Chapter 195: The Intelligence Brought by Tyr

The sea witch Tyr had taken up residence in Lord Cecil’s manor, becoming neighbors with Hetty and Rebecca.

For this sea witch who had always lived in the deep ocean, the human world was fresh and fascinating. Although sea witches occasionally ventured ashore out of curiosity and boundless energy, that was something only the more restless ones did. For Tyr, whose greatest passion was hibernating until death, such a time- and energy-wasting idea was unthinkable. If she hadn’t accidentally swum the wrong way, she probably would never have come to this land on the western edge of the ocean.

But now that she had somehow ended up here and seen the human world, Tyr suddenly felt… maybe it wasn’t so bad to get out and about once in a while.

These human buildings on dry land, the crops growing between air and soil, the strange customs and traditions—it all seemed a bit more interesting than just sleeping away her days at home.

Gawain had arranged a “bed” for the sea witch that met her needs.

In a guest room on the manor’s first floor, he had a huge wooden tank brought in, taking up about a third of the room. Hetty reinforced it with magic, then filled it with fresh water—salt added, of course. It wasn’t the ocean, but Tyr was quite satisfied. After all, what she cared about most was sleep itself; as long as she had a place to stay, that was enough.

“Not bad at all. This is plenty for sleeping,” the sea witch said, stirring the water with her finger, clearly pleased. “Thanks for the trouble.”

Gawain glanced around the room. With such a massive “fish tank” inside, there wasn’t much space left for furniture. Besides a table and chairs and a storage cabinet, only a small single bed remained—and that was left intentionally. “You could try sleeping on the bed sometime. It might be a unique experience.”

“I’ll try, I’ll try,” Tyr waved her hand impatiently, then, right in front of Gawain, she leapt and flipped backward into the water-filled tank. Water splashed everywhere, and from beneath the surface, a long tail emerged, swaying gently in the air.

Gawain froze when he saw the tail—it wasn’t the fish tail he’d seen before, but more like a sea snake’s!

Amber gasped beside him. “Wow—your tail changed?!”

“Oh?” Tyr blinked, turning to look at the sea snake tail flicking behind her. She seemed surprised too. “Looks like I got it wrong… whatever, it doesn’t matter. I don’t have to swim around here anyway, and the snake tail’s easier to move.”

“Wait, your tail can change at will?!” Gawain felt like he’d just learned some incredible new fact—though it seemed utterly useless. “I always thought sea witches were half-human, half-fish, like the classic image.”

“People on land have such narrow minds,” Tyr said, poking Gawain with the tip of her snake tail. “That’s just your lack of imagination—I can even have a fish upper body and human lower body! Want me to show you right now…”

Before she finished, Gawain’s mind conjured a ridiculous image of a fat-headed fish with a pair of big white legs running past him. He shuddered three layers of goosebumps. “Stop, stop, no need! I get it—sea witches can change into all sorts of forms.”

“You’re so jumpy,” Tyr flicked her hair and submerged her upper body in the water, leaving only her head floating on the surface as she looked at Gawain. “So, any other questions? If not, I’m going to sleep… I swam all the way here from the Endless Sea in one go. I’m exhausted.”

“One last question,” Gawain hurried to ask before she fell asleep. “About seven hundred years ago… do you know anything about what I experienced in the sea witch’s domain back then?”

“You want to ask me about something you went through yourself?” Tyr looked at him in surprise.

“I was asleep for a long time. When I woke up, my memories didn’t quite match reality,” Gawain explained casually. “Besides, humans and sea witches have different worldviews. What I experienced might look very different from your perspective.”

“Seven hundred years ago…” Tyr rolled her eyes, pretending to think hard. Her tail lazily draped over the edge of the tank, gently swaying. “Honestly, I don’t know much. You passed through our waters but barely interacted with us sea witches. I was busy heading home to sleep, so I just glanced at you from the surface and left. What I know about you comes from the sisters who talked to you back then and told me afterward. Let me see… Oh right, you were looking for something called the ‘Apocalypse Artifact.’ But in the end, you and my sisters never really figured out what that thing was. So my sisters took you to a place shrouded in a strong magnetic field, as you requested. What happened to you in that area… I’m not sure.”

