“Uhm…., what is that humongous squid?”
“It is a Kraken. It is originally a magical beast that lives in the deep sea but it seems to be wandering around here lately. As a hunter, I was planning to subdue it but I couldn’t.”
Sophia clutches her spear in frustration. Even a dweller of the sea has a hard time dealing with that kraken huh. However, with its appearance, it will be troublesome if that monster entangles the ship.
“Erna, I’ll leave the ship to you. I’m going to fight that guy.”
“Understood.”
Erna, who was down with seasickness, slowly sat up and gave me a soft smile. I feel bad for her but I’m going to let her hold on for a little while. It will be big problem if the ship sinks. I then jumped into the sea to fight the Kraken.
“Why don’t you run away!? You’re human you know!”
Sophia approached me and as she circled around me, she asked that question with a look of shock on her face. I guess she thinks I can’t beat that guy since I’m a human.
“It has been decided. I need to take that guy down and catch some bonito.”
In addition to that, it would be a shame to miss such a big squid. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten squid tempura. Kukuku.
I stowed the Bull King’s sword in the bangle and then I took out two iron swords instead. I stacked the two swords together and with my metal manipulation skill, I fused the two swords. The iron changes shape and formed into a single harpoon. Following that, I opened the eyes on my forehead and my vision expanded instantly. Looks like the kraken is speeding towards us.
“Sophia, just stay behind.”
“I can’t do that. I’m a hunter and I can’t let you, a human, fight that monster alone!”
Holding the three-pronged spear, she smiled at me sheepishly. She is a mermaid but I am happy to see that she is no different from people on the ground.
“It’s coming!”
Like a torpedo, the Kraken is moving through the sea at breakneck speed. I tried to attack it as it passes by, but I was pushed back by the violent flow of seawater. In the blink of an eye, the squid has passed by.
“Damn, I missed!”
“Calm down, Human-san. It will definitely come back.”
As Sophia has said, the Kraken changed direction and is heading towards us again. Apparently, it is hungry. It also seems to be happy to find its prey. I then used my analysis skill on it.
| 【Analysis Results: Kraken: A mollusk that lives in the deep sea. It can grow up to 50 meters in size and is famous among mermaids as a creature to be wary of. Rarity: C, Overall Ability: B】 |
| 【Status】 Name: Kraken Race: Kraken Magic Attribute: Water Magic: Aqua Ball, Aqua Cure Skills: Fang King (Beginner), Eyesight Enhancement (Advanced), Digestion Enhancement (Intermediate), Search (Intermediate), Shock Absorption (Intermediate), Underwater Adaptation (Advanced), Self-Healing (Intermediate) Evolution: Conditions are not met < Evolution Condition: Fang King (Special Grade), Digestion Enhancement (Special Grade), Search + (Beginner), Underwater Adaptation> |
On land, I can definitely afford to deal with this level of opponent easily. But when it comes underwater, it’s a different story. This place is its turf after all.
“It’s here again!”
The humongous squid passes by at a tremendous speed. A stream of water swirled up, and I and Sophia are spun around.
“Kyaaaaaaaaa!”
“Sophia!”
I quickly hugged Sophia in my arms and I applied brakes with my sub-arm. At that moment, I felt strange. The seawater I subconsciously grabbed with my sub-arm felt like I am gripping soil. Hmm, how to explain, it’s like when I stuck my hand in the soil, I could firmly grasp the seawater.
“This is…”
I couldn’t help but smile at the unexpected discovery. I’m not really sure, but this would be a good thing.
“T-Thank you.”
With her cheeks flushing pink, Sophia hurriedly swims away. She maybe embarrassed to be hugged like that. But now is not the time to explain. We must get rid of that enemy as soon as possible.
“I’m going to stop him from the front. During that time, I want Sophia to attack it with all you got.”
“That’s suicidal! No matter how soft the Kraken is, it is swimming at a speed of over 100 kilometers! If you collide with it, you won’t get away unscatched!”
“Don’t worry, it will be fine. My body is special you see.”
While we were talking, the Kraken came back to us. Perhaps its idea is to weaken us first before eating us. I’m going to take advantage of that strategy.
“Come on!”
The tip of the squid crashed to me. I grabbed the seawater with my sub-arm to apply brake. Still, my body was pushed backwards. After a distance of more than 10 meters, the squid finally stops moving, and Sophia immediately attacks.
“Flowing water strike!”
A shock was released from the thrusting spear. It penetrates the torso of the Kraken. Then ink leaked out of the wound and a large amount of it spewed out of its mouth. The area is now dyed black, then suddenly, I heard Sophia’s screams.
“Sophia!”
When I looked for her with the eyes on my forehead, Sophia was entangled by the Kraken’s tentacles. She was squeezed tightly and her expression tells how painful it is.
“Aghh….”
“I’ll help you right away! Hang on!”
When I tried to attack the squid with my harpoon, it quickly swims away, probably because it was wary of me. Not wanting to let it escape, I used my sub-arm to gain momentum and leap forward. I then tightly cling to its mantle. The Kraken also tries to dive into the depths of the sea. It is trying to take Sophia to the depths of the dark, deep, cold sea.
“Take this! Take this!”
