Harrison's comments on the "red eye" hadn't escaped Natsumi's notice, despite her intense focus on him. In fact, they had been her own, mental comments; in one form or another. Why, indeed, had the defense system not targeted her like it did her companion's ships? The only reason she could think of was that it had not been designed to target anything smaller than a certain size.
"Lucky indeed," the druid said while keeping this idea in mind. "It doesn't seem to target anything smaller than a caravel class. Smaller classes of vessels, like skiffs, wouldn't even survive this far away from shore in the first place, so the designers of the obelisk probably excluded them from the plans in order to save resources. As a result, it probably can't even see objects as small as humans."
Her companion gave his preference toward swimming at this point, choosing to make it to the obelisk of his own volition rather than depend on the easy route of magic. Natsumi didn't mind, of course, seeing as that had been the most advantageous route Harrison could take for her well-being. Not having to use mana now meant there would be more for later use, so the Ice Queen was definitely content to simply swim back to the obelisk alongside Harrison.
That journey, however, was not one of utter silence as Natsumi had been expecting. For someone who looked so shaken, Mr. Jones was rather talkative. He commented on Natsumi's uniqueness - among other things - to which the druid could only respond, "There are some nasty curses out there." She didn't have the luxury of continuously stringing together long responses above the surf like sir pirate did on his little board. Even if she could breathe water, her voice would be distorted from the change in atmosphere between the sea and the air. Her sentences had to be quick, as a result; and, sometimes, even rude under normal circumstances."I'll tell you my name when we get to shore," as Natsumi said in response to her companion's introduction, was not exactly something you would hear in civilized conversation, after all.
Eventually, they did reach the plateau, though not before Harrison almost tumbled into the sea once more. The aforementioned pirate was, to Natsumi, clearly trying to save face. For one reason or another, he was pushing himself beyond his natural limits: an overall unhealthy mode of action. But, as far as she was concerned, the woman could hardly complain about the captain's pride so long as he survived. She decided, as a result, that it was best just to let the captain rest on the alabaster structure for a while after they arrived; at least until he regained his composure.
"But you handled it well, and that's what's important," the woman said while climbing up onto the plateau alongside her newest acquaintance who, sure enough, was instantly catching his breath. She moved off to the side afterwards, leaving Harrison to his own devices, as planned, while she shook like a dog to get the water off. Droplets sprayed off her body in mass until there were none left on her fair skin. It would be some time before she was completely dry, true; but this action would, at least, speed up the process. Her clothes remained soaked, for instance, but opaque enough to shield her undergarments from prying eyes until they were completely dry. In her current company, that was probably a good thing.
"As promised," the damp Ice Queen continued in the aftermath of drying whilst turning back toward her assumedly playboy company. "Harrison Jones, my name is Natsumi and I am a freelance archaeologist working for the Wyllmochvar University. Most of the time, at least. Right now, I'm not actually on the clock." Mr. Jones asked about the next step shortly thereafter, just as Natsumi was about to answer him. "What do you say about joining my expedition," she asked without missing beat and while eyeing the obelisk next to them? "Could make for an interesting story to tell in taverns back on land, and maybe even a source of riches. Besides, I have every intention of finding a way to shut down that eye to prevent more shipwrecks. If possible, I'd rather not see a repeat of what happened today; and, I'd bet, neither would you."