Chapter 159: A Wellhead Humans Cannot Pass Through

Chapter 159: A Wellhead Humans Cannot Pass Through

Nina was a pirate who had clawed her way up from the lower and middle ranks. Although she was often rather impatient and quick-tempered, her experience in handling matters was unquestionably rich. She was the relatively reliable sort. After a brief recollection, she described the situation seriously.

“That well is at a rather deep part of the seafloor. I needed enough time to buffer and adjust before I could adapt to the pressure and temperature there, so it took me a long while to reach it.

“The well itself wasn’t easy to notice, but the remaining steel structures were indeed quite obvious. As soon as I adjusted to the environment down there, I found them.

“They’ve completely collapsed and decayed. There’s no way to imagine what they looked like originally. Still, it’s clear they must have once been very large in scale. They’ve only shrunk a great deal by now.”

At this point, Nina gave a couple of soft laughs, her gaze sweeping over the men present.

A true female pirate really is different… Klein immediately sighed inwardly.

In his view, whether it was Admiral of Stars Cattleya, Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina, or Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy, none of them could be considered pure female pirates. They had all come from major factions or secret organizations. When they were at lower Sequences, they either had not been at sea, had followed important figures and handled comparatively safe matters, or had been solitary adventurers. They had hardly been shaped by the habits and atmosphere of low- and mid-level pirates.

Once Nina had finished laughing, Cattleya pointed at the corroded object in the woman’s hand, which could barely be called a metal strip.

“This is part of those steel structures?”

“Yes, Captain. You know I don’t understand much about history or mysticism. I could only bring some back so you could study it. You’re the expert in that area.” Nina smiled and handed the “metal strip” over.

Then she pointed at the remaining piece of black soil, whose surface was covered in honeycomb-like holes.

“Not far from the steel ruin, I found that well. It really isn’t large. If something like that can be called ‘giant,’ then I’ve certainly seen plenty of giant cannons.

“Those drunken adventurers can brag even better than us pirates!

“This is soil from the inner layer of that deep well. I simply can’t imagine how these marks formed!”

Nina’s finger tapped repeatedly against the honeycomb-like spots on the black soil.

Klein had originally assumed the marks had been left behind by dense firing from very small objects. But after carefully observing them, he suspected they were “patterns” left after something had corroded the surface. Each spot was very shallow, and its edges spread slightly and irregularly outward.

As Nina handed the black soil to Admiral of Stars Cattleya, she continued describing what she had seen.

“That well really is small. Even if you brought in a child from Nas, they wouldn’t be able to crawl through it.

“It’s very deep. I even felt as if it had no bottom. In that environment, the inside was pitch black, as though something inside was slowly summoning me. Yes, slowly.

“I found a few stones nearby and threw them in, but there wasn’t the slightest response. In short, the inside is filled with water.”

Cattleya raised the “metal strip” and the black soil, examining them carefully through the thick glass lenses of her glasses.

“Since the mouth of the well is very small and humans cannot enter it directly, we have no need to begin exploring it right now. That would be extremely dangerous.

“Once I understand what secrets are hidden in these two objects, and whether that ancient well is valuable enough for us to take risks, we can return here and make an attempt.”

“All right, Captain!” Soaked through, Nina shivered as the cold wind blew across her, making the surrounding pirates stare in unison.

Cattleya pushed up the frame of her glasses and said to Nina, “You may drink one bottle of Sonia blood wine today. Everything else is unlimited.”

“…Long live the Captain!” Nina cheered as if she had reached the peak of happiness.

A deep-sea ancient well humans can’t enter… Having no desire to explore, Klein silently summarized Nina’s description.

Then a curious idea suddenly occurred to him.

The fact that humans could not enter that underwater ancient well did not mean nonhumans could not!

Many deep-sea fish were not necessarily that large. There was a fair chance they could pass through the mouth of the well.

And as the “Sea God,” when he held the scepter, he had more than enough methods to command marine creatures.

No need to rush. I should see what Madam Hermit can discover from these two items first, then decide whether to explore it on the way back. Otherwise, who knows what exaggerated danger I might provoke… With so little information, there’s no way to divine it either… As thoughts ran through his mind, Klein outwardly remained utterly calm.

At that moment, Admiral of Stars Cattleya strangely turned her head and glanced at him. Then, without leaving a trace, she withdrew her gaze.

Why did she suddenly look at me? What is she looking at? She can’t possibly know I have the Sea God Scepter and can drive marine creatures. No, she does know—but what she knows is that Mr. Fool possesses the divine scepter left behind by the sea serpent Kalvetua, not The World… Unless she has seen through that The World is The Fool… But that’s even more impossible. Even Mr. Hanged Man still only thinks The World is a Blessed, and she hasn’t even discovered that much yet…

Klein changed his line of thought and considered things from Admiral of Stars’ perspective.

