Multi-Ship Operation (Continued)

"Based on my companions' observations and perceptions at the time, I determined that this well-preserved Precursor Civilization posed an uncontrollable danger. Considering subsequent research and the safety of the on-site personnel, I believe that conducting simple, preliminary, and superficial research is a better option."

Heratia was ultimately destined to become the Scientific Consul; her linguistic and logical abilities allowed her to maintain an extremely strong and stable demeanor even under the watchful eyes of everyone.

Even other people involved in scientific research had to admit that, under the circumstances, Heratia had indeed made the best choice.

Only...

There will always be people who question this.

"Based on the situation, there are no problems at the scene. As for your claim of potential danger, there is ultimately no concrete evidence to support that claim!"

Another person stood up, and Maria recognized this person quite well.

It was that research-obsessed Malitus.

He stood up, seemingly disagreeing with Heratia's earlier firm stance on their return.

Heratia, however, didn't give in to the other party and spoke calmly.

"But you can't explain why those sea cavalry appeared in the area we were exploring... You see, according to the research report, that area is beyond the ocean depths that Cavalry Fish are used to, and this anomaly is a signal."

"Or do you have a problem with Mr. Alessio's research findings on these fish?"

The atmosphere at the scene gradually intensified.

Heratia spoke with conviction, and Malitus was no ordinary man.

He quickly realized what was happening and continued speaking.

"My research interests differ from those of the esteemed Mr. Alessio, but I have read each of his books no less than ten times. His elegant prose, like a musical movement, combined with the rigor of engineering, makes him one of Aegir's greatest scholars... But it was also he who proposed that the growth of life should not be bound by words."

"They will undergo miraculous changes at some point, in some instant... Trying to understand these miracles about living things with preconceived notions will only restrict our minds."

Malitus spoke clearly and logically, offering a rebuttal to Heratia.

Maria could even see some of the Aegir starting to verify with each other, searching for whether Alessio had said such a thing or something with the same meaning.

The meticulousness of the Aegir... truly gave Maria a completely new perspective.

But Maria also noticed that the man sitting next to her wasn't looking at Alessio's work, but rather... a collection of music?

Do you want to hear it?

The man noticed Maria's gaze again, and after a few pauses, he hesitantly handed Maria something that looked like an earmuff.

Although he may seem aloof, the man is not the kind of person who is difficult to approach.

Maria glanced at Heratia, who was locked in Court of Minds, before turning back.

"Thanks."

Maria didn't know what gave Heratia her confidence, but she had already fulfilled Heratia's request, so there was really nothing more she could do.

If that's the case, then doing something else seems like a pretty good idea...

After thinking for a moment, Maria took the earmuffs from the man's hands.

Guided by the man, she held it to her ear.

A strange melody emanated from it, slowly echoing in my ears.

There were no words, no noise, only a wondrous, naturally composed symphony...

Unlike the music Maria was used to hearing, this piece consisted almost entirely of percussion, making it more rhythmic, but... its continuity was slightly lacking.

What do you think?

"... Very good, but something is missing."

Maria gave a simple evaluation.

The man didn't refute, but after a few moments of silence, he quietly tore off the first page of the draft paper beside him and stuffed it haphazardly into his pocket.

Maria then realized that the piece of music might have been composed by the other person themselves.

"Are you... a musician?"

"... I don't deserve that title yet."

The man silently shook his head, his tone calm.

But soon, he turned his head and looked at Maria.

Are you?

"... no."

Maria shook her head.

She's listened to a lot of songs, but she really doesn't have any talent in art.

Perhaps she did have that in the past, but now, whether she likes it or not, hunting seems to have become the only thing she's good at.

The conversation between the two was calm, even somewhat boring.

The man also realized the problem, and after a moment of silence, he asked Maria a strange question.

"You're not interested in this Court of Minds... then why are you here?"

"You're not interested either, are you?"

Maria did not give a clear answer, but rather gave a vague answer.

But the man spoke very seriously.

"Because... it's necessary..."

"Um?"

"Aegir is built on the foundation of Precursor Civilization... I believe you already learned this in the Public Nursery, but what you may not know is that even now, the entire city of Aegir is built upon our replication of Precursor Civilization technologies."

The man spoke slowly, but very earnestly.

Even though he himself was completely uninterested in these things, he still came.

"Aegir's civilization is built upon each and every individual... just as a musical movement depends on each note... only in this way do they have value."

