''And... We have arrived!''

When Belia finally lands on the ground underwater, the view stabilizes, and I can now marvel at the glamorous Atlas in full. Up close, the city seems even bigger than Everwood, if my estimation is correct.

The walls surrounding Atlas are made of cyan-ish metal, which is perfect for an underwater city like this. On them, matrices of defensive magical formulas are laid, preventing all kinds of attacks. It's a magical engineering wonder, if nothing else.

Now, the problem is that even though I can't see well outside the city, I can still feel stupidly dense layers of guards patrolling. Not just normal guards, mind you; I'm talking about colossal krakens like Belia, whales as big as a whole city, hordes of castle-sized spider crabs, and many more.

We can brute force in, sure, but it'll be unnecessarily time-consuming and wasteful. More than anything, Atlas is our ally.

''...Belia, I'm being honest here.'' I speak up. ''Is there any way we can sneak in?''

''Is your 'important thing' that important...?''

''Absolutely.''

''Mhm... I mean, maybe I can give you some hints... But not sneak you in directly.''

''That's more than enough.''

Belia is quite a good girl, helping us like this even though we can easily expose her... Well, it's good we didn't grill her.

Afterward, Belia gradually shrinks her body to around the size of an adult sperm whale and begins to traverse the bumpy ground. Her movements are snappy and smooth, suggesting that she might have used this route before.

''Hm...''

The closer we get to the city, the more I realize that Atlas is not built on the ground. Instead, it seems to be contained in a bubble, floating near the ground below.

''Why is the architecture so... Strange?''

Not only me, but Tina also starts to question.

''Let me guess, some bullshit reasons like trying to make the city mobile?'' Liana intervenes.

''Oh, how do you know that?'' Belia replies. ''The higher-ups are planning outrageous stuff, hehe...''

'''' ... ''''

''Um... Can you at least elaborate?'' Anna says awkwardly, stroking Belia's smooth skin.

''I'm not sure about the details, but the city has been moved a few times over the last century or so. They said it was to replenish our power source, but I think there's something more to it... Nah, just kidding. Hahahah~!''

...I have a feeling this is going to be important later on. Let's note it.

Usually, this kind of thing is—

''Hm?''

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Right when we reach a place directly under the city, my routine mana scan reads something underground.

Isn't this... An underwater volcano?

Unconsciously, my eyes narrow a bit.

Suspicious.

Assuming they are harnessing energy from this volcano, what kind of particle accelerators are they using to require this much power??

I guess there is only one way to find out.

Afterward, Belia guides us to a spot underneath the center of the city, according to her. Here, everything is enveloped in total darkness, yet I can vividly sense the giant metal cords transferring power from the ground up. They are beastly huge in diameter and are numerous, dense like a forest.

In the far, far distance, I can see a faint trace of a light source, which can be the volcano's crater or simply the eye of a guardian.

''If I remember correctly...'' Belia muses. ''Oh, here.''

The resident kraken points to a single cord, which has a small 'x' mark on it, small, as in the size of my whole body.

''If you trace this cord up, you'll see a broken trapdoor leading to the underground area, which can be opened without much effort.'' Belia continues. ''I don't think they fixed it just yet, but be careful.''

''We can take care of ourselves, thanks.''

''I believe you.''

With the path established, we belatedly begin to say farewell to our lovely octopus friend. As promised, I hand her a totally naked body—a clone of mine with moderately altered features. The liquid part, voice, smell, and insides are pretty much the same, but I don't really care. It's not me if I don't operate and feel it.

''Here is your reward.'' I gently pet Belia, putting the clone on top of her. ''It should expire within ten days, so use it a lot for me.''

''Sure!'' Belia excitedly replies, wrapping her tentacles around the gift in a professional manner. ''I don't know what you guys want to do, but I hope you'll do it anyway!''

''You, too. Have fun.''

''Mhm!''

Looking at her back as she trots away, I can't help but feel a bit sentimental. I hope we will meet again someday.

''...Well, let's go.''

Just like that, the six of us, forming a team of mermaids, begin to follow the designated cord upward. Even though I'm more of a floatable than a swimmer, having this Wob thing here does help a lot.

Still, the road, or should I say, the path is disgustingly long.

''Hey, Sylvie. How do we do the disguise stuff?''

''Hm... It should depend on the specific situation, but not standing out is the best. Let's go with something ordinary.''

''Alright.''

Which means we'll downgrade our beauties. Well, no matter, I suppose.

''Also, I think we should split up to investigate. That'll be faster. Let's go in teams of two.''

When I say that, the atmosphere instantly becomes tense, and before they can fight it out, I continue.

''We'll randomly decide the teaming, alright?''

'''' ... ''''

Reluctantly, they agree with my proposition. Sighing, I open the random number generator website inside my mind and begin to roll.

''Uh... So Tina will go with Anna, Liana will go with Sariel, and I will go with Emy.''

''Yay.''

Emy 'excitedly' celebrates, while the others have long faces.

''Well, well... You guys still have those portal thingies, right? Use them when you get lonely.'' I giggle. ''I'm ready anytime, and by that, I mean anytime.''

''Mhm... Fine.''

''Tch.''

Now that I think about it, it's been a while since I've been alone with one of them. Maybe it's a good time to cultivate my relationship with Emy further.

For now, though, entering Atlas is first.

After a long while of swimming, we finally hit the bottom of the bubble, allowing us to observe the maze-like circuits embedded in the layer.

Trapdoors scatter everywhere, and they are locked by potent spells, but right above us is, indeed, a door without traces of magic. Right away, Liana affirms with us one last time before swimming up to peel it out, revealing the dimly lit, damp path shrouded by copper pipes.

''Let's go.''

One by one, we enter the path carefully, with me leading the way.

''Nhm... It's quite small...''

The tunnel's ceiling is high enough, yet it is a bit stuffy for me, whose boob is almost as big as her head. Still, it's a compromise I'm willing to make.

I don't even need to turn around to see Liana's dead eyes.

''Hah...''

It's so fucking hot here, though. Hot, and wet. It's uncomfortable.

''Hey, can I use ice magic...?''

Eventually, Tina speaks up, perhaps unable to bear the heat.

''...Better not to alert anyone.'' I reply.

I'm not doubting her capabilities to hide magic, but we genuinely don't know shit here, so let's not do risky stuff.

''Hyah...!''

Also, don't grope my ass, you idiot behind me!