Chapter 517: The Decision to Delegate Judgment
“What’s the big deal? It’s just calling a name. I won’t make you go through any trouble,” Iruka insisted, nudging me closer. Poseidon, with both fists clenched, made a small victory pose. Please stop, I won’t try harder just because you’re cheering me on.
Sure, it might not be troublesome, but my magic power is being drained! After contracting with Ufu, I recovered with a magic stone, but I’m not at full strength yet. Plus, I used up some magic power while diving into the deep sea! I was naturally recovering too, but still!
“Seikai-sama, we need to use some charm to get through this,” Kame said, and because of his unnecessary comment, Poseidon started twisting his body in a strange way.
No, seriously. He looks like Laocoön from the Vatican Museums…
“Wonderful! I want to enshrine you as a statue in the temple!” Chris exclaimed, not in a disaster but in great praise.
Don’t blush, Poseidon!
‘Ufu’
Ufu tilted her head as if to ask if this was what I wanted.
“Come on, come on.”
“Ah. Wait, don’t push me like that!”
As I gazed off into the distance, Iruka nudged me with his snout.
“In this sea area, even fish float in the air, huh…” Chris remarked, oddly fascinated, but this dolphin is also part spirit. It’s talking, after all!
Also, while it may seem like it’s floating, seawater is spraying up and hitting Iruka’s belly, so technically, it might be considered floating in the sea.
“Alright, alright, just wait until I at least have my feet on the ground.”
I don’t want to be above the sea or on top of Kame.
And so, we moved.
Kame, along with me, Chris, Ufu, and Seikai following behind. It must look surreal from the outside.
The sea god Seikai. Even though he’s called the sea god, his influence probably extends mainly to the inner sea that Naruadeid and Es desire and the surrounding area of the Land of Mail. I think it overlaps with the range of activities of the humans who worship him.
Is Ufu the more powerful spirit? But Seikai is incredibly strong in this sea area where he is worshipped.
Also, the name Seikai is almost entirely fixed as a spirit’s existence, and changing it would require an enormous amount of magic power and strong will on my part. And if I were to change it to another name, Seikai would likely become very weak.
Spirits that are worshipped as gods are strengthened by human images and thoughts, so changing the name would make it a completely different entity. Therefore, instead of giving a new name, it would be a matter of overwriting it, calling the spirit by name while it accepts the contract.
While I could force a new name with magic or forcibly contract under the old name, there’s really no point in doing so. I did force a contract with Uma, Yukihyo’s friend, but that was practically a black spirit, so it doesn’t count.
Well, with that said…
“Seikai.”
Standing on the rock where Kame set me down, I faced Seikai floating in the sea and called his name.
Suddenly, the waves grew fierce, and the distant sea surface seemed to swell, crashing against the rock and breaking into white foam. It’s rare for the inner sea to have such waves.
And my magic power was being drained significantly. It wasn’t enough to make me fall over, but losing it all at once was exhausting. It felt like being woken up an hour early when I intended to get up. And this was the second time today.
But it’s fine since I’m just heading back. After sending Chris to Kanum, I think I’ll take a little nap while there’s still sunlight.
“Indeed. The contract is complete! When the Central Spirit King is in the sea, I and my retainers shall provide maximum assistance.”
With that, Seikai vanished into the sea—
“Young man, I shall bestow this upon you.”
—before tossing something to Chris.
No, it wasn’t just a toss; it was a dolphin’s throw, right? Please tell me it’s not a pufferfish bomb! Chris caught it with both hands but couldn’t stop the momentum, and it slammed into his chest, causing him to cough.
“…Is this a pearl?”
Chris asked, tilting his head at the ball in his hand, which had a rainbow sheen and was about the size of a baseball.
“This is the Tide Draining Pearl. Use it when you drop something to the bottom of the sea that you can’t reach.”
Iruka solemnly explained its rather trivial use, while Poseidon gave a big thumbs up as he sank into the sea.
“Thank you! I don’t often come to the sea, but I’ll use it if I accidentally drop something!”
Chris, are you sure about that? Given its name, it sounds like it will pull the seawater back and expose the seabed. My Language skill says “Tide Draining Pearl,” which I think has the same effect as the “Tide Rising Pearl.” It’s the counterpart that controls the ebb and flow of the tides, meaning it would pull the tide out…
Well, it might be fine; it could be on a smaller scale. There are various forms, not just spherical, like a cylindrical shape stacked in three layers, resembling a coiled snake, or even something like a mirror rice cake—though that’s a Japanese reference—so there are probably many variations.
“Ah, that’s great! There was someone who cried after dropping their armor into the sea before.”
“It’s tough to part with something you have an attachment to. Did that person ever find it?”
“No. It fell to the deepest part, somewhere I normally wouldn’t be able to go…”
The deepest part? That’s the hole of the Karianto Manju, right? The Spirit Gold that Chris received from the Karianto Manju is currently in my Storage, since gold is heavy and I’m holding onto it.
Does Kame know that it’s the remains of the legendary Spirit Gold armor but isn’t saying anything?
“I didn’t see any armor at the bottom of the sea, you know? The sea is romantic, knowing there are places even deeper than that!”
Chris, being the kind-hearted person he is, mentioned to let him know if I was still searching for the armor before parting ways with Kame.
‘Ufu’
Ufu dissolved into the atmosphere, and we Teleported to Kanum.
I’ll leave the judgment of what Chris brought back to Haulon and take a nap. I’m going to sleep!