Majo no Tabitabi - Volume 4 - Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

The Sunken City

A single witch was sitting atop her broom, weaving among the gaps in the trees as she proceeded through the forest.

Sunlight filtered through the canopy overhead, twinkling like a starry sky.

However, just as the warmth of the stars floating in the night sky does not reach the earth below, the interior of the forest was as dim as midnight. Very little of the light spilling from the heavens above reached the witch beneath the boughs. Its brilliance was reserved for the space above the forest.

So for that reason, even though it was early spring, the witch was a little chilly and hugged her own shoulders as she made her way through the forest.

She was a young witch, clad in a black robe and pointy black hat. She appeared to be in her late teens. Her hair was long, not white nor black but an ashen color, and it flowed gently in the breeze. Her lapis-colored eyes were scanning the gloomy forest.

Entry beyond this point is…

In this forest with no signs of other people, she saw a barely surviving vestige of human activity.

She had stopped in her tracks to read the sign that must have formerly had ENTRY PROHIBITED written on it—but the letters were blurred, and the signboard had ivy curling all around it. It looked like it had finished its duties long ago.

The witch acted as if she had never seen the sign and charged ahead on her broom. She would have continued on her way even if the sign had been intact.

“……”

She was a rotten witch who would blatantly ignore the rules to get forgiveness instead of permission by feigning ignorance, like “Ah, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know!” Who on earth could she be?

That’s right. She’s me.

“……”

I wasn’t particularly forging through the forest because I was aiming for something on the other side of the forest.

I had simply seen a similar sign to the one I just saw at the entrance—one that had ENTRY BEYOND THIS POINT IS FORBIDDEN written on it. I had puzzled over it because it had fallen on the ground, which piqued my interest, and I entered the forest.

I had no good reason to be there. It wasn’t like there was something I felt I had to see or anything like that. And if there was nothing here, I could just go back the way I came.

And so I continued on for a while in a daze, gazing up at the forest canopy and yawning as I went.

I could see light shining through the gaps in the trees.

Is it finally over? That was a long trip.

As these thoughts were circling my mind, I headed toward the light, but—

“—You. Stop.”

Immediately as I left the forest, every bit of ground I could see was covered in swords. Innumerable swords, all stock-still and pointed in my direction.

“…Huh?”

Reflexively, I raised both hands. I offered my surrender while I still had no idea what was going on.

Before my eyes was a lone girl, glaring at me with eyes as sharp as the blades themselves.

Beautiful black hair hung down out of the pointy hat she wore on her head. Her skin was darkly tanned, and her eyes were light blue like the ocean in spring. Her clothing was odd. I’m sure she was wearing a pointy hat and robe, but under the robe, she was quite exposed: her stomach and thighs were completely bare. If she had taken off her robe, there would be nothing stopping you from saying she was pretty much in her underwear.

Won’t you get sick dressed like that this time of year?

“You’re the one who has been invading our territory lately, right?”

“No I’m not.”

“Liar. I can smell the lies on you. You reek of lies.”

“No way.” I sniffed at my robe, but it just had the nice scent of fresh laundry.

“Why did you come to this country? You came to attack us, didn’t you?”

“Oh, is this a country?”

Even though there’s no wall or gate or anything?

With both hands still raised, I leaned to the side briefly and looked beyond the girl.

……

“…Well.”

There I saw a very strange yet wonderful scene stretching out.

A city submerged in water.

There was a sea of deep blue that looked like it would suck you right in, spreading out from the edge of the forest. Buildings broke through the calm surface of the water. There were towers of all sizes that looked like they had welled up from the depths, as well as many smaller dwellings that drifted across the surface. In the shallows grew crooked trees, roots half submerged.

The place where the girl was standing before me seemed to be the coast. Watching the shimmering water gently lapping at her bare, brown legs brought me back to the moment.

Next to her, there was a small boat swaying with the waves, rocking about amusingly. There were fish inside a net in the boat, as though she had just come back from a fishing trip, and they were sloshing around, too.

At any rate, it seemed I had arrived at an underwater city.

But since I was apparently the subject of some kind of strange misunderstanding, I said, “I’m not a suspicious person, you see? Look at this brooch. I’m a witch.” I held out the breast of my robe, showing it proudly to the girl.

“A witch? Never heard of it. Can you eat that…thing?”

“……”

Huh?

“It’s got a delicious-looking shape…”

“……”

Oh, there’s no use talking to her.

I quickly gave up on us understanding each other. I threw in the towel on any hope of communication.

“You’re suspicious. I’m taking you with me.”

Eventually, the girl yanked me by the arm, pulled me into the small boat, and took me along with her to the city. But before we launched, she tied my arms with a rope. It was very loose.

