Huh?

She wasn't particularly concerned about the Precursor Civilization... after all, she had actually met the people left behind by that Precursor Civilization.

Compared to the so-called ruins, the Doctor and Priestess are clearly more worthy of in-depth investigation.

However, this is only in theory.

Just as Maria was getting bored and preparing to go back to continue watching the Three Sea Gunners series, which she hadn't finished watching yet...

A faint sound slowly echoed in her ears.

'Companion?'

'Messenger?'

'Enemy?'

395

Chapter 395 Huh?

"Companion? Messenger? Enemy?"

The strange yet familiar melody echoed in Maria's ears once again.

This made her, who was originally about to leave, suddenly frown.

They stopped walking.

"Um?"

A soft voice came from the tip of the nose.

"What's wrong?"

Maria thought that her little action would go unnoticed by normal people, but to her surprise, Heratia, the current commander of the team, was not paying attention to the team at all, but instead kept focusing on her, an outsider.

She asked almost immediately when Maria expressed her doubt.

"..."

Maria blinked and turned to look.

Heratia maintained her smiling expression, making it impossible to discern her thoughts.

"You seem to have noticed something... Can you tell me about it?"

As the commander of the entire team, Heratia's every word and action naturally attracts the attention of others.

After Heratia asked Maria a question, everyone's attention naturally turned to Maria.

They actually held a sense of awe towards Maria, a superhuman who could move freely at a depth of 10,000 meters underwater.

Such a person, whether through technological ability or individual skill, has something remarkable about them, and people are willing to listen to their opinions.

After noticing the subtle glances from these people, Maria remained silent for a moment before shaking her head slightly.

"Don't come near."

"Um?"

Heratia paused, as if she hadn't heard Maria's words, and the others also looked on with confusion.

But Maria's words were very simple.

"Don't come near here... There must be something here."

Although it had been a long time since they had met again, Maria still vaguely remembered that the source of the sound was likely the strangely shaped, deep blue tree.

But what puzzled Maria was...

The fact that I was able to contact the other party and hear their voice before was all due to the use of Seaborn or the blood of Deep Sea Hunters who possess Seaborn genes.

And now, the other party can actually contact me directly?!

This is considered...

Is this a sign of progress?

Maria wasn't quite sure, but she knew that every time she saw that giant tree, it was surrounded by a large number of Seaborn.

According to Gladiia, Aegir encountered his first Seaborn during the fourth Mantle Exploration.

In other words, at this point in time, people shouldn't be in contact with each other.

"... Don't come any closer?"

Maria's words were immediately met with opposition from Malitus.

He pushed up his glasses, and his curly white, seaweed-like hair trembled slightly.

"How can we not get closer? This is our best chance to understand this Precursor Civilization! So many precious documents have been lost since the last civil war. This is our best opportunity to learn about this civilization again! Even if there is danger, we must go in! We cannot leave! We cannot!"

He was agitated, and his whole demeanor became somewhat irritable and extreme.

However, most people present only frowned slightly at this sharp criticism, without showing any opposition.

After all, they joined this Mantle Exploration precisely because of this Precursor Ruins, didn't they?

If we don't explore the ruins...

What are they doing here?

Maria was prepared for these people's thoughts.

But she ultimately said nothing, only coldly watching Malitus confront her, her face calm.

"I'm just giving my own opinion."

The previous simulations had made Maria realize that no matter what she did or didn't do, the future outcome was predetermined.

In other words, she took charge of this area, and Aegir will discover the Seaborn after the fourth Mantle Exploration.

Even if she didn't intervene, various factors would have prevented them from contacting Seaborn until after their fourth exploration.

Knowing this, Maria's willingness to warn them not to approach was simply a way of helping herself.

After all, if she wanted to actually make contact with Aegir, she would have to rely on these people's submarines to get back.

She can't possibly stay in this godforsaken place forever, can she?

"..."

Maria's calm demeanor silenced Malitus, who had initially wanted to argue with her.

He was full of enthusiasm and high spirits, but Maria seemed completely unconcerned.

