Chapter 193: Lost in the Deep Sea… or Adrift?

Before Gawain lay the latest batch of investigation reports on the mountain ruins, delivered by messenger soldiers. The documents detailed Sir Byron’s recent findings within the ruins, accompanied by fairly detailed maps and hand-drawn sketches of unfamiliar objects.

Even after winter set in, Sir Byron’s exploration of the mountain ruins hadn’t ceased. He still spent about half of each month wandering through that massive ancient facility, searching for more corridors, secret passages, and chambers, all while mapping his route. Every three days or so, he’d send a soldier back to the territory with the newly gathered information.

So far, the reports were routine—no new research facilities related to divine secrets had been uncovered. Yet the ever-expanding maps alone were enough to astonish Gawain. The true scale of the ruins kept surpassing his expectations. The corridors and halls were vast—likely the size of a small city. Even after all this time, Sir Byron hadn’t fully explored the current “floor.” Recently, the team had discovered two grand staircases leading both upward and downward, hinting at entirely new large sections yet to be found.

The upper levels made sense to Gawain—perhaps observation posts or watchtowers atop the Dark Mountains. But what lay below? The middle level of the ruins had nearly hollowed out the entire mountain. Could the lower level possibly extend underground?

Even for an ancient facility dedicated to studying divine mysteries, the scale was staggering.

Regardless of its full size, the middle level had been thoroughly mapped and deemed safe and structurally sound by Sir Byron. Gawain’s next plan was to relocate part of his territory’s operations into the ruins.

Those vast ancient halls were too valuable to waste. Their sturdiness and secrecy were their greatest assets. Gawain intended to move the newly assembled production lines for thermal ray guns, stamped armor, and rune circuit boards inside. Other sensitive or noisy equipment could also be transferred underground. After all, this was once a research facility of the ancient Gondor Empire, equipped with advanced protective structures and soundproofing—far superior to the brick-and-mortar workshops currently available in the territory.

Gawain picked up a quill to jot down notes on one of the reports, when suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed outside the door.

A knock sounded. After Gawain responded, Betty pushed the door open.

“Master!” The young maid hurried over to the desk, then dropped into a deep bow as if trying to throw herself forward. Her voice was crisp and urgent. “There’s been a big catch in the Knight Street square!”

“A big catch?” Gawain blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected such an odd report. “You need to report catching a fish? Just send it to the kitchen.”

Betty straightened up, thinking hard, then shook her head vigorously. “Too big. It won’t fit in one pot!”

“You caught a shark, then?” Gawain chuckled dryly. “Must be a fish from the Whitewater River that swam up the irrigation channel into the Knight Street well…”

“Doesn’t look like it’s from the Whitewater River. Half of it looks like a person…”

“…What?!”

Gawain dashed to the Knight Street square, which had already been cordoned off by patrolling soldiers. A young apprentice knight in command armor was maintaining order, while curious townsfolk peeked from alleys and corners beyond the barricades.

Gawain recognized the young officer—Klim, whom he had personally decorated for bravery during the first Siege of Cecil. Klim had been promoted and was now training under Sir Byron as an apprentice knight.

“Sir!” Klim saluted immediately. “The situation is under control. That… creature is still by the well.”

“What exactly happened?” Gawain frowned. “I heard you caught a half-human, half-fish… female?”

Klim shook his head. “Not caught. Miss Pea found her while drawing water. The half-fish, half-human creature seemed to be hiding at the bottom of the well. Later, a passing carpenter and apprentice pulled her up with some effort.”

Suddenly, Gawain’s mind flashed back to the knight’s chronicles he’d read days ago—and the legends of “sirens.”

Could it really be such a coincidence?

He hoped so, but dared not believe his luck. Still, he strode past the soldiers’ blockade with Betty, arriving at the small square enclosed by makeshift wooden fences. Several people were gathered around the well.

Pittman, Rebecca, Amber, Hetty—almost everyone in the know had come. Nearby stood three craftsmen being questioned by soldiers, and a little girl holding an empty bucket—Pea.

A strange woman lounged lazily on the well’s edge. She had beautiful sea-blue hair and wore a peculiar blue “jacket” that looked like leather. Her cheeks and exposed arms bore scale-like patterns. Her lower half—just as Betty and Klim had described—was a shimmering fish tail, patterned in pale gold and blue.

Gawain’s heart skipped a beat as he approached.

Rebecca and the others were curiously circling the stranger. Hetty studied the magical-looking patterns on her tail with a serious expression, while Amber asked about her origins and purpose. But the half-fish woman remained languid and unresponsive to most questions.

“What’s going on here?” Gawain asked aloud. Only then did the group, absorbed in their seafood research, notice his presence. Rebecca jumped up first.

“Ancestor! This looks like the ‘siren’ you were asking about!”

Listen to her choice of words—calling a person “a fish”! That perfectly captured the fusion of two species…

Pittman turned, his usually jovial druid face grave. “Sir, this really might be a siren. But we don’t know how she got here. She was very wary and hostile when she first saw us, but after we showed no ill intent, she became… less active.”

A real siren?!

Gawain controlled his excitement and looked curiously at the “mermaid” sitting on the well’s edge. She lifted her eyelids and met his gaze. After a moment, her tail slapped the well’s rim, and she let out a pleasant but lazy voice.

“I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

Gawain froze, then nearly burst with joy—almost wanting to dance wildly.

Was this siren a gift from the goddess of luck, dropped from the heavens to help him unravel the mystery?!

“You’re a siren?” Gawain took a deep breath to steady himself, then eagerly asked, “If so, maybe we really have met—I’m Gawain Cecil. Did we meet seven hundred years ago?!”

“Gawain Cecil? Yawn…” The mermaid yawned widely, rubbing her eyes. “Seven hundred years ago… I think I remember a human like that showing up. But I didn’t really interact with him. You say that was you? Can humans live seven hundred years?”

Gawain was momentarily at a loss for words. “Uh… I was only recently resurrected.”

The mermaid blinked. “You developed new abilities?”

“Well… not exactly.”

“Whatever. I don’t know you,” she said, shaking her head. Her sea-blue hair shimmered strangely in the sunlight. “I was just half-asleep when someone woke me up by throwing a bucket at me. By the way, who threw that bucket?”

Gawain glanced awkwardly at Pea nearby, then quickly realized, “You were sleeping in our well, so of course you got hit… What’s your name?”

“Tyr,” the mermaid mumbled. “So that place I was in was a well?”

She clearly didn’t want to talk much, but seemed somewhat interested in Gawain. They managed a tentative exchange, which amazed the onlookers. Rebecca looked at her ancestor with awe, blurting out, “Ancestor, did you used to go fishing?”

No idea how she made that connection.

Gawain gave Rebecca a wry look, then turned back to Tyr, unable to hide his curiosity.

“So, where are you from? Why did you come here? Do you need our help?”

“Me? I’m from the deep sea,” Tyr swayed slightly on the well’s edge. “I don’t know why I ended up on human land… A few days ago, I was fighting a group of humans in the sea. Then I got separated from the main force and swam home alone. Somehow, I ended up here. When I opened my eyes and saw humans everywhere, I thought I’d fallen into enemy territory. I was really scared.”

“Fighting humans in the sea?” Gawain caught the key point immediately, then realized another. “You said you were swimming back to your siren territory when you got lost?”

Tyr nodded. “Yeah.”

If the legends and elven records were correct, sirens were intelligent beings living in the far eastern seas…

Gawain’s expression darkened. “Miss Tyr, if I’m not mistaken… you probably swam the wrong way.”

“Huh?”

(End of chapter)