"Once we arrive, let's gather information about the 'Apostle of Drake Castle - Mermaid.' Though, since the Apostle is in the underwater Drake Castle, our options for getting there are limited," one of them added.
"Underwater," I mused. "In a typical game, you'd think of epic underwater battles, but it's not like that in AIWOn."
In this game, water resistance is a real factor, making underwater combat extremely challenging. Training specifically for underwater battles might be essential.
"Hey, I just realized—do I really need to stick with Suzanne and the others?" Trinity suddenly asked.
"I'm hardly useful in battles, and there are probably better thieves than me among them. It feels like it wouldn't make a difference if I wasn't with Suzanne."
Ah, I feel guilty for not being of any use.
As for Trinity, the words we have for her are...
"It's a bit late for that."
"Yeah, really late."
"...Huh?"
Trinity looks momentarily stunned by our comments.
"Well, it's true I'm not that strong, so my combat skills are questionable. Obviously, a capable thief is better than a novice. As a guide, at this point, I'm not even sure she's functioning properly."
"...I can't believe I said that, but that's harsh."
"But we like Trinity. Even if we were to hire a new thief, how easy is it to find a competent one? Even if we do find one, our quest will involve a long journey for the Angel Quest. It wouldn't be easy to secure someone under those circumstances."
"That's true; hiring a well-known thief is difficult, especially for an extended period…"
Moreover, most thieves seem to be local, so hiring one for a world-spanning journey would be even trickier.
"Even if she's not useful in combat now, she can grow stronger with us. In fact, going on the Angel Quest might help her improve. I think she's definitely stronger than when we first met."
Well, it's true that Trinity seems a bit more useful now than she did back then.
"Have you forgotten, then? We owe Trinity — or rather, we owe Ava, who fronted our guild's quotas and turned a blind eye to our attempts to deceive her."
"Oh! Now that you mention it, I completely forgot about that! I guess I've grown too comfortable hanging out with you guys lately!"
Trinity said that, but I could tell she felt happy being with us. When she remarked, "It's too late for that now," her face was bright with joy. Is this what they call "tsundere"? Right now, Trinity embodies that perfectly.
"Alright, everyone, when you're ready, we'll head straight to the Jipan Empire."
We finished our lunch and moved to prepare for our departure to the Jipan Empire. However, the others had completed their preparations while I was still asleep, leaving me as the last to get ready. All I needed was to put on a mithril breastplate to replace my burned dragon leather armor. Fortunately, it seemed that in this coastal town of Boatport, they had managed to procure some mithril gear since repairing dragon leather armor was impossible.
Seriously, it's surprising they had mithril equipment in a little port town like this.
◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
"Gruh..."
Outside the port town, Snow waited patiently for us.
Even a mighty dragon like Snow couldn't fit its massive 10-meter frame into the town, so we had to leave it waiting outside.
"Sorry, Snow. Your size makes it a bit tough to go into town."
Snow rubbed its face affectionately against me, as if to say it didn't mind at all.
Ah, such a loyal creature.
We promptly climbed onto Snow's back, which was fitted with a specially designed saddle crafted in my absence. It certainly felt more comfortable than the first time I had ridden it.
"Grrr!"
With a powerful leap, Snow soared into the sky, racing across the ocean toward the Jinpan Empire on the East End continent. After flying for about three to four hours, the edge of the continent finally came into view.
"There's the port town of Longness in the Jinpan Empire. Snow, we'll need to land just outside the town."
Following Ava's instructions, Snow descended outside the town. Naturally, the guards were on high alert, weapons drawn at the sight of the sudden dragon arrival.
Ava stepped forward to negotiate, reassuring them that we meant no harm and that Snow would wait outside. Thanks to her efforts, we were allowed to enter Longness.
By the way, the guild card Ava presented during the negotiation helped show our peaceful intentions. I noticed to my surprise that my adventurer rank had unexpectedly risen to D rank.
"Ah, so the system automatically increases your adventurer rank based on the number of Angel Quests you complete," Trinity explained. She had looked into it while I was training in the underground city of Cobalt Blue and resting in the port town of Boatport during my free time. Completing one Angel Quest earns you the D rank (which, in this instance, means 'The Apostle of Beginnings - Start'), ten quests raises you to C rank, and completing twenty boosts you to B rank.
I wasn't sure how difficult the upcoming Angel Quests would be, but it certainly didn't make sense to have such a low rank after completing quests of this caliber.
"Well, since it's getting late, let's focus on gathering information until dinner," I suggested. First, we booked a stay at an inn reputed for its delicious seafood, and then we decided on our plans for the evening. As Ava pointed out, it was around 4 PM and twilight was approaching, so we decided to gather information on the 'Apostle of Drake's Palace.'
"Alright, Trinity, you handle the Thieves Guild. If you have time, check in with the Guide Guild too. I'll head to the Adventurers Guild. Ava, what about you?"
"I have something I want to investigate, so I'll check that out," she replied.
