Dominique readied her staff and began chanting a spell.
“Fierce lightning, become light…”
It was a lightning strike spell. Physically speaking, it should dissipate quickly, or worse, conduct through the water and electrocute them first, but Dominique abandoned such rational thoughts.
(Anyway! That big fish will be charred black! It will, it has to!)
Dominique, envisioning an extremely favorable outcome, cast the spell at the megalodon. Lightning burst forth from the tip of her staff.
The megalodon, which was about to charge again, took a direct hit and its entire body convulsed violently.
(It’s working!)
Convinced of the spell’s effectiveness, Dominique cast the lightning strike spell again, and with the third strike, the megalodon stopped moving completely.
“You did it, Domi-chan!”
Lilith hugged her.
“Well done, Dominique!”
Rio praised her as well.
“Shall we move on to the next one?”
Trao pointed to where another megalodon could be seen.
“Huh?”
Dominique’s face turned pale.
(I’ve had enough…)
Since then, Dominique had cast lightning magic on countless megalodons.
When the fish people also swarmed in large numbers, she used ice magic more times than she could count. Her magical power was being consumed at an alarming rate.
However, just as her magical power was about to reach its limit, Trao would hand her a magic recovery potion at the perfect timing.
(It’s not just my magical power that’s at its limit, but my mental state too!)
Every time she was handed a potion, Dominique was on the verge of saying this, but in the end, she never did.
She couldn’t refuse Trao’s outstretched right hand offering the potion.
This man in front of her had been calmly preparing to defeat the Demon King ever since that day when the Demon King subjugation team was annihilated.
He would use any means necessary to achieve his goal, even resorting to inhumane methods.
However, Trao’s words were never lies.
He said he would defeat the Demon King. That would surely become a reality.
Dominique herself had become an adventurer to fight against the Demon King’s army. That resolve remained unwavering.
Therefore, it was impossible for her to push away Trao’s outstretched right hand.
Dominique drank the potion in one gulp and began chanting spells again.
(We’re going to defeat the Demon King!)
For the first time that day, Dominique became conscious of defeating the Demon King with her own hands.
After walking on the seafloor for about half a day, they finally caught sight of the temple of the god Aegis.
Amidst the darkness enveloping the seafloor, only that temple emitted a radiant glow.
“We’ve finally arrived…”
Although she had been recovering with potions, Dominique was exhausted and nearly collapsed to her knees the moment she saw the temple.
“Dominique,”
Trao called out to her. Would he offer some words of comfort?
“Yes, Senpai?”
“We probably can’t enter the temple unless we defeat that.”
Trao pointed to a giant octopus blocking the temple gates.
“That’s… a Kraken, isn’t it?”
The Kraken was a legendary monster. It was among the strongest of sea creatures.
“That’s right.”
“Don’t tell me we have to defeat that too?”
“We can’t enter unless we do.”
Dominique wanted to say, “Let’s turn back and go home.”
However, contrary to those feelings, Dominique gripped her staff tightly and began chanting a spell.
(If we can’t defeat the Kraken, there’s no way we can defeat the Demon King!)
She cast the same lightning strike spell she had been using against the megalodons at the Kraken.
A golden light pierced through the giant octopus.
But—
(Huh? It’s not working?)
The Kraken didn’t flinch at all. No, that wasn’t quite true. Its two large eyeballs had firmly locked onto Dominique.
Then it flexed one of its gigantic tentacles like a whip and brought it down on Dominique. It moved with unbelievable speed, defying its massive size.
“Ah…”
Dominique stared at it in a daze. There was no way she could avoid it in time.
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–BANG!!!
A loud collision echoed across the seafloor.
Dominique, who had instinctively closed her eyes, realized she hadn’t taken any damage and cautiously opened them.
Trao, who had somehow moved in front of Dominique, had blocked the Kraken’s tentacle with a large shield. Trao’s feet were sunk into the seafloor mud, but his body didn’t budge.
The large shield must have been taken out from that item bag that seemed to produce anything.
The Kraken flexed its tentacle again, launching another attack.
Trao took a step forward and unflinchingly received the attack with his shield.
A dull sound resonated, and the impact forced Trao to step back.
Despite being a merchant, his back looked as reassuring as that of a holy knight.
“Dominique,”
Trao turned back towards Dominique.
“…Yes?”
“Keep casting your magic.”
His face wore the same smile as always.
“Yes!”
Dominique began chanting her next spell. This person would probably continue to block attacks until she defeated the Kraken.
Rio had drawn her sword and taken a battle stance. Lilith had also started chanting defensive magic.
She couldn’t let her companions down either.
(Ah, really, this person always trusts us too much.)
While envisioning a powerful spell, Dominique thought about Trao.
(But maybe, this is what they call cool.)
Dominique became slightly more aware of Trao.
The battle with the Kraken ended with a powerful fire spell cast by Dominique.
The fact that she could now envision fire underwater showed how much Dominique had grown.