……

I took an optimistic view.

Well, I suppose everything will work out somehow just as soon as we meet someone I can talk to.

As thoughts like that circled my mind, the small boat glided across the water.

“…Nngh! Oof!”

By the way, the girl was rowing, her arms shaking as she propelled the small boat forward.

…Couldn’t you just use magic?

“Pops! I found a shady woman!”

We had been drifting over the water for some time.

The girl had taken me to the tallest tower, where she slammed open an oddly placed door and shouted in a loud voice.

Inside was fairly spacious, but the lovely white ceiling was low enough to reach with your hands, maybe because the structure had not originally been designed as a residence. The floor was made of simple slats of wood. They had a rather rustic appearance, like they would warp if you stepped hard on them.

“…Huh.”

Deeper inside, sitting on a handmade wooden chair, was a dashing-looking older man with a dark brown complexion.

“What’s this? Another attack from the city?” the older man asked.

By the way, he was mostly nude. For clothing, he wore only a single piece of cloth wound around his hips.

Aren’t you cold? Are your muscles protecting your body from the cold? Is that possible?

The girl tugged roughly on my arm as I stood there shocked. “Here! This person! Very shady! She looks super suspicious!”

“I’m not all that suspicious, actually.”

As if such a clarification from me had hardly any effect, the dashing man stood up. “…Well, for now, just put her in jail. I’ll interrogate her later. Dinner comes first.”

…What’s with that lazy response?

“Sure! Got it! I’ll torture her!”

You mean “interrogate,” right?

In the end, I was dragged along at the mercy of the somewhat overenthusiastic girl.

The interior of the tower seemed to be rather spacious. On the second floor was a large prison cell. The girl tossed me into it, saying only, “You wait here, and be quiet!” and returned to the first floor. Incidentally, the chair in the cell was, as with everything else, made of wood.

“……”

“……”

There was one other person inside. Apparently, someone else had been arrested, same as me. I could see her in the corner of the cell.

“Were you arrested, too?”

It was an adult woman with something of a free-spirited yet refined manner about her.

Her age seemed to be about early twenties. Her soft blond hair was bound into a single bunch on the side of her head, and the ends of it brushed her shoulders. Her eyes were a bluish-purple color. They were framed by glasses with slim silver rims.

She was wearing clothes that made me wonder what on earth she normally did with her time—a dress and a shawl, like a city girl. She looked terribly out of place inside a cell like this.

“Hi there.” For the time being, I bowed in greeting.

The woman said “hello” with a grin. “My name is Viola. I’m a beautiful young archaeologist on an important journey.”

“……” Well, I don’t know if you should call yourself young…

“Oh, the ‘beautiful young archaeologist’ thing was a joke, oh-hoh-hoh!” Viola elegantly brought her hand to her mouth. “What is your name, Miss Witch?”

“Ah, I’m Elaina. I’m a traveling witch.”

“My, a cute traveler with a cute name!”

“Th-thanks…”

I sat down in the very center of the jail cell, and for some reason, Viola stood right up and sat down again next to me.

“……” Suddenly face-to-face, I felt somehow vaguely uncomfortable.

“Um, what on earth is the deal with this country?” I asked while trying to put a little distance between us.

Viola laughed again. “This place is called Sunken City!” She closed the distance between us once again.

“Sunken City, huh…? I’ve never heard of it.” I inched away in irritation, only as far as she had approached.

“That’s because only the people who live here call it that.” Viola scooted that much closer. “The thing about this place, you see, is that it has a fairly sad history.”

“Uh-huh…” I backed away.

“Do you want to hear about it?” She closed in.

“Before you start, I think you’re a bit too close.”

“Oh, I don’t mind! I’ve been famous for having no sense of personal space ever since I was a kid.”

“Are you sure you aren’t infamous for trampling on other people’s personal boundaries?”

“I only want to get close to cute girls, so don’t worry, okay?”

“……”

“Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh…” She idly brushed at her hair.

A chill went up my spine.

“……!” With all my strength, I escaped to the edge of the cell and created a wall between her and me using my luggage.

I felt I was in danger.

What’s with this jail? The inside of the cell is more dangerous than the outside! There’s no rule of law in here! I’m so scared. I’m terrified. What should I do? I’d just as soon blast off some spells and get out of here.

I was trying to wrench free of the rope binding my hands.

“I brought food for you.”

The girl with tanned skin from earlier appeared, holding a plate loaded with salad in each hand. Since we were in a city on the water, I had naively thought they might serve us fish or other seafood.

But it seemed they served nothing but salad to criminals.

