At the bottom of the deep sea, where only a small amount of sunlight could reach, "he" was quietly hiding his breath while his huge body swayed and drifted.
He was the king who ruled the waters around here.
As a powerful being, there should be nothing in this sea that threatens him, but that doesn't let his guard down.
Unlike his brother, who only ate on instinct, he was born with the intelligence to think.
That's why he knows full well that he's weak.
He is a champion simply because he avoided danger as much as possible and lived a long life.
Of course, he must have been lucky.
This is because the invisible wall that surrounds the sea area, this wall that rejects only beings above a certain size, prevents the inhabitants of the outside from entering.
Having grown up, he himself could not go outside, but he was fortunate that beings from the outside world, more powerful than him, did not come to this sea.
So, if it's not outside, what about the top?
It has been confirmed that there are countless beings smaller than him on this still sea.
A dwarf being that cannot move satisfactorily in the sea and can only be rendered helpless if dragged into this realm seems like good bait for them.
But they are terrifying beings who, once spotted, will track us endlessly and retaliate en masse.
Once, his brother was killed for doing so.
In conclusion, the optimal solution is to live at the bottom of this ocean while obtaining daily food.
The fact is that he has lived that way for a long time.
However, that life is coming to an end.
"Oh..."
He had lived too long to run away from all the dangers of death.
The food available in these waters can no longer fill his stomach, nor can he escape from the presence of the wall that has protected him until now.
His unsatisfied hunger for devouring the surrounding prey shakes his intelligent intellect.
「──!!」
At that moment, his sense organs detected the presence of a new prey.
The prey location is above.
It is a world with both of those little ones.
Normally, he wouldn't make the foolish choice to give in to them.
However, in his extreme state, he no longer had the rationality to judge normally.
◇◆◇◆
(Why...?) ）
Even while playing with everyone in the sea, which has been a long time since her previous life, Maria's heart does not clear.
Although ostensibly managed to fix it, the previous events cast a dark shadow over Maria's mind.
She is the protagonist of the otome game "Jewel Prince" in this world, in a previous life.
Since regaining her memories of her previous life as a child, she has lived as Maria Norton and was somehow loved by the world.
Even in the slums, which are said to be unsafe, a childhood friend of mine protected me, and the adults around me were not bad people.
Even after being taken in by his biological father, Baron Norton, everyone treated me kindly without being discriminated against because he was a former commoner.
It is true that training as a nobleman was troublesome, but with the help of memories of a previous life, he did not struggle so much.
Life at the school was difficult at first, but with the help of the princes, I was able to deepen my relationship with them immediately.
The only one who was hostile to her was Isabella, but that's because she's the villain of the game.
Other than that, Maria was a girl loved by everyone.
That's why the clear rejection from Crowe earlier was shocking to Maria.
Certainly, for some reason, the strategy has not progressed, so Crow's likability for Maria remains low.
But even so, he in the game would never have made Maria evil.
And——
(What those eyes!) That should be directed at me, right?! ）
Just as she was about to leave in front of Maria and the others, the compassionate eyes that Crow had directed at Isabella stuck in her head.
Maria knows that expression.
That's the expression you show at an event when you open up to your heart for the first time when your likability is high.
Why would you direct such a thing not at Maria, the main character, but at the villain Isabella?
I don't like it, I don't like it!
"What...?"
With my emotions in a mess, I looked towards the beach and realized that I couldn't see Crow.
I should have been on the beach with Isabella a while ago, but where?
"What's wrong, Maria?"
"Crow, where have you been?"
「... Well, I haven't seen it either, so I don't know."
Alberto, worried about Maria, who has hardened, approaches.
When he hears about Crow, he seems troubled for a moment, but then shakes his head.
After all, Alberto doesn't seem to know Crowe's whereabouts.
Where did they go?
"So..."
"Maria, you..."
Alberto tries to say something to Maria, who has a disappointed expression on his face, but immediately closes his mouth.
As he wondered how Alberto was doing, something tangled in Maria's leg.
"Whew...?
Before she can confirm her identity, her legs are pulled by a strong force, and Maria's body floats in the air.
"Maria!?"
"What's this?"
Suspended upside down, Maria looks around to assess the situation.
And then I met a pair of eyes staring at me.
"Uh... Hello?"
"Oooooh!"
"Oh, come and help me!"
He tried to communicate with a smile, but failed spectacularly.
A giant monster in the form of a roaring squid made Maria half-cry and call for help.
Let Maria go, this monster!"
Not everyone else is silently watching the situation.
Alberto, who was the closest, moves first and boldly jumps on the monster to save Maria.
"Oooooooh!"
"Gulp!?"
However, against such an enemy, the monster wielded one of its multiple arms and knocked Alberto down into the sea with a bang.
"Alh!?"
"Oh, uh..."
Alberto falls after a direct hit, but is immediately pulled out of the sea by the arms of a monster.
Although he is twitching with the whites of his eyes peeled off, it seems that he is only unconscious and does not seem to be in danger of his life.
I was relieved for the time being, but nothing had improved in the situation.
