Heroes and Machine Girls Looking at Profiles

27 – Ruins deep under the sea

“Sister Luciana!”

“Aina…!”

Northern part of the continent, Al-Hait Republic.

After a long journey, Lucien arrived at the capital of the Republic and was greeted by a woman who looked just like Lucien.

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Aina Verdimont, former name Aina il Vallière.

She was Luciena’s younger sister who had left the empire, having married before her older sister, whose marriage was postponed due to various circumstances.

“Thank goodness…! My sister is safe…I was so worried…!!”

This is a major incident in which the entire family of an old noble family is executed.

Of course, the news reached the ears of Aina, who was a member of the family.

Upon hearing the news that her parents and younger brother had lost their lives, I fainted on the spot.

She had heard that her sister had somehow escaped, but she had not heard from him for a long time and was about to give up.

However, when she heard that her older sister was in the Al-Hait Republic and that she had come to her mansion looking for her, Aina ran out without even changing her shoes.

“Aina, I’m sorry…”

Lucie I held her sister in my arms because of her guilt.

She escaped from the imperial capital, and in her desire for revenge, she completely forgot her sister’s existence… She couldn’t bear to say that.

“It’s okay…You came back healthy like this…I’m just happy about that!”

Lucy, the child held in her arms, trembled as I hugged her even tighter.

Ortlinde is looking at the two people from a distance.

As her sisters were sharing a reunion hug, a man walked out from behind Aina.

“Now, I know you’re both happy to be reunited, but let’s go in and do the rest.”

“Rep. Verdimont… It’s been a while since I saw you.”

“Yes, this is the first time since the wedding, Lady Luciena.”

His name is Roy Verdimont.

He was a politician of the Al-Hait Republic and stood out among the young lawmakers.

And, he was Aina’s husband and Luciena’s brother-in-law.

“Okay then, everyone go inside the mansion…And…”

Roy’s eyes passed Lucien and turned to Ortrinde, who was standing behind her.

“That person…?”

“Oh, sorry for the late introduction. She’s Linda, she’s my lifesaver.”

Ortrin Dega, who gave an appropriate pseudonym, bowed his head.

‘How far has this come down?’

「…At least we descended to a depth that would be difficult for an ordinary human to withstand.」

We followed the coordinates left in the old book of the Duke of Vallière.

Because the coordinates were already in the sea, we rented a boat and arrived at the coordinates, entered the sea and went down deep.

…Yes, deeply, very deeply.

From the old book, I felt like I could understand why the ancestors of the Duke of Vallière gave up on excavation.

There is also this water pressure that feels like it is weighing down the body… No, an ordinary person would probably never be able to withstand it.

However, as we went down, the sea was so dark that we could not see an inch in front of us, which was at the level of primal fear.

Considering the time when this ancient book was written, it is highly likely that the remains of the goddess sank further down than at the time.

『Master, there is a response.』

At that time, Rossweisse, who followed me to the bottom of the sea, sent me a telepathic message.

When I looked at her in surprise, she nodded her head and pointed a little further down.

『I feel the ether, this must be my sister’s ether.』

Honestly, I don’t feel anything.

Perhaps, because Ross Weisse is excellent at detecting ether…Magic power, he was able to detect it quickly.

『I will take the lead. This way.』

Following the light emitted by Rossweisse moving forward skillfully, it moved through the dark seabed.

Maybe it was thanks to the magic that Rossweisse had cast beforehand, but moving across the seabed itself wasn’t difficult.

“This is the place, master. But…”

“Yes, the road is blocked.”

The place we arrived along the Rossweisse was definitely a place where buildings that had sunk into the sea could be seen sparsely in the darkness.

Perhaps a tectonic shift was the cause of the island sinking, as I thought, but there were no buildings that could be considered intact.

Anyway, the direction Rossweisse sensed was to go further down, but it was blocked by building debris and rocks.

Well, normally, if I came this far and ended up like this, I might be heartbroken.

“Let’s destroy it.”

“Yes.”

If you get stuck, just break it.

Because it is in the sea, the power of physical attacks is reduced, but fortunately there was a guy here who was good at magic.

Cow!!

With a sound that seemed to rumble through the sea, the debris blocking the road in front of my eyes was instantly shattered.

「Hero, that is it」

“…Oh, it seems certain.”

So far, the remains of the goddess and the basement have been discovered twice.

Both times, it was the result of going down through a secret passage beneath the goddess statue.

And all the way down, it would lead to a room with steel mechanical devices.

