Beneath the Lake
“Not feeling seasick?”
“Don’t you already remember whether I do or not?”
I was staring blankly across the lake when Diana’s question pulled a wry smile out of me. Even for her, it felt like an obvious thing to ask, but her expression was dead serious.
“It’s… surprisingly dependent on the environment you grew up in. There were times I did get motion sickness. Though from the way you talk, it sounds like that’s not the case for you.”
“That’s actually interesting.”
For someone like me who had assumed it was purely innate, her words came as a genuine surprise. The fact that the same person could experience different degrees of seasickness depending on their upbringing was probably something only Diana would know.
“It happens if you move around too much, or conversely, if you don’t move at all.”
“Then I guess I should thank my father for this.”
The main reason I’d been dragged all over the place instead of staying shut up at home had been my father’s insistence. Without that, I’d probably be suffering from seasickness right now.
“Is that really how it was?”
“…No. Come to think of it, maybe dealing with seasickness would have been the better outcome.”
If the outings had simply been a father trying to show his shut-in son the outside world, I could have respected him purely for that. But that wasn’t what those trips with my father had been about.
“Even if I was the one who came up with the first draft of Hello Hello, it was still a byproduct of him working his own young child like a slave.”
“Oh dear… Still, wouldn’t your other siblings have felt the same way? Like they were suffering because of one problematic little brother?”
“…You’re asking even though you already know the answer, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am.”
I shot Diana a quick glare at her teasing, then let out a long sigh.
“I’m really going to make you sob your heart out one day.”
“That sounds delightful. I quite enjoy being dominated, you know.”
“Damn it! She’s invincible!”
I grumbled the words like a lament and mulled over what Diana had said.
“I’ll kill you! Helio! I’m going to kill you one day!”
My older brother really had cursed the fact that I was his younger sibling while he worked, just like she said. Thanks to my awkwardly outstanding talent for both magic and Descent, there wasn’t a single part of the manufacturing or research process that his hands hadn’t touched. It was only natural he’d cursed and raged at me. I had to accept that. Ultimately it was my father’s fault, but I was the one who had lit the fuse.
With my older sister, though, things had been different. She…
“We’ll be reaching our destination shortly.”
“Ah, right.”
My reaction must have seemed off, because Diana’s face clouded with a hint of apology.
“Did I tease you too much?”
“No. Your jokes are funny, so don’t worry about it.”
“Then were you thinking about something?”
I shook my head at her question.
“It’s nothing.”
“Welcome, pilgrim.”
When I stepped onto the deck, Priest Emilio—the one in charge of this voyage—greeted me warmly.
“Yes, I heard we’d be arriving at our destination soon.”
“Is that so? This area has no real landmarks, so it’s usually difficult to notice. Whoever plotted our course has quite the talent for navigation.”
I glanced sideways at Diana, but she pretended to be looking elsewhere.
“…So it would seem.”
There was no need to bring it up, so I simply nodded along with the priest.
“When you said underwater, I assumed there would be some kind of submerged tunnel or something.”
“Haha, if it could collapse, reaching it would be rather difficult, wouldn’t it?”
“So you just left it at the bottom of the lake.”
“Yes. So it is simply underwater.”
It wasn’t exactly a normal route either, but at least it was undeniably free from any risk of collapse.
“And these are tools to help you pass through the water smoothly.”
Priest Emilio opened the box he had been carrying. Inside were two soap bubbles that sparkled with iridescent light.
“They are Mermaid’s Breath. Place them near your mouth and they will activate on their own.”
“This is…”
“Once they get wet, they burst the moment they touch air, so be very careful. While you’re descending, the air bubbles will require your utmost attention.”
“Understood. I’ll be cautious.”
“And here are the ones you’ll use for your return.”
At Emilio’s words, two other priests nearby each brought forward a box. When they opened them with a soft click, each contained an identical soap bubble.
“You mentioned you have a subspace bag, correct? Place the one I give you directly in your mouth, and store the spares inside the bag.”
“Thank you for your help.”
After completing their checks, the priests handed the boxes to Diana and me. They were clearly sealed tight; even if we dropped them by accident, water wouldn’t leak inside.
“We will return in ten days. I pray that your pilgrimage reaches its conclusion.”
With those words, Emilio stepped back. Behind him, a single long plank extended out over the water. It had probably been installed to make diving easier, but somehow it gave off a rather…
“…This somehow reminds me of the execution platforms used by pirates.”
“It’s your first time on a boat, yet you’re familiar with that?”
“It’s common knowledge.”
“Is it really?”
Well, aside from a slight sense of unease, this setup was inevitable.
