The Underworld of De Marinda
Bagan and his companions finished preparing to head out early in the morning. Sally hadn't slept, as usual, sitting and reading a book while watching over Arien as she slept. The inn they had chosen for rest was called "The Stingray's Nest." Since money was no issue, they had selected a place based on room size, quality of furnishings, and service.
Once their modest preparations were complete, Bagan left the inn with Sally and Arien following behind, heading toward the seaside. De Marinda lived up to its reputation as a bustling maritime trade city, with the day already flowing busily. Countless cargo wagons moved about, and the markets within the city were exceptionally large, making the economy seem to run smoothly.
What stood out most was the harbor formed across the wide bay. The port had been burning with activity since early morning, handling goods too difficult to transport by land. Yesterday, they had been sightseeing the city and hadn't spent much time looking at the sea. Of course, they weren't here for leisure, but since their goals aligned in direction, Bagan and the girls trailing him shared the same purpose.
"Water!"
The moment Arien set foot on the sandy beach, she headed straight for the crashing waves. Bagan had deliberately brought them to a stretch of sand far from the harbor entirely for her sake.
Now, to achieve his own objective, Bagan stood with his ankles submerged in the seawater.
"What are you doing?" Sally asked, her eyes never leaving Arien in case of any accident, yet still showing interest in Bagan's actions.
"I need to find those guys."
"The underworld?"
Bagan was too focused to reply and simply nodded. Seeing him like this, Sally felt a certain sense of responsibility. Strictly speaking, those in the underworld were sinners. As the blade that judged sin, she felt ashamed that she couldn't find them herself and was instead relying on her contractor's efforts.
"I'm sorry. This isn't supposed to be just a sightseeing trip."
Her desire to explore the world had taken precedence, preventing her from grasping the truth. It was a case where curiosity had outpaced her original intent.
But Bagan didn't see it that way at all.
"Sally, this is just something I want to do. Besides, once I finish scouting, we'll go have some fun. Don't feel bad about it."
Sally felt somewhat relieved by his words, yet she couldn't completely hide her guilt.
It was then.
"Sister, please come with me over there."
Arien grabbed Sally's hand and asked her to accompany her to the distant rocky shore. Her finger pointed in the direction away from Bagan.
"Bagan, the reason I contracted with you was because I wanted to know you. But now, my desire to be with you has grown even stronger. So if you need anything, just tell me anytime."
Bagan smiled and nodded in response. It was a moment of mutual understanding and consideration.
With that, Sally walked off with Arien toward the distant rocky shore.
Where are they?
Feeling the waves lapping at his ankles, Bagan focused on his search. From the moment he dipped his feet in, he had been spreading his mana widely, searching for the underworld.
One might wonder why he was searching for the underworld in the sea. But there was a reason.
The underworld of De Marinda consists of pirates.
That's right. According to the information gained while cleaning up the underworld of De Meca, they were pirates. And not just any—they had settled very close to De Marinda's waters, posing a threat to the citizens. That was why he had no choice but to search this way.
No other options.
He wouldn't find them immediately, but he wasn't disappointed. Bagan's detection ability already rivaled anyone's, so with a bit of concentration, he should be able to locate them.
At that moment, something registered in Bagan's senses.
What is this?
The sea was incredibly vast, and the energy he felt was far away, making it impossible to identify specifically. However, the power was immense and familiar, almost like a dragon.
A dragon?
That couldn't be. While the type of power was similar, it seemed lacking to call it a dragon. Then what could it be?
He continued his search. As he expanded his mana further, he sensed something fighting against what he had mistaken for a dragon. It was a very large number of forces, which meant it was what Bagan had been looking for.
Throb!
In an instant, too much information flooded his mind. Since he'd found it, that was enough. Thinking this, he withdrew his mana.
"Got it for now."
Having seen solid evidence, all that remained was to meet with the lord. Bagan gently pressed his temple with one hand while pulling an item from his subspace with the other. It was the letter of recommendation Montihall had written for him.
"Razetta, huh..."
Razetta de Behimoth. Like King Pelion and De Meca's lord Montihall, she was also a Dragonian. To be precise, she was their younger sister—the sole daughter among three sons and one daughter. Dragonian blood undoubtedly flowed through her veins. However, she was famous for being unable to fully draw out the power of a Dragonian.
The weakest among the three sons and one daughter.
Most citizens of the Seiros Kingdom praised Dragonians, but she alone tended to be slightly looked down upon for that reason.
Still, if one lacked power, one could simply create it. In her case, that power was knowledge. Having realized early that the world ran on money, she had managed her granted territory in that direction. Thanks to her, De Marinda had been able to grow like this.
But why leave the pirates alone?
Bagan found it puzzling. A city like De Marinda should have its own navy and should have been able to eradicate the pirates operating in its nearby waters long ago.
I don't get it.
No answer came no matter how much he thought about it. Therefore, he couldn't make any hasty judgments.
"Since I have Lord Montihall's letter of recommendation, I can just ask Razetta. Ask her why she's turning a blind eye even though she knows."
With that thought, Bagan went to find Sally and Arien so they could head off to meet Razetta. He had seen them walking along the right shoreline when he first started concentrating, so he naturally headed in that direction.
Bagan continued forward across the energy-draining sandy beach, searching for them.
"Ah, Bagan!"
