"If you look at the left side of the helmet, you'll see a touchscreen panel. This is the Smart Searcher, which can communicate with other diving suits. Of course, it can also communicate with the Odyssey."
We are wearing diving suits and listening to Andromeda's explanation.
“There’s nothing on the left?”
“Brother… Since it’s on my left side, it’s on the opposite side from your side, right?”
"aha."
“And, my brother will remain on the Odyssey. There is work to be done here, too.”
“Aha. Aha.”
“So… you don’t need that diving suit, right?”
From below the deck, a long mechanical arm rises.
“No, I too want to join this glorious expedition… I too have the right to see the depths of the sea….”
Kilk, wearing a diving suit, mutters something.
The tentacles mercilessly lift Pierrot's buttocks and banish him below the deck of the Odyssey.
“… Then, I’ll continue the explanation. While the UBKK can easily withstand over nine tons of water pressure, it can’t protect the wearer’s mind. There’s no machine with that capability yet.”
“What are you talking about?”
I talk to Andromeda, but she doesn't respond.
"no-"
Ayaga, with a bright smile, taps the inside of her diving suit helmet with her hand.
“Touch the panel to activate the voice function, you idiot.”
I raise my hand and touch the panel.
"Ah, can you hear me now? What do you mean, mental protection?"
"The deep sea is an unknown world. Humans are instinctively afraid of things they see for the first time. Simply put, it's easy to panic. So—always check the situation with your colleagues."
“I understand.”
"You really have to 'understand' this. Compared to the ancient androids and transcendent beings, Captain is nothing more than a weak human body. In other words, he's the member most susceptible to panic or sudden death. Have you ever heard of the nameless Agent A, who's always the first to die in a horror movie?"
The machines around me all have one thing in common: they all have annoying habits.
"The Odyssey's diving function check will probably be completed by dawn the day after tomorrow. In other words, we won't be able to directly assist you underwater until then."
They are looking at me, fully dressed in diving suits and helmets.
"Master, this is your first decision as planetarium team leader. Please make your decision."
“Does the team leader have to make the decision?”
There is no answer.
Yeah, I know. I know.
“Andromeda, what do you think?”
“Is it the practical aspect or the human aspect?”
“Both.”
Andromeda twisted her tentacles, then thought for a moment.
Open your mouth, no, your voice.
"This expedition is quite meaningful. With no information available about the remaining arks, finding even a clue to the lost technology—or rather, the ark itself—is a boon in itself."
"and?"
"Plus, as we saw in the previous Ark case, we might be able to glean other information about the voice. Or even if that's not the case, we might find something useful. Such a massive ethereal signal isn't easy to detect."
Andromeda's words were over.
“Andromeda.”
“Hey, Captain.”
“We need to talk about the human side too.”
For a moment, she of the Odyssey is silent.
And then, I hear a voice inside my helmet again.
"Into the deep blue waters of the South Pacific, a place no one has ever ventured before. Without even a diving experience, I'm going in wearing nothing but a wetsuit. Even if safety is verified, I'm not sure my heart can handle it."
“….”
"Even without literary horrors like Lovecraft or the Continent of Mu, the ocean itself is a place that devours humanity. In fact, even in my database, there's almost no information about the Pacific Ocean's depths below 5,000 meters."
“….”
“According to the analysis I just did, the chances of survival in an emergency deep in the South Pacific are 89% for Android Seol-ah, 2% for Transcendent Aya, and 0.00001% for the Captain.”
Wow, the gacha odds are so good.
"As you know, that probability is practically zero. It's meaningless. Besides, the Captain isn't a machine. He's not an android or a transcendent being. So, we need to take additional measures."
Fish.
From the right side of the helmet, something pops out with a small sound.
I check what fell towards my face.
“It looks like a vitamin.”
"This drug was developed by the UBKK research team. It takes effect within 15 minutes of administration. It specifically converts the trace amounts of nitrogen dissolved in the body and expels them from the body. This is a remarkable achievement, completely solving decompression sickness."