The temple of the god Aegis, which they had finally managed to enter, was made of mirror-like marble and was so beautiful it seemed otherworldly.
According to legend, anyone who damaged or stole anything from the temple of the god Aegis would face terrible divine punishment. Because of this, Rio and the others felt tense even just walking through the temple.
However, Trao showed no signs of concern and strode into the temple.
In what appeared to be a hall at the back of the temple, they found a beautiful woman reclining on a giant chaise lounge. Her body was several times larger than a human’s. With flowing blue hair, golden eyes that captivated all who saw them, and a nude form that embodied perfection, she exuded nothing but divinity. There was no doubt that this was the god Aegis.
[It’s been a while since I’ve had visitors.]
The god Aegis spoke. It was hard to tell whether her voice held warmth or was devoid of emotion.
[What brings you here?]
Her voice resonated quietly. While it didn’t feel cold, it instilled a fundamental sense of awe. The kind of terrifying feeling that a wrong move could lead to death.
“We have come to offer a tribute to the god Aegis,”
Trao knelt down. Rio and the others hurriedly followed suit.
[A tribute?]
“Yes, it’s right here.”
Trao took out a painting from his item bag. It was Mario’s work that had won first place in the competition. It beautifully captured the legendary beauty of the god Aegis.
[Oh… Not bad…]
The god Aegis seemed to take interest in the painting.
“Of course, it doesn’t fully capture the beauty of Goddess Aegis, but I believe it expresses the utmost of human ability.”
“I see. And you’re offering this to me?”
“That’s correct.”
“Hmm, I like it, human. I shall reward you.”
Goddess Aegis smiled. It was a captivating smile that almost made one want to say, “I need nothing!” But Trao calmly replied:
“I would like to receive Goddess Aegis’s shield…”
“Very well. I’ll give it to you.”
In response to the completely unapologetic Trao, Goddess Aegis gently blew. Her breath sparkled, took form, and transformed into a shield.
“It’s a shield that wards off evil. Use it to defeat the Demon King.”
Goddess Aegis smiled as if she knew everything.
However, Trao said, “Excuse me, but I have 99 more offerings.”
“What?”
Aegis’s face twitched.
—
“Haa… Haa… Haa…”
Goddess Aegis’s breathing was rough. It was probably the most grueling time in her existence as a goddess.
While it seemed easy to create shields just by blowing, it actually required consuming a considerable amount of divine power.
Maintaining a calm appearance to preserve her divine dignity was mere acting.
When Aegis heard “I have 99 more,” she initially thought to refuse, but that would compromise her dignity as a goddess. She couldn’t accept one and reject the rest. Moreover, each offering was undeniably splendid.
Trao was a frightening man who exploited such divine pride.
However, this couldn’t be left as is. It was beyond disrespectful. If Trao were to say anything out of line, she’d have to slice him up and feed him to the fish.
“Goddess Aegis, I have one more request.”
The greedy fool showed his true colors.
“…What is it?”
Aegis was prepared to deliver severe punishment regardless of the wish.
“I’d like this girl to receive your divine protection.”
Where Trao pointed, a hooded blonde girl was bowing her head apologetically. She seemed to have some magical prowess, but not enough to meet Aegis’s standards.
The other two girls were also looking on with clasped hands, as if praying. They looked ready to prostrate themselves and beg for forgiveness.
It was a commendably humble attitude, very human-like. Why couldn’t the man before her show such an attitude?
“That girl doesn’t meet the qualifications for my protection. You fool, seeking power without understanding this! Such arrogance deserves punishment—”
“Actually, we’re planning to build a museum dedicated to Goddess Aegis.”
Trao interjected as Aegis was about to show her anger.
“W-What?”
A museum dedicated to her? She couldn’t ignore those words.
“A museum where all the artworks are of Goddess Aegis – paintings depicting you, sculptures modeled after you, music praising you, and so on. We thought about displaying today’s offerings there too, eternally praising Goddess Aegis.”
“All the artworks would be of me?”
Aegis dreamily imagined the scene. Her paintings and sculptures lined up, the museum filled with music praising her. How sweet it would be.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Very well. I shall grant that girl my protection.”
Aegis easily succumbed to the temptation.
Aegis gently blew towards Dominique. Her breath turned into light, enveloping Dominique and slowly entering her body. Dominique felt an unprecedented magical power within herself.
It was a level of magic that her former self might have struggled to control, but with her improved magical imagery and precision, she felt she could manage it now.
“Thank you very much!”
Dominique bowed deeply.
Afterward, Trao built the museum as promised. He limited the collection to artworks of Goddess Aegis and named it the Aegis Museum.
Strange occurrences frequently happened at the Aegis Museum, always giving the sense of someone’s presence. This was attributed to Goddess Aegis, and many people visited to receive her blessings.
Artists came to consider it an honor to have their works displayed in the Aegis Museum, and it eventually became a gateway for aspiring artists.
Of course, it goes without saying that it also brought stable revenue to Trao.
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