Whether they listen or not, she doesn't care.

This caused a subtle change in Malitus's expression.

Left with no other choice, he turned his attention to Heratia beside him.

After all, she was the one in charge of this operation, and everyone had to obey her orders.

"Um..."

Heratia also kept her head down at this moment.

Her gaze swept back and forth between Maria, Malitus, and the deep-sea ruins she had discovered outside the glass.

Her face tightened slightly for a moment before she shook her head helplessly.

"Near..."

Although she personally wanted to trust Maria's feelings, the problem was that her actions represented not herself, but the entire Aegir government.

Therefore, it is impossible for her to determine the actions of herself and others based on her own selfish desires.

Everything must be geared towards the core plan.

However, she can also subtly incorporate her own little tricks into it.

"Now that we've found the underwater ruins, our mission is more than half complete, and our exploration of the mantle is essentially finished. We'll stay here for a day to conduct a simple search... But if any problems arise, everyone else must return unconditionally... You are all great scholars nurtured by Aegir; your lives are far more important than these things."

Heratia spoke, and her words were somewhat favorable to both Maria and Malitus.

She wouldn't refuse other people's search, but she also had to make it clear in advance that the operation couldn't last too long or go too deep... Their mission was basically complete, and it would be best if they could go further, but if there was danger, she also had to be responsible for the safety of others.

"Because this site is so well preserved, as you can see, some ancient equipment is still operational... To maximize its protection and facilitate subsequent research, this operation will have a maximum of five people, and will only be able to search from the outside. If we encounter danger and cannot evacuate within three minutes, we will abandon it!"

Although Heratia had always treated Maria with a gentle, smiling demeanor, it must be said that when she got serious, she truly possessed a leader's aura.

The forceful words silenced everyone as they listened.

Only after she had finished speaking did the others begin to speak.

"Yes, Commander!"

After issuing the orders, everyone turned around and began preparing for the upcoming investigation.

Heratia knew that everyone would then proceed according to their assigned workstations, and the rest would be none of her concern.

So she turned her head and looked at Maria.

"Shall we find somewhere to talk?"

Heratia smiled and extended an invitation to Maria.

But Maria simply shook her head.

"It's not necessary."

She had no opinion on Heratia's choice... In fact, she wouldn't have any say in what Heratia did.

She was only concerned about when they could head to Aegir.

"If we return directly from here, the straight-line distance will take three hundred calendar hours, which translates to about fifteen days according to the habits of Land-Dweller. However, if we are lucky enough to encounter ocean currents, we can shorten the voyage by half..."

Heratia knew what Maria wanted, so she smiled.

Thinking about it, she took Maria's hand again.

It seems she wants another kiss.

After a few pauses, Maria silently withdrew her hand.

"A hand kiss is not a gesture that needs to be used frequently."

Maria whispered, her face calm.

While it wasn't exactly a particularly intimate gesture, Heratia did it far too often.

She even used this behavior as a way to express her thoughts, much like how some people wave their hands excitedly when they speak. Heratia would kiss Maria's hand every few words she spoke.

This made Maria feel a little strange.

Heratia looked as if she had just found out, and made a surprised expression.

"Huh? Is that so?"

"... Perhaps you should check out a stage play."

Are you praising my acting skills?

"No, I just think you should learn from celebrities how to control your facial expressions."

This was how Maria and Heratia always communicated.

Maria could clearly tell that there was something wrong with the other party's friendly attitude towards her, and Heratia never hid the fact that she had a problem, but she never told Maria the reason... just as there were many mysteries surrounding Maria that she never explained.

The two looked at each other for a while, and finally, Heratia laughed first.

"Do you want to go take a look?"

"Um?"

Maria was somewhat puzzled, but Heratia simply continued speaking.

"There are five people in this operation. I'll probably go, and Malitus and the others will also go, making a total of three. But there are still two spots available. Do you want to go check them out?"

"I?"

Maria's expression showed obvious confusion for a moment.

She didn't quite understand the meaning behind Heratia's actions.

But Heratia saw it clearly.