“…Humph! You can waste away eating nothing but leaves!” In an aggressive tone of voice, the girl set down the plates for a moment, strained to open the cell, and handed us the salad. “Yeah, here you go.” She left again.

Or so I thought. She came back once more, set down several varieties of bottles, said, “Here, salad dressing,” and left for real this time.

Her good upbringing revealed itself.

“That girl is called Atolie. She seems to be one of the few mages in this country. And she’s apparently the daughter of the patriarch.” Viola spoke while munching on leaves.

“The patriarch?”

Chomping away at her salad, Viola continued. “There was a mostly naked older man downstairs, right? That man is the chief of the tribe that lives in this city.”

“I see.” I nodded. Weird look for a patriarch.

“By the way, little Atolie is cute, isn’t she?”

“Uh, huh…well, sure…”

“Earlier, I said I was a beautiful young archaeologist on a journey, but the truth is I’m just a hobbyist. I’m trying to create an illustrated reference manual of beautiful girls.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand where this conversation is going.”

“Oh, come to think of it, there’s a reason why there are the remains of a sunken city here.”

“This discussion is all over the place.”

“Ah-hah!”

“……”

Oh, there’s no use trying to talk to her.

But at any rate, I was admittedly a little interested in finding out how this city got to such a state, so I lent my ear to Viola.

“Oh, come to think of it—”

She went on.

The conversation continued to change again and again, but eventually she told me a bit about this city’s history.

Something had taken place when Viola had visited the Ancient Capital, Lolia, an ordinary city, in the middle of her travels.

“I am king of this country.”

On the third day of her stay there, she had been summoned by the king.

“Oh, hello.”

She was apparently rather nonchalant even when dealing with royalty.

“I’ve heard you’re a traveling archaeologist… Is that true?”

“Yep. I’m a beautiful young archaeologist!”

“……”

“Ah, the ‘beautiful young’ part was a joke.”

“…Is…is that so?” The king coughed and cleared his throat. “Well, there is something I would like to request of you.”

“You want me to keep you company overnight? I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

“Not that.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just that I don’t want to form that kind of relationship with a man—”

“I said that’s not it.”

In great exasperation, the king leaned forward from where he sat on his splendid throne and began speaking seriously. “The truth is, our country has been troubled by food shortages…”

According to his story, his country’s population had outgrown its ability to feed all its people. They had tried to import food from other countries, but it seemed their neighbors had found themselves in difficult circumstances. Even if they had been able to work out a deal, it would have been a drop in the bucket.

The king was at a complete loss.

“At that point, in order to procure food for my country, I thought we would develop new lands to supply us.”

“I see.”

“I sent out the army, conducted a survey of nearby regions, and found out there was a lake in the middle of the forbidden forest. Our soldiers quickly set all their efforts to fishing the lake, but…apparently there was a bit of a problem there.”

According to the king, they hadn’t come across just any lake, but a submerged city where people were already living. The residents were awfully warlike and relentlessly attacked the king’s soldiers. There was no way they would be able to harvest any fish.

“And so,” the king said, “I would like you to go to the city in the lake—to Sunken City—and have a conversation with those people. We want to avoid any more violence. So we’d like you to communicate with the native people of the lake.”

“……”

“I take it this is not an unwelcome task for you, since you will be able to explore a rather new and undeveloped land.”

In summary, the task was nothing other than to risk her life by venturing alone and unarmed into a lawless land and convince the enemy to lay down their weapons. It was almost certainly a suicide mission.

Could there be any reason to take on a commission like this? It was a fool’s errand. There was no way she could accept.

And so Viola shook her head.

“If you will go and do this for us, I shall pardon any previous indecent conduct and forgive you for hitting on all the girls in town.”

Then she nodded enthusiastically.

The following day, Viola arrived at Sunken City.

She had been arrested the same way as I had and thrown into jail, but after that, she was able to meet face-to-face with the patriarch to plead her case, and he quickly set her free.

It seemed the people of Sunken City were rather sympathetic. Once they understood she was not an enemy, the people of the tribe completely changed their attitude toward her and welcomed her warmly. Atolie’s father offered her his home-cooked fish, sprinkling the finishing touches of salt from high up, while his daughter Atolie performed a welcoming dance or something along those lines.

There, Viola told them her reason for coming to Sunken City. She didn’t even eat the fish. She was probably too enthralled by Atolie’s dancing.

The father nodded. “…Hmm.”

Atolie puffed out her cheeks. “No way. They’re the ones who came at us with hostility in the first place. That’s why we killed them.”

What’s this? This is strange. Before we discuss this further, I think I should go back to Lolia and find out why the two stories are so different.

