, it was pretty entertaining to see the innkeeper's vexation, so he let it be.

"So should I give you more money or not?"

"You are taking all of them into the same room as if it is all in the day's work.... No, I don't need it! If you are able to sleep comfortably within such a small room, I don't care if you bring three or five women! Do as you want! You can sleep with them all there!"

"I get it, so stop crying while you speak....."

The innkeeper suddenly grabbed Artpe's hand. He spoke with sincere eyes.

"I heard you were the magician that killed the Kraken. Thank you for protecting our city. Yes, if it is, you deserve it.....! Please fulfill my dream in my stead! You can fulfill my fantasy of having enough wives to fill up a villa...."

"You are being really creepy. Can you let go of my hand?"

The inn keeper had met a lucky adventurer, who would be able fulfill his dream. It seemed he was in a good mood. The innkeeper declared in a generous manner.

"Eh-eet! I'm in a good mood! I'll provide dinner for you guys for free!"

"Since you are providing a free service, can you deliver it to our room?"

Delivery service was impossible, but it was possible to take out the food. Artpe took the buttered corn cobs, which were the specialty of this inn, and other hot foods to his room with his party members.

[Hoo-ooh.]

When they entered the room, they were free from the gazes of other people. This was why Sheryll immediately threw off her skirt. Maetel immediately launched herself towards Artpe, and Artpe swiftly dodged Maetel as he threw a cloth towards Sheryll. He praised himself, since he somehow managed not to upend the plates he was carrying.

[Cover yourself with this!]

[Understood]

After the suffocating and desperate struggle, the four of them settled into the room.

Maetel remained wary of Sheryll. Sienna hugged Roa, who had exited Artpe's hood. Unlike Maetel, who was wary of Roa for being a female cat, Sienna had taken a liking to Roa.

[······are you sure that is edible?]

[Huh? You mean this? Try it.]

Sheryll's eyes were planted on the buttered corn cob. He wordlessly handed one over to her. Sheryll hadn't been fed properly, so her bony hands closed around the butter corn cob. She started to slowly gnaw on it.

[You should eat it slowly. You are healed, so you won't have any problems digesting the food. However, you aren't immune from a stomach ache..]

[Understood. Thank you very much.]

He spoke as he gave each party member a cob.

"You can call the mermaid as Sheryll from now on. She'll be with us until the Quest ends. She will 'only' be with us until the Quest ends.... She is a monster, but she won't oppose us. You can be at ease."

"Quest······ That horrible curse is spreading inside the ocean, oppa?"

"The archduke is a bad man. That curse should never see the light of day again."

He had been worried that they would focus on Sherryl. Fortunately, Sienna and Maetel was focused on the Quest. He nodded his head as he spoke.

"You already heard this from me, but the ones responsible for the demonification experiments are hiding underneath the ocean. This includes the archduke, and his remaining forces. He is probably with some Demons......"

In the process of suppressing the archduke's forces, Artpe had seen the work of the artifacts released by the Demon King's army. He had suspected that the Demon King's army wouldn't let go of the archduke so easily. It seemed they had retrieved the archduke.

Madelrude was the ex-archduke, and he was a noncombatant. He took his remaining magicians, who had experimented with the curse, to the ocean. At the command of the Demon King's army, he seized the mermaid kingdom of Anaid, and he had started spreading the curse.

"When he coveted the seat of monarchy after chasing out the previous king, I recognized what kind of man he was. You really get tired of facing someone like that."

"I can never forgive him."

"······oppa, you are going to punish him?"

Both Maetel and Sienna had memories regarding the Demonification curse, so they couldn't laugh about it. Blood, tears and death of countless people dwelled within their memories.

They had thought everything was resolved without them needing to attack the palace. That was why Artpe's party had quickly went on their way. However, now that the archduke was in their way, there was no reason not to tidy up the loose end. Artpe bared his teeth as he replied.

"Of course."

In truth, he wasn't doing this just to carry out the Quest. Artpe bit into his own buttered corn cob as he spoke.

"If all of this hadn't occurred, we would have been on a boat by now. I've already told you that our destination is Aedia, right?"

"Yes. However, the Lunatic Wave......"

"That's right. Basically, any travel across the ocean is blocked when a Lunatic Wave occurs. Since all ports are shut down, no ships can depart. However, that doesn't mean we can't cross the ocean. If we can't travel atop it, we can travel underneath it."

"Underneath the ocean....? Ah."

Sienna tilted her head in puzzlement, but her eyes turned round as she turned to look at Sherryl. She was still busy gnawing at the buttered corn cob, but her existence was a form of an answer.

"That's right. You said it was an underwater kingdom."

"Yes, whether it is humans or monsters, the maintenance of roads is the first thing that has to occur when building a nation. I'm thinking about borrowing their road to cross to Aedia."

He had never been to the mermaid kingdom, but he knew of their existence. Moreover, he knew that they had created an underwater passageway that was free from being attacked by other monsters. He had heard about this before.

However, he had no use for such roads in his past life, and if it was possible, he didn't want to use it in his current life. However, the path atop the ocean was block, and they had a reliable guide now. There was no reason for them to hesitate using the underwater road.

"So that's the main reason why oppa helped Sherryl. Ah, it will also be necessary for us to fight the bad guys in the process."

"You are correct. Do you guys have a rough idea of what is going on?"

"Yes.."

[Hmm.... Mmm. Hmmm.]

The humans were talking about whether they should save the mermaid kingdom. It was unknown as to whether she could understand them. Sheryll was still focused on eating the corn cob. She had the look of a mature human woman, yet she was showing an innocent side of her. She possessed a subtle allure.

At that moment, Maetel whipped her head around towards Artpe.

"Artpehhhhh?"

"No, I wasn't charmed by her. It's the truth."

Shit. He was sure these girls were using mind reading skills! Why couldn't he confirm it through his Read All Creation ability!

Artpe clicked his tongue. He turned his gaze away as if to avoid her interrogation. He thought about the fact that he didn't have the time to play around here like this. He stood up from his seat as if the right moment had come.

"You guys should eat dinner then rest. We'll head out tomorrow."

[Nyaa.]

Roa had behaved herself until now as she remained in Sienna's embrace. However, she jumped back into Artpe's hood. Maetel pouted as she argued with Artpe.

"You are running away, because the topic got difficult."

"What about oppa?"

"I have things I have to resolve in the city. I have to put up the barrier wall, and.... I have someone I have to meet."

"When you say you have to meet someone...."

Maetel mumbled to herself as she repeated his words. The light in her eyes changed in a flash. Until now, she had the eyes of a wife worried about her husband cheating. However, her eyes currently held the look of a maiden trying to hold back her lover from heading into battle.

"Artpe, you can't got with that woman. Okay?"

If Sienna had said this, he would have understood it since she had met Etna. Maetel hadn't met her, yet she was somehow able to discern what was going on. This was the first thought that came into his mind.

"If you are so worried, you want to follow me?"

"······no, I trust Artpe. Artpe said you don't like older women, so I'll believe in your words."

Her face said that she didn't believe her own words at all. Moreover, he had no idea how she found out Etna was an older woman. Artpe became a bit upset, but this was karma. He gently brushed Maetel's head, who was looking at him with worried eyes. He wasn't sure what was going through her head, but he wished his actions would calm her down.

"I'll be back."

"······yes."

"Don't stay out too late!"

Sherryl was still gnawig at the corn cob. Artpe smirked as he told Sherryl to wait for him here. Then he exited the room.

He started walking toward the Jaime's Inn located in sector C.