Chapter 259. Inside the Mermaid Kingdom (3)
“You must be really worried about the Hell Gate opening over the sea out of nowhere.”
Lloyd’s shameless voice colored the mermaid queen’s space.
The wrinkles between the queen’s eyebrows deepened.
“It is worrying. of course. Before that, the most peaceful sea in the world was right here in the Arctic Ocean.”
“Is that what it is?”
“Invasion of the Bone Dragon.”
“Hup.”
Lloyd almost spewed out the seawater he was breathing at the moment.
He barely covered his mouth to hide his embarrassment.
The mermaid queen’s words continued with a sigh.
“It was just a while ago. The reason why this peaceful sea area suddenly became noisy. It was an invasion. The unprecedented invasion of the Bone Dragon.”
“Bone Dragon….”
Lloyd swallowed dryly.
The bone dragon visited the Arctic Ocean.
Besides, it’s a recent thing.
It’s definitely for use.
It has to be.
‘Because the opening of the hellgate for escape from hell is exactly the same as the time the queen is talking about. At that time, the Hellgate was connected over the Arctic Ocean. Yong-yong, who was in the Arctic Ocean, came over to Hell through the Hell Gate and helped to defeat the lava giant. That’s perfect. It fits perfectly.’
Lloyd shrugged his shoulders.
My conscience was pricked in real time.
In addition, the sense of crisis was also felt.
What if the mermaid queen found out that she was the one who sent the bone dragon Yongyong here?
‘It’s a one-shot decapitation winner.’
At least it didn’t look like I could get out of here.
Even with Xaviel’s protection.
In this deep sea, even Xaviel wouldn’t be able to survive long without the help of magic.
Seeing the physical bursting muscular bodies of the Queen and the Mermaid Guard made me even more convinced.
As such, the queen’s words continued even while the other side was gurgling through the dry spit.
“I don’t want to go into detail, but the bone dragon invaded our waters. Both Giga Titan and Emperor Whale were busy running away in a panic.”
“Is that why the mermaid army was dispatched?”
“of course.”
Do you remember what happened back then?
The mermaid queen’s eyes grew cold.
“We launched a wave of attacks. It was a blood clot. Was it in the middle of fighting like that for several days? A gate to Hell has opened over the Arctic Ocean.”
“….”
“No matter how Bone Dragon is, it seems that our legion’s offensive was too much for them. As soon as he saw that Hellgate was open, he ran away in a hurry like a sardine missing its tail.”
“….”
Actually, Yongyong smelled me and flew away wagging his tail happily.
Lloyd had a lot to say, but kept his mouth shut.
The Queen’s words continued.
“Anyway, since that incident, the Hellgate that has been opened over the Arctic Ocean has not disappeared. so it hurts The hot air from hell keeps flowing out.”
“…That must be a problem.”
Lloyd let out a wry smile.
Listening to it made the queen’s headache hurt.
‘If hot air is flowing out of Hellgate, then the temperature must have risen considerably around here. Come to think of it, even though I entered the waters of the Arctic Ocean, the praise I received from hell did not activate.’
Suddenly, I remembered the praise I received from hell, ‘My hands are cold, my feet are cold’.
‘The praise trigger condition is when entering all areas with an annual average temperature of 0 degrees Celsius or less…It was.’
However, even when they came to the Arctic Ocean, the praise did not activate.
In other words, it meant that the average annual temperature of the Arctic Ocean is now not below freezing.
‘Write. Is this an unexpected polar warming event?’
It got embarrassing.
Unexpectedly, it has become the main culprit of environmental destruction.
But there was no way to fix or stop it.
‘Because the King of Hell wants to keep it open.’
So I won’t close it for a while.
It will continue to be open over the Arctic Ocean in the future.
It seemed certain that the warming event would continue.
‘Tsk.’
I didn’t intentionally connect Hellgate here.
I felt a little sorry for the polar bears and mermaids in this neighborhood.
But that feeling was short-lived.
He quickly cracked down on his expression.
‘If you get caught, you die.’
Bone Dragon Yongyong’s rampage.
Hellgate, the main culprit of global warming.
All of them were related to him.
But it seemed like nothing good would happen if the queen found out about it.
‘Let’s live for now. I have to live for now, so when I have some spare time later, I’m not going to help or fix that problem.’
In the meantime, it would be better if the mermaids could solve the Hell Gate problem by themselves.
Thinking so, Lloyd laid the shameless iron plate on his face.
