"Got it."
Fu Qian looked at Delanlai, the Friend of Nature.
"So you followed them in here because you wanted to watch that bunch of butchers meet their end with your own eyes? No offense, but they seem to be doing fine so far. Your Sea God doesn't seem to have followed them in."
"If they stay a while longer, whatever's tainting them might disappear, and they may be able to leave empty-handed."
"Actually, if they're bold enough to explore in this direction..."
Fu Qian pointed at the mermaid in the treetop.
"They might not leave empty-handed after all."
"I never expected the merfolk to flee in this direction..."
At Fu Qian's reminder, Delanlai looked up at the treetop, unable to hide his regret.
"If only I'd acted sooner... As for the Sea God, even it wouldn't want to enter this place. But this time, it really does feel different from usual."
"Oh? What's it usually like?"
Faced with the mastermind, who seemed well-versed in the sea, Fu Qian promptly seized the chance to ask.
"You're sure you want to chat with me here?"
Delanlai couldn't help giving him a strange look at his apparent enthusiasm.
"Don't forget the gunshots you just fired. They could easily draw attention over here."
"You think I'm more likely to draw attention than the one in the tree?"
Fu Qian looked surprised.
"...I can't get it down."
That left Delanlai speechless. After a moment, he admitted he was powerless to do anything about it.
"How come? Didn't you plant that tree?"
Fu Qian asked with such natural, gentle persuasion.
"I did, but it wasn't supposed to grow this big... And right now, I can't communicate with it at all."
Beneath the giant tree's shadow, Delanlai couldn't help grabbing one of the aerial roots dangling