“Andromeda, please speak so I can understand.”
“That medicine completely prevents decompression sickness.”
“Decompression sickness?”
"It's an abnormal condition that inevitably occurs in mammals that dive deep. Even whales are known to suffer from this condition. It's related to air pressure…."
Urrrr.
bang.
In the distance, I hear thunder.
By the way, the sky is getting cloudier.
"Oh, if that's what it's going to be like, why were you cleaning the deck? Don't you even read the weather forecast?"
"Brother, the weather centers around the world have been out of operation for a long time. I rely on my own system to determine the weather…."
Kilk, who had crawled back up onto the deck, was grumbling and talking to Andromeda.
Bam.
A single raindrop falls onto the deck of the Odyssey.
The refreshing splash of water droplets echoes above our wetsuit helmets.
"mister."
Even if all the external conditions are met, it is a matter of going thousands of meters into the sea.
I was a part-timer who had never been to a swimming pool, let alone scuba diving.
"mister."
Can you do it well?
Just because I became a singularity doesn't mean I became a god.
Where am I now? I feel like my sense of reality is suddenly becoming a little dull.
Is it because of this damn helmet? Huh?
I just had to look at Aya. I was just a convenience store worker.
What is all this?
I'm not a hero who regresses and levels up infinitely, okay?
Pacific Ocean below the equator, sea, deep sea, Southern Cross, vast ocean, diving, waves.
Blue, deep and beautiful.
In the endlessly dark sea.
reality.
"mister!"
What a noise.
In the distance, thunder rumbles across the South Pacific.
And, a sound just as loud.
Aya is talking to me, with my helmet off.
The sound is not coming from beyond the machine, but right next to your ear.
Park Aya's voice.
It's pouring rain.
“Take your time.”
"uh?"
“Have we ever been late—in paradise—in Japan—in Sekigahara?”
“….”
"Sir, you're doing something bigger than you think, don't you? You know what? I've met a cosmic being that no one has ever met before, twice."
“….”
“So, let’s slow down a little.”
Aya gently strokes my hair.
Bam.
Raindrops, the first drops of water from the South Pacific I've encountered since I was born.
It flows down my head.
“This time too, I won’t be late. Okay?”
“That’s right.”
No matter how big a man's head is, he still needs a mother.
I reach out and hold onto Aya's hand that is stroking my hair.
So that it can't fly away anywhere.
In the Pacific sky, heavy rain began to pour down.
And the roar of lightning that resonated with such force that it seemed as if it would tear the sky apart.
It's a tremendous thunderclap, something I've never heard of in Korea.
The Kronosaurus makes a huge roaring sound as if it were a god.
Like a giant fish that has found water.
A deep-sea song, similar to that of a whale, creates waves around the Odyssey.
“Master.”
Aya and I are approached by the best in the world, wearing a diving suit and only taking off our helmets.
Before I knew it, I had my umbrella open.
“Let’s go inside and talk again. It’s important.”
“…But where did you get the umbrella?”
“It’s a secret.”
I've never been hit by raindrops south of the equator since I was born.
The rain had already started pouring down like a storm.
I'm just a little while away.
I decided to experience the equatorial rain for the first time in my life.
####
The sound of the rain is so refreshing that it is almost noisy.
We are sitting together in the Odyssey reception room, listening to the sound.
“Vice-Chief, here’s a towel.”
“Thank you, sister.”
“…I’m not the deputy team leader’s older sister. I’m not the human Yoo Seol-ah.”
Aya looked up at Seol-ah with her eyes wide open.
“But, Seol-ah is actually older than me.”
“That’s a story from when I was human.”
“But, even if you hit with an ancient crystal, you’re older than me.”
“….”
“And even if you consider her as a human, she’s quite old.”
“….”
“Besides, you are a Yuseol after all.”
