The Ruins Beneath the Water

Nepher looked dejected at Fren’s firm refusal, but only for a moment before regaining his energy.

Walking along the mountain path, he waved his hand like a fan.

“Hurry up, everyone!”

Fren, who was walking behind Vanessa to watch for danger, pointed something out to Nepher.

“You’re actually the slowest one among us right now.”

“I know, I was just trying to hurry you along.”

The ruin Nepher mentioned was quite far from the Pronia family’s territory.

After riding a carriage for half a day, Fren’s group finally arrived at the site.

Entering the cool, dark cave, Fren let out a sound of admiration.

“I didn’t expect there to be ruins in a place like this.”

“We didn’t know either. We only found them because some tomb raiders were suspiciously hanging around here for days, so we roughed them up a bit.”

At the end of the cave was a massive, droplet-shaped lake surrounded by cliff walls like a fence.

Several sirens who had been recording observations cheered the moment they saw the group.

“You’re here, Master of the Trading Company! Please approve this quickly! But… who’s the human?”

“Is this a surprise gift you brought to cheer us up while we work?”

Only sirens were present at the excavation site.

Just as they were about to rush toward Vanessa, Fren poked his head forward from behind.

The sirens immediately froze and stepped back like mice who spotted a cat.

“We’re sorry, Master Fren. We nearly committed a great discourtesy.”

“It’s alright, that can happen.”

Fren looked at the flustered sirens with confusion before asking:

“Why is everyone so afraid of me?”

“No idea. I only told them a few stories from your military days.”

“So it was you again.”

“Hehe.”

Fren looked down at the lake.

“So the ruins are underneath this?”

“Nope.”

“Then…”

Fren’s gaze shifted toward the cliff.

Nepher nodded and signaled the sirens.

They immediately approached a rectangular stone structure fenced off near the cliff.

Various patterns were carved into the stone.

A siren at the front touched several of the patterns in sequence, as though pressing hidden buttons.

Immediately, the patterns lit up and the cave began to shake.

—KUGUGUNG!

The cliff split apart, and stairs rose like keys of a giant piano.

At the top of the stairs appeared a round entrance.

The group gathered their supplies and climbed the stairs.

The moment Fren reached the entrance, he gasped.

“Wow…”

Blue glowing stones embedded in the walls flickered like flames, and water shimmered inside.

“To reach the ruins, you have to jump down from here.”

“With terrain like this, I see why humans can’t be used. Isn’t there an easier route?”

“Hmm… probably not.”

“A land route would be amazing.”

“We’re planning to check the inside first, then look for one. If there’s nothing, there’s no point wasting money searching, right? Now then…”

Nepher pulled on a rope with both hands.

“Shall we begin?”

“…….”

“Hehe, don’t make that scared face. I won’t hurt you.”

Vanessa looked at Nepher without expression, then glanced around.

There were sirens everywhere.

She grumbled inwardly:

‘Is this a ruin or a den of perverts…?’

And worse, the only siren she could remotely trust here was Nepher.

At least because of Fren, he wouldn’t dare cross any real boundaries.

“Why are you tying it in a ribbon shape?”

“Because it’s cuter.”

…Probably.

Vanessa stared uneasily at the rope connecting herself to Nepher.

“What if it comes undone?”

“It won’t. If it does, I’ll hand over my position as master of the trading company to you.”

Once preparations were almost complete, Nepher took out two small, round, transparent beads that glowed like floating bubbles.

“This is air coral. If you keep it in your mouth, you can breathe underwater.”

Vanessa stared in wonder at the small, shimmering coral on her palm.

It was hard to believe something that looked like such a jewel was actually coral.

Thanks to Fren, she had seen countless gemstones worth far more, but none were as beautiful as this.

While Vanessa was admiring it, Nepher leaned in close.

“Pretty, right?”

“…….”

“When I was little, I thought it was a gem too.”

Vanessa quickly lowered her head.

Nepher whispered temptingly into her ear:

“You can keep it after we’re done.”

“…No. I’ve heard even used air coral sells for high prices among collectors.”

