Chapter 346: translated
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 346
Caesar descended to the sea where mer people lived, riding Atan's sea dragon.
Water, being inherently more static than air, gave the fish a sense of leisure. Yet unlike creatures living on land, they enjoyed constant movement, either diligently making their way through currents or floating along with the flow.
For them, leisure might not be standing rigid like trees, but wandering like the wind.
Caesar looked down at the seafloor.
Colorful corals welcomed him. Unlike above the sea, these beings lived with a basic blue filter, so it seemed they had to decorate themselves with such vibrant colors to assert their existence.
Passing by the corals, a deep-sea canyon appeared. The deep-sea canyon was profound and majestic. Next to this grandeur, mer people's homes were attached closely like barnacles, with corals or seaweed planted at their entrances to partially conceal the interiors.
Unlike human homes, these were left open for entry anytime, was this due to their relaxed nature?
Or was this simply the best they could do?
Caesar pondered these thoughts as he followed Atan deeper into the canyon.
At the bottom of the canyon, pyramid-like buildings were scattered like stones on a Go board, where mer people, sea dragons, and fish moved about freely.
Atan guided Caesar to the largest pyramid. There was an entrance at the top of the pyramid, and inside, fluorescent fishes swam about emitting various colors of light. These fishes seemed to be the only source of light in the otherwise dark interior of the pyramid.
The mer people swam in rhythm with the fish, engraving thin stone tablets or adjusting their clothing. When Caesar entered the pyramid, all the mer people stared at him with curiosity.
Children approached out of curiosity to look at Caesar's face before fleeing, while adults pretended to be busy while stealing glances at him.
"Is this your kingdom?"
"---?"
Atan's words came through muffled.
Caesar had an air bubble spell cast on his head, but it seemed that when Atan spoke underwater, the vibrations didn't properly penetrate the air bubble. Caesar's words probably faced the same issue.
Realizing the difficulty in communication due to Caesar's air bubble, Atan led him to one of the pyramid's rooms.
After Atan gestured for Caesar to wait briefly, Caesar looked around the room. A spacious chamber appeared, comparable to an emperor's conference hall in a palace. It seemed to be a meeting place indeed, as mer people dressed in formal attire were lined up waiting for Atan, with an empty throne visible in the distance.
Atan sat on the throne and said something, at which point the mer people sent away all the light-emitting fish. Instead, white fluorescent-like objects embedded in the ceiling began to glow, illuminating the interior.
Knock! Knock!
As the door Caesar had entered through closed, air filled the room from the top until the entire space was filled with air. Atan swept his damp hair upward and said,
"Welcome. This is our mer people city, Tabena Kulm."
Tabena Kulm. A city name he had never heard before in his life. Perhaps that made sense, as he had never imagined mer people to be beings capable of such conversation when he was playing the Valent Saga.
"What do you think? Your experience of seeing a mer people city?"
"It's extremely eco-friendly."
"In what way did you feel that?"
"The way you build homes into the canyon walls, or use corals and seaweed as doorways."
Caesar looked around the well-shaped room and said,
"This pyramid actually feels out of place. Was it built by mer people?"
"No, this is an ancient city we discovered when we fled from the Coral Archipelago."
"An ancient city?"
"Yes. It seems to have existed since the time when dragons lived. Though it appears to be a sunken city."
"Sunken, you say?"
Atan pointed to the pillars placed throughout the conference room.
"We don't make such large pillars when building our homes. There's no particular need for pillars that thick when carving homes into the canyon. But outside the sea, it would be a different story."
Atan pointed to the lights embedded in the ceiling.
"And those weren't made by us either. In dark places, we usually raise sun flounder or light fish. They're docile, follow our commands well, and reproduce quickly, so we don't need to install such unusual lighting."
This space was certainly incompatible with the mer people's way of life.
The reason for such thick pillars placed throughout was clearly to support the weight of a heavy building, and the smoothly polished floor was obviously designed for walking rather than swimming.
This building was, as the mer people said, undoubtedly a city that had been on land before sinking for some reason.
"Before getting to the main point, there are a few things I'd like to ask, Caesar."
"What are you curious about?"
"How did you get here? If you had entered these waters, we would have known."
"I flew here."
"Flew? Like a flying fish?"
"More like a bird than a flying fish. No, rather than a bird, perhaps more like a shell?"
"Whatever it was, you didn't come through the sea."
"That's right."
Atan spoke to the attendant at the front.
"Did you hear? Caesar didn't come through the sea but flew from the sky. Don't punish the soldiers."
"Yes. I understand."
......Caesar's statement just now seems to have saved several mer people.
"By the way, how did you end up flying here? Did you get lost on your way to the demon realm?"
"No, it's a bit of a long story."
"I don't mind if it's long. Speak. I'd like to properly hear how the world is turning these days."
Caesar organized his thoughts for a moment and then explained.
Starting from how Niflheim began officially attacking the continent to the story of how he met Denver while destroying the devil's nest. Atan nodded after hearing Caesar's entire story.
"So Niflheim has shown its true colors and started attacking the Eileen Empire with devils in tow."
"Yes. And I ended up flying here while trying to stop them."
"Hmm......"
Atan stroked his gills. He seemed to be deep in thought.
At that moment, an elderly minister came forward and spoke.
"Your Majesty, I believe now is the time to take up the harpoon."
A young minister from the opposite side came forward and spoke.
"No. It's still too early. Please think more carefully."
