A boy raised by a demon king and a dragon king seems to be peerless in his school life.

Volume 10 Chapter 16 Disaster hidden in the sea

Second day of the voyage.

Since there wasn’t much to do on the ship, everyone was spending their time as they pleased.

Iris was reading in her cabin. Viness was practicing poses on the deck. Ruisha, Sharo, and Wolf were mainly fishing.

“Ugh, nothing’s biting.”

Wolf said lazily as he pulled the rod.

The bait he had attached a few minutes ago remained in good condition on the hook. If the bait had been taken, that would have been something, but they weren’t biting at all, so Wolf had completely grown tired of fishing.

“I did catch a few yesterday, but today’s a complete dry spell.”

“Yeah, I haven’t had a single nibble either.”

Ruisha said and peered into the sea.

Below was a vast, transparent sea. Ruisha looked into the depths with pride.

“Hmm, there don’t seem to be any fish to begin with. That’s why they’re not biting.”

“Really, there are times when there are no fish in the sea?

As Sharo muttered this, Ford, the merchant, approached the three of them.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been here, but it seems there are still no fish.”

“Mr. Ford, has it always been like this here?”

“Yeah, that’s right. This area is near the Dead Sea Point. People, ships, and even fish avoid coming here willingly.”

Ford sat on the deck railing and spoke.

“Ruisha, have you heard of the ‘Three Calamities’?”

“Um… I’ve heard the name. Aren’t they three extremely malicious monsters that rampaged a long time ago?”

“That’s correct. You know quite well.”

Monstrous creatures that rampaged in ancient times, feared for their tremendous power. They were considered not creatures but natural disasters, hence they were called the ‘Three Calamities.’

Their existence had long been forgotten in urban areas, but in rural areas, their stories were still passed down as folktales.

“One of the Three Calamities, named ‘Sea Calamity Ku-Ruu,’ still lingers in Lasisco and is feared by children. I was told about it by my parents when I was a child. ‘If you stay up late, Ku-Ruu will drag you into the sea.’ …or so they said.”

“Sea Calamity… Ku-Ruu…”

Ruisha repeated that name for the first time in his mind.

Just hearing the name sent shivers down his spine. It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

“Ku-Ruu had been rampaging in this area for a long time, but it seems three hundred years ago, a legendary hero named Orger appeared and defeated it. It’s uncertain if it’s true, but we’re grateful if it is.”

“A hero… Orger… here…!”

Hearing that story, Ruisha’s confidence in the information about the hero’s legacy in this area grew.

The legendary hero Orger, the Sea Calamity Ku-Ruu, the Dead Sea Point, and… the Pirate King Captain Bat. These pieces of information were surely connected. Ruisha was convinced that at the end of this trail lay the legacy they were seeking.

“And then, what happened after that?”

“Ah, right. After that, we no longer saw Ku-Ruu, but strange occurrences began to happen in the surrounding seas. Compasses would go haywire, courses would shift without notice. Because of this, ships began to sink or disappear mysteriously. The sailors feared it was ‘Ku-Ruu’s curse,’ so they named this area ‘Dead Sea Point’ and avoided passing through.”

“I see… Thank you for sharing this fascinating story.”

Ruisha firmly etched the newly acquired wealth of information into his mind and expressed his gratitude. Such stories, preserved only in local areas, were not obtainable even in the capital. It was fortunate to hear this here.

“By the way, when are we expected to reach the Dead Sea Point? We heard we would arrive today.”

“Ah, yes, indeed. We’re practically there already. That’s what I came to tell you.”

“Huh!?”

Due to Ford’s slip of the tongue, the three of them comically stumbled.

“Haha, sorry, sorry. We’ll reach the Dead Sea Point in about an hour from here. But there won’t be anything there.”

“Hmm… indeed.”

Looking out from the deck in the direction of the ship’s movement, they only saw an expanse of sea and nothing peculiar. Was this really it? Ruisha and the others were doubtful.

“Sorry, but I’ll have the ship stop around this area. If you want to observe from here or go further, I can lend you a small boat.”

“Thank you. Let’s start by checking from here.”

Saying so, Ruisha stared ahead… but still, he couldn’t make out anything.

Wolf wrinkled his nose, but all he could smell was the sea.

“I don’t sense any strange magic either… Oh, what’s wrong, Sharo?”

Looking ahead, Sharo seemed to be lost in thought. When Ruisha’s voice jolted her back to reality, she shared the discomfort she had felt.

“I… I don’t fully understand, but I sense something strange, like an unusual presence. It’s similar to what I felt when we entered the dungeon before,” Sharo said.

“The dungeon where the hero’s relic was found?” Ruisha asked.

In response to Ruisha’s words, Sharo nodded.

The dungeon mentioned was where the hero’s seal was placed. The dungeon, sealed with the family crest of five petals, could only be unsealed by Sharo.

“Is it the same here…?”

Perhaps there was another seal that they simply couldn’t perceive.

With that thought, Ruisha activated his magic eye.

The magic eye had the ability to see magic.

What it revealed was something astonishing.

