The members of Team A who returned later brought back even more detailed intelligence.
They had taken different routes and eventually reached the outskirts of the Storm Border's landing zone. Beyond that point, the path was cut off by a vast stretch of water. On top of that, the magnetic field in the area was in complete disarray, making it extremely difficult to cross using Magecraft alone.
"Not just that," Ritsuka said, holding a water jug as she explained the situation to Shiomi in the lounge. "Once we got close to that area, even though everything around us looked calm, we couldn't transmit the scan data from the site back to Storm Border in real time. Something about the environment there interferes with it."
The others who had returned with her had already finished dinner and were resting here while exchanging information.
The data had been sent to Romani, and Storm Border was currently analyzing it at full speed.
After all, if this underground world truly had magnetic interference that prevented high-altitude navigation, then the ship itself would have trouble moving forward.
"So what else did you see at the site?" Shiomi asked.
"Visually, the waterway stretches for more than ten kilometers," Kirschtaria said. "Along the banks, you can see that this entire section of the ring-shaped underground world forms one continuous band of water."
Kadoc spoke up with a serious expression.
"And it's not just a wide, flat lake or river in front of us. The center of the waterway is filled with countless waterfalls of different sizes. It looks like all that water eventually flows deeper into the underground world."
Even he found it difficult to describe the strange sensation.
After all, the underground world itself was shaped like a cylinder.
Simply put, the water across that entire belt seemed to be flowing outward toward the outer side of the cylinder, or perhaps sinking downward into the depths as part of an underground water cycle.
"Honestly, the terrain isn't the real issue," Peperoncino said, looking thoroughly satisfied after the trip. "If Storm Border could just fly over it, there'd be nothing to worry about."
Although they had run into combat during the exploration, the members of the new Team A had worked together seamlessly, so it hadn't been particularly difficult.
Because of that, everyone—including Hinako Akuta—had enjoyed themselves quite a bit.
Peperoncino himself had spent most of the time chatting with the girls about girl talk, especially gossip about Shiomi's love life.
The group adventure they had never managed to have before had finally become reality here, and Peperoncino felt quite fulfilled.
Now the only thing left was to see when Daybit would finally appear and meet everyone face to face.
"So what's the main issue?" Shiomi asked.
Tomorrow they planned to meet the Deinos named Tepeu to obtain more information about this underground world and hopefully secure his assistance.
Before that, it was important to understand as much as possible about the surrounding area.
"It's a Barrier," Ophelia said, sounding slightly tense. "Its structure is extremely complex, but its main purpose is to stop anyone from crossing that stretch of water."
Kirschtaria added,
"We tried analyzing it. The Barrier itself is incredibly refined and complicated. Only a Magus of the highest caliber could create something like that."
At this point, he looked at Shiomi with some caution before continuing.
"From my perspective, even the version of me who stood in Olympus might not be able to weave a Barrier this intricate, with such complex functions and perfect stability."
"You mean…" Shiomi already had a guess about what he was going to say.
"In my opinion, only a Magus of your wife's caliber could accomplish something like that," Kirschtaria said solemnly.
Shiomi raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Is that so."
It wasn't that he didn't care. Rather, considering this and everything he had gone through before, the answer was already obvious.
As the very first obstacle Chaldea would face while exploring this underground world, the identity of the one waiting there was practically self-evident.
Besides, the authority that had been taken from him, along with his own senses, both pointed in that direction.
"Shiomi-kun doesn't seem bothered at all," Peperoncino joked.
"I care," Shiomi said, scratching his head. "But since I already know the answer, there's not much to say."
He didn't mind the teasing. Instead, he grinned and raised a hand.
"Anyone who wants to know the answer, raise your hand. I'll tell you right now."
Everyone raised their hands.
Hinako Akuta didn't raise hers, but her gaze still settled on Shiomi.
"The name is Morgan," Shiomi said. "But to be clear, I'm not talking about my wife who's currently on the ship. I mean the sorceress from Proper Human History who once plotted to overthrow the Round Table and brought down King Arthur's rule."
His answer surprised the others somewhat, though at the same time it made sense.
And it also explained why, when they returned, the Director had informed them to temporarily refer to Morgan as Aesc.
They had assumed it was just some kind of couple's inside joke they were being asked to play along with. Turns out the reason was far more serious.
"As for why the sorceress from Proper Human History has appeared in this Lostbelt, that's still unclear," Shiomi added, leaning back in his chair. "But she was among the groups that attacked me and took one third of my authority. Right now she's entrenched in the ring-shaped waters of the underground world."
"If our opponent is that sorceress, the battle will probably be extremely difficult," Kirschtaria said. "We'll do everything we can to support the operation."
Shiomi raised a hand to stop him.
"No. This time, you won't need to work that hard."
"Oh?" Peperoncino's expression instantly became animated. "If we don't need to get involved… does that mean even Mr. Shiomi can't step in?"
He switched back to a more formal way of addressing him.
"Unfortunately, this opponent is rather special," Shiomi said, spreading his hands. "My wife intends to handle it personally. She wants to settle things one on one with the sorceress from Proper Human History."
It sounded like a reckless plan, yet no one could really argue with it.
If you put yourself in that position, if a version of yourself from another world suddenly appeared and stole something precious from someone important to you, you would probably want to step forward and resolve it yourself as well.
"Even so, we still need to consider the other forces in this Lostbelt," Kirschtaria said after a moment of thought. "Including the possibility of interference from Daybit's side. Compared to when I previously investigated this place as the Crypter captain, the situation in this Lostbelt has changed quite a bit."
"Then that's our job, right?" Kadoc said. "While they're fighting, we keep watch on the surroundings and make sure no third or even fourth party shows up and disrupts the balance of the battlefield."
Peperoncino added another reminder.
"And we still have to protect Storm Border. If a large number of enemies appear, we'll probably have to summon Servants to fight."
"In short, while we're trying to approach the ring-shaped waters, you'll be responsible for protecting this ship," Shiomi said with an easy smile.
"Don't worry. Our main fighting force is already here. It shouldn't be a problem."