The one who spotted him from afar and spoke first was Sally. Bagan had assumed they were playing somewhere, but he never dreamed they would be playing like this.
"It's a neo shark."
Sally was riding on the back of a neo shark, gliding across the water's surface.
"It's me!"
The neo shark was, of course, Arien.
"So you found a monster and went to consume it?"
"Yes. It's my first time with a marine creature."
The neo shark was a blue shark with stripes on its back that sparkled even brighter blue under sunlight. It was a troublesome creature that lived only in the waters off De Marinda, occasionally attacking fishing boats with its massive size. And there was a woman in a black dress riding on the back of such a monster. Anyone else would surely think it was dangerous.
But Sally wore an expression of pure enjoyment.
"If you're about done playing, shall we go?"
"Okay. We'll be right out."
At Bagan's words, the two came ashore and followed him.
"It was fun. Next time, I would like to try transforming into a Fenrir or a dragon."
Bagan replied to Arien, who casually spoke of consuming such creatures and transforming into them.
"Wouldn't that be pretty difficult?"
"If consumption is possible, I believe I can manifest them."
Bagan was left speechless by Arien's words. The ability to transform into any creature after consuming it was something even he couldn't imitate, so he found it impressive.
But what would people think if there was a girl who could turn into a Fenrir, a being considered spiritual? Or a girl who could transform into a dragon, regarded as legendary?
They'd probably roll their eyes back and faint.
Anyone other than Bagan, whose experiences had already surpassed imagination and left him unfazed, would undoubtedly be shocked senseless. That was why Arien needed to exercise restraint.
"Be careful when transforming into other creatures. The people here call them monsters and see them as targets for subjugation."
"Understood."
With that, the three quickly left the sandy beach.
Having spent the morning pleasantly, Sally and Arien followed Bagan into a suitable restaurant for a meal. Normally, Sally wouldn't eat until curiosity struck her, but she ate together to take care of Arien. Although Arien was a slime, she ate proper food with gusto. It was surprising how she could mechanically describe the exact composition of what she ate, but considering her traits, it wasn't strange at all. Bagan enjoyed his meal while thinking this.
"Where are we going now?"
Arien spoke with eyes full of expectation, showing no signs of fatigue. Since they had finished eating, she was probably suggesting they play again. Considering she had been a slime wandering the forest alone until meeting Bagan, it was understandable she wanted to keep playing. Unfortunately, there was work to be done.
"We're going to meet the lord."
"If it's the lord, is he a bad person? He is someone who tormented Arien."
Arien, deeply immersed in the novel's version of herself, evaluated the lord accordingly.
"You could see it that way. In 'Apothecary Arien,' all the lords were bad guys who coveted Arien's abilities."
Sally, apparently thinking Arien still hadn't fully emerged from the novel, explained the situation. She continued speaking to help Arien feel even slightly more at ease.
"But Bagan, the lord we're going to meet isn't like that, right?"
Bagan found Razetta somewhat suspicious, but seeing Arien so frightened, he couldn't bring himself to tell the truth.
"Of course. The lord we're meeting isn't that kind of person."
"I see..."
Since Arien still didn't know much about the world, reassuring her this way was necessary to avoid potential trouble.
For example, she might get excited and transform into a monster to attack Razetta.
Bagan couldn't even imagine what the aftermath would be like. Shaking off the horrific thought, Bagan and his party headed toward De Marinda Castle.
Like in De Meca, the lord lived in the main castle. However, compared to De Meca, De Marinda faced fewer external invasions, so its castle walls weren't particularly high. The beautifully built castle at the highest point of the terraced city was very noticeable, so they simply needed to head there.
Having confirmed this, and since they had eaten at a restaurant near the castle, they set off immediately.
The gates of De Marinda Castle differed from those of De Meca. There were multiple gates, likely due to the heavy carriage traffic heading to the castle, and the design showed no concern whatsoever for potential sieges. Bagan headed for one of the many entrances that seemed reasonably close, but he was still stopped by soldiers and subjected to inspection.
"What is your business here?"
Despite being a sentry, the soldier wore refined armor and blocked the way with a well-sharpened spear as he asked. Since there was no particular threat intended, Bagan stood at an appropriate distance and got to the point.
"I'm here to see Razetta."
Bagan said nothing more, offering no additional explanation. There was a reason he could do so—an envelope he handed to the soldier.
"Th-this is..."
The soldier took the envelope but didn't open it. He simply looked at the seal stamped on the closing flap and understood its meaning.
"M-my apologies. Bill! Escort these guests to Lady Razetta!"
At his shout, a soldier who had been resting, just like at De Meca Castle, emerged from a nearby guard post and took over guiding Bagan and his party.
"So you are an envoy from Lord Montihall. If you had informed us in advance, we would have prepared a better welcome. My apologies."
The treatment wasn't half-hearted. It was better than a cold reception, so they followed along. The soldier, seemingly experienced in escorting guests, guided them with crisp, angular movements all the way to Razetta's office.
"Please wait a moment."
He spoke in front of the study door.
"Lady Razetta! An envoy from Lord Montihall has arrived."
A rather energetic voice responded from inside.
"Yeah! Bring them in!"
At Razetta's command, the soldier opened the office door and withdrew with proper etiquette.
Stepping inside, Bagan finally laid eyes on Razetta de Behimoth, the lord of De Marinda.
"Welcome."
She looked utterly exhausted, as if she had barely survived a hell of documents.