Chapter 122

The Great Sea Serpent that had been sucking in water from beneath the sea.

After confirming that its true identity was the naive boy, Armania, Turan couldn't help but display a blank expression.

And not long after, he realized one surprising fact from something the mermaid said.

“How does my face look right now?”

“Hm? Your face? Same as the last time I saw it!”

At Armania’s reply, Turan quickly created a water mirror from nearby moisture and reflected his face in it.

Reflected there was the face of Gosan, the self-proclaimed illegitimate child of House Varaha, with brown hair and eyes.

‘...Does this mask’s disguise not work on merfolk? Or is it the power of the Great Sea Serpent?’

He wasn't sure which it was, but it was fortunate he found out in advance.

Had he not, he might have ended up in serious trouble later when trying to deceive the merfolk.

Turan let go of Bije’s leg and descended near the surface using flight magic to match Armania’s height.

“So, what are you doing here?”

“Drinking water! A lot of it, a whole lot, so I can become the biggest snake in the world!”

From the way he spoke, it seemed that the act of sucking in water was a kind of strengthening ritual for them.

Whether he truly grew stronger just by drinking water, or whether he was absorbing the magic power of the marine magical beasts mixed in with it, Turan couldn’t tell...

And it wasn’t even clear if merfolk grew stronger by absorbing magic power like wizards in the first place.

What was clear was that the boy before him had grown incomparably stronger than when they last met.

When they first met, he was barely distinguishable from an ordinary person.

The second time, his magic power was only at the level of a low-ranking noble, but now it was nearing the very top tier.

At this point, he was stronger than the crab princess Rowena Turan had met in the past, and considering that his true form was a Great Sea Serpent, he might even have to be compared with the mermaid king.

In some ways, his growth rate was more astounding than Turan’s own.

Would it be better to kill him before he grew any stronger?

The thought popped into Turan’s head, but he decided to bury it in his heart for the time being.

Though there was a high chance that the merfolk would become his enemies in the future, this particular mermaid boy had always shown him goodwill.

It would be enough to start open hostility after it became clear that coexistence between them was impossible.

“Just a moment ago, it looked like you were able to transform into the Great Sea Serpent.”

“That’s right! You saw it from below?”

“Roughly. It was underwater, so I couldn’t see clearly. Could you show me properly once?”

At Turan’s request, Armania dove straight into the sea, and soon reemerged transformed into the Great Sea Serpent like before.

Was the body length around 40 meters or so?

It was just slightly smaller than half the size of the one Turan had hunted before.

“Smaller than I thought.”

Of course, this was only something someone like Turan, who had seen a bigger one, could say; for an average person, a creature of that size was no different from a natural disaster.

At Turan’s comment, the enormous Great Sea Serpent shook its head as if pouting and spoke.

“It’s because I’m still young! If I drink lots more water and get even bigger, I can be as big as that shed skin!”

Armania’s voice, even in transformed state, was still high and thin like a boy’s, but because his body was so huge, it echoed with a hum.

Well, considering how loud the roar of an adult Great Sea Serpent had been, this level was still on the cute side.

“That’s amazing. But for now, let’s talk in your original form. Your voice is so loud it’s hurting my ears.”

At Turan’s words, Armania immediately returned to his mermaid form.

He didn’t seem to think even a little that Turan might suddenly ambush him and try to kill him right then and there.

Despite gaining powerful strength, his naive and gentle nature apparently hadn’t disappeared yet.

“By the way, why are you alone? What about those friends from before?”

“We came together by ship, but I’m the only one who came to check. I heard there was a whirlpool on the way, so I came to see.”

Armania, who had been the main cause of the whirlpool, smiled sheepishly.

“Actually, I’m the one who should be asking. What about your family? No matter how strong you’ve gotten, I don’t think they’d let a child roam around alone like this. Can they all turn into Great Sea Serpents now?”

“Hm? Ah...”

