The Pirate King's Daughter - Chapter 22

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 22
“Why……?”
“You have too many suspicious points.”
It was an answer I hadn’t expected.
Still, it was certainly a better attitude than when he’d insisted on verifying our Demon Contract.
“Besides, some of it isn’t easy to explain, and I’m not sure I even have the right to ask.”
…….
I gazed at Berto’s profile as he spoke so calmly.
‘Berto, do you trust me?’
I wanted to ask, but the words wouldn’t come. It was clear that was a vain hope.
‘No, it’s just that Berto has a good heart.’
That must be it.
“Thank you. And congratulations on your Aura Awakening.”
“I should be thanking you. I awakened thanks to you.”
“What? Because of me?”
“Because of you.”
I wanted to ask what he meant, but we’d already reached the final steps.
And when I saw the view spread before us, I forgot everything we’d been discussing.
All that consumed me was the urge to kill Lucas and tear apart the original story.
“Hey! You there, human! Let me out!”
In the place we’d arrived at, a strange creature was trapped inside a cylindrical tank.
“Listen! Help me! I can tell you where the most precious treasure in the world is hidden!”
I approached the creature.
Berto looked rather startled, but I remained relatively composed. I’d met a talking animal once before.
“Do you know Popo?”
A humpback whale known as the guardian of the sea, or a Divine Beast.
And this blue jellyfish confined in this secret place, its red heart plainly visible through its translucent body.
Could there be a connection?
“Wait, suddenly what are you——. Hold on, Popo? That oversized mammal?”
“Tatiana, step back. It’s dangerous.”
But Berto, seeing a talking animal for the first time, drew his sword and wrapped it in Aura before I could ask anything more.
“Eek——!”
“I’ve never heard of a jellyfish monster. It seems quite intelligent too. What exactly are you?”
Since it was a question I’d been curious about anyway, I quietly stepped back and watched the interrogation unfold.
“A monster?! How dare you lump me in with those creatures!”
“If you’re not a monster, then how do you speak? And why are you imprisoned in the Naval Base? Tell me the truth.”
“How dare you interrogate me! You there, woman! You know that mammal! I’m something similar!”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
I shrugged, and the jellyfish’s plump body trembled. Water droplets formed inside the tank.
“If you won’t answer, I won’t force it. Tatiana, let’s go.”
“Right.”
“Wait! Okay, I’ll talk! Please don’t leave. I’ve been trapped here for 300 years.”
The moment we made as if to leave, the jellyfish made a sound like crying. Though in the water, tears were invisible.
“Why have you been imprisoned for such a long time?”
“I just told you. I know where the world’s most precious treasure is hidden.”
“You weren’t even a thief. Just for that reason?”
“You idiot. How can you live in the sea and not understand the meaning of my abilities?”
There it was, the arrogant jellyfish again. What was I going to do with this tiny thing?
“A Pirate King, then.”
“A Pirate King?”
That’s when Berto explained.
“In the past, they were called the rulers of the sea, and a Divine Beast always walked at their side. It’s a tale I’d almost forgotten, but could this be the Divine Beast from that legend?”
“That’s right.”
“I see.”
I nodded and turned away without hesitation.
This place wasn’t something left unwritten in the original—it was deliberately recorded differently. That must be Lucas’s doing.
But he talks about saving the world while saying nothing about saving the jellyfish?
Since I knew the Divine Beast Popo, I’d been considering helping, but I couldn’t escape alongside a serious criminal who’d been imprisoned for 300 years.
“Wait! Why are you leaving! I told you everything! Please save me!”
“Why would I?”
“I’ll give you treasure. See the red thing inside my body? That’s part of the most precious treasure.”
Money wasn’t……abundant. I’d been stripped of it all. Damn those Navy bastards.
“This is truly precious. I can only know the location of one single priceless treasure. If you don’t plan to become a Pirate King, you can just sell it. You could live your whole life without working.”
In other words, my independence fund?
“Berto, what do you think?”
“I’ll follow your judgment.”
“Hmm, fine. But you’re just handing over the treasure. You’re not coming with us.”
“Understood! Just turn the round key in front of you.”
Thinking about becoming wealthy, I licked my lips and quickly turned the key.
“Kyaaaah!”