She was a person pursued by knowledge. She had followed the Queen of Mysteries, served the Moses Ascetic Order, roamed the seas for many years, and seen and experienced many things. It was not strange for her to know that the Sea God’s domain included Beyonder powers capable of commanding marine creatures.

So, after discovering that humans could not normally pass through the deep-sea well, she naturally thought of the scepter in Mr. Fool’s possession and planned to ask for the corresponding help in the future? Looking at me was her way of observing whether The World had also grasped the relevant information or had similar thoughts?

Many ideas flashed through Klein’s mind. With the help of his Clown abilities, he forced his expression to remain cold and indifferent, showing not the slightest abnormal reaction.

As Nina went to collect her Sonia blood wine, Klein pressed down the brim of his hat and turned back toward the cabin entrance.

Just as he neared the doorway, an image suddenly surfaced in his mind:

A room on the upper level of the cabin. The window was shut, the curtains drawn, and a pair of indistinct eyes hid behind them, quietly watching the people on deck—watching Gehrman Sparrow.

Who? Klein did not stop walking. His body showed no stiffness. He entered the cabin with the same natural movements as before.

…

At three in the afternoon, bright but not scorching sunlight fell over a garden near Stoen University.

Michelle Deit, already a senior associate professor though only just forty, wore a long tailcoat suitable for a banquet and a handsome bow tie. He waited patiently at the entrance.

Yesterday evening, he had received a letter. The messenger had been an attendant from the house of Earl Hall, the greatest noble in East Chester County, and the writer was the daughter of that influential upper-house member—the young lady known as the most dazzling gem of Backlund, Audrey Hall.

In the letter, that noble lady mentioned that she had heard at a gathering that Mr. Michelle Deit was an outstanding collector. As a fellow enthusiast in this field, she very much hoped to pay a visit and view his collection.

Michelle Deit had no reason to refuse.

Before long, an elegant carriage bearing a family crest arrived at the gate.

The two servants who had already been instructed opened the iron-barred outer gate and guided the carriage around the garden to the front of the house.

A female steward alighted first, followed by guards and maids.

Then a hand wearing a white gauze glove reached out.

With the help of the maids, Audrey stepped gracefully onto the carpet Michelle had laid down in advance.

Michelle was first stunned. Then his eyes lit up, and he felt as if the flowers in the garden to the side had all lost their color at that instant.

He took two steps forward, removed his hat, and bowed.

“Welcome, noble miss.

“Your visit is an honor to me and my family.”

Audrey removed the veiled hat from her head and handed it to a maid. After exchanging a few polite words, she followed Michelle Deit through the living room and entered the collection room on the first floor.

Once here, Michelle seemed to finally recover the confidence of a host. Starting from the left side, he pointed toward the first item and introduced it.

“This is a helmet that appeared during the White Rose War. After long research, I can confirm that its owner was a member of the Sauron family. At that time, they were still a royal house.”

The golden helmet was exquisitely designed. On its top was an ornament resembling a bird in flight, and its visor was made of overlapping metal scales.

“My ancestor obtained his first title during that very war,” Audrey replied with interest.

She had adjusted her state of mind ahead of time, making herself appear exactly like someone who had truly come for a visit.

“The failure of the Twenty Years’ War brought the kingdom years of humiliation, but it also refined one hero after another.” Michelle offered a compliment from the side.

The White Rose War had taken place after the Twenty Years’ War and before the Oathbreaking War. Loen had defeated Intis and once again become powerful.

Michelle continued introducing his collection. Audrey listened very attentively, occasionally raising questions and exchanging opinions with him.

At last, Michelle’s finger pointed toward a notebook with a black cover.

“It belonged to a knight stationed on Sunya Island during the Twenty Years’ War.

“That knight’s name has already vanished into the long river of history. Only this notebook proves that he once existed, and that he held Sunya Island until the very final moment.

“This notebook is not only first-hand material for studying that period of history; it also contains a few problems of its own. The knight had many uncommon grammatical habits. Those may be clues that can help us determine his exact identity.”

Audrey instinctively believed this notebook was her target. She moved a little closer and, as expected, found faint line marks on the black cover. Together, they outlined a rather abstract dragon.

Judging from Associate Professor Michelle’s tone and subtle expression while introducing it, his interest in this notebook is mainly focused on its content, not the object itself. He doesn’t treasure it especially much… I have a strong chance of buying it… Audrey calmly made her judgment. Turning her head slightly, she smiled at Michelle Deit.

“What exactly are these uncommon habits?” she asked.

“He likes to use short sentences. Extremely short ones…” Michelle explained, almost showing off.

Audrey remained a qualified listener, smiling as she looked at him and listened with great focus. This caused Michelle to say even more.

As she listened, she suddenly felt that the knight’s grammatical habits were somewhat familiar.

“That is…” Audrey’s eyes moved slightly, and she quickly remembered the source of that familiarity.

They were certain grammatical habits of Dragonish, a language she had studied seriously and basically mastered!