Rubbing her palms together, she responded to the mermaid queen’s complaint.
“Huh, that’s really true. You must be really worried.”
“yes. Especially since the iceberg is melting so fast. Listening to the protests and appeals of various creatures makes my head explode. I didn’t know that governing could be this difficult. It would be much more comfortable to play tug-of-war with 20 emperor whales in a state of apnea for 12 hours.”
“Is that so?”
“Oh, seriously. If you can find the evil of this incident, I would like to put all of my resentment that has accumulated so far into this fist and put it in the pit of my stomach.”
“….”
“Why are you looking like that? For some reason, your face looks pale. Are you still not used to underwater breathing?”
“no. just wait….”
“for a moment?”
“Suddenly, it reminded me of the jars of honey I left at home.”
At least I should suck some honey before I die.
Lloyd said carefully and sincerely.
Fortunately (?) the mermaid queen didn’t seem to notice the nervous feeling on the other side.
“Honey. I’ve heard that the products of the land are sweet. If I get a chance someday, I want to taste it too. Anyway, let’s get out of here now. As I said earlier, I allow your activities in the kingdom.”
“thank you!”
I quickly nodded.
and withdrew even more swiftly from the queen’s presence.
It felt like my tail would get stepped on if I wandered around any longer.
As soon as she retreated from the queen’s residence, the breath she had been holding back finally came out.
“…Whoa.”
I thought you were alive
But even in the midst of that, I felt a sharp, stabbing look on the side of my face.
Lloyd looked back at Xaviel with a wry smile.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Are you not looking at me with those eyes because you want to see if I have a conscience alive?”
“Why not?”
Xaviel replied as if giving a tip.
“You can never say that the opening of the Hell Gate and the Bone Dragon’s rampage in the Arctic Ocean are all unrelated to Lloyd-sama.”
“Whatever it is. What can I do though? You have to live once. Didn’t you see that queen muscle earlier?”
“I saw.”
“But you still say that? You have to see me cracking up after getting a free hug in that muscular arms, right?”
“yes.”
“Hey, I don’t even deny it.”
“Because I am honest.”
“So you have to watch me get crushed to feel better?”
“Even if you abandon your conscience and honesty and survive, it will only be the life of a coward.”
“Yeah thanks. I want to live forever as a coward.”
“….”
Lloyd laughed.
Xaviel hardened his expression.
“By the way. Lloyd.”
“uh.”
“Is there a reason why you have to come all the way to find the jewel of truth?”
“Um maybe?”
Lloyd shrugged.
And I thought to myself.
They say that what is to come has come.
‘okay. It’s almost time for this guy to ask questions.’
Lloyd glanced sideways at Xaviel, who was walking alongside.
Maybe he doesn’t know.
Unfortunate events will happen in the future of Count Frontera.
The Countess and Julien Serazade will die one after another.
that the family would be thoroughly ruined.
In this way, the world will return similarly to the history in the novel Iron Blooded Knight.
‘That’s the resilience of fate. shit.’
Thinking about it made my heart tremble.
Iron Blooded Knight.
I tried so hard to change the bleak early development of the story.
How thick was the blood, sweat, and nogada extract that had been poured out until now.
‘In the end, it all comes to nothing. Because of the resilience of that damned fate or something.’
It was unfair.
But now I couldn’t just tremble with resentment.
I had to move to prevent that damn thing from happening.
I had to find a way to stop it.
To do so, it would be necessary to find the jewel of truth that would answer any question.
‘But I can’t tell this guy everything.’
original history.
twisted story.
Destiny to find its place.
To explain it, you will have to reveal your identity as well.
That you’re not real.
That it’s just a fake from another world.
Even the fact that the real place was stolen.
everything will have to be revealed
‘That can’t be.’
Lloyd shook his head inwardly.
So now is the time to lie.
And coincidentally, he has a lie prepared in advance for such an occasion.
“Well, the jewel of truth is what you mean.”
Lloyd smeared saliva on his lips.
In a calm voice, he brought out the prepared remarks.
“It’s insurance.”
“insurance…You mean?”
“uh.”
He nodded his head pretending to be sure.
“I’ve been waking up the Dragon King Verkis every morning lately. Then I heard it by chance from the dragon king.”
“You mean the story that there is a jewel of truth in the mermaid kingdom?”
“uh. It is a very powerful treasure.”
“What strength do you have?”