Apparently, that’s what Viola was thinking, but the girl named Atolie was very cute, and Viola thought that since Atolie was so cute, she didn’t really care what happened, so for the moment, she banished all thought of the task she had been commissioned to do into a corner of her mind.

In the end, she decided to remain in Sunken City under the pretext of conducting research. After all, she was an archaeologist and quite curious about the city.

The chief was rather pleased to hear her say so. “That’s wonderful! There are all sorts of things we would like to know about our city in the water. At any rate, it sank into the lake long, long before any of us were born.”

It sounded like the chief was fine not really knowing anything about the remains of the city at their feet, but he wouldn’t mind learning about it.

Atolie cooperated with her research, applying a spell to prevent her from getting wet when she went underwater and even going under with her. She might have taken a liking for Viola.

Several days later, killing spare time in between diving with Atolie, Viola made a pass at another girl, then went diving, then played around with another girl, then went diving, then played with another girl, then played with another girl, then played with another girl. Eventually, it got to the point where conducting her research on Sunken City was a side gig to her main occupation of fooling around with other girls. This woman was a true good-for-nothing. If she were a man, I think she would have been killed a hundred times over for sure.

Furthermore, since she was doing nothing but committing these blunders, she completely fell out of Atolie’s favor. The girl began to treat her with contempt and fed her nothing but salad for every meal. Served her right.

Despite her behavior, Atolie still accompanied Viola on her underwater research trips.

That just goes to show the quality of her upbringing. Her speech is another matter, though.

In any case, after spending a number of days on research, Viola had reached one single conclusion: “There is no doubt that this city was submerged by human hands several centuries ago.”

Viola spoke to the chief. “If I were to draw up the structure of the underwater city on a simple diagram, you would see this area was originally shaped like a deep pot. In other words, the people dug deep into the forest floor and built their city there—that is how the city used to look.”

“Hmm… So what you’re saying is water collected in the valley due to a great rainfall or something and drowned the city?”

Viola shook her head.

“No. That wouldn’t be enough to submerge the city. It must have been due to magic. A mage conjured a huge quantity of water to drown this city. I don’t know their motivation to do such a thing, but…”

“…I see.” The chief was nodding along.

Viola quickly wrapped up her report. “I’ll be leaving here tomorrow. I’m heading to the Ancient Capital, Lolia. There are a number of things I would like to confirm there. May I be allowed to stay here for another night?”

The chief nodded at this request, too. “Of course. Atolie has taken quite a liking to you. So much so that I would like you to stay forever.”

“Oh-ho-ho!” laughed Viola. “My, my…”

Behind her smile was a whirlwind of complicated emotions.

Because during her many sessions of underwater research with Atolie, she had seen one thing that did not bode well.

Something had been written on the wall of a private house in an ancient era: This country sank because of a witch from the Ancient Capital, Lolia.

Viola didn’t think Atolie had been able to read it, but Viola herself had clearly understood the words.

It was a message written for whoever might come along afterward.

Viola had had an uneasy feeling from the very beginning. Why were there people living in a region that was forbidden to enter? Why was the region forbidden in the first place? Why had Lolia dispatched an outsider like Viola? Why were there discrepancies between Atolie’s testimony and what the king had said?

It was possible the king had already known all about this place when he had commissioned Viola for the task.

And it was possible Lolia had some ulterior reason for forbidding people from entering the forest and finding the city.

Viola felt a vague air of worry surrounding her.

That was her story.

……

Huh? Come again?

“Wait just a second, please. Why were you arrested?”

“Oh-ho-ho!” Viola laughed. “That was… Well, I’m in here because I snuck into Atolie’s bedroom last night.”

“……”

What a dud, I thought to myself.

After spending a little more time in jail, we were eventually summoned by the chief and went downstairs.

Since the chief was someone who actually had the capacity to understand what I was saying, I told him about my circumstances.

He nodded. “…Hmm.” He ordered Atolie, “Then there is no problem. Release her.”

How easy…

This tribe was as forgiving as the rope that had been loosely wound around my hands a moment ago.

“Soldiers from a neighboring country have been violently intruding on our territory, you see. You can understand why we were suspicious. I don’t make a hobby of recklessly arresting and interrogating people,” said the chief.

Apparently, he was the only person here with his head on straight. Despite his appearance.

“I’ve heard the majority of your conversation in the jail from Atolie. It sounds like you are a traveling mage.”

“Yes…”

I shot a quick glance at Atolie, and she swiftly turned her face away. I suppose she was eavesdropping the whole time, huh… She must have a lot of time on her hands…

“I had to collect your lunch plates, so I just stood watch. I only heard part of it,” Atolie quickly explained.