I couldn't help but wonder what was piquing her interest. But knowing Ava, she'd share her secrets with us if it became necessary.
We quickly split up to gather information. I headed to the Adventurers' Guild to learn more about the "Apostle of Drake Castle." However, most of the information I found was less about the apostle and more about the prosperity the town enjoyed from trading with the Mermaid's underwater temple, commonly known as Drake Castle. Tales of the precious gems from Drake Castle and the superior quality of their magical items and weapons fluttered through the gossip.
Yet, there seemed to be an unsettling atmosphere lately regarding the trade with Drake Castle, as if the recent dealings were not going as smoothly as before. Although I couldn't gather much on the "Apostle of Drake Castle," time was running out, so I made my way back to the inn.
When I arrived, Ava and the others were already back, and we quickly shared what we had discovered over dinner.
"The quest for the 'Apostle of Drake Castle' isn't too difficult," Ava said. "You just need to reach Drake Castle, and it seems you'll be rewarded with the proof of M's apostle."
"Yeah, I heard that at the guild too," I replied. "At first, I thought it would be that simple, but it looks like it's not going to be easy at all. I mean, how do you even get to the underwater castle?"
What seemed easy at first was likely the true trial in the end.
Even in this fantasy setting, finding a way to the bottom of the ocean surely isn't easy. Almost as if she read my mind, Ava offered a method to reach Drake Castle.
"Well, there are three ways to get to Drake Castle, where the Apostle of Drake resides. The first method involves diving straight to Drake Castle using a combination of combat skills, magic, and Ava techniques. However, I wouldn't recommend this method."
"Why not? It's just diving straight down toward Drake Castle, right? Sounds simple enough."
Out of the three methods Ava was suggesting, Trinity seemed to straightforwardly agree with the first one. But surely even I could see the flaws here. Was Trinity not thinking this through?
As Ava pointed out, attempting this method was nearly impossible. "Combat skills and magic typically last only about 30 minutes. I don't know how many hundred meters you'd need to dive to reach the seabed, but it's certainly more than what you could cover in that time. On top of that, there's always the risk of decompression sickness and water pressure. If anyone could manage it, they'd be quite impressive."
"Exactly, Suzanne is right. While techniques like Beast Transformation's Fish Breath or water-type enhancement spells like Aquarung can help with diving, the water pressure is a serious concern."
"You have to acclimate your body to the water pressure while diving, or you could end up with decompression sickness. But if you take too long, the Buff effects wear off quickly."
"Then the first option is out," Trinity said, throwing her hands up in exasperation.
"The second method is the most suitable, but... it seems to be facing some troubles right now," Ava said, placing a hand on her cheek with a worried expression.
"What's the second method?"
"Hiring a guide specializing in Drake's Castle—known as the Drake's Apostle. They allegedly use a harp gifted by the Mermaid Queen, which allows even ordinary people to navigate to the ocean floor. However, it seems hiring one isn't straightforward. They issue a quest to determine if someone is worthy of guiding you to Drake's Castle."
"So, with this specialized guide and the harp, we could reach Drake's Castle after all. I see that way, a common crowd wouldn't be able to flood in because of the quest selection."
"The quest selection is primarily for adventurers, while merchants in this town seem to have a different process. However, according to the information I gathered today, the Drake's Apostle is..."
"Currently missing, I hear. There's even a rumor that they ran off with the harp after swiping treasures from Drake's Castle."
Trinity, shifting from her earlier pose with both hands raised, leaned back in her chair, hands clasped behind her head, and spoke. "I've confirmed with both the Thieves' Guild and the Guides' Guild, so there's no mistake about it. As usual, the guide went to escort someone alone, and now they've vanished without a trace. The client complained that no envoy from Drake Castle has arrived, which is how they discovered the guide is missing. The town is currently in a mild panic because the route to Drake Castle has been lost."
"Oh, so that's why trade with Drake Castle has come to a halt. But wait, there's only one guide who connects our town of Longness to Drake Castle? There should be more than that, usually."
Indeed, there was only one guide linking Longness to the merchants of Drake Castle. Now, because that sole guide had disappeared, Longness could no longer benefit from the castle's resources.
"There's only one person who has been granted a harp by the Mermaid Queen. It seems that only those recognized by the Queen can wield it. In reality, three individuals were given harps, but effectively, only one can reach Drake Castle."
"What about the other two? Why can't they go?"
"It's simple: one is the Emperor of the Jipan Empire, and the other is the legendary priestess Fenris."
The Emperor may occasionally visit Drake Castle for political matters, but there's no way he would have a commoner as a guide, especially since the priestess, Fenris, is a figure from a century ago. She just disappeared into the realm of the gods, and who knows what happened to her harp?
Seriously? So essentially, there's only one person who can actually be of any help. And shouldn't the Queen have bestowed a few more harps? Well, I suppose it's part of a policy to keep the traffic to Drake Castle low.
"So, the crucial last harp holder, the envoy from Drake Castle, is missing?"