Are you sure this is the right way?
Yes, this is the correct way.
　Next to me, the Demon Lord Cain is giving me an uneasy look.
　I can see his expression because he has his helmet off.

I said, "It's hard to talk to you," and he took it off.
　Now he reveals a neat, bare face.
　You're really good-looking, you demon king. 　
　Dressed right, he'd look like a host or a model.

　We're riding the Abominable Dragon, the Demon Lord Cain's dragon.
　It still looks weird with lots of eyeballs and mouths, but if you take a closer look at ......, you can't help but think it's charming.

You're lying. You've got rotten eyes, don't you?
　(You're kidding. You've got rotten eyes.) Goddess of Fate, you've got a bad mouth.
　It's avant-garde and quaint.
No.
　Well, I said it while I was thinking it was too much.
　The communication from the Goddess of Fate (Ila) was cut off when she told me to be careful of the Demon King (Cain).


　Incidentally, the day I was picked up by Mel and the day I was to meet Cain were shifted by one day.
　I wanted to make sure that we wouldn't run into each other by mistake.
　After a day of waiting, the Demon Lord Cain and I were able to meet up.

　We are now leaving the western continent and heading for a place called the Harbin Islands, near the Undersea Temple.
　The location is memorized by the "Mapping" skill.
　It helped that I had been preparing to go to the underwater temple someday.

"My king, ......, please be careful.
　Behind me, the Great Spirit of Water (Dea) is standing guard against the Demon King Cain.
　I don't think you need to worry so much.

It's time to get to our island. First, let's find a place to camp!
Ah, .......
　Unlike me, who was very excited, the Demon Lord Cain's voice was low in reply. 　

What's wrong?　Cain-hard.
I'm not sure what to say.　...... Well, good. I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that. I'll take Noah's word for it: ......
　It seems that Noah has agreed to let me and Cain go to the underwater temple.
　And it seems that he easily saw through my true identity.

Takatsuki Makoto...... are you Noah-sama's apostle from a thousand years from now......?
Well, yeah.
"All the missionary work I've done for Noah-sama has been in vain. ......
...... Well, yes.
　It's not missionary work, it's just blackmail.

　In any case, it is not possible to increase the number of Noah's followers according to the rules of the Divine Realm.
　A thousand years later, Noah-sama was despised as an evil god.
　That seemed to be a shocking information to Demon Lord Cain.

"Well, that's fine. As long as we can save Noah-sama, we'll be fine.
"Mm, .......
　I spoke cheerfully to the gloomy Demon Lord Cain, and we talked about Noah-sama until we reached our destination.



　.



　--.

　In the world of a thousand years from now, this is a resort where royalty and aristocracy of many countries have their villas.
　But at the moment, they are uninhabited islands.
　There are not many demons living there.

　We've set up a simple base in a place with a good view.

Let's go to the Undersea Temple!
"Now?
　Cain was surprised when I suggested we leave.

　This expedition is scheduled to last two weeks.
　I'm worried about leaving the Great Sage (Momo) and Abel behind for too long.
　I don't want to waste as much time as possible.

"Because it's still early afternoon.
"But. But isn't it too urgent?
　It was the Demon Lord Cain who used the dragon to carry me.
　I wonder if he's tired.

Well, in that case, I'll go check it out on my own.
You're on your own?
I'll be back.
"No, ......, I'll come with you.
　In the end, he agreed to come.
　With Cain's dragon guarding the base, we jumped into the sea.


　The area around the Harbin Islands has a warm tropical climate.
　In the sea, there are rich coral reefs and colorful fish swimming slowly.
　It's peaceful.

　Cain, the Demon Lord, and I swam slowly through the sea, aiming in the direction of the Undersea Temple.
　Suddenly, I looked next to me and wondered.


"Isn't it hard to swim?
　I spoke to Cain, who was wearing full body armor even in the water.
　The conversation was being conducted through water magic, but there was no reply.



"............
Hello?
　Cain's mouth is agape, but I can't hear him.
　I have no choice but to grab Cain's arm.
　I cast the magic of underwater conversation on Cain.

"Can you hear me?
Oh, ......, how can you talk underwater?
Isn't that essential if we're going to challenge the Underwater Temple?
I've never heard of a spell that lets you talk underwater, let alone swim or breathe underwater.
I see. By the way, isn't it inconvenient to wear armor underwater?
No need to worry. This armor is a divine gift from Lord Noah. No matter where you are, it's not an inconvenience.
I see.
　Well, the divine artifacts are the Demon Lord Cain's greatest weapon and armor, and if they were removed, his strength would be reduced by half, so it would be a great help.
　The only problem is...

I'll speed up.
　The Demon Lord Cain's swimming speed is too slow.
　If possible, I want to reach the Deep Scar, the entrance to the undersea temple, by the end of the day.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.

Oh, hey!
Don't bite your tongue.
Wait!
　You'll be able to find a lot more information on the web at the moment. 　



　The next thing I know, I'm running out of time.



I'm sure you'll be able to understand why I've been so impressed with your work.
　The demon king's tone was weak.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.
　I'm not sure what to do.
　I'm not going to lie, I didn't think I'd be able to take this much of a hit either.
　The hardest part is yet to come: .......

"Sorry, Cain. I'll go a little slower next time.
Oh, yeah, ......, do that.
　As a follower of Noah, he is the only one of us who can help you, so I will be gentler on you than Dea.
　But from here on out, we're only going to dive deeper into the ocean.


　We are slowly descending towards the bottom of the dark sea.


　The water temperature drops and we use water magic to keep our bodies cool.