The intense gazes of the ministers glaring at each other made it seem like sparks were flying in the air.
"What do you mean it's too early? Didn't you hear? The Kingdom of Dior is distracted by the Eileen Empire!"
"It's Niflheim now. And those we must face are all devils. When dealing with devils, one must always be cautious. Disturbing a place crawling with tens of thousands of devils is like disturbing a swarm of angry piranhas."
"Just how many more years must we be cautious? Are you saying we'll only reclaim the Coral Archipelago after I've grown old and died?"
The young minister spoke with veins bulging on his neck.
"Then how much blood of young mer people must be spilled for that contaminated Coral Archipelago? Aren't we already living well here?"
The elderly minister's veins also bulged.
"You're content with settling in this confined place? This isn't the city of our mer people! The city of mer people is the Coral Archipelago, Atlantis!"
"Homeland, homeland, homeland! How many mer people have bled for the sake of reclaiming that homeland?! The vicious Kingdom of Dior even poisoned and polluted the sea to prevent us from entering! Do you know how many mer people died from poisoning? A staggering 2.1 million!"
"My son was among them!"
"My mother was too! That's why we shouldn't spill blood recklessly!"
Bang!
"Enough!"
Atan struck the throne, calming the ministers' excitement. The two ministers, old and young, glared at each other before retreating.
"What is this disgraceful behavior in front of a guest?"
"We apologize."
Atan sighed and shook his head. By the look on his face, he seemed like he wanted a drink.
"Both of you are right. The Coral Archipelago is our homeland. It's a place we must reclaim someday, but we must make decisions carefully."
Atan looked at Caesar and said.
"What do you think? Do you believe it's right to attack the humans now?"
"If you're planning to attack Niflheim, not humans, then now is the right time."
The young minister flared up.
"On what grounds do you make such an easy assertion?!"
"Right now, Homigraph and Sapientia are barely breathing. But if Niflheim expands its power and brings down Homigraph and Sapientia, there will be no way to resist afterward."
"Do you think Niflheim will swallow the entire continent?"
"If things continue as they are, it's indisputable that this continent will become Niflheim's world."
The young minister snorted.
"On what grounds do you say that?"
"As I said earlier, the Empire is now divided. All over the continent, people are gathering soldiers and waging war, hoping to become king. Amidst this, the devil cult is also becoming popular. Isn't this an ideal environment for Niflheim to operate?"
"Aren't you jumping to conclusions?"
Caesar couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.
"Jumping to conclusions? You all seem to have coral for brains from living peacefully under the sea, but right now the surface is hell."
"What, what brains?"
"Yes, you fish brain. You asked what grounds I have for saying now is the time? Go out and see for yourself. The entire continent is crawling with bandits, and the army is paralyzed. Even the Dre Order has disbanded, and the holy knights are scattered. And you say I'm jumping to conclusions?"
"That's a human problem, not a mer person problem!"
"Right. You might say it doesn't matter to you whether the surface becomes a den of devils. But after we're finished, who do you think the devils will target next? It'll be you."
Caesar glared at the young mer person. The mer people seemed unsatisfied but were frozen by Caesar's sharp gaze and couldn't speak.
"Help us now while we still have the strength to fight together. This isn't about whether you reclaim the Coral Archipelago or not; it's a matter of survival."
"Then why didn't humans help us?"
"What?"
"The same goes for the demon race. Why didn't they help us when we needed help?"
The young mer person came forward and spoke to Atan.
"Your Majesty. Do you remember? When the Kingdom of Dior killed our mer people and took the Coral Archipelago, didn't your predecessor directly request help from the Emperor of Eileen? But how did they respond? They refused."
Other young mer people came forward and spoke.
"The current division of the Eileen Empire and the loss of the demon realm’s king are the bloody price for ignoring the suffering of us mer people. If the Eileen Empire and the demon race had attacked and destroyed the Kingdom of Dior, there would have been no Niflheim, and we mer people would have lived peacefully in the Coral Archipelago."
Yes. Now I understand why these guys are just watching the fire from a distance. When they asked for help, we just watched, and now they're probably wondering why we're suddenly asking for help.
"But why should we take the initiative to help humans first? Have they requested our help? Or have they officially apologized for their wrongdoing? Why should we shed our blood to attack Niflheim?"
The young mer person's logic shook the hearts of the courtiers and Atan.
This young mer person is arguing that the order of things is not right. Forgiveness and mercy come after an apology, not offering goodwill first and then waiting for an apology, that's what a pushover would do.
Like the other mer people, Caesar didn't want to argue against this logic.
Instead, he thought they could discuss a solution.
"Will you accept if they apologize?"
"What?"
"I asked if you would help them if they apologize officially."
The young mer person thought for a moment before speaking.
"That's for the king to decide."
Caesar looked at Atan.
Atan seemed to be deep in thought before opening his mouth.
"Let the humans apologize first. If they do so, the mer people will mercifully forgive and help them."
"When you say humans must apologize, who exactly needs to apologize?"
"The representative of humans should apologize."
"By representative of humans, do you mean the king?"
"The Emperor of the Eileen Empire's apology is necessary."
"Alright. So an official apology from the Eileen Emperor would be sufficient?"
Atan made a subtle expression but nodded his head for now.
"That would be sufficient."
"Good. Get ready to go to the Eileen Empire right now."
"What?"
Caesar's eyes blazed fiercely.
"I'll make sure I get that apology right now. I'll make them bow their heads if that's what it takes."