At those words, Armania’s expression darkened, and he avoided Turan’s gaze, hesitating to answer.

“Looks like something happened.”

Was it because Turan already knew they were controlling magical beasts to threaten humans?

Even when he subtly sniffed, all he could smell from the mermaid was the strong scent of the sea.

After a brief silence, the mermaid boy let out a sigh and spoke.

“Father and Mother are recuperating in the palace… and most of my brothers and sisters aren’t doing well either.”

“What? How did that happen?”

They had just eliminated even the greatest threat, the Great Sea Serpent, and absorb its power, yet now they had taken a massive hit out of nowhere?

At Turan’s question, Armania hesitated for a moment before replying.

“Transforming into the Great Sea Serpent is really hard and dangerous. If you’re not suited for it, you could die, get seriously injured, or even go insane.”

This was something that could become a fatal weakness for the mermaids.

It was almost hard to understand how he could speak about it so casually.

If he’d heard such a thing from any mermaid other than Armania, he would’ve taken it as a deception.

“Is there anyone else who knows about this?”

“No one!”

At the innocent answer, Turan lightly clicked his tongue.

If House Carmine had known this, they wouldn’t have postponed contact with the mermaids until after the war.

They would have invaded immediately, slaughtered them all, and even taken the Great Sea Serpent’s corpse to dispose of it.

“So, does that mean no one except you can act right now?”

“There are a few brothers and sisters who weren’t as good as me at transforming, but still managed it decently. They’re driving out the other clans. If left alone, they might target our young ones."

This matched what Turan had heard from a mermaid noble in the past.

That all the royal families of other kingdoms had fled in fear of being killed by Armania’s clan.

“But you, who are actually a child, are here alone?”

“I’m not a child anymore!”

Armania shouted, flaring up, and then added, glancing around as if checking his surroundings.

“Um, actually, one of my sisters tried to stop me from going out. But I have to grow stronger so I can protect my family, so I had no choice but to sneak out again…”

In short, he had once again secretly escaped and was out on a trip.

In many ways, he was still the same as always.

“Well, at least you won’t get captured by pirates anymore, so that’s fine. By the way, do you know anything about the marine magical beasts rampaging near the western coast?”

The magical beast Turan had encountered during his infiltration of Carmine’s territory not long ago had clearly attacked with a sense of purpose.

And according to the mermaid noble, the royal mermaids who could transform into the Great Sea Serpent, the 'High Priest's clan', had the ability to control marine magical beasts.

Upon hearing this, Armania’s eyes widened.

“This is the first I’m hearing of any of that!”

Even though Turan couldn’t smell emotions, there wasn’t a trace of deceit to be found on that innocent face.

Regardless of his power, the mermaids still seemed to treat Armania like a child and weren’t telling him anything.

Then again, judging by the fact that he’d run away from home, it was hard to say that decision was entirely wrong.

"Oh! It really works! Look!"

Just then, Armania suddenly pointed to one side, and a giant herring swam over from that direction.

Through their soul bond, Turan could feel Bije, flying above, experiencing a strong sense of hunger.

“Can you command it freely?”

“I think so. I never imagined I’d be able to do something like this…”

One way or another, Turan had inadvertently revealed one more of Armania’s latent abilities.

After summoning and sending away several more magical beasts a few times, Armania turned to Turan and said,

“Kind Devil, if what you said is true… then maybe the reason magical beasts are attacking humans is because of one of my brothers or sisters who ran away from home and went mad.”

“And if they did it in their right mind?”

“There’d be no reason to!”

“There could be. Like… using that kind of attack to distract the opponent’s attention, for instance.”

At Turan’s words, Armania let out a groan and touched his head, then nodded and said,

“If that’s the case, I’ll stop it too. I’ll tell them not to do it.”

“Do you think that’s possible?”

“Yeah. Because I don’t want to fight with the Kind Devil.”

The way he spoke so clearly and firmly was mature enough to make one forget his childish behavior just moments ago.

