We proceeded cautiously further into the warehouse.

　From the strange demons we had seen earlier, more and more weird-looking ones appeared.



　Some of them looked like small dragons with wings like lizards.

"They are obviously not natural occurrences."



　Along the way, there is a carpet with magic circles painted on it.

　I have never seen these magic circles before.



　It has probably been used recently, and there is not much dust on it.

　If Domorte were here, he would be able to tell what kind of magic circle it is, but he can't do so here and now.

　However, it seems that no serious research has been done.



　There are piles of dismembered demon hands and bodies.

　It seems that there are living demons in the area, so it seems that there is a lot of research going on there.



　We retrieve the magic circle just in case.



　I went further into the room, and found a large aquarium, about twice my height.

　Inside the tank are half-fish, mermaids, and other underwater monsters.



"Do you understand?　I'm here to help you."

　Inside the tank, the mermaid's mouth is agape, but we cannot hear her voice at all.

　It seems to be made of very thick glass.



　I wonder how much money it cost to make something like this.



　I looked around and found a large ladder, which I used to climb up to the top of the tank.

　The ceiling is covered with a lid and locked from the outside.



"Hmm!" I yanked on it as hard as I could.



　I pulled as hard as I could, but the lock would not open.

　This time, he inserts his sword and tries to open it.



"Ah!"

　The sword snapped loudly, and the tip broke off.

　It seems that a very strong key is used.



　The tank is too big to carry it with me.

　Is there anything at least?

　I look around, but there is nothing that I can use.



　One of the people locked in the cage calls out to me.



"Hey. Hey, man. If you get me out of here. I'll show you how to unlock that tank."



　There he was, a man of the Dragon God tribe.

　I believe they live on a mountaintop in the east and rarely interact with people.

　I wonder if they were kidnapped like the mermaid.



How are you going to unlock the door?

"With a key. I know where the key is.



Why are you locked up in here?　It's hard to help you if you're a criminal slave or something.

I'm not a criminal slave. My name is Drakul. I am the grandson of the proud Dragon God Chief Dorado. I'd normally be on my guard against humans... but when I went off on my own to train as a warrior... I was attacked in my sleep and captured. I did nothing wrong."



　Hmm. I can't help it if he's lying about everything, but I've heard that the Dragon Gods are rather hard-headed and straightforward.

　Basically, if you don't piss them off, they're good guys who like to drink.



　We don't have much time and we don't have time to argue.



"Okay. Just tell me where the key is first. You tell me where the key is first, and I'll get you out of the cage."

"Fine. There's a bunch of keys on that shelf over there. I don't know which key it is, but if you put it in there, you'll find out."



　On the other side of where I was standing, there was a dirty shelf with a bunch of keys randomly placed inside.

　I wondered if there were all the keys in this cage, or if there were quite a few.



"How long has Drakul been locked up?"

"Quite a while now. They only come here once in a while. They don't get enough to eat and most of them are fighting hunger.



　There are many demons and subhumans here, but we can't help them all now.

　I'll just report this to the city guard later.



　After dozens of attempts, when my heart is about to break, the key to the mermaid tank is finally unlocked. I give the key to Drakul.



"Drakul, thank God!"

"No, I would have starved to death here if you hadn't come along."

My name is Locke.

Thank you. I'll repay you in time."



　Drakul opened his cage and gave the key to the subhuman who could open the lock himself, then left the warehouse.



　I'll open the tank as soon as I can.

　The lid was quite heavy, but I managed to open it by myself.



　If it had been a little heavier, I would have called all my followers to do it.



"Are you okay?　Sun and Mei asked me to help you.




"Thank you."

How many people are trapped here?



Ten in total.

And the other mermaids?



One of them was taken. He was told he was going to be auctioned off.



　An auction.

　If they're already in the auction room, that's not good.

　It will be difficult to recover the fish by force, and if it is a legitimate auction, it will be disguised in some way.



　It doesn't seem like they are doing anything right, judging from the strange demons here.



"Okay, we'll get out of here first, so those mermaids who can transform into humans, please do so."

"I'm sorry. We have been chosen so that we can't escape.



　I wondered why they didn't use any magic tools for sealing magic.

　I call Mr. Gargoyle.



"I'm sorry, but I need you to take the mermaids outside.

Can you do that? I'll take care of it.



　Mr. Gargoyle is such a gentleman.



"We need your help, too."

　There are two half-mermaids who come up to me.



"Who are you?　Why are they holding you?　Are you not under their control?

"We are so powerful that Pedro's magic didn't work on us.



　Indeed, if you look closely, the dorsal fins of these half-fish are much larger than those of the half-fish we had seen in the village.　

　I guess there is a limit to how much you can manipulate them.



"Okay, but don't get into trouble.

"Of course. I'll do as you say.

Any mermaids willing to be carried by these guys?



　No one raised a hand.

　I would have thought there would be at least one, but I guess we can't get along with half-mermaids now that they're here.



"All right. The half-mermaids can walk on their own, so if anyone else wants to help, help. Me and Mr. Gargoyle will carry the mermaids."



　Then we get the mermaids safely out to sea.

　I go to Lucky and ask him to guide the mermaids to San, who is offshore, and we discuss the future.



"I think that's all the mermaids we can save right now," he says. It seems that one more mermaid has been taken to the auction. If she is in the auction, it may be very difficult to save her. What do you say?　I'll help you if you help me.



Mr. Locke, please. Please help us if you can.

"Okay. I'll see what I can do.



　Well, we're gonna need that.