“I am an android.”
“Whether she’s an android or the best in the world, Yuseol-ah is Yuseol-ah.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
Seol-ah's expression doesn't look that unpleasant.
“Let’s leave it at that, Deputy Manager.”
"Seol-ah. Just don't say anything. What kind of assistant manager are you? We're not even employees of a dispatch company."
"Master, this is a matter of agreement. Even you, Master, cannot interfere."
"okay?"
Aya is looking at Seol-ah with a red face.
“Sister!”
"Originally… well, before I boarded the Odyssey again, I was going to call you by a different title, but my brain recognized it as the correct one. But the deputy team leader strongly refused to call you that…."
“What is that?”
“It’s a secret between women!”
An unbearable irritability began to whisper within me.
So I decided to open my mouth and say what I thought.
“Seol-ah.”
“Yes, master.”
“It’s my master’s order, so tell me what you were going to call me.”
Seol-ah's eyes change into a bewildered expression for a moment.
Wow, I'm an android who has to do whatever you say when you call me master.
This is why everyone is obsessed with hypnosis apps.
Come on, Geonwoo. Okay?
“If you wish, Master―”
“Sister!”
“The real thing.”
“….”
My lips become mute and honey-fed.
“The legitimate wife.”
“Ahh….”
"Shall I also explain the meaning of the word 'lawful wife'? Ever since humanity created the family as a structure... historically..."
Aya is glaring at me with a face that resembles a ripe carrot.
Uh, now it's really dangerous.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
“Then, the wife… No. The towel I gave to the deputy team leader, please have the team leader retrieve it.”
For a brief moment, a look of amusement crossed Yu Seol-ah's face.
“You know how to make that kind of expression too?”
“Yes, Master. I am the first wife… just as the deputy manager said.”
The best in the world smiles brightly.
“Because I’m human.”
I get up silently and remove the towel from around Aya's neck.
“Sir….”
“Is the weather nice?”
“It’s pouring rain in the equatorial sea?”
“That’s hypocritical… It’s just what I always say….”
I stealthily look at Aya's nape.
The sea water and raindrops mixed together, and the hair stuck to the back of my neck, which was soaking wet.
A drop of water flows down between the sparkling nape of her neck and falls.
Those water droplets running down the cleavage of the wetsuit, like full-body leggings.
The sight of wet hair flowing down between the white, pale nape of the neck.
Thanks to the sea water, my skin feels smooth as if I've applied full body oil.
hmm.
“Sir? Where are you looking like that?”
“Your… heart?”
Aya snatches the towel away and throws it at my face.
“You seem like a pervert.”
"sorry."
However, my next words were not continued.
Because Aya quickly buried her body in my chest and kissed me.
Huge breasts wrapped in leggings that felt strangely like latex.
It gives me a strange feeling on my chest.
The slightly salty saliva on my lips gives a salty pleasure to my tongue.
“Hey, you….”
“Because it’s a punishment. It made me unbearable….”
Aya takes her mouth off me.
Beneath us, a strange liquid, a mixture of Pacific seawater and our own saliva, forms a sticky thread.
“That’s the punishment.”
As expected, it's better to get punished often.
“Hmm, hmm, keuhm.”
An awkward cough.
Like a child who has been playing all night, I suddenly take my hand away from Aya.
Yuseol-ah is looking at me with her cheeks slightly red.
"While it's great to fully enjoy your honeymoon, I think it's also important to finish discussing the issues at hand, Team Leader."
No, a cruise in the South Pacific. A honeymoon with two beautiful women and a giant reptile.
Huh? Is it the best?
“Team leader?”
“I apologize, Master. There is a glitch where your speech patterns change when you panic….”
Seol-ah picked up a towel and roughly wiped the back of her neck.
He sits on the chair in front of us with his legs crossed in his characteristic pose.
"In fact, while the Master was coming down from the deck... we've already reached some agreements. I've gathered the opinions of all the women with decision-making power on the Odyssey."