And we fell down.
* * *
Splash!
Berto, the jellyfish, and I plunged into the water.
“Pfaah!”
I supposed I should be grateful there was space to breathe.
“Hey, jellyfish. You knew the floor was going to collapse?”
Floating in the water, I grabbed the jellyfish’s soft collar.
“I didn’t know either! Nobody ever rescued me, and the Navy bastards never bothered telling me about any mechanism!”
“How does something like that exist in a Romance Fantasy World?”
To my irritation, Berto answered calmly.
“Probably a Mana Stone was embedded in that mechanism. With Earth Attribute Magic, it could collapse the floor. Though you’d need a very powerful mage.”
“Berto, how do you know all that when you’re not even a mage?”
“I was a commanding officer. There are mages in the Navy too.”
The more I saw of him, the more Berto seemed like a truly broken character.
“This seems to be a Tidal Cave, doesn’t it?”
Berto asked, looking at the jellyfish.
“Probably.”
“Then we should be able to find the exit. Reading the current would be easy for a jellyfish.”
“That’s true, but I don’t know exactly how far. The current doesn’t seem very fast, so it’s probably not close.”
I asked the jellyfish.
“You’re a Divine Beast. Can’t you let people breathe underwater?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Silence fell. Diving without knowing the distance was practically suicide.
“I could scout ahead.”
“Me?”
The jellyfish extended one of its plump tentacles, pointing at itself.
“Wait a moment, Berto.”
I swam over to him and whispered in his ear.
“Can we trust it?”
“We have no other choice. Let’s wait and see for now.”
“Why are you two whispering like that? You’re hurting a small, cute jellyfish’s feelings.”
This time I swam over to the jellyfish and extended my hand.
“Hand over that treasure fragment and come back.”
“What, you don’t trust such a small and adorable jellyfish?”
“It can’t be helped. If you don’t come back, we’ll die here.”
If it had no intention of saving us, it would just wait until we died and take the treasure, but my heart was too uneasy not to secure something in advance.
Somehow, the jellyfish extracted a fragment from inside its body and placed it in my hand.
I carefully tucked it away in my pocket.
“Then I’ll be back. Count carefully.”
The jellyfish disappeared into the water, and Berto and I each began counting. We’d compare afterwards since counting wouldn’t be precise.
“312 seconds.”
“341 seconds.”
The moment the jellyfish’s round head came into view, Berto and I both cried out simultaneously.
“That’s a huge difference!”
A 30-second discrepancy would feel enormous when holding your breath.
“Mine would be more accurate.”
Berto said it with certainty.
“That bothers me.”
“This is a matter of life and death. I can’t compromise on this.”
Right. I was just an ordinary Transmigrator, whereas he was a Duke, a Navy commander, and the protagonist. He’d definitely be better at this.
“One way takes less than three minutes. Think you can manage it, Tatiana?”
“How long can ordinary people hold their breath?”
“One minute. Under extreme conditions, some say two or three minutes is possible.”
“Then we’ll have to try.”
Honestly, I wasn’t confident, but I wouldn’t die anyway. If I could make it through holding my breath twice over, I’d make it.
“Shall we depart now?”
At the jellyfish’s words, we nodded resolutely.
“Haah!”
Taking a deep breath, I submerged beneath the surface. Bubbles rose upward.
The jellyfish pointed a tentacle to show us the direction, and Berto and I followed behind.
‘This is harder than I thought.’
Though I was recovering, my body had been starved from captivity. My thighs ached as I kept kicking, my muscles too weak for the constant movement.
‘When will we get there? I’m running out of breath.’
The jellyfish leading the way kept pausing to check on us. Each time, Berto looked back at me.
‘It’s a jellyfish, so it’s incredibly fast——!’
A thought suddenly struck me like lightning.
Three minutes one-way was the jellyfish’s swimming speed. I wasn’t even close to that pace, and even Berto, much faster than me, would need more time.
The moment that realization hit, fear consumed me.
My body felt heavy, my vision blurred. I couldn’t swim properly anymore. Now it was nearly just thrashing about.
Through the haze, I saw Berto approaching me.
I tried to push him away to tell him to go on, but he pulled me into a strong embrace. And something soft pressed against my lips.
Air rushed into my mouth.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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