　Soon it was completely dark, with no sunlight reaching us.

Use your "night vision" and "spotting" skills to keep an eye on your surroundings.

　The sea around here is rich in mana, and there are many sea monsters.

"My king, watch your step.
"That's a ...... whale. It's as big as a ship.　
There's an ancient megalodon watching us from over there.
It's probably safe at this distance, but let's keep our eyes open.
Are you guys seeing this?
　I'm sure you're not the only one.

"You can't see me?
"I can see ...... if I have a helmet.
　I'm not sure.
I can see with a helmet. 　

Please put on your helmet.
"Oh, ......, okay.
　The Demon Lord Cain was more reliant on his divine weapon than I thought.

　After that, he asked me if the demons in the deep sea were this huge. Isn't it dangerous? But when I told him that none of the monsters would come close to him because they were wary of Dea, he quieted down.



　It took us more than an hour to reach the deep sea.


　Of course, this is not the destination.
　This is the starting point.


"Well, the Underwater Temple's just up ahead.

　I pointed to a crack in the bottom of the ocean.
　It's several hundred meters wide and a dozen kilometers long.
　It is said to be the remains of a star scarred by a war between the gods in the past.

　It is also known as the "Deep Scar".

　From here on, it's another world.
　It is said that the power of the stars, called the stellar veins, overflows and strengthens the demons that live there into beings of another dimension.
　The underwater temple exists at the far end of the vein.


Now, let's go take a look around, Cain.
Wait a minute!　You said you were only going to see the Deep Scar today!
Yeah, so let's take a little peek.
That's not what I said!
I haven't even been attacked by a demon yet.
Uh-huh. ...... That's true, but ......
Well, let's go for it!　Dea, take care of the perimeter.
"Yes, I'm on it. My king.
　I can count on Dea to respond to my words without hesitation.
　The demons in the vicinity are wary of Dea's mana and won't come near.





　--We dove slowly into a large chasm in the ocean floor.



(You're being watched. ......)
　I could feel hundreds of sea monsters observing our visitor.

From what I could tell from my "spotting" skills, they were sea dragons. 　
　In other words, this is a dragon's nest.
　I'm not sure if I'd have been more nervous if I hadn't met the Bailong family in the Great Labyrinth, but I could tell that the dragons here were about the same strength.

There's a lot of demons here. ......
　I'm not sure what to do.

It's a dragon's lair.
I'm not sure what to say.　I'm not sure what to do.
I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on.
But won't that be too late?
I don't think it's a dangerous situation.
I don't think we're in any danger.
　I'm not sure what to make of it.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.
　Dea spoke to Cain in an unusual manner.

But the people who live here are demons that have nothing to do with the Demon Lord's army. They can't recognize me as the Demon Lord.
"But with your armor and sword, you're not afraid of demons, are you?
　I said, but there was no reply from Cain.
　Don't tell me you're afraid of ......?


　As we slowly descended, it became brighter and brighter, even though we were in deep water.
　It was not the light of the sun.
　The magic stones buried in the wall were glowing.
　It is the light of mana.

　At first, it was just a trickle of light, but the number is gradually increasing.
　The magic stones are glittering like stars in the night sky.
　As if in proportion, the concentration of magic power (mana) in the water is also increasing.
　Indeed, this is a different world.

It's beautiful.
"Yes, my king. This is a good place for spirits to live.
　Indeed, there are many water spirits.
　It seems that the magic of Dea is increasing more and more.
　At this rate, there's little chance of the demons messing with us.
　Dea and I enjoyed the scenery of the deep sea.


"Hey, Makoto Takatsuki, ....... How far do you want to go?　Isn't that enough for today?
　The Demon Lord Cain was apparently not enjoying himself.
　It's such a beautiful scenery.
　But let's not go any further.


Let's get back upstairs.
Oh!　Let's do it!
"Yes, I'd like to stay here a little longer.
　Dea was not happy, but it was her first day.

　We decided to go back to the base.



　We went back to the base.



　We went back to the base and grilled the fish we had caught on the way home for dinner.
　I asked Cain to make the fire.

Tomorrow we'll start exploring in earnest, so let's get some rest.
...... Sounds like fun, Takatsuki Makoto.
Is that so?
I've never been on an adventure before, but I never thought it would be so exhausting.
　I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one who's a bit nervous about this. 　

"Hey, Cynhart. It's hard to sleep like that, isn't it?
　I said, and I'm sure the Demon Lord Cain glared at me.

"You're going to attack a defenseless sleeper with no armor on!　No one can have Noah's sacred artifacts!
No, that's not what I meant. ......, tomorrow we're going deeper into the Deep Sea Wounds, so try not to get too tired. If you want to go to bed first, I'll keep an eye on you. Good night.
　It's a great way to get a good night's sleep.

You're not going to sleep at ......?
"I'll sleep later.　
　As you answer, you make water butterflies with your water magic.

　As a base by the sea, water spirits are abundant.
　Perhaps the fact that it is near an underwater temple has something to do with it.
　I look up.
　The stars in the night sky are beautiful.


"Takatsuki Makoto.
　After practicing for a while, I heard my name called.


"What's wrong?　What's wrong? - Cain-hardt.
...... No, it's nothing. ...... See you tomorrow.
Yeah, we'll explore deeper tomorrow.


............
　There was no reply to my words, and soon I could hear her breathing in her sleep.

　I had a hard time sleeping that night, as I was on my first adventure to conquer the underwater temple.
　In the end, I didn't fall asleep until almost dawn.


　--And so ended the first day of my challenge to the last dungeon.