“It’s fine. Take it.”

The coral sparkled seductively on her palm.

Vanessa, caught again by its beauty, instinctively looked at Fren.

He was already underwater, chatting with the sirens, completely absorbed.

Thank goodness.

Relieved, Vanessa shook her head firmly.

“I really can’t.”

“…If you insist, then fine.”

Just then, someone called out:

“Master Nepher! We’re ready!”

“Oh! Coming!”

Nepher motioned to Vanessa.

“Let’s go too.”

“Yes.”

Vanessa knelt and dipped her feet into the water.

It was cold, but bearable.

Nepher, already swimming ahead, called out:

“Put your arms around my neck.”

“I couldn’t possibly—”

Again, Vanessa tried to refuse, but Nepher cut in faster.

“It’s fine, right, Fren? Otherwise movement will be difficult.”

“Of course it’s fine.”

With that single sentence, Vanessa immediately placed the air coral in her mouth and wrapped her arms around Nepher’s neck.

Feeling her warm touch, Nepher muttered:

“Feels great and awful at the same time.”

With that, he dove deep.

Vanessa instinctively closed her eyes, then slowly opened them.

Nothing changed.

It was too dark to see.

This ruin was definitely made by sirens.

That suspicion grew stronger when she saw the labyrinth at the bottom.

Only sirens could move through water like this.

“Ugh, it was hell finding the path…”

“If there’s nothing here, I’m seriously going to cry.”

The sirens grumbled as they followed glowing seashells placed along the walls.

“Master Nepher, we should really confirm whether a land route exists. Coming here every time is a nightmare.”

“You gonna pay for it?”

“No.”

The group finally reached the door at the end of the maze.

Nepher kept stealing glances at Fren.

Depending on what lay inside, Fren’s willingness to invest would change.

The sirens activated the mechanism and opened the door.

Following them through, Nepher spoke to Vanessa.

“You’re probably the first human to see what’s inside here.”

“…….”

“You’re pretty lucky.”

It wasn’t wrong.

Serving Fren granted her an experience no other human would have.

But given Nepher’s behavior so far, he probably meant something else.

While Vanessa glared at the back of his head, the sirens began surfacing one by one.

Nepher followed them up immediately.

“Uwooooah!”

The moment he broke the surface, cheers erupted.

Wiping the water from her eyes, Vanessa looked ahead.

Nepher, rising from the water beside her, exhaled in awe.

“Incredible.”

What greeted the group above the water was a massive statue.

It reached the ceiling, its body transparent like water.

The sirens hurriedly transformed their fins into legs and rushed toward it, circling it in excitement.

“Is this crystal?”

“No, I don’t think so. Wait… this is…”

“Air coral!”

A scream rang out among the sirens.

“It’s made of air coral!”

“What?!”

“And it still contains air!”

“AAAAAAAAAH!”

The sirens shrieked at the priceless treasure before them.

“We wanted something big, but not this big…!”

“How do we even move this out of the water?! Worked air coral loses air the moment it’s submerged!”

“Master Nepher, we need a land route! If we want to sell this for full price, we have to!”

“Calm down, everyone. Let’s keep exploring first.”

Nepher soothed the excavation team and turned toward Vanessa.

She stood perfectly still, like a doll.

So on purpose, he spoke to her.

“Why aren’t you going to Fren?”

“He’s concentrating.”

As Vanessa said, Fren was fully absorbed in examining the statue with the sirens.

His excitement over finding an artwork he liked was obvious from here.

Vanessa also quietly observed the statue from afar.

The statue, with a human torso and fins, was clearly a siren.

With a massive trident and a crown, it was clearly of high status, but its face was hidden by a short veil.

“I never imagined we’d discover something this incredible… Ugh, my head hurts.”

Nepher groaned, then noticed Vanessa was still staring.

He brightened and asked:

“What’s wrong? See something odd?”

“…No. Not exactly.”

Vanessa hesitated, then asked:

“There aren’t sirens that big… right?”

“If there were, the world would’ve gone crazy by now. Is that a siren or a whale?”