“No way…”

In Ruisha’s eyes appeared the same pattern as the barrier that sealed the dungeon.

No, it wasn’t just a barrier.

In front of them was a massive barrier that covered the entire area of the sea.

Its shape was reminiscent of a curtain, fluttering gently. The color of the shimmering barrier was peach, and on it was emblazoned the hero’s family crest, prominently displayed.

Ruisha was taken aback by the immense scale of the barrier.

How could a barrier of this magnitude be maintained for hundreds of years!?

How? And for what purpose!?

“This is… troublesome…”

They had only touched the tip of the iceberg, still shrouded in the deep, dark secrets of the sea.

◇

Volume 10 Chapter 17 Barrier

Seeing the extraordinary size of the barrier, Ruisha stood frozen in awe.

To create a barrier of such magnitude, there must be something that needed to be sealed. Ruisha couldn’t help but wonder what it could be.

“Ru, are you okay?”

“Huh, oh… yeah. I’m okay, thank you.”

Sharo’s words helped Ruisha regain his composure.

He couldn’t afford to be standing still in a situation like this, and he gathered his resolve. At that moment, Iris, who had left her seat, approached them.

“A barrier… and of an unprecedented size.”

Ruisha was taken aback by Iris’s words.

“I see, Iris, you also possess a magic eye. Like me, you can see that thing?”

“Yes. Compared to the Demon King’s Eye you possess, my abilities are inferior. However, for a barrier of that size, I can perceive it quite clearly.”

Saying so, Iris glanced at Sharo and smirked, as if implying that she could assist him better.

“…You really have some nerve, don’t you!”

“Hehe, whatever do you mean?”

Unaware of the playful banter happening between the two women, Ruisha continued to observe the barrier.

He focused intently and, while doing so, he noticed something.

“Hey, Iris, does that barrier look like it’s about to break?”

“Really? Let me see…”

Iris also focused her gaze and stared at the barrier. She could observe that the barrier had cracks and holes in some places. There were visible fissures in a few spots. It didn’t seem like it would break immediately, but it might not last much longer.

“Maintaining a barrier of this scale must be quite challenging. If this was created by the hero, Orger, he should have anticipated such a situation… Didn’t they arrange for someone to repair the barrier?”

Saying this, Iris glanced at Sharo again.

Sharo couldn’t see the barrier since she didn’t possess a magic eye, but she could infer the current situation based on the discussion.

“There you go! Just to clarify, I know absolutely nothing about this! I’d be the most surprised if there was an ancestral barrier here!”

“…I see, so that’s how it is. You’re not reliable at all.”

“Ugh! I’ll punch you!“

“Wait, calm down, Sharo! Iris, stop provoking her!”

Calmly pacifying the agitated Sharo, Ruisha and the group proceeded to discuss their future actions.

“I think we can handle that barrier with Sharo. It was the same during the dungeon incident,” Ruisha suggested.

“The barrier in the dungeon was undone by Sharo just touching it. If it’s the same case here, breaking through the barrier should be easy again.”

“But we don’t know what’s beyond that. Because of the barrier, we have no idea what the interior looks like.”

The barrier surrounding the sea had an effect of inhibiting perception, making it impossible to see through even with the power of Satan’s Eye, the magic eye of the demon king.

“We can’t approach with this large ship, so the only option is to switch to a small boat. But for now, I think we should retreat. On land, it’s a different story, but this is on the sea. It’s better to move carefully,” Ruisha suggested.

They were not accustomed to operating on the sea. Naturally, they were amateurs in controlling a ship. In addition, considering the mysterious barrier, rushing into it without careful consideration would be not just reckless but foolish. Sharo and the others agreed with Ruisha’s proposal.

“Thank you. Well, let’s head back to Lasisco and revise our plan. We need to gather information about the large ship, people experienced with the sea, and any information regarding the barrier. …It seems quite challenging,” Ruisha continued.

“Lasisco still has some vampires. If we can utilize their power, we might manage. It won’t be immediate, though,” Iris added.

“In that case, we’ll leave that to Iris’s companions and focus on finding information about the barrier. It seems like a tough job,” Sharo chimed in.

“If there’s any documentation left in Lasisco, that would be great. Worst case, I’ll return to my family’s home and search through the hero’s records. Well, I’ve never seen anything like that, so I don’t have high hopes, but it’s better than doing nothing,” Iris added.

“Everyone…!”

Seeing their reliable comrades taking proactive actions, Ruisha was moved, feeling a surge of emotions. He strongly realized that he was not alone.

In the midst of this emotional moment, just as he was about to hug them, the ship shook violently accompanied by an explosion.

“W-What!?”

Everyone was in a panic.

Looking, black smoke was rising from the left side of the ship. It seemed like an emergency.

“Ship sighted on starboard side! Enemy attack!”

The voice of a crew member echoed across the ship.

Following the command, they looked in the direction of the starboard side and saw three ships approaching at an incredible speed.

Ruisha, squinting his eyes, recognized a familiar face on one of those ships.

“That guy… was he following us?”

The figure commanding the three ships met eyes with Ruisha from a distance and smiled.