“Allow me to get to the heart of the matter. As you understand from what the archaeologist told you, our territory is currently under attack by a nearby country. If the situation continues, there is a real possibility we will be destroyed. That lot likes to come threaten us without warning. We have no way of knowing when they might launch an all-out attack.”

No matter how many mages like Atolie happened to be here, their enemy was a modern nation with overwhelming military might. They wouldn’t be able to match them, even with their best efforts.

That was something the chief seemed to fully understand. “And so I have a request to make of you two. I want you to go conduct reconciliation negotiations with those people.”

“Reconciliation negotiations, you say…”

The chief nodded at me. “To be frank, even I am at quite a loss as to how we should solve this problem. I can’t find a solution no matter how hard I try. The enemy is after food. But the fish are also a precious resource for us. There’s no way we can simply hand them over. However, if we refuse, we’re likely to be destroyed… It’s hopeless.”

“And you want to entrust that hopeless problem to the two of us.”

“…Mm.”

This is absurd.

It was possible we were better versed in the circumstances of the other country than the people who lived here. However, I didn’t think I was the right person for such an important task, especially because if we failed, it could mean every person here would be facing extinction.

The burden was too heavy for me to bear.

“I see.” Viola was there next to me, as nonchalant as ever.

For her part, she was keeping up appearances with a superficial smile, but I was sure that on the inside, she felt the same way as I did.

After all, she knew the history of the Ancient Capital, Lolia, which she hadn’t yet disclosed to the chief and Atolie.

It was clear things were getting desperate.

She had nothing more to add, and if anything, she would probably be in danger if she were to shamelessly return to Lolia.

There was nothing to do but refuse.

“Can I trust you?”

In response to the chief’s question, Viola nodded like it was a matter of course—

“Leave it to us!”

…She nodded in the affirmative.

……Excuse me?

Indifferent to my shock, Viola seemed as dispassionate as ever. “However, I do have one request.”

In an ingratiating voice, she pleaded with the chief for just one thing.

The small boat swayed beneath the blue sky.

It was floating atop the deep blue water, frail enough that it seemed like it might suddenly flip right over if someone were to place a hand on one side and push hard enough.

Great pillars rose out of the water, and any number of small boats like this one were scattered around above Sunken City, among the residents’ floating houses.

“…So what do you plan to do with the fish you catch?”

Next to me, the woman tossed the line dangling from her fishing rod into the water, then looked at me in confusion. “Hmm? What am I going to do? I’ll take them over as gifts, of course!”

“…So then what do you plan to do with them after you take them over as gifts?”

“Get them to eat them, of course…?”

“……”

Assuming there was no great falsehood in what she said, the people she was talking about had already destroyed this country once. What possible meaning could there be in paying tribute with fish?

Wasn’t this really just extortion?

“Is there any point to that?”

“Well, kind of. Leave it to me, okay?” The woman handed me a fishing rod. She was probably trying to tell me to stop repeating myself and hurry up and catch some fish.

“……”

I understood neither the meaning nor the purpose, but I forced myself to accept that she must have something in mind, and I fastened some bait onto my hook and tossed my line into the water.

The water formed gentle waves and swallowed up my bait without so much as a ripple.

Before long, the fish came biting at Viola’s line. When she noticed the tugging from below, she pulled up hard on the bowing rod and dropped a single large fish onto the deck of the small boat.

The fish was bright red, like it was sunburned.

“Apparently, this fish is tantamount to a staple food here,” Viola said as she flung the fish into a bucket. “They say these guys line the dinner tables of every home in the country. I hear they’re delicious no matter how they’re prepared, whether stewed or grilled or dried or fresh.”

You “hear”?

“Have you never eaten one yourself?”

“I’m always eating salad.”

A shrill flute sounded. When I turned to look in that direction, Atolie was there in the small boat just a short distance ahead of us, standing there levitating a large net in the air using magic, pointing her thumb downward, and waving it near her chest.

“…What is that she’s doing?”

Is it a provocation? An invitation? Hmm?

As I was thinking, she held her index finger up and began waving it in front of her face. I did not understand her meaning.

“Those are hand signs. She’s saying that there aren’t very many fish there, so let’s leave,” Viola answered as she began to row the small boat.

At the same time, she winked at Atolie and blew her a kiss.

“…What was that hand sign for just now?”

“It means ‘I love you’!”

“……”

In response, Atolie spit off the side of her boat. I think that was probably the sign for “What? Ew.”

After that, the girls let the hand signals fly between them.

Atolie put two fingers to her own throat, which Viola went out of her way to explain, “With that one she’s saying ‘Are you thirsty? Are you okay?’” and then returned the hand sign for “Can I sleep with you tonight?”