“That’s exactly what you said.”
A tentacle slowly descends behind my shoulder.
"Captain, it seems the Odyssey's diving capabilities—they won't be restored on this voyage. We'll need to repair a critical component, and I can't do it myself. We'll need to make a port call. Furthermore, I'll likely need to return to Incheon Port to obtain that component."
"therefore…."
"Hey, Captain. Waiting won't do any good. Ultimately, you'll have to dive in yourself. The only good thing is that we found a spare mini-submersible."
“So, I’ll tell you what we agreed on.”
Aya smiles and playfully shakes her foot at me.
I'll shake my lower body inside my field of vision, deliberately making my thighs visible.
A cheeky convenience store worker… .
"first."
“Ouch, wait a minute.”
One transcendent being, one supreme being, and one tentacle.
They all look at me,
“Huh? Sir, why?”
"Everyone agreed. I haven't heard anything or agreed on anything yet."
“Master, I guess you didn’t hear me well earlier.”
“That’s right, sir. I told you earlier.”
"what?"
The tentacles giggle as they gently stroke my shoulder.
“All ‘women’.”
Oh my goodness.
Feminist cruise level.
"First, no matter how perfect the UBKK wetsuits are, we're the ones diving. We're not trained scuba divers or competitive swimmers."
"So—I decided to dedicate my time to practicing diving, like tourists taking scuba diving lessons in Dahab, Egypt."
“Where is that, and….”
Aya ignores my words and continues speaking while stroking her wet hair.
“Second, we decided to name that cute Kronosaurus Nari.”
"After receiving the briefest possible training, we'll dive deep into the ocean under Nari's guidance. Since Nari is an ethereal thought form, she should be able to detect the ethereal signals."
"And, inside Nari's large bones, you won't lose your bearings. You won't be swept away by the deep-sea currents, like a mini-submarine following a guided submarine."
“The only mini-submarine is planned to be used for guidance in case of emergency.”
“Hey, guys. Listen to me….”
On a feminist cruise with only women, it seems like my words aren't being heard.
Aya looks at me with a smile, as if she's excited.
Ah, those eyes.
At the convenience store, when playing rock-paper-scissors to get the last remaining Princess Mal collaboration lunch box.
In that timeline, when he kissed me on tiptoe while I was on the Ferris wheel.
On Namsan Mountain where it rains, when you confirm each other's feelings and look at me with wet eyes.
Once that eye is activated, she is now unstoppable.
“Third, prioritize safety.”
"Even if we don't make a profit in the South Pacific, the itinerary itself, via the Galapagos and back to the Ark, is still feasible. Therefore, your safety is our top priority. If anything goes wrong during the dive, we will arrange for you to return to the Odyssey immediately."
“Why… my safety comes first?”
A transcendent being who is shaking off his shiny skin.
An android with his eyes wide open and his hand resting on the oil.
Just a mechanical tentacle.
And, outside the huge front window of the reception room.
Like a mischievous swan, desperate for mischief while getting drenched in the rain.
A giant long-necked dragon panting with its mouth open.
I guess he wants us to practice diving and have fun quickly.
"mister."
“….”
“Of these, who is the weakest?”
"me : yes."
“Then whose safety is the top priority?”
“It’s me.”
“Yes. So, who should be most prepared for the deep sea?”
“It’s me.”
“As expected, Master, you are a quick thinker.”
Thunder strikes once more.
Nari, as if in awe, creates a deep wave next to the Odyssey, creating a splash.
The sound of splashing. The rumble of thunder. The sound of pouring rain below the equator. The splash of water created by Jang Gyeong-ryong. The sound of waves in the South Pacific.
They say water knows the truth.
Where the hell am I? Is this another world?
And under the white cruise lights, Aya smiles brightly.
“Then, as soon as the rain stops.”
I want to go home.
“Shall we begin training together?”