Nova turned from the barrier and surveyed the space around him. The structure before him was indeed a mansion, but unlike any building he'd seen before. Coral formations had been shaped and guided to create elegant archways and sweeping walls. Bioluminescent creatures provided soft lighting, their bodies embedded in the living walls like living jewels.

Seaweed curtains swayed in the gentle current, and colorful fish swam in patterns around the structure, almost like they had been trained to do so.

'This is incredible craftsmanship. I expect the mermaids in my fifth life lived somewhere similar, but I never got to visit... Now, how do I sneak around in water?'

He approached one of the lower entrances, a grand archway lined with what appeared to be polished conch shells. Each shell hummed with its own note as the water flowed through them, creating a haunting melody that seemed to welcome visitors.

'The walls of this building probably won't block my life detection, right? I'll have to quickly equip the Regis fragment to actually be able to detect the creatures here, since they're so much stronger than I am, but it would at least give me an idea of what I'm facing here.'

[Fragment of Nova Regis equipped.]

Nova paused at the threshold, extending his life detection spell through the water. Multiple signatures appeared in his awareness—some small and swift, others larger and more powerful. But one stood out among the rest, barely visible to his magical sense.

'Barely visible, meaning it must have nearly twice as much as the fragment… That has to be one of the royal children. Nothing else should have nearly five hundred thousand Soul Power.'

He unequipped the fragment again as he took a steadying breath of water, feeling the oxygen flow through his transformed lungs. The mansion stretched out before him, winding like the chambers of a nautilus shell.

'Sneaking through the shadows here won't do me much good. But an altered version of Mute should let me travel through the water without making any vibrations. I can't seal the water around me since I need to breathe, so they might find me through smell…'

Nova cast the modified Mute spell around himself, feeling the water go still as the magic took hold. The sensation was somewhat strange—he could move freely, but the water offered no resistance, creating no currents or disturbances to mark his passage. It was almost like he was floating in zero gravity.

He slipped through the conch shell archway, entering the mansion itself. The interior was even more magnificent than the exterior suggested. Vaulted corridors stretched in multiple directions, with gently pulsing coral that provided a soft, ethereal glow.

Nova chose the leftmost passage, staying close to the wall where shadows from the coral formations offered the most concealment. The corridor curved gently, following the organic lines of the structure rather than the rigid geometry he was used to in surface buildings.

The first room he encountered appeared to be some kind of reception hall. Elegant furniture carved from massive shells dotted the space, while schools of tiny luminescent fish swam in organized patterns near the ceiling, creating shifting patterns of light and shadow. Nova skirted the edges, noting the complete absence of any guards or inhabitants.

'Too quiet. This feels like the calm before a storm.'

He continued deeper into the mansion, passing through a series of chambers that spoke of wealth and refinement. A library filled with what looked like carved bone tablets instead of books. A dining area with a table that appeared to be grown from a single piece of coral, surrounded by chairs shaped like giant anemones. Each room was more elaborate than the last, but all shared the same eerie emptiness.

'I've gotta admit, these glowing fish swimming around look extremely nice in this clear water. I might recreate the effect with some formations when we get back… home.'

The word felt a bit strange in his mind. But that's what it had become, Quinn's quaint little house. A place to rest and eat together, and a place to go back to once a long day was done. The only real home Millie had ever known.

'...And soon, she will have spent more time in this damn dungeon than she has there. It's bullshit, whatever made this happen…'

He took a deep breath of water before continuing, calming himself. Stealth missions were always much harder without a clear mind.

In the fourth chamber, which seemed to be a drawing room, he noticed movement in the water ahead. He pressed himself against the coral wall, barely breathing as three figures glided past the entrance.

Mermaid guards.

'Okay, that all but confirms my suspicions. One of the royal children lives here, if not both. This damn floor is organized by sentient beings, making it much more dangerous than the previous ones.'

Their forms were elegant and deadly, with bodies that shifted from human flesh to fish tail at the waist. Each carried a trident that gleamed with its own inner light, and their movements through the water were so fluid they seemed to flow rather than swim. Nova caught glimpses of gills along their necks, and eyes that held intelligence.

They moved in perfect formation, conversing through the water in a language Nova didn't recognize. It was like a series of whistles and harmonics that sounded similar to a light whale song. The sound faded as they continued past, but Nova waited several heartbeats before moving again.

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'Close. Too close. They move like they know every current in this place… I don't like the idea of killing intelligent creatures down here, but they should just be beasts created by the dungeon, right?'

He emerged from his hiding spot and continued forward, noting that the magical connection to the barrier was growing stronger. The energy signature pulled him toward the far end of the corridor, where an ornate door dominated the passage.

This door was unlike the others he'd seen. Where the rest of the mansion favored organic curves and flowing lines, this entrance was an art piece in itself.

The frame was inlaid with what looked like mother-of-pearl, but the material pulsed with its own light, creating a hypnotic display that made him want to stare. Most telling of all, he could feel the barrier's power source emanating from beyond this door, like heat radiating from a forge.