In response, Turan nodded and extended his hand.

“Alright. I hope we can continue to get along from now on. So, actually, I have a small favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

“I’d like to have a few strands of your hair.”

*

After finishing his task, Turan was returning to the ship when he encountered Meisa flying toward him.

Seeing that Turan was unharmed, she let out a sigh of relief.

“What’s going on?”

“I came because you were taking too long. Nothing happened?”

“Nothing happened...but, it’s something huge, actually. Let’s talk after we get back. Everyone needs to hear it.”

As it was a hassle to pull out and hang the swing in the sky, Meisa simply stepped on Turan’s foot, clung to him, and flew back to the ship with him.

Seeing this, Solif, who had been waiting, whistled and said,

“What a lovely couple you are. No wonder you were worried.”

“Shut it.”

After exchanging their usual small bickering and landing, Turan explained to Solif and Meisa what had just happened.

“So he can transform into a Great Sea Serpent...”

“I had a rough idea it was possible, but hearing it directly is overwhelming.”

"That means those monster-like creatures have increased to more than ten."

Both of them recalled the battle with the Great Sea Serpent from before.

The overwhelming presence that was no different from a living natural disaster.

If all the royal mermaids who had fought together back then could now transform into Great Sea Serpents, how great would that power be?

“No need to worry too much. If they were truly able to get that strong, House Carmine wouldn’t be acting as such. Especially when you consider how wary the gods are of anyone challenging their domain.”

Just as they had taken the intellect of the dwarves, the old Preah God Tribe had been extremely wary of the emergence of beings on their level.

If the royal mermaids had truly been capable of power on the level of the real Great Sea Serpent, comparable to the gods, the gods would’ve immediately joined forces to crush them, war or no war.

“It’s just a hypothesis for now. I've decided to wait and observe more about the mermaids. I’ve also received information suggesting the coastal attacks might not have been intentional. Most importantly, I got this.”

Turan took out the hair storage case from his pouch and tapped the newly filled compartment.

Inside was a small bundle of Armania’s sea-soaked bluish-gray hair.

“He just gave that to you?”

“He did. I even said that with this, I can come and help him wherever he is.”

"You didn't take it to help him."

The two looked at Turan as if watching someone who had tricked a child into handing something over. Turan subtly averted his gaze.

"Anyway, I've passed the message to them too. I told them to prepare because House Carmine might invade after the war."

"Will they be able to stop them?"

"If that mermaid king can become a Great Sea Serpent."

Even though Armania had one of the highest affinities, he had grown that powerful, so the royal family members who were originally strong by nature were bound to be even more so.

Though, seeing as they were still recuperating, it was hard to say whether they could fully control that power.

"Come to think of it, I wonder what's happening with Aravion and Carmine?"

“We’ll have to check as soon as we arrive. Well, it hasn’t been that long since we left, so I doubt anything’s blown up just yet...”

The three of them looked westward at the same time, without needing to say who moved first.

*

Exactly one week after meeting Armania.

After landing somewhere on land in the west, they first circled around the area to identify their current location.

As a result, they were able to confirm that they were somewhere in the southern part of House Carmine territory.

Having grasped the geography of the surroundings, Turan's group decided to change their disguises again.

Back when they stayed in Frostwind Forest, only Turan had disguised himself since Varaha’s side would already be aware of Solif’s parents. But here, the situation was different, and they needed to adopt new appearances.

Just like when they had infiltrated the Land of Five Lakes before, Solif wore the mask, and Turan used the age-modifying magic artifact. Watching this from the side, the Varaha couple gasped in amazement.

“Really... even seeing it with my own eyes, I can’t believe it.”

“Sorry, but… would it be okay if I tried using that artifact?”

Solif’s mother, Romi, made herself appear nearly twenty years younger, then stared into a mirror with a captivated expression.

She seemed thoroughly enchanted by the fact that she could recover the face of her youth.

