-- and we proceeded to sail to our real destination, wary of our surroundings.

　The surface of the water around the island is calm, and there is no sign of a large demon at all, nor is there any unexpected sign of Dagon.

　It's not only the lake itself, but also the island that I observed with my 'right eye' in the distance.

　At least as far as I can observe from the boat, I don't think there's any kind of anomalies happening on the island.

"Hey, Luke. "Hey, Luke, is that ...... 'right eye' of yours okay?　The cracks around your eyes are getting wider and wider.
I don't think you'll feel any pain or discomfort. Well, of course, it's not something to be optimistic about, but if you're not going to use it at an important time like this, when in the world are you going to use it?

　As I replied to Garnett, who casually worried about me, I continued to stare at the island where I was going.

　I can now see where Ambrose is.

　It seems that he is standing near the center of the island, which is almost circular in shape.

　We don't know what they are doing, but they don't seem to be doing anything major.

　The fact that the local Ambrose hasn't even acted in self-defense means that they are not in imminent danger, at least not as much as they need to be.

'Shall we berth, Commander?　It feels like there's lake water flowing toward the island again, but it's a superficial flow, unlike that guy from earlier.

　He nodded back to Ulysses, who suggested going up.

'Can you ask?　This time, the cause of the problem is still visible, so there's no sign of a giant creature hiding in the lake. There's a river flowing into the middle of the island from the lake...

　On a normal landscape, rainwater on an island or land would flow into a river, which would flow into the water or the sea.

　On this island, however, the water from the lake is flowing deep into the island.

　However, the water is not flowing back down the slope, ignoring gravity.

　A downhill ditch is carved from the shore to the back of the island, and at the back of the island there is a basin-like landscape that is lower than the water's surface, and the water flows down to the bottom of the basin along the inclined channel.

　And similar channels were set up in several places on the island, giving it an atmosphere that was clearly not a natural object.

　In short, it was not an island, but an artificial water intake facility.

There are some sluice like gates in the channel. "You can see the gates in the channel," he said, "and they are designed to control the flow of water into the lake and keep the right amount flowing down to the lower levels.
Oh, it's a trick you often see in water sources. It's the first time I've seen a submerged water intake tower.

　Alexia popped up from the side and evaluated the role given to the destination island from the point of view of a mechanical engineer.

It would be quicker if we could drill a hole in the bottom of the lake, but then it would probably get clogged up with mud from the bottom of the lake. There's no human habitation and there doesn't seem to be any water pollution in the area, so I think they wanted to collect the supernatant in an efficient manner.

　It is true that the bottoms of rivers and lakes are often accompanied by a thick layer of mud.

　When you think about avoiding the soil and mud near the bottom, securing a foothold for maintenance, and hiding from the surroundings, it seems to me that they naturally settle on that shape.

　Well, at any rate, it's good for us that it was that way.

　It's easy to create a frontline base for a diversionary tactic disguised as a raiding operation.

"Ulysses, come ashore. Ulysses, de-summon your ship, just in case. We'll bring everyone in.
Copy that. Not having to keep a lookout is one of the advantages of this skill.

　Quickly, Ulysses turned the helm and brought the ship to a stop on the shore of the island.

　Then, after making sure that everyone had landed on land, he activated his skills and sent the ship back to its original location.

'Whew ...... good grief. I can finally catch my breath.

　Ulysses let out a sigh and held his hips, moving his shoulders and neck as if trying to relieve his fatigue.

　It seemed to be quite hard work to step on the violently rocking boat and continue to steer the ship with all of his strength.

'Hey, hey, you're doing it, old man!　That's a big deal!

　Chandler patted Ulysses on the back with a happy look on his face.

　It may have been an expression of affection on his part, but it was a little too powerful for Ulysses' body, and he let out an upward scream and squeezed down.

'Ouch. Give me a break. It's just that I'm getting rattled all over the place.
Oh, I'm sorry.
'And the faithful will be punished when we get back to headquarters. It's an expedition that lasts until you get home. It's also possible that you could make a huge mistake on your way home.

　Ulysses said something connotative to Chandler and gave me a sideways glance as well.

'And the raiding mission is the real deal. If you're at the limit of your strength at this level, you might be rather underpowered, you know?'
...... No, you can have your review meeting when you get home, but you'll have to do it soon enough to praise me. If something goes wrong before you get home, you won't be able to tell me, right?
''Haha, that's a scary thing to say. It would be a great help to my subordinates to see the reality of the situation, but ...... oops, it's not like it's another Knight Commander of the Order, just in case.

　As I've thought for some time, apparently Ulysses has a habit of trying to shift and deflect the conversation.

　I'm not sure if it's because I'm too old ...... or because I'm an older man that I'm tickled to be frankly praised and admired.

　And yet the frustration of not getting the recognition or the work you want to do is still alive and well, so it's an indescribably complicated feeling.

　To be honest, I feel the same way about the young kids in the arms shop, so it's not that I don't understand how they feel, but that's why I have to say what I have to say.

'Thanks, Ulysses. You've saved my life.
Thank you for that. I'm glad to hear you're pleased.

　Ulysses walked towards the back of the island with a fluttering wave of his hand in an unassuming manner.

　However, there was definitely something like a smile on his mouth.