'If that's not the room of one of the royal children… Well, I'd be surprised. But do I risk entering? If worst comes to worst, I should at least be able to fight by using the "I Am King" trait, but that would be a waste…

He stood in silence for a while, considering his options. It was a precarious situation, no matter how he approached it.

'Well, it's either sneak inside or go back and break the barrier. And that would alert everyone about our presence.'

Nova approached cautiously, staying alert for the slightest sign of danger. His hand hovered just above the ornate handle, a piece shaped like a sea serpent biting its own tail.

"Come in."

'What?! She already knows I'm here?'

The female voice came through the door, as clear as day. It held a surprisingly casual tone, like she was expecting a servant rather than an intruder. Although the words carried a hint of youth, something suggested a level of authority.

"Chop chop, before the guards come back."

Nova's heart started beating faster. Every instinct told him to retreat, to use his amulet and flee back to Anny's side. But the casual nature of the invitation made him hesitate.

'...I can always escape if things go south…'

He grabbed the serpentine handle, feeling the metal warm beneath his touch. The door swung open without a sound, revealing the chamber beyond.

The room was as extravagant as could be expected, judging by the door. Pearls the size of his fist were embedded in coral walls that spiraled toward a domed ceiling. Golden threads wove through the living walls like veins, pulsing with soft light that complemented the blue coral glow.

But the most striking thing was the young woman sitting on an elaborate bed carved from a single massive shell. She stared back at him with a warm smile that held no trace of fear or surprise. Her hair was light brown, with a silver tiara holding her bangs to the sides. Delicate fins peeked out from behind her ears, and her legs—if they were legs—disappeared beneath an elegant white dress that floated around her form like sea foam.

In her hand, she held a staff nearly as tall as herself. Intricate carvings covered its length, and atop it sat what looked like a miniature moon, glowing with silver light. The weapon radiated essence in the direction of the barrier, making it clear that it was the source.

"Welcome, diver!" Her voice bubbled with enthusiasm. "It has been a long time since we had a visitor down here. Are you alone?"

'...This is unexpected. Not only can she talk, but she even knows what I am. Does she understand that I'm here to kill her?'

Nova opened his mouth to respond, but only managed a short, "Glub."

The princess laughed, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. "Ahh, you're not used to speaking underwater? That's very understandable."

She raised her staff, and a flash of light spread through the room. The water around Nova began to behave strangely, swirling in tight spirals before suddenly rushing toward the walls. Within seconds, the room was filled with breathable air, though everything dripped and glistened with moisture.

The princess's hair fell against her head in damp waves. She brushed it back with her free hand, revealing more of her delicate features. Without the water's blue tint, Nova could see her eyes were a striking azure color, like the tropical waters of Damascus.

"Is that better?"

Nova coughed, bending forward to let the water drain from his lungs. The transition from breathing water to air was jarring, leaving him gasping for a moment. "Hahh, yes, thank you... Uhm, I'm quite confused."

The princess laughed again, with a much clearer sound now without the water's distortion. Her laughter was infectious, genuinely joyful in a way that seemed out of place in this dungeon. "Also understandable! You must have faced nothing but mindless beasts on your way here, correct?"

"Exactly. I thought this dungeon would be…" Nova struggled to find the right words, still keeping his guard up. He didn't want to insult her and trigger a fight. "Well, that it would have no intelligent life."

"Yet here I am." She gestured to herself with a theatrical flourish. "Are you here to kill me?"

She asked with an almost excited expression. There was something unsettling about how casually she discussed her own potential death, as if it were no more significant than the weather.

'...Is she that confident, or are the rules around death different for these dungeon-dwellers? I know the beasts have to come back somehow so that everyone who enters can face them, but I imagined they were reborn without memories.'

"...Would that be a problem?" Nova asked carefully, studying her face for any hint of fear or concern. He found none.

"No, I'm tired of this life. I was honestly waiting for someone to come here." Her voice carried a weariness that seemed at odds with her youthful appearance. The smile remained, but something sad flickered in her eyes.

"...You're tired?" The word felt inadequate for whatever she was experiencing.

"I've read all the books here several times already." She waved her hand toward a section of the wall lined with coral shelves holding scrolls and tablets. "Everyone around me lacks real intelligence, and I can only visit my brother on rare occasions…"

"But… What happens when you die?" He couldn't quite accept her wish for death just yet—not without understanding how it would affect her.

"The same thing that happens to everyone, I guess? But I don't know what. Do you?" She tilted her head, studying him with the same curiosity he felt toward her.

Nova was still reeling from the strangeness of this encounter. This was the last thing he had expected to meet here. "Uhm, after death… Well, I don't know what happens for most people. But some are reborn in new worlds."

"Really?!" Her eyes lit up with genuine excitement, the first truly animated expression he'd seen from her. "That would be so great! Like the outside world you live in?"

"...Yeah. But, I… I don't think that would be the case for you." The words felt cruel even as he spoke them, but he couldn't bring himself to give her false hope.

"Let me dream a little bit!" She leaned back in the massive shell bed with her arms raised high, landing heavily on the soggy mattress with a wet thud. Water droplets scattered from the impact, but she was still smiling, as if the truth meant nothing to her.

'...What am I supposed to do here?'

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