Meisa looked at her with an understanding expression.

“If we get a chance later, I might be able to make one for you. Though right now it’s a bit difficult.”

“Oh, no. I couldn’t possibly ask for something like that.”

Even though they had been traveling together for a while, the Varaha couple continued to act reserved toward Turan and Meisa.

Since their son had once been the next head of House Varaha, it seemed they still regarded his friends as higher status, in a way.

Knowing that forcing familiarity wouldn’t make things any more comfortable, Turan and Meisa decided to just accept it.

Once they finished changing their disguises, Turan’s group flew through sparsely populated areas during the day and stayed in nearby cities at night.

Having endured a ten-day voyage, even just enjoying quality meals and accommodations was enough to ease their fatigue.

Unfortunately, Bije had to remain outside every time they entered a city, as she would draw too much attention if she came along.

Still, since either Turan or Meisa always went out to sleep with her and offer comfort, Bije didn’t show any discontent.

In fact, she preferred the outdoors over a well-decorated cage.

As they passed through the southern hills and around the edges of the Takein Plains, Turan could feel the heavy tension of impending war.

Just like when war had broken out in the western wilderness in the past, the flow of people had drastically decreased, and the expressions on people's faces had visibly darkened.

During a brief stop for lunch on the ground, Meisa looked north and muttered with a sigh.

“Ah, I miss my aunt...”

“Wanna try meeting her in secret?”

“No, it’s fine. That’d only make things more dangerous. I was just saying.”

While Turan could use Concealment Magic to infiltrate without being noticed by anyone, that was a skill Meisa did not possess.

They had at least managed to exchange letters briefly with Ashiz and confirmed her safety, so they had no choice but to find comfort in that.

After several more days of traveling southwest past the southern part of the Takein Plains,

In one city, Turan and Meisa both let out gasps of awe at the same time.

“Wow...”

“They’ve already restored it this much?”

On the surface, it seemed like a fairly ordinary city, bustling with just the right amount of people, the kind that could be found anywhere in the world.

And yet, what made this place feel special to the two of them was that it was located right in the heart of the western forest region.

Back when Turan had left Kalamaf with Bije, and Meisa had passed through while leading a subjugation force, they had both come across this place.

At the time, it had been covered with nothing but piles of corpses discarded by the Dark Elves after feeding.

Considering that not even four full years had passed since then, the speed of restoration was remarkable.

“People who had been in hiding must have returned. There’s no way the settlers from the Takein Plains or the wilderness alone could have made it this big.”

Realistically speaking, the Dark Elves, numbering only in the tens of thousands, wouldn’t have had enough manpower to annihilate all the humans.

It must have been the combined effect of those who had hidden in the forest waiting for rescue and the displaced refugees who had returned.

Thus, the five of them moved westward across the forest region, feeling the vitality of human life through the newly rebuilt city.

On the fourth day, as they began to enter the western wilderness region, Turan’s homeland, the landscape noticeably turned barren.

While flying through the sky, Solif looked down at the wasteland below and said,

“Seeing it again now really drives it home, this must be the worst place in the world to live. I’d rather take the Siraf Wetland.”

“It really is amazing that there’s even enough grass for sheep to graze.”

Except for Turan, all the members of the group were from the most fertile areas in the world, either the Land of Five Lakes or the Takein Plains, so the dry, cracked, and endlessly barren western wilderness made quite an impression on them.

Even Turan had once been in awe as he left Hisaril Hill and moved eastward, marveling at how the natural environment grew more abundant by the day.

“Oh!”

“Wow, is that...?”

Just then, the Varaha couple riding in the swing cried out in wonder as they looked ahead.

Setting the Sacred Relic to the Sun Bloodline and looking forward, Turan also saw what they were seeing.

A faint silhouette glowing dimly beyond the distant horizon.

The Sky Mountain Range, the western boundary of the world that had accompanied Turan through his childhood, was coming into view.

*****