I don’t get it…

Atolie got angry and signed, “Gross. Hope you die,” and Viola danced around euphorically and signed, “Oh, come on! You’re cute when you’re embarrassed!”

You’re rocking the boat. Could you please stop?

In her spare moments between fishing, as she handled her net using magic, Atolie gamely replied to all of Viola’s signs, even to things she could have ignored.

Is she serious?

From there, the battle of the hand signs continued until our bucket filled up with fish.

“Come on, Atolie, I love you! Let’s get married.”

“I know you say the same thing to all the other girls.”

“When should we hold the ceremony? Let’s have fish pie for our wedding cake.”

“Sounds gross.”

“How many children do you want?”

“None.”

“Well! You mean you want to have all my love to yourself for the rest of our lives? Yay! I’ve got a selfish sweetheart!”

“Not exactly.”

“Where shall we have our honeymoon? A resort? An inn? Or maybe a hotel? What do you think about a hotel?”

“The mountains would be nice.”

“Oh, a wild one, huh?”

“Mm.”

“By the way, can I come to your room tonight?”

“You want to get thrown in jail again?”

“The only place I want to go in is your bed…”

“Gross. I hope you die.”

“Don’t worry! I would just sleep! Together with you! I really won’t try anything funny! Seriously! Despite how I look, I’m a real lady! I’m nothing like those other girls!”

“A lady wouldn’t say that she wants to sleep with a girl.”

“Women who don’t try to sleep with cute girls aren’t ladies.”

“Then what are you?”

“I have such little interest in the pleasures of the flesh that I’m practically vegan…I guess…”

“You don’t sound so sure, for someone who eats nothing but salad.”

“But you never let me eat anything else, isn’t that right…?”

……

Um, could you please fish without flirting?

With the net now teeming with fish, we set off for the Ancient Capital, Lolia.

Since it was relatively far away, we had to hurry if we wanted the fish to arrive fresh. So, as a matter of course, we were flying on our brooms.

Atolie was flying the net with magic, while I was giving Viola a ride behind me. Our two brooms were hovering above the forest. The leaves of the trees below us billowed in waves, as if we were still floating on the water.

“Oh…I wish I was with sweet Atolie…” Behind me, sitting sideways on the broom, Viola sounded despondent.

When I looked far off into the distance, I could see the figure of Atolie with the net floating in the air beside her. She was in the middle of throwing some kind of hand sign in our direction, as usual.

“…What is she saying?” I asked.

“She’s saying,” Viola answered, “‘Should we have bought souvenirs for everyone? This is my first time visiting a new city!’”

“……”

Originally Viola and I were planning to go alone, but right before we left, Atolie had started grumbling, “Wait. You can’t go without me holding the net. It’s dangerous with just the two of you.”

Even when I chided her, saying we would be just fine because I would hold the net, she went on and on. “It’ll be too heavy for you.”

We had accepted her help since there was no reason to refuse. Apparently, the girl had a great interest in what lay outside her city.

“……”

Viola sent some kind of sign to Atolie without a word.

“What did you say?”

“I told her I love her.”

“……”

When I looked at Atolie flying behind us, she was hocking a loogie into the forest below.

When we arrived at the Ancient Capital and told the gate guard of the circumstances, he hurriedly saluted us, saying, “Understood! In that case, please come this way.” He escorted us to the palace.

Atolie must have recalled the one time she had encountered the soldiers of this country, because she was growling to herself until Viola put her hands on her cheeks in a huff and molded her lips into a smile. She looked just like the owner of an untrained pet.

We arrived at the palace, where the soldiers let out hoots of exclamation.

“Wow, a mage!”

“Two of them!”

“How scary!”

They saluted us one after another. We imitated them and gestured back.

One of the mages on our side was openly hostile. She even had a certain energy about her, as if she might jump up and bite the hands of the saluting soldiers.

Viola seemed to fuss over her like always.

Do you think you could hold her leash a little tighter?

“I am the king of this country.”

At the far end of the room we were shown to, on the other end of a red carpet, was an old man seated on an extravagant throne. As he said in his self-introduction, he was the king. Atop his graying head sat a hefty crown.

“Heya.”

“Good day.”

“Die.”

We each lined up and gave our respective greetings. There was one questionable response in the mix.

“I could have sworn I just heard that mage over there tell me to die, but…anyway, what’s in that net?” The king’s gaze was concentrated on Atolie.

“I hate you. Die.” Even in a place like this, Atolie displayed her totally rude, completely asinine sense of honesty.