“All right, place it around your mouth… There. I’ll go first.”
Diana first pressed a Mermaid’s Breath to my mouth, then skillfully positioned one around her own. Without hesitation, she ran straight down the diving plank.
Splash.
“Bold.”
Since she had shown the way, there was no reason to hesitate. I ran down the plank as well.
Splash.
I leapt straight toward the lake.
A slight impact and cold sensation swept across my entire body, followed by a gentle feeling of weightlessness. When I opened my eyes, the underwater scenery unfolded before me in a single breathtaking view.
“Oh.”
It was far more beautiful than I had imagined. The water carried a faint emerald hue and was crystal clear; I could see all the way into the far distance. Lush aquatic plants swayed gently with the current, and brilliantly colored fish darted freely below. But what truly caught my eye was the lakebed. The silver sand covering the bottom sparkled like stars, as if it were glowing with its own light.
It was a fantastical sight that instantly explained why Altea was considered the greatest resort city.
“This way.”
And there, in the middle of it all, was Diana. Her silver hair drifted and shimmered like living moonlight as she beckoned to me with graceful, mermaid-like movements.
“……”
Overwhelmed by her beauty, I couldn’t manage a reply and simply followed after her.
The swimming itself wasn’t difficult. There was no need to breathe, and given my strength, it would have been strange if I wasn’t fast. The real surprise came as we continued forward.
“…It’s getting darker.”
The further we went, the fainter the signs of life became. The fish that had been brushing past me were now far in the distance, and the gently swaying plants had vanished from sight. When we first entered the water, the entire lake had seemed overflowing with life.
I soon understood why.
“So this is it…”
The aura of the Evil God was swirling through the area. Like a chameleon blending into its surroundings, it occupied such a vast space without revealing the slightest hint of abnormality from the outside.
That wasn’t the only strange thing. The energy resembled smoke, yet even underwater it refused to disperse. It didn’t drift apart like mist; it simply remained in one place. I reached out and touched it lightly, but it didn’t cling to my hand.
“Look carefully.”
Following Diana’s instruction, I calmly surveyed the surroundings. It didn’t take long to realize what she wanted me to see.
“It’s a building.”
The Evil God’s aura wasn’t scattered randomly. Though faint, it clearly formed the shape of a structure.
It’s hard to make out clearly because it blends with the water… but it feels both unfamiliar and strangely familiar at the same time?
As I tilted my head at that contradictory feeling, Diana spoke with quiet resolve.
“Remember this.”
“I will.”
There were many questions I wanted to ask, but I held back. I was beginning to understand. She wasn’t being deliberately unhelpful; the vague way she spoke was part of the restrictions placed on her. The shape of this building clearly had a direct connection to the Evil God.
“Have you seen enough?”
“Yes. I’ve memorized it all.”
Diana gave a small nod and began swimming again.
“Is this the destination?”
“Yes. Can you see it?”
We continued forward until we finally reached the lakebed.
“Yeah. That’s it.”
There stood a single majestic door. Nothing existed beyond it—only the doorframe and the door itself, hanging alone. Yet it didn’t look strange or insignificant. Nor did it feel unfamiliar.
“It’s the same shape as the one beneath the academy.”
“That’s because the same person likely created both.”
The one difference was the presence of six concave pedestals—or altars, one could call them.
“So a maximum of six people.”
I muttered the observation with mild interest, but no stronger emotion stirred. It had nothing to do with us right now.
“Where should I pour it?”
“Anywhere is fine.”
At Diana’s words, I approached the nearest pedestal and took out the Spiral of Good Deeds, tilting it carefully.
Sssss.
The liquid inside the small horn vessel—the Good Deed Energy—felt similar to the Evil God’s aura. Though it was a liquid, it refused to dissolve into the water. It ignored gravity entirely, moving calmly according to my will. For someone who couldn’t handle mana, manipulating such a mystical object for the first time felt strangely wondrous.
Rumble.
Since the Spiral of Good Deeds itself was small, the mystical experience didn’t last long. The altar filled quickly, and the reaction was instantaneous.
“The door is opening.”
Beyond the door was an obviously empty space. It meant the area past the threshold was filled with air rather than water, yet the lake’s surface remained perfectly calm. Even though a clear void had formed, there wasn’t the slightest disturbance in the water current.
Well, just having a door with nothing beyond it was already strange to begin with.
“You may enter now.”
Following Diana’s guidance, I swam through the doorway. A bizarre sensation washed over me—emerging from the water yet not being pulled downward by gravity—as I passed to the other side.
And then, moments later, my vision went completely black.