"Monica has lost consciousness. By gathering together, we can barely use flesh magic to maintain her current state, but we can’t do anything about the pollution," said a golden-haired Siren.
"And even if she wakes up, it may not be a good thing. Back in the Abyssal Trench, she was directly struck by an entire polluted monster. I saw it with my own eyes, it entered her body."
As she spoke, a trace of sorrow appeared on her face.
"Perhaps when she wakes up, she will no longer be Monica."
"Does your clan have any records of this type of pollution?"
The Sirens shook their heads in unison. They had already linked their minds together, searching through each other’s memories, but there was no clue.
Perhaps the ancient Siren Kingdom had relevant texts, but those had long been lost, leaving them with only a few oral traditions.
This was indeed troublesome. Hughes couldn’t think of a solution right away. After pondering for a moment, he asked, "How long can you keep her stable?"
"At most three days," Ash glanced at the Sirens. "I’m the only one here who can move freely. The others must maintain their flesh magic to resist the lack of pressure."
"Lady Ash has overdrawn her magic," the golden-haired Siren interrupted. "From the depths of the Abyssal Trench, she alone sustained Monica’s flesh magic and fought off countless monsters to bring us here, giving us a stable environment to cast our spells."
"For the next week, she won’t be able to use even a trace of magic."
"Ash, you’ve done well. Take this time to rest. I’ll find a way,"
The other Sirens had to maintain their flesh magic, yet Ash had single-handedly fended off all the polluted monsters and successfully led them out of the Abyss. That was nothing short of a miracle.
After all, when the Sirens had first entered the Abyss, they had to charge forward and self-detonate one by one just to carve a bloody path through.
Strangely, in their recent journeys to and from the Abyss, they had encountered no further interference from the Fishmen. Perhaps something had happened to them as well.
Suddenly, Hughes felt his vision darken, and dizziness overwhelmed him. The golden-haired Siren quickly caught him with her four free hands.
Hughes shook his head to recover. Looking at Ash, he noticed she was shaking her head as well, she seemed to have just experienced the same moment of disorientation.
Seeing Hughes’ concerned gaze, Ash looked even more guilty. "Apologies, I... I’m weak. I unintentionally drew on your life force through the contract."
Hughes rubbed his temple. The sensation was terrible, like a persistent fever, accompanied by constant headaches and a lingering weakness.
"It’s fine. It’s not a big deal. You rest. I’ll go get some supplies for you."
Hughes returned to his study alone. After some thought, he rang a bell on his desk. Soon, footsteps approached from outside.
"Tell Connor to come here alone. I have something to discuss with him."
Connor arrived quickly. This meticulous old butler always gave Hughes the impression of being available at a moment’s notice.
Even though there were many matters in the manor that required his attention and supervision, he handled them with ease while still being able to promptly attend to Hughes.
Professional, elegant, and utterly loyal.
A perfect embodiment of what Hughes imagined, or perhaps stereotyped, a butler to be.
Soon, Connor entered the study. Hughes gestured for him to lock the door before beginning their conversation.
"Pollution from the depths of the sea?" Connor recalled seriously, then shook his head. "I have never heard of such a thing. Have you encountered a problem?"
"Indeed." Hughes nodded. He decided to tell Connor about the Sirens.
In the Abyssal Trench, it had been different, but now that they were here, many matters required Connor’s assistance.
Besides, Connor had been his butler since childhood, one of the few people he could truly trust.
Alexei would help him manage the territory, while Connor could assist with the Siren issue.
Hughes briefly explained the origins of the Sirens, omitting some details.
The usually composed old butler widened his eyes in shock, stumbled a few steps, and sat heavily in the chair opposite Hughes.
He took several deep breaths before regaining his composure.
"So, you have earned the allegiance of these otherworldly beings?"
"Yes. And they are so eager for it. I clearly told them I am not a god." Hughes spread his hands.
"Incredible. Unbelievable." Connor removed his monocle, his hands trembling as he wiped it with a handkerchief. "I’ve only ever heard of such things in legends. Otherworldly races... They actually exist."
"Has the Church recorded anything similar?" Hughes asked curiously. He didn’t know much about Connor’s past, only that he had spent time traveling before becoming a butler.
Originally, he wanted to learn more about Connor’s experiences, but it seemed the butler was more shocked than he was.
"No, at least not that I know of. My knowledge of the Church is limited. The Candlelight Church hasn’t been enthusiastic about missionary work in recent years. The only mentions of otherworldly beings come from scattered sailor rumors, but..."
"Most of those are contradictory, full of errors, and unreliable stories."
Sailors? Hughes remembered that Connor had been a sailor in his youth, but...
"You’ve never seen Fishmen at sea?"
Connor gave Hughes a deep look, hesitation flashing across his face.
"It’s not that I’ve never heard of them."
"They say the sea once had many otherworldly races, but they all gradually disappeared."
Hughes frowned. Something must have happened in the ocean, perhaps related to this pollution.
"I’m thinking of consulting the Candlelight Church. What do you think?"
Connor looked as though he had something to say but hesitated.
"I already tested the Church’s stance last time. Sister Chloe doesn’t seem particularly prejudiced against other races. I had intended to gradually win her over as an ally, but it seems we may not have enough time now."
"I plan to privately invite Sister Chloe to the manor. Our last meeting was pleasant, hopefully, this one will be as well."
"And Brother Kaeski?"
"He will respect Sister Chloe’s decisions." Connor did not know that Brother Kaeski was not human, and Hughes had no intention of revealing the truth.
The Symbiotic Contract was a serious matter, and he wasn’t ready to share it.
"What if Sister Chloe refuses to cooperate?" Connor frowned. "Seeking help means exposing a lot."
Asking about pollution from the ocean would at least reveal that Hughes had some connection to the sea.
That was indeed a major risk.
"I want to understand the Candlelight Church’s general stance on these matters. Are they the type to meddle?" Hughes asked, watching his butler closely.
Meddle? The Candlelight Church?
"No, they rarely interfere in worldly affairs. You can rest assured about that. They are incredibly secretive. But that’s also the problem, they rarely respond to lords’ requests for help."
"You’re saying they’ll refuse to investigate the pollution?"
"They’ll handle it in their own way." Connor hesitated. "I once heard the Duke mention that the Candlelight Church has a group called Secret Keepers.’ They specialize in seeking out strange occurrences and uncovering the truth."
"But whatever they find is never made public. That’s the Candlelight Church’s way. When lords encounter unsolvable problems, they seek the Church’s aid. Secret Keepers arrive, and the problem always gets resolved, but..."
"But no one ever knows what really happened."
"You are very perceptive, Lord Hughes."