I continuously stabbed its mantle with the harpoon but it doesn’t seem to have any effect because of its humongous body. In that case, let’s change the weapon. I changed the shape of the harpoon with my metal manipulation skill. The harpoon, which looked like a sharpened stick, transformed into the shape of a “し” and then I plunged the tip into the kraken’s body. I also made a hole at the tip of the weapon in which a thread is coiled around it.
“I’ll catch you like this!”
With my sub-arm, I launched myself upwards and the squid at the end of the needle is pulled along with me. I repeatedly accelerates with my sub-arm, and before I know it, my speed exceeds 300 km/h. When I leapt out of the water, the Kraken and Sophia also soared high in the sky.
“Sophia! I’m going to help you now!”
I pulled out the Bull King sword from the bangle and points it at Sophia who is still clutched by the tentacles. I unleashed the dragon beheading slash. The extended blade pierces and cuts the tentacles holding Sophia.
“Kyaaaahhh!?”
As Sophia began to fall, I flew at high speed, held her in mid-air, and called out to Erna on the ship.
“Erna!”
“Understood! Lightning Thunder!!”
The dense magic emitted from Erna’s body converged on her wand, creating a purple lightning beam above her head. Along with a powerful flash of light, the thunder that shakes the air turns into a snake of light and hits the Kraken directly. In an instant, the humongous squid was roasted and then it fell to the surface of the sea with white smoke emitting from it.
“What an incredible magic…”
Sophia, who I held in my arms, seemed astonished by Erna’s magic. Well, it was a natural reaction since it is such a blow that roasted the kraken. I then lowered Sophia into the sea and asked her if she is hurt.
“I’m fine, what about you?”
“All good, I told you that my body is special. But more than that, will the bonito come back to this area after we defeat that guy?”
“I don’t know what kind of fish is the bonito you are talking about but it should come back in a week or so.”
“Hmmm, it’s going to take a week huh…”
It was unexpected. I thought those fishes will be back sooner.
Should we stay in the town for a while or go back to Mana first?
Well, what to do….
“Shall I sing?”
“Sing?”
“We mermaids attract fish by singing, and if there is a bonito fish around here, I’m sure they’ll be attracted to my voice.”
To attract fish with song, they are indeed interesting species.
I asked her to give it a try. Sophia took a deep breath and began to sing in a beautiful voice. It’s a melody that is both pleasant and jubilant. Just when I thought I saw a small fish jump nearby, fish started jumping across the sea surface one after another. I guess you could call it a festival of the sea, it looked like the fish were dancing to Sophia’s voice.
“Is that the bonito!?”
Not far away, large and medium-sized fish were jumping on the surface of the water. Looks like they are back. I immediately made a net out of a thread and then I surrounded the fish. The thread can be controlled remotely, so if I know where it is, it’s not so difficult to catch it.
When I got more than a hundred large fish, I thanked Sophia.
“With this, our purpose has been achieved. Thank you so much.”
“Same here. Thank you for helping me.”
Sophia kissed me on the lips and her cheeks flushed pink in shyness. Then, she waves her hand saying, “Let’s meet again somewhere” and then she dived into the sea.
“What an unexpected gift. Fufufu”
I can’t help but grin when I recall the softness of Sophia’s lips. How long has it been since I was kissed? It’s been a long time since I’ve been this excited. When I went back on the ship, Erna and Liz were glaring at me.
“Wasn’t that mermaid kissing you?”
“I saw it.”
“I-, I think it is just your imagination.”
I decided to brush them off with a whistle. It doesn’t matter to me who kisses me but from a woman’s point of view, that won’t make a good impression. That is why I’m going to cut it off here. Erna and Liz look at each other for a while, but then they give up and start talking about something else.
“By the way, did you catch any bonito?”
“Yeah, look at this.”
I took the net out of the bangle and then a large number of fish appeared on the deck. Not only bonito, but there are also tuna and yellowtail, they are all bouncing inside the net. It is a great harvest.
“There is even Magūron -nya! It’s a big catch -nya.”
“It looks delicious -nya! I want to eat it -nya!”
The captain and Lena were drooling at the sight of the tuna. Like cats, fish is probably their favorite food as well. I decided to slice one of the tuna. I quickly cut it down into three pieces with the sword, and then I sliced it into thin slices with a knife to make sashimi. The seasoning? Of course, it is soy sauce.
The sailors and captains were confused by the raw fish, but were overjoyed when they put the sashimi in their mouths.
“Where can I buy this seasoning-nya? I’ve never seen anything like this that goes so well with fish-nya!”
When I told them that I am selling it in Mana City in the kingdom of Logas, they begin to ask me to sell it in Naji as well. I had no choice, so I decided to sell soy sauce only when I came to Sarasvadi. Kelp and bonito will continue to be needed in the future so it would not hurt to deepen my friendship with the fishermen here.
“Mermaids weren’t fictional creatures after all -nya. I was really surprised-nya.”
Lena said as she ate a large meal. I asked curiously,
“You have never seen a mermaid before?”
“That’s right-nya! Speaking of mermaids, they are creatures that has become a legend among sailors-nya! Every girl admires them-nya!”
“Oh, I see…”
I didn’t know. I thought mermaids were a common race in this world, but apparently, I was wrong. If so, it must have been really fortunate that I met Sophia. I’d love to see her again somewhere. And kiss again… Nufufufu.
After that, it took us about two hours to return to the port. We then met up with Pero and Freya and we decided to stay at an inn.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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