29 Are you there? (Please keep reading!)

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Prison of Deep Water.

“What? You want to smell me too?”

Herbert hugged his knees nervously, shrinking into the corner in a pitiful, helpless, and utterly vulnerable fashion as he warily watched the lewd siren before him.

She wants my body too!

How scandalous!

“You... What?”

Mermaid Princess: ???

“What on earth are you talking about? Who wants to smell you!?”

Freyme widened her eyes in bewilderment. This fellow’s thought process was bizarre—almost perverted.

What respectable person would go around smelling other people?

“I only sensed what seemed to be a mark belonging to my siren kind on you. I thought someone else was about to be imprisoned here.”

“Ha. If you don’t want to say, then forget it.”

She rolled her eyes so hard that she seemed to have lost all desire to speak with him. Then she withdrew into the sphere of water once more.

“Oh? So you weren’t harboring any improper thoughts about me after all.” Herbert stood up, waved his hand in front of the water sphere, and poked it with one finger.

Thump~

“Hello? Anyone home?”

Thump~

“Open up, open up! Don’t hide in there without making a sound! I know you’re home!”

“Are you there? Are you there? Are you there?”

After being pestered for quite some time, Freyme finally reacted.

She slammed her face against the surface of the water sphere and glared furiously at Herbert, blowing out a stream of bubbles.

Gurgle, gurgle! (“You’re so annoying!”)

Unfortunately.

The siren lady, who had received a proper royal education, was clearly not as easy to coax or deceive as the hungry dragon lady. No matter what, she refused to take the bait.

Well, an educated woman really was different.

After being harassed, Freyme declined the invitation to argue and chose instead to go completely offline.

She hardened the surface of the water sphere into a rough, matte shell. Even when poked, it no longer rippled, severing all contact between the two of them unilaterally.

“Alas, our feelings have faded. They’ve really faded!”

Herbert sighed sorrowfully. He raised a hand to rub his eyes and turned his head away, as though he did not want his tears to fall.

In truth, however, he merely turned his back and smiled, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.

It was now certain. Freyme was merely annoyed by him, not reacting to him for some other reason.

“Looks like she’s the same as Valentina. She can only vaguely sense something, but has no way of determining exactly what that sensation coming from me really is.”

To be fair, although the God of Mischief was not exactly reliable as a person, the abilities he provided were remarkably powerful.

With one more hidden concern eliminated, Herbert relaxed.

“Still, judging by this, winning over and transforming the siren lady probably won’t go as smoothly as it did with the dragon lady.”

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A mind that had been put to use really was different.

She wasn’t easy to fool.

“Food alone probably won’t be of much use. I’ll have to think of another approach.”

“So, what do sirens like?”

“Seafood? Handicrafts? The catch of the day? Er... fish are probably out. I don’t want to see another fish for a very long time.”

Since she was unwilling to communicate with him, relentlessly fawning over her would accomplish nothing. It would be better to lay low for now and use a little reverse psychology.

Sooner or later, she would be unable to hold herself back.

Thinking this, Herbert bid Freyme farewell, picked up his battered lantern, and once again passed through the barrier leading to the next area.

“I’m back.”

In the Prison of Lightlessness, Herbert opened his eyes.

The same darkness obscured his vision, the same deep and frigid gloom remained unchanged.

Yet something was different.

This time, Herbert no longer felt that every path beneath his feet was identical. He possessed an exceptionally strong sense of direction.

“It really works.”

Herbert had originally intended to wait until the High Priest finished repairing the formation before entering the Prison of Lightlessness, but a special ability had changed his mind.

Among the Siren Queen’s Affection was a blessing that prevented its bearer from losing his way.

With this ability, he would no longer be walking in circles through the darkness.

Herbert set down his lantern and relied solely on the light radiating from his holy mark to protect himself, striding forward without the slightest fear.

Before long, he clearly sensed his body gradually veering to the right at a slight angle.

It was not affecting his subconscious, nor was it twisting his body. Rather, it was changing the ground beneath his feet.

Seriously?

Wow.

That’s a bit of a cheap trick, isn’t it?

You’re just bullying me because I can’t fly.

Though all he had to do was run faster than the terrain could be altered, doing so would be rather undignified.

After walking in silence for a while longer, Herbert spoke calmly into the darkness as he continued onward:

“I know you’re watching me, and I know you’re changing the road beneath my feet. If you insist on playing this way, it’s going to get rather boring, don’t you think?”

“Archmage Svanney.”

There were two monsters imprisoned on this level, but there had only ever been one person capable of influencing the Prison of Lightlessness.

The Forbidden Scholar, the Shadow Archmage, the Silent One—Svanney Moore.

According to the records, this dark elf archmage was by nature reclusive and unwilling to communicate with anyone.

Only someone with her level of knowledge could seize an opportunity to forcibly alter the structure of the sealing formation.

However, simply knowing who was behind it was useless. Herbert still had no way of reaching that place.

So he stopped walking altogether and said calmly from where he stood:

“Last time, I was outmatched, so I left. I didn’t throw a tantrum or beg you to meet me.”

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“But this time, I’m no longer being affected by you, and you’re still carrying on like this. That’s a little poor-spirited, don’t you think?”

“You understand that you and I are bound to meet sooner or later. Do you really intend to keep playing this game?”

“If you insist on burning this bridge... I can make things very unpleasant for you too.”

Herbert shook his head helplessly, raised his right hand, and snapped his fingers lightly.

“For example—this.”

Snap.

As the sound of his fingers faded, a harsh scraping noise suddenly rang out through the previously silent darkness.

Crack!

Although it lasted only an instant before everything returned to normal, Herbert had already achieved his purpose.

He smiled, shrugged, and said with disarming frankness, “That’s right. I can’t completely control the sealing formation yet, but neither can you.”

If you can seize control from it, why can’t I?

“If you don’t want me to annoy you like that every time, then stop hiding.”

“Meet me once, and I won’t bother you again today.”

“What do you say?”

No one answered from within the darkness.

But Herbert knew Svanney had heard him—because the road beneath his feet stopped changing.

“Good.”

Her cooperation surprised Herbert somewhat. He then quickly followed the path ahead.

Sure enough, with the interference gone, he soon found the prison holding the captive.

Only, the scene of their first meeting was somewhat different from what he had imagined—

“Hm?”

Herbert looked at the black iron coffin before him, tilted his head in thought, then raised his hand and knocked on the lid.

Knock, knock.

The coffin produced an extremely hollow sound, as though there were nothing inside it at all.

Empty?

Was it really empty?

Herbert thought for a moment, drew a breath, leaned close to the coffin, and whispered:

“...Are you there?”

Click.

At his call, a faint sound suddenly came from within the coffin.

Click!