Viola rushed to clarify things with the scowling king. “Your Highness, the language is different in her home. What she said just now did not mean what it sounded like.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“Yes. Here’s what she was saying: ‘Sunken City is the love nest of me and Viola, so we’d like you to stay out of the way of our peaceful life and child-rearing plans.’”

“I did not say that.” Atolie jabbed Viola in the side menacingly.

“She said she didn’t say that.”

“Here is what she meant by that: ‘What? Your Highness, are you jealous that I get to spend every day with such a beautiful—’”

“I did not say that.”

“What do you people want?” Sighing, the king glanced over at me for the first time.

……

It was like he was pleading with me to help him.

“Um…” I was at a bit of a loss, but I decided to abandon the two girls who were flirting next to me and continue the conversation on my own.

I told him that Sunken City was a town where people lived. That the residents didn’t want any conflict and wanted to proceed with peaceful negotiations if possible. That it had been a mistake the other day when they had driven away the soldiers of this country using magic. That we had brought fish with us this time as an apology for that incident.

Okay, so I didn’t get everything exactly right, but oh well, I guess that’s fine.

“…Mm-hmm.”

After he finished listening to what I had to say, the king sighed solemnly. “In other words, you’d like to apologize for your rudeness before. Well, that’s just fine. So, moving forward—what are you intending to do?”

He seemed to be unbothered by what had happened before.

Viola was the one who immediately replied. “I think it would be all right for you to do as you please. If you want to go fishing, do it to your heart’s content. We won’t mind, even if you continue to catch fish until Sunken City withers and dies, if you are so inclined.” She said this carelessly with an indifferent attitude.

“Wha…?! What are you saying?!” Atolie demanded, shocked by Viola’s inappropriate words, which ran totally counter to the intent of the reconciliation negotiations. “You! You’re going to stab us in the back?!”

Viola’s collar bunched as Atolie yanked her back forcefully and fixed her with a sharp glare.

Viola continued looking at the king, as if she didn’t care about Atolie’s behavior in the least. “Your Highness. I would like you to make us a promise, though. If you will accept our conditions, then distribute the fish that we have brought today among all your citizens and eat it, please. And then swear to never raise a hand against the people of Sunken City again.”

“…Hmm.”

The king looked troubled. In the midst of this exchange, Atolie was shaking Viola around violently by the collar. “Why…I…oughtta…!”

A few moments passed.

“Very well.”

As if it was a matter of course, the king accepted the conditions.

There was no argument whatsoever. We had just given the people new fishing grounds. There was no reason for him to reject the proposal.

I pinned Atolie’s arms behind her back as she tried indignantly to attack Viola and watched with my own eyes as Viola and the king exchanged written pledges.

“Why are you getting in my way?! Are you two planning to sell my home?!”

“That’s not it. That’s not what we’re doing,” I whispered close to her ear so that the king couldn’t hear.

To begin with, that was never the plan.

Viola’s actions were all part of our excellent scheme. The scheme that included just one aspect we had yet to tell either the king or Atolie about.

“—But is that fish really all right? It doesn’t have any poison or anything in it, does it?” The king’s concern was only natural, since smooth talk often had ulterior reasons.

“Please set your mind at ease. We haven’t dosed it with poison. As proof, how about we have the native girl eat some?”

“Huh? Well then, I’ll have the castle staff prepare it.”

The king gave a signal, and soldiers collected the net full of fish and left the room.

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Atolie lamented. “You are all devils!” She went on and on, shouting mournful things until she tired herself out. “I can’t…! I’m going home…!” She cried peevishly until a soldier came back holding a plate.

A good portion of the large plate was filled with sauce or something, making poor use of the space. It was a simple meunière dressed up like a fancy dish.

Viola dug into the fish with a fork, stabbed a bite-sized piece, and moved it toward Atolie’s mouth. “Okay, open wide!”

“No way! It’s probably poisoned!”

“It is not!”

“No! Way!”

“You’re stubborn!”

I sighed, and Atolie looked at me, silently asking for help.

There was no avoiding it.

I let go of Atolie’s wrists and slipped my hands around to her sides. Her shoulders hitched in surprise, and the moment that she got an inkling of what I was about to do, I squeezed.

“Gah!” Atolie’s mouth opened in surprise.

“Gotcha.” Viola shoved the fish into her mouth.

At first, Atolie frowned, and big tears formed in the corners of her eyes, but gradually her expression slackened, and she chewed her food and obediently swallowed.

After eating the meunière, she was simply silent.

Head hanging, whole body slack, she stood stock-still in a daze.

And then, as everyone in the palace was intently watching, Atolie reluctantly let just a single sentence slip out.

“……………………………………………………I’m going to bed.”

