I Was a Small Fish When I Reincarnated, but It Seems That I Can Become a Dragon, so I Will Do My Best - Extra Chapter 121
5-4. The Drifting Barrier
We had looked down at the sea from a high vantage point on our way here.
Yet, even then, we couldn’t spot where Houen was sealed.
There was no way Dacia could have made a mistake in creating the gate, and the sealed location should be around here.
But there was nothing resembling it in sight.
It might just be difficult to see because it’s submerged in the sea… “No,” Ouren denied.
“We were sealed in the form of a monster. Houen is a phoenix. He possessed only flame-type skills, and Dacia mentioned that we altered the ecosystem. He’s probably burning somewhere. To be honest he is more like Vermilion Bird rather than Phoenix.”
“….?”
“In other words, he’s supposed to be warming the sea somewhere. So, I think he should stand out quite a bit… especially at night…”
Rubbing his chin, he shifted his gaze to the sea.
Although a continent could be seen in the distance, the barrier where Houen might be was nowhere in sight.
Come to think of it, can Amariaz use his skills to search?
In my case, it’s limited to land… so I can’t really help. But maybe Amariaz’ “Spatial Awareness” can find it.
“How’s it going?”
“Well… I’ve been searching since earlier, but I can’t find him…”
It seemed like he had been doing it before I even asked.
But there were no results.
“I can’t search underwater either.”
“Huh, do you also have a detection-type skill, Ouren-san?”
“Yeah. It’s called ‘Mist Manipulation’. When I use it, I can understand the surroundings even with my eyes closed. But I can’t perceive things underwater or in sealed spaces.”
“I see.”
Hmm, is this skill similar to Amariaz’?
It doesn’t seem to be about sensing presence.
Or perhaps… Could it be that none of us have skills to search underwater?
If Houen isn’t where Dacia sent us, then finding him would be extremely difficult.
How would we even search?
Or rather, why isn’t Houen in the sealed location?
That’s when Mom spoke up.
“…I have a hunch…”
“Oh, do you understand something?”
“He might have drifted away…”
“””Drifted away?”””
Everyone reacted to those words.
I thought it was unthinkable, but Amariaz and Ouren’s faces became serious.
Could something like that really happen…?
“Eh, what…?”
” ‘Suppressor Seal’ was originally just a normal ‘barrier.’ The act of sinking it into the sea itself is irregular, and I believe the sealing method was something no one has ever done. Also, both ‘Suppressor Seal’ and ‘barrier’ don’t have the function to fix the target in place.”
“Come to think of it, I remember waking up outside the sealed location. But I was in a cave. It’s not a completely unbelievable story.”
If there are real experiences, then ‘Suppressor Seal’ is indeed not something that can fix the target in place.
A seal that can be moved if some force is applied.
So, what about the person named Houen… Is he still drifting in the sea?
Anyway…
Mom sighed with a complicated expression as she looked at the sea.
“It seems that Houen isn’t here.”
“It seems so.”
Ouren affirmed, scratching his cheek.
Searching for the barrier that drifted in this vast sea would be a daunting task.
Even though it’s conspicuous, the Terraome Strait continues to flow southward, and the current is fast.
Four hundred years have passed, so no one has any idea where the barrier is now.
This is… troublesome.
We can’t just walk around looking for it, and either Amariaz and Ouren detection skills aren’t working…
If there were some clues, things would be different, but there’s nothing now.
But then, I remembered what Dacia said.
It was before we passed through the gate.
“Not boiling, but it drastically changed the ecosystem.”
From these words, it’s certain that Houen is sealed in the Terraome Strait.
Even though I don’t know the exact location, I noticed the change in the surrounding environment.
The person named Houen harbors power strong enough to change the environment, similar to Ouren.
If that change is happening here, then Houen must be somewhere in the Terraome Strait.
What direction is the tide flowing?
It’s nighttime, so I can’t tell by sight, but there must be a current.
If we go in the direction of the flow, we should reach the person named Houen.
Amariaz seemed to understand what I was thinking as he looked at the sea.
“…Anyway, we need to spend the night somewhere.”
“Isn’t it easier to search at night? He’s burning, right?”
“Um… We spent a night to… unseal you… with… a magic stone…”
Suddenly, Amariaz remembered something important and looked at me.
He rushed over and grabbed my shoulders.
“Y-Yuuzen-kun! Where’s the magic stone?”
“Eh? …Ah!!”
I remembered and rummaged through the magic bag where the magic stone was supposed to be.
But there was nothing to touch, and when I turned it over, only small grains of sand fell on the sandy beach.
Only now did we realize that we didn’t have any magic to unseal the ‘Suppressor Seal.’
The magical power within me is unexpectedly low.
“Waaah, what should we doooo!!”
“Hey, why the hell, Ouren-san!”
“Is it my fault!! What’s a magic stone anyway?!”
As the three of us were making a racket, Mom, who had been watching us from a distance, smiled nostalgically.