“They say that even the most difficult question in the world will give you an answer.”
“You want an answer?”
“uh. So, you may face very difficult problems in your life, right? Do you remember the stupid monster domino incident? A bunch of locusts flew by.”
“I remember.”
“There’s no guarantee that something like that won’t happen in your life, right?”
“Then, what Lloyd-sama said is that you intend to find the Jewel in advance in case a disaster strikes the territory in your lifetime?”
“that’s right. That’s right.”
He nodded his head more calmly.
Lloyd’s lies continued.
“Life is long. You never know what kind of disaster you will encounter. But what if you find and secure a jewel-like treasure in advance? I mean, at least once, you can get through such a calamity properly and safely. how is it. Isn’t that pretty good for insurance?”
“indeed. okay.”
“yes?”
“yes.”
“Then why do you nod obediently to my words?”
Lloyd asked with a wry smile.
Xaviel replied with an expressionless face.
“I think even a messed up person has to say the right things very occasionally.”
“uh?”
“So it is. Wouldn’t it be a beautiful consideration that people like me can show by acknowledging, encouraging, and encouraging the right things that a messed up person sometimes says?”
“omg.”
“It has been a long time since you said the right thing. Well done Lloyd.”
“Wow, a guy like you beats people even with compliments?”
“As I have said many times, I did not use violence against Lloyd. I have no intention of doing that.”
“Tsk. I wouldn’t hate you if you couldn’t even talk back.”
“thank you. Because you hate me so much.”
“Then will you continue to do so?”
“Thank you in advance for that too.”
“Is gratitude paid in advance?”
“I’d like to pay all at once if possible.”
“You don’t like installments, do you?”
“yes. That way, you won’t have to say thank you in the future.”
“and. I’d rather you be the son of a bitch. I’ll be the escort driver, just.”
“Let it be, Sir Prontera.”
“…hey.”
“sorry.”
“Are you still laughing?”
“Because it was fun.”
“It was fun, what more needs to be said.”
Lloyd chuckled.
And I thought to myself.
‘thank god.’
Xaviel believed the lie that this side had concocted.
To be honest, I was worried that the statement that finding the jewel of truth as insurance against disasters might not be persuasive.
‘For now, that excuse worked. I can be relieved for the time being.’
So, Lloyd sighed.
In the meantime, Xaviel glanced at Lloyd with deepened eyes.
And I thought to myself.
‘thank god.’
Lloyd-sama believed this plausible reaction.
To be honest, I was worried that this side would be able to hide the fact that they knew everything.
‘First of all, Lloyd-sama, no, that fake doesn’t notice at all. You probably still don’t know that my reaction was contrived or that I’m pretending to believe in that lame excuse. I can be relieved for the time being.’
So, I’ll be able to protect that fake with peace of mind.
You might be able to help with what that fake is trying to do.
That’s how Xaviel smiled meaningfully.
In the meantime, the two completely escaped the mermaid queen’s palace.
Passing through several passages, they entered the city in the form of a huge cluster of grapes or an egg nest.
‘Whoa. I want to eat cod roe.’
The city looks as if thousands of eggs, each tens of meters in size, are closely attached to each other.
Seeing this, Lloyd licked his lips.
Seeing this city made me miss the taste of my hometown for the first time in a long time.
In particular, he thought of cod roe, which he liked a lot.
‘Whoa. Cut pollack roe in moderation, sprinkle with perilla oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds, put it on top of soy sauce bibimbap and wrap it in seaweed…ha. driving me crazy.’
A bottle of homesickness came over me that made me salivate.
But now wasn’t the time to be so bruised.
‘First of all, to search for jewels.’
Lloyd made up his mind.
I looked around the city of Mermaid Kingdom with determined eyes.
Countless muscular mermaids were swimming around.
‘Some of them must know about jewels!’
I had such hope.
Still, it’s a legendary treasure of this kingdom.
Even if it was a treasure from a very old era, it was a precious item anyway.
I thought that those mermaids might know a little bit about jewels.
‘So I’m going around and asking. It’s about getting answers from as many mermaids as possible and putting them all together. Then I’ll see the possibility. At least I’ll be able to figure out the outline that I can trace the gem.’
That was Lloyd’s intention.
Besides, he had himself.
I didn’t think it would be too difficult even though it was simple.
Equipped with such confidence, he approached the mermaids.
and after a while
Lloyd began to be treated on the same level as ‘Do you know the Tao’ by the mermaids.
