Chapter 476: Back to the Ocean

"Ooh, I thought that the Aquatic Race was similar to the Beastkin Race like me, but it seems that reality doesn't always live up to my expectations. But, well, cruelty in the majority is something we need to be wary of." Yuuki took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Yeah, although every race has its downsides and some dark sides, it's only a minority. The Aquatic Race scares me a bit now. I'm no longer excited to meet them." Evelyn pursed her lips with worry clearly visible on her face.

"Hum-mm~ Just like what I said, yes? It would not be surprising to find the creatures under the ocean sacrificing their own flesh and blood for personal gain. Or eating each other for the sake of strength. Uhh, I used to think that it would be great to be aquatic, but things have changed since last month." Sylvia nodded while stroking her non-existent beard. She wanted to imitate the typical attitude of a great sage.

"If that's the case, it's no wonder why the Aquatic Race seems to be separated from the other races." Ella closed her eyes and shook her head.

"..." Elysia was silent for a moment while stroking Vanessa. She was enlightened about everything about the Aquatic Race. They didn't sound like the friendly creatures in the fairy tales she knew. Only the dangerous version was available here.

Meanwhile, Vanessa was simply enjoying the attention and affection her master gave her, but several wild thoughts crossed her mind. For example, the fish in the Aquatic Ocean were unfit to eat and would bite her back.

"A, aah, when I thought we'd meet a mermaid or King Neptune." Elena leaned back in her lounge chair with a hint of disappointment.

"Hehe, if the description of the Aquatic Race is as defined, then maybe there aren't any mermaids. The similar, scary one, perhaps... The horrible sirens?" Elysia muttered as she recalled whatever she remembered about mermaids.

"That's a little disappointing. But let's see what we find in the Aquatic Ocean. We will judge for ourselves. After all, the Aquatic Race are still sentient beings." Elena got up from her lounge chair.

She walked toward the sandcastle. "Is your sandcastle finished? Woah, an earth dragon statue by the gate. Gio wants to look like a guardian, hmm?"

"Yes, our sandcastle is almost done. Would you like to play with building castles, master?" Elysia went to catch up. She walked right next to Elena to invite with a sweet smile.

"Alright, this sandcastle needs some finishing touches. Let's do this." Elena stroked her chin and went inside the sandcastle. Everyone also entered the sandcastle.

From the outside, it did look smaller than the original palace. Still, it was gigantic when compared to the scale of an ordinary sandcastle.

After the finishing touches were given, Elena looked at the giant sandcastle with a bit of pride. She nodded as if she had just created a handmade masterpiece. Although, she was actually only involved only in the last few touches.

"Let's leave this masterpiece on this island. It will be a new mystery to the world and may cause quite a stir in the future. Because of Gio's earth magic, this sandcastle and statue will probably last for years. A few hundred years, maybe?" Elena had an epiphany and immediately conveyed it to everyone. She wanted to chuckle to imagine what the future might hold.

Even so, no one took it seriously, except for Elysia. Neither of them thought that an unsolved mystery of the world had just been created at that very moment.

"That's fine. Shall we go now?" Nell looked up at the sky to determine the current time. It was time for them to finish their objective.

"Not until we change our attire." Elena went to the wooden hut. It was easy for her and Elysia to change clothes, but it wasn't for the others.

"Fair enough." Nell checked what she was wearing and nodded in understanding.

Since the decision was taken, the others naturally followed suit. None of them were willing to travel in a summer dress or a bikini. Therefore, they needed to change clothes first before leaving.

Elysia and Elena only changed their dresses with just a snap of Elena's finger. It was like a transformation of a clothing version. It amazed everyone, especially the girls. However, the one who felt very impressed was Evelyn.

"Woah, so, there's that kind of magic too? It's amazing because it's not an illusion. It's the real one... Ely, is that your magic? It's so practical!" Evelyn examined her best friend's magical white dress with precision.

"No. It's my master's magic. I didn't do anything, Eve." Elysia just smiled wryly and let Evelyn check some sides of her dress.