“Wonderful.” Viola chuckled and put her hands on Atolie’s cheeks.

The fish were not, in fact, poisoned.

It was much less complicated than that.

To put it simply, only Atolie and her people could eat those fish.

I had heard the truth while we were in the boat.

While she was in the middle of flirting with Atolie via hand signal, Viola suddenly told me something as if she had just remembered it. “Those fish are inedible, you know.”

“Huh?”

“Those fish have a natural poison to protect them from predators, you see? Whether you stew them, grill them, dry them, or eat them raw, when you eat them, your stomach will immediately begin to hurt.”

“…Now, hold on just a minute. Everyone here is eating them. You said they line the dinner tables of the city, right?”

“Yes. They do, here in Sunken City.”

“……”

She was grinning, but right after she said that, the look in her eyes hardened.

“My guess is this country used to be weak. They were likely unable to do anything when they were conquered by the Ancient Capital, Lolia. Probably when Lolia began facing famine, they closed the forest so they could develop the land, but—even when this city was flooded with water, it didn’t put an end to the lives of the residents. Forgotten by the ages, they never left this place and lived in harmony with the water.”

They had gone from being a city with a canal to one under the water. However, the people had done their best to adapt to the changes in their environment. The forest became a forbidden zone, and with no outsiders stepping foot into their territory, the people had undergone their own unique evolution.

“Those fish were not originally edible. They’re quite poisonous. However, as the ages passed, the people’s bodies must have adapted to the poison. That’s how they’ve survived until now.”

“…Is that possibly why you’ve not been eating the fish this whole time?”

Those who committed careless mistakes were only allowed to eat salad, as were those who were thrown in jail. Apparently, she had been doing just that, living her life without eating the fish up until now.

“That’s right. Because if I ate it, it would destroy my stomach.”

“……”

“Well, there’s also the reason that sexually harassing sweet Atolie turned out to be more fun than I expected.”

“Are you actually just a lecherous old man in disguise?”

What’s with that way of thinking?

“Well, anyway.” She looked at me, even as she was sending off harassing hand signals. “That’s why I’m taking this fish to the Ancient Capital, Lolia. If I do that, they should realize it, too. They should realize they can’t meddle with Sunken City. They can’t eat the fish even if they get their hands on them.”

“…Is that what’s going on?”

“That’s what’s going on!”

“Oh-ho-ho!” She let out a laugh as she told me conspiratorially, “With the passage of many long years, the people of Sunken City have developed a poison to protect them from their enemies.”

“Why are you only telling me about this now?”

Still looking indignant, Atolie nimbly made hand signs at us after we told her the situation on the way back. Viola explained the meaning for me.

“That was… Er… The thing is…I wanted to see your surprised face.” Viola sent off a flurry of hand signs.

“Don’t mess with me. I don’t care. I’m telling Pops about you.”

What was with that?

“Well, well, it’s all right. Now Sunken City will have peace.”

As they had been exchanging written pledges, Viola had secretly handed the king a letter and sweetly whispered, “Please open this after you have eaten all the fish, okay?”

Inside was the truth about Sunken City.

She was probably trying to prevent Lolia from using this incident as an excuse for further hostilities. Because even if there were fish to be caught in Sunken City, they weren’t edible.

“…But there’s one thing that doesn’t make any sense,” I said, as if talking to myself. “After all, why did Atolie and the soldier have a confrontation in the first place? If that hadn’t happened, you would never have gotten into such a complicated situation, right?”

After all, the people of Sunken City understood common speech. If they had gone through the trouble to talk to each other the first time, there would have been no need for us to go out of our way to bring fish.

“Atolie is so cute! I want to hug her!”

Ignoring my question, Viola was bouncing around on the broom, while Atolie looked truly fed up with her, sending another signal.

It was an awfully strange hand sign.

She stuck her fingers straight out and brought the palm of her extended hand right up to her forehead.

It looked like some kind of salute.

“…Sorry, what’s the meaning of that?” I yanked at Viola’s stole.

“Ah, that one is—” She hesitated. “It means ‘I’m going to smash your head in.’”

“Oh, of course.” That’s it, huh.

“Basically, it means she wants to kill me.”

“……”

“I think that was probably the source of all this, when she had her exchange with the soldier.”

“……”

Is that the punch line?

“Well anyway, that’s all over now. Let’s forget the past. They accepted our apology and everything.”

Sunken City would continue to follow its own unique path and live in quiet isolation. The Ancient Capital would also probably persist, despite its food shortages.

Like a poisonous fish swimming quietly through the ocean, and like a larger fish that takes no notice, each would continue to live on without looking at the other.

Their histories would wash away, and they would adapt in no time.