Apocalypse Artifact? A sea area covered by a strong magnetic field?

Gawain regretted that Tyr couldn’t provide more information. But from what she said, even the sea witches who had direct contact with Gawain Cecil back then probably didn’t know much more. They had only guided him; the truly important clues were those two key points Tyr mentioned.

Was that magnetic sea area the legendary Eternal Dark Sea? And what connection did the Apocalypse Artifact have to that towering spire reaching the sky under the starlight? Could it be the crystals that helped amplify satellite signals? Were the crystals Gawain took from the tower the Apocalypse Artifact?

“Are you familiar with that magnetic sea area?” Gawain pressed on.

Tyr thought for a moment. “It’s outside our waters, not far away, but we never go there. The strong magnetic field is a minor problem. The real trouble is something called the ‘Ancient Watcher’ that roams there and attacks intruders at random. Honestly, when you insisted on going in back then, we all thought you were crazy. Didn’t expect you’d come back alive… and even be resurrected?”

Now there was talk of an Ancient Watcher…

The flood of new information made Gawain itch to set sail immediately. But he knew his current domain’s productivity and technology couldn’t support such a reckless deep-sea expedition—especially with a potentially powerful ancient guardian lurking in the Eternal Dark Sea. Still, he added, “If there’s a chance in the future, I hope you can take me there again.”

“You humans really are adventurous creatures,” Tyr yawned lazily. “But maybe some other time—I’m not planning to go back just yet. I swam so far to find this place; it’d feel like a waste to leave right away.”

She glanced at Gawain with half-lidded eyes. “Besides, swimming is exhausting. I need to rest.”

The unspoken message was clear: she was done answering questions.

“All right, rest up. We’ll talk more when you have time,” Gawain nodded and stepped back. “If you need anything, just tell Betty or come find me. I already showed you around.”

“Got it, got it.”

Tyr flicked her tail impatiently, stretched luxuriously in the water, then flipped onto her back, belly up, and closed her eyes to sleep.

Sleeping belly-up in water like that looked like she’d suddenly died—thankfully, she had the snake tail now. If it were the fish tail, it would have been a bit creepy.

Gawain left the room with Amber and the others. Once in the hallway, Hetty broke the silence.

“Ancestor, what do you think of this sudden… sea witch?”

“What do you mean?”

“Sea witches are mysterious and ancient intelligent beings. Though there’s no proof, most legends about them describe danger, strangeness, and mystery. Do you trust this sea witch?”

Gawain rolled his eyes. “Do you see any of those traits in her behavior?”

Hetty was speechless.

“Of course, I understand your concerns,” Gawain shifted tone. “You can’t judge by appearances—same with fish, or sea snakes. But regardless, this sea witch brings me urgently needed knowledge and intelligence. I have an obsession with the deep sea that’s hard to explain, but because of it, I must keep Tyr here. Also, I’ve studied those sea witch legends carefully. Almost all come from coastal fishermen or sailors of the Typhon and Silver Empires. Frankly, those people tend to spin wild stories about gods and monsters even when they see a slightly big fish. Their legends are full of exaggerations—neither fully believable nor dismissible.”

“I understand,” Hetty nodded. “Since you’ve thought it through, I have no further questions.”

“Good. But remember to keep a close eye on Tyr. It’s necessary both for caution and to prevent her from doing anything shocking—after all, she’s from the deep sea, and her worldview might be completely different from ours.”

“Yes.”

“Also, have the witnesses in the square and the soldiers maintaining order been debriefed?”

“Yes,” Hetty replied. “We explained to the public that she’s an old friend of yours from seven hundred years ago who came upon hearing of your resurrection. Tyr was told this too, and she’s cooperating.”

“The convenience of being a legendary hero…” Gawain chuckled softly. “No matter how strange or bizarre things get, if it’s connected to me, ordinary people tend to believe it.”

Amber rolled her eyes. “After all, you can even rise from the grave. What’s impossible for you?”

Gawain: “…”

(End of chapter)