"Hmm..." Rhea looked at her dress in her hands, then at Elysia and Elena. She had the idea to make another magical dress because her ultimate dress had been torn apart during treatment.

Nevertheless, she just put that thought aside. The dress she held in her hands right now was a brand new dress given by Elysia with much careful consideration.

It was a mint green dress that seemed to be intentionally made similar to her ultimate dress. Rhea just entered the dressing room, wondering where Elysia got that dress.

'Rhea seems pleased with your gift, Ely.' Elena muttered casually in mind.

'Mm, I still feel guilty enough to tear that divine dress. Rhea must be feeling very lost. The dress I gave is nothing, but I'm glad that Rhea does too.' Elysia smiled with a tender smile while combing Vanessa's fur. She was in the mood to pamper her contacted beast.

On the other hand, Vanessa purred because her master's touches felt so comfortable and soothing. She was grateful for this change, considering the past week her master seemed to have neglected her because of the Baby Goddess.

Luckily, the Goddess in question had grown up overnight!

"Ocean! This time we're really going into the ocean." Sylvia jumped out of the dressing room and checked herself in the mirror.

This time, she wore a navy blue dress with patterns like fierce waves.

"Sylvi, you look great in that dress." Elysia gave a light compliment for mere small talk.

"Well, but this feels a bit... Uhm, hard to explain. I love this dress, but if it could be sexier here and here, then that would be best. Here too. It should go down a bit to show my cleavage." Sylvia pointed out some of the flaws of the dress she was wearing. She thought of it as not complaining whatsoever.

Even so, the devil girl smirked and pulled her dress collar down slightly to reveal her cleavage to Elysia.

"Wh- Please have some modesty, okay? You can't dress sexy all the time, can you?" Elysia reflexively covered her eyes and just peeked at her fingers.

"Hmm?" Elena closed one eye, but she made no comment. It was just someone else who showed up for a tease just to see Elysia's reaction.

"Hehe, I'm just teasing you. Who would have thought you had such a cute reaction, Ely." Sylvia twirled in delight.

"Nee, how about my dress? Does it suit me?" Evelyn came out of the dressing room and spun once to show everyone her new dress.

Elysia kindly replied with a compliment. The following few people who just came out of the dressing room also inexplicably asked for the others' opinions about their new attire.

Elena pretended not to see and didn't want to get involved. She only looked at the map because it was exhausting to give compliments and comments to everyone. Elysia was so patient with them.

'As expected of the ever kind Elysia. You become popular the more time goes by~' Elena hummed and put down the map when no one else asked for an opinion on anything.

'Uuh, what are you saying, Sister Elena. Let's go to the Aquatic Ocean.' Elysia actually felt reluctant to draw attention to herself, especially when it was clearly spelled out. Unfortunately, circumstances often say otherwise.

Elysia simply invited everyone to go outside the wooden hut.

After the portable house was stored in Yuuki's new Space Bag, they went to the northern sky.

It only took the flight no more than half an hour, they arrived at the top of the ocean, which was unusually far too calm.

"I believe I met the Sea God here, at this point. But, at that time, it was him who came to see me." Nell scratched her head while looking left and right. She continued to openly emit her aura in hopes that the Sea God would appear to see her once again.

"Oceans! I'm sure there are many kinds of fish down there, massive and scary ones. Are we going on an underwater adventure?" Sylvia brightened up to see the vast expanse of the ocean that seemed to have no end.

"Hmm?" Elena suddenly accidentally noticed an energy fluctuation. It was so subtle to detect and still a little hard to spot even though close inspection.

"Little one, can we go over to the magic fluctuation over there to check? Did you know about it? That subtle fluctuation wasn't there yesterday, correct?" Elena pointed to a spot about a hundred meters below them.

"Ah, you're right. I just realized that too. Was it a response from the Sea God?" Nell looked in the direction he was pointing and began to assume. Nevertheless, she asked her magic carpet to lower the height.

*Swoosh!*

Just as they approached the subtle energy fluctuation, the scenery of the incredibly calm ocean instantly turned into a completely different one.