Beckett’s Suspicions

Beckett did not know if it was just his imagination, but he always felt that the way Mera looked at him was strange.

Especially at breakfast, Mera was no longer shocked by his astounding appetite as usual. Instead, there was an indescribable… pity in her eyes?

Beckett was not entirely sure.

Because whenever he asked Mera what she meant, she would simply smile gently, shake her head, and say it was nothing.

And whenever that happened, Woz, still tirelessly refining the "Mother Box Energy Impact Plan" within the bracelet space, would pretentiously push up the glasses perched on his nose and solemnly pull out a copy of A General History of Love to study.

It recorded Mera and Beckett’s reactions one by one, comparing them against the descriptions in the book to ensure the two did not stray down the wrong path.

Woz had discovered this book while connecting to the world database in the library.

Books held houses of gold, and books held beauties fair.

No wonder Lord Thanos valued knowledge so highly. Woz, now reading more books, deeply agreed.

Only by reading more and absorbing more knowledge from this world could it better help His Highness Beckett shine brighter.

Woz adjusted its glasses and silently cheered itself on.

"Wait, Beckett! Where are you going? We’re here. It’s right here."

Holding the map Woz had handed her early that morning, Mera hurriedly called out to Beckett after following it to the marked location.

"Here?"

Beckett turned around, looking doubtful.

The house before them looked battered and run-down, as though it had been neglected for years. Could anyone even live here?

"It should be right. According to Woz’s map, the writer who collected every legend about the Golden Trident lives here."

As she spoke, Mera had already knocked on the door.

"Coming, coming. Who is it?"

The old, decaying wooden door was opened, and a man with an utterly haggard appearance emerged before Beckett and Mera.

His messy stubble made it impossible for Mera to determine his true age. His slovenly clothes gave him an especially world-weary air, along with that head of tangled hair.

She could not tell whether it was naturally curly or permed.

"Who… are you?" The man, whose little house had not received visitors in a long time, put on his glasses and finally saw their faces clearly.

He was certain he did not know them.

"Montgomery?" Mera tentatively spoke the man’s name.

"Who exactly are you? Why do you know my name?" Montgomery suddenly began to panic.

"Relax, Montgomery. Relax."

"Listen, we mean no harm. We’re just very interested in the legend you’ve been investigating."

"Do you remember? Many years ago, you self-published a book called Collection of Obscure Myths. It mentioned ancient Atlantis and the Golden Trident."

Mera quickly raised her hands to show she meant no harm and swiftly explained why they had come.

"Atlantis? The Golden Trident?"

"I remember. What about them?"

The haggard man asked in confusion, then suddenly seemed to recall something. "Wait, you don’t mean you want to prove Atlantis really existed, do you?"

Montgomery sneered, using what he believed were ruthless words to shatter the childish fantasy of the beauty before him.

"Atlantis is just a myth—"

"Get out."

The icy words rang out, and his rambling voice came to an abrupt halt. The intense killing intent pouring from Beckett nearly suffocated Montgomery.

"Woz, begin scanning."

The flickering red dot on the azure display immediately located what Mera wanted—an old parchment painting and a sketch.

On the ancient parchment, a man clad in golden armor held the Golden Trident. He stood atop a colossal beast that swallowed the heavens, while the entire undersea world trembled and prostrated itself beneath his feet. His majesty was boundless.

"That’s the first King of Atlantis!" The sharp-eyed Mera recognized the figure in the painting at once.

And the enormous beast beneath the Sea King’s feet was the legendary ancestor of the Marine Trench Kingdom, passed down by word of mouth among the Seven Undersea Kingdoms: Carlson.

As for the other sketch, Mera recognized the monster drawn on it as well—a member of the Marine Trench Kingdom.

"Where did you get these two things?"

This was too important. Mera put aside her resentment toward Beckett and instead held up the two pictures as she questioned him.

"These… these were given to me by my teacher…"

The haggard Montgomery had been badly frightened by Beckett. Trembling, he explained where the two items had come from.

His teacher had been an ardent fan of Atlantis legends.

As a renowned scholar, his teacher had spent his entire life searching for evidence that could prove Atlantis had truly existed.

Then, his teacher found a parchment painting and a map left on land by the first King of Atlantis.

Following the map, his teacher had not encountered that king, but rather the monster depicted on the sketch.

From then on, his teacher had gone completely mad.

"Where’s the map?!"

"The map… my teacher said the monster destroyed it…" Mera’s questioning made Montgomery so anxious he was nearly in tears.

He had lived here for so long and had only just managed to bury his teacher properly, only to run into two idiots obsessed with Atlantis legends.

"Destroyed…" Mera fell silent.

"Can’t we just find this member of the Marine Trench Kingdom?" Beckett found Mera very strange.

It was obvious that something was wrong with the Marine Trench Kingdom.

Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence? Someone took the map there, the map vanished, and the person returned?

"You don’t understand, Beckett. Although the Marine Trench Kingdom is counted as one of the Seven Undersea Kingdoms, its people have actually devolved to the point where they live entirely on instinct."

"According to the records, after Atlantis fractured long ago, the members of the Marine Trench Kingdom began to devolve in order to survive as their environment deteriorated."

"Now, every single one of them can be considered a beast without any reason whatsoever."

Mera told Beckett about the current state of the Marine Trench Kingdom’s people.

The Marine Trench Kingdom had now become a place of exile for the other six kingdoms.

The former Queen of Atlantis, Atlanna, had been exiled there as well, and there had been no news of her ever since.

"What about it?"

Beckett raised an eyebrow and pointed at Carlson, the colossal beast swallowing the heavens in the parchment painting.

"It is said that Carlson vanished together with the first King of Atlantis."

"So the Marine Trench Kingdom is now an unknown kingdom that no one understands?"

Beckett’s battle instincts told him there was definitely something fishy here.

"Why do you think that?"

"If you were about to die, and you didn’t trust an unworthy heir to take your weapon, what would you do?"

Narrowing his eyes, Beckett voiced a speculation that completely overturned Mera’s worldview.

The first King of Atlantis had not thought highly of his heir, so he had wanted to choose another successor.

But for some unknown reason, the designated second King of Atlantis learned of the first king’s intentions, and a secret struggle for the throne began.

The second king struck first and severely wounded the first king. To protect the Golden Trident, the latter fled far away and arrived in the Marine Trench Kingdom, the nation of his mount.

Carlson, leader of the Marine Trench Kingdom, had been willing to sacrifice the future of his entire nation to prevent the Golden Trident from falling into the hands of thieves.

"Are you serious????" Mera stared at him in stunned disbelief.

"Otherwise, give me a reason why the first King of Atlantis vanished without cause, why the entire Marine Trench Kingdom devolved into beasts, and why the Marine Trench Kingdom became a place of exile."

Beckett caught the scent of a conspiracy and countered with complete confidence.

Atlantis had split into seven kingdoms, yet only the Marine Trench Kingdom, where the first king’s mount had been, had collectively devolved into beasts?

The first king had ruled the Seven Seas, only to end up listed as missing?

What a joke!

Beckett’s extensive battle experience told him there was something very wrong here.

One more chapter will be rather late.

Tonight, I’m taking my friend’s 86 out to drift one. (ω`)

I’ll write the third chapter after doing a few laps~(￣▽￣~)~