(This is not an event!) ）
Maria was impatient because of the suddenness, but she finally remembered that this was one of the events in the game.
Maria and the others who were playing in the sea are swept away by the Kraken who suddenly appears, and then washed ashore on a deserted island.
If this is the event, it can be assumed that there is no danger to life for the time being.
Leon, the last one to be killed, is defeated, and the captured Marias are dragged into the sea en masse by the Kraken.
(What?) Mr. Crow!? ）
Just before that, I remembered something important.
Certainly, Crow should have been involved in that event.
The absence of it...
"Hey, wait a minute...!"
Maria, impatient, tries to stop her, but the monster doesn't know about it.
The Kraken then ruthlessly dived into the sea, and Maria lost consciousness.
◇◆◇◆
It's kind of noisy, isn't it?"
When I came back to the beach with my daughter, the situation had changed.
On the sandy beach, which should have been almost deserted, multiple knights are rushing around, creating a somber atmosphere.
What happened while we were apart?
"Welcome back, Ojou and Crow, I was just about to call you."
In order to check the situation for the time being, he joins Eins, who was giving instructions to the maids moving around the parasol.
Perhaps Eins recognized our appearance, but when he ran up to us who came closer, he bowed his head lightly.
"Ojou, were you injured?"
"What?! Well, it's nothing!"
She must have been worried that the Ojou-sama was holding her neck from earlier, and the Ojou-sama turned red in the face and tried to mislead Eins, who asked a question with a small shake of her head.
And behind the Ojou-sama, I watched the scene with a grin.
Although it disappears immediately, it seems embarrassing to see the tooth mold that remains clearly on the white nape of the neck.
By the way, when the existence of the tooth mold was discovered, I was very angry, but if you can see the Ojou-sama looking embarrassed, it is not this much pain.
「...?」
"Well, it's not a big deal, isn't it, Ojou-sama?"
Eins turns his gaze to confirm that the Ojou-sama's vague reaction is correct.
In order to convey the information correctly to Eins, I hugged the Ojou-sama's waist, opened my mouth wide as if to show off, and made a gesture of biting the opposite nape of the neck.
"Hmph!"
"Ouch!?"
Ojou-sama, who was sharp with my attitude, stomped on my foot as hard as she could and slammed her back fist into my face.
The relentless two-stage attack kicks me in the face in agony.
It seems that he went a little too far.
No, but the shy Ojou-sama is also cute ...!
"Oh..."
So I wonder what the hell is this situation?"
"Yes, a giant Kraken appeared out of the sea earlier, and we were safe because we were apart, but the highness who was nearby was attacked and hung directly into the sea. Therefore, the Knights of this city and the Knights of the Kingdom are currently working together to search for His Highness."
While I was in agony, the Ojou-sama turned to Einsu and ignored me and began to explain whether Eins had decided that there was no problem after seeing that.
Is it because of his mind that his expression looks somewhat dumbfounded, even though he is expressionless as usual?
... Can you worry about me a little?
"Why were monsters in such a place in the first place?" Wasn't this city protected by a barrier?"
Standing up, enduring the pain, I question.
Yes, because it is protected by a powerful barrier, this city has been able to develop with its benefits, and it has also become a resort area.
Isn't it a different story that this can happen?
"It's not strange, the barrier in this city is just to prevent the invasion of powerful monsters outside. Weaker monsters with less threat can enter and exit normally."
It was the Ojou-sama who answered my question.
I wonder if she's not angry anymore, but when the Ojou-sama has a serious expression on her face, she carefully explains it for me, who is not familiar with magic.
It's very easy to understand and I'm grateful, but I get unscrupulously excited by the dignified expression on his face, which is completely different from when he was screaming in my arms a moment ago.
"That's why the Knights of this city are supposed to patrol the territory regularly to exterminate it... From what I've heard of her, it seems that what she missed was secretly growing."
In other words, it seems to be a blunder of the Knights of this city.
Incidentally, the same would be true of the Royal Knights, who were in charge of escorting the princes.
I see, that's why they have such a desperate expression on their faces.
Moreover, it was the prince of this country who was even more affected, and some heads would surely be blown off.
The excuse that the sea is too wide to be found is meaningless before the facts.
Sorry about that....
"What do you think?"
However, such circumstances have nothing to do with us.
What matters is what we should do now.
"This is their blunder, it's not something we should be involved in, and it looks like we won't be able to use this beach for a while, so let's go back to the mansion."
"Yes sir, then Eins will ask you to lead the evacuation."
Perhaps because she was satisfied with swimming to the fullest, the Ojou-sama decided to return to the mansion without any particular concern.
Good.
I don't think it was a good idea, but if I chose to stay here, I would have to take forced measures against the Ojou-sama for safety.
"Shall we go, Ojou-sama?"
"yes, I'm a little hungry because I moved, let's eat when we get back."
"Yes, Ojou-sama! Apparently, the owner of the mansion is preparing fresh seafood that was just picked this morning."
"Heh, I'm looking forward to that."
When I leave this place to Eins and turn around, the Ojou-sama naturally takes my hand and lines up next to me.
We held hands and we talked about the road back to the mansion.