"This expedition by Heratia to the Precursor Civilization is the largest ever... I can't miss it."

The man spoke in a cold voice, yet it revealed his passion.

As he himself said, his self-awareness seemed weaker than his awareness of being part of a group.

Maria neither agreed nor disagreed with this idea.

After thinking for a few moments, she nodded silently.

"Maria ..."

The man was taken aback, then realized what Maria meant and nodded.

"Ulpianus ..."

"You consider the appearance of the Cavalry Fish in that area as an accident?"

Heratia did not answer Malitus's question directly, but instead smiled and spun around.

"Yes!"

Malitus was unaware of Heratia's thoughts, but he persisted in his own opinion.

It was just an accident!

"Then I'll apply for a marine map record!"

Heratia spoke, her gaze swept over everyone present.

Although she could have accessed the data directly, she chose to leave the decision to everyone present.

She could tell that most other people weren't very interested after realizing the purpose of the trial.

Because they all knew that even if Heratia did have a problem this time, the impact wouldn't be significant... After all, the investigation of the Precursor Ruins was just an additional task to determine if the previous calculations were correct.

It's best to have it, but it doesn't matter if you don't.

Therefore, even if Heratia executes her mission perfectly, they won't actually bring back much data.

Ultimately, we'll have to wait for the next Mantle Exploration mission.

Therefore, Heratia knew that most people were indifferent to this.

However... there are always some genuine researchers who are dissatisfied with Heratia's actions this time, and at the same time, they doubt whether she can take on the responsibility of the next investigation.

What they really want is control of the fourth Mantle Exploration.

Heratia herself was rather indifferent to this, but... since Maria needed it, she wouldn't mind trying a little harder.

After Heratia spoke, a discussion broke out among the group.

Finally, the Review Council issued a vote.

"Seven to six, deployment permitted!"

The woman in charge of the event spoke, handing the terminal she was holding to the other party.

It connected to the terminals of everyone present, and in just a few moments, Heratia projected a chart of recent biological activities onto the terminals of everyone present.

It records the movement patterns of marine life and, with the help of deep-sea exploration points deployed by Aegir, quickly records the changes within them.

Most people didn't think much of it, and were even puzzled by Heratia's actions.

However, scholars who specialize in this area frowned.

"That's not right?"

"Um..."

"These creatures... are all heading towards the underwater ruins?"

"Ah?!"

The message quickly spread throughout the venue, and many people began to scrutinize the movements of the nearby marine life over the past few days.

Soon, people noticed.

"Recently, a large number of creatures have left their original habitats and are moving towards that area..."

The more they observed, the more they sensed something was amiss with the migration of these fish.

Logically speaking, these creatures would never leave their original habitat unless there were special circumstances.

This is true both from the perspective of an individual marine organism and from the perspective of the entire marine community.

And...

"The Grey Giant Whale are also approaching that direction. Judging from their size, their numbers are small, and their movements involved multiple turns before finally arriving... It can be concluded that they were also forced to approach that direction... As the dominant species of the ocean in the old era, even now, there are not many high- Great Ones in the food chain, yet even they are being forced to leave their territory. I think this might prove that there is some special situation we are unaware of near the Precursor Civilization we discovered this time?"

Heratia spoke, and this time, her actions indeed won everyone's approval.

However, a small number of people still discovered the problem.

"But this unusual migration occurred around the time you returned... This shouldn't be related to the danger you mentioned, right?"

"Perhaps this proves that my judgment was correct. If we had returned a few days later, our fleet might have encountered some unpredictable danger?"

Heratia's words were clearly sophistry... but everyone had to admit that such an argument did indeed have its own logic.

At least at this moment, no one can refute this from this perspective.

Because no one can judge whether something that didn't happen could have occurred.

After a long discussion, no one could reach a conclusion.

However, the anomalies displayed on the terminal's nautical charts were real.

The vast majority of people who didn't initially think there was anything wrong with Heratia's actions now approved of Heratia approach.

Perhaps... she really did save the entire exploration team in some way?

Whether this was intentional or unintentional.

The situation began to overwhelmingly believe that Heratia was innocent, and that her actions were entirely consistent with her identity and the logic of her behavior.

More and more people lost interest in this battle of wits, and the situation gradually came to an end.

But clearly, this is not the ultimate purpose of starting this Court of Minds.