And, what we found was none other than a statue of a goddess.

…If there is a problem, it should be said that the goddess statue was thrown away from its original location.

In other words, it has already fallen away from the entrance to the underground ruins.

As expected, it can be said that the underground ruins are also buried in seawater.

The underground passage… Is probably already buried.

Finding a passage in this large place is almost impossible.

All we can know is the sisters’ magic that Rossweisse felt.

Then there is only one way.

It goes through in a straight line.

Thump…Thump…Thump…

A small, low-pitched impact sound.

With that sound, the sea surface shook slightly, and the ship shook greatly.

“Wow?!”

When the warrior Hans and his female subordinate jumped into the sea, the succubus who had been waiting at the anchor of the ship was unable to come to her senses as the ship was shaking.

“What…What is it? Is it an earthquake? It’s small for something like that, but…”

In fact, earthquakes occur frequently around here.

Therefore, there are ample breakwaters around the nearby coasts, including Darfs, to prevent tsunami damage caused by earthquakes.

“…What’s going on down there?”

The succubus took control of the shaking ship and looked at the sea with concern.

After a while, the pounding stopped and I felt the sea slowly calming down.

At that time, something with small magical power flew through the air.

It was a small sea bird, but the succubus noticed that the bird contained familiar magical powers and looked at the bird.

Soon, the sea bird came down from the air and sat on the rocking boat on which the succubus was riding.

『Is it connected properly…? I can hear?”

“Ah, Ruri. I can hear you.”

『Ah, thank goodness. I wasn’t sure if it was because the magic around there was a bit unstable.』

“Yes, I feel that too, but…There doesn’t seem to be any problem with the connection.”

These sea birds are those that live in the waters around here.

The succubi who were hiding in Darfs were using this sea bird as their familiar and liaison.

『So, what about the hero?』

“They are searching the ocean. They told us to wait for a few hours and if they still don’t come back, we should go back first.”

『I see, it’ll be okay if you’re a hero.』

Through the seabird, Ruri’s voice sounded a little relieved.

After a while, Ruri’s voice continued.

『Anyway, since the matter has been reported to the Demon King, I will tell you that the operation will be carried out tonight.』

“…You mean tonight?”

The naval fortress of Darfs is subdued in one night, and the island is placed under the control of the Demon King’s army.

And then, a covert operation to serve as a bridgehead for the invasion of the empire.

The beginning is near.

『Oh, by the way, you shouldn’t forget this…!』

“Yes…Yes?”

The succubus was taken aback by Ruri who suddenly made a loud noise as if she had just remembered something.

But Ruri continued talking.

『…There is a report that that woman is now in the city across the street. Tell the hero to be careful so that his true identity is not discovered if he encounters him.』

“She is that woman…”

『Anies della Cloeti. That handsome ‘Hero Princess’.』

We advanced by using magic to dig down the ground blocked by sand, gravel, dirt, and rocks.

I thought it might collapse, but Rossweisse said with a smile that it was okay because the dug-out ground was fixed and it was going down.

Although digging is slow, it is better than taking the risk of being buried alive deep under the sea.

…Anyway, it’s amazing to see it again.

It was amazing to see the ground where Ross Weisse stretched out his hand, being pulverized as if digging with a drill.

Alessa I have seen the magic swords used by that woman, demons, and the magic swords used by the Four Heavenly Kings a few times, but this was the first time I had seen such power.

It looks like we are slowly being carved out in the direction we are moving in, as if digging out a road.

So…What should I say?

A long time ago, I played a game where you had to blow air into the enemy and blow it up while digging down the ground, and it felt like I was doing that.

A strange sight of the ground being cut cleanly and digging into the ground.

It was that time.

Ross Weisse, who was leading the way, stopped.

“Rossweisse?”

“Sir, this is a dead end.”

“Huh?”

I decided to proceed by destroying the dead end road.

Thinking like that, I stepped in front of Rossweisse.

“…No, rather than saying it’s a dead end… I guess it’s more correct to say we’ve arrived.”

「Oh?!」

…And then, Reinforce, swaying back and forth in the current on his waist, made a sound.

Yes, the strange sound Reinforce makes.

And this feeling of slowly vibrating with the sheath on.

And, before my eyes, a wall of steel without a single rust.

Along the wall, the magic cast by Rossweisse cut away the surrounding ground as if wiping away the wall.

And then, when the wall fully revealed itself.

“I found it.”

What was in front of me was a steel door that was still functioning despite being buried in the sea for such a long time.