The ship continued eastward and finally reached half of its intended route. When we arrived in this area, we often see uninhabited islands. Maybe the reason for this is because it is too far from the continent. In addition, the magical beasts that inhabit it are more ferocious than those on the continent. Even the weakest goblins are as good as orcs.
I even sometimes saw dragons. Of course it is mostly wyverns, but there are several types of drakes as well. Drake is a dinosaur-like dragon that is classified as a medium sized dragon. It looks like a tyrannosaurus, and each type can be identified by its body color and size. The weakest and smallest are the Yellow Drake. Their body length is about 3 meters. On the other hand, the strongest and largest is the red drake. It is more than 10 meters long, has an abnormally sharp sense of smell, and once it bites, it will not let go until it kills the opponent. In addition, they use skills and magic, so ordinary humans have no chance of winning against it.
“Uhiiiiiii! M-master, please help us!”
Liberto and the others, who had gone out hunting, dashed desperately towards us who are grilling meat on the beach of the island.
Beki beki beki beki beki.
Countless birds fly from the forest. I then heard the sound of trees snapping, and a red drake appeared on the beach through the forest. Judging from the situation, Liberto and the others seem to have been eyed as prey.
“Goooooooh!”
The Drake stops and roars, then snorts and starts running towards us. Every time it lowered its foot, the ground shook and it was already right behind Liberto and the others who continued to flee.
“Freya, Liz, help the five of them.”
“Understood. Let’s go, Liz.”
“It’s troublesome. But for the sake of my disciple, it can’t be helped.”
The two of them stood up and walked towards Liberto and the others. As soon as the five of them realized that help came, they hid behind the two of them.
“I’m going to use my divine power to seal its movement. Liz will finish it off.”
“Okay. I’m going to give Drake’s meat to Oniichan.”
Freya sticks out her left hand and made a squeezing movement. The Drake floated lightly, and its feet cut through the air. Straightaway, a dark cloud envelops the enemy’s body and forcibly invades through its mouth. In the next moment, countless black spines protruded from inside the Red Drake’s body. Out of breath, the Drake dropped to the ground with a thud.
Liberto and the others were stunned by the sight. The mid-level dragon was killed that easily.
Well, considering that a single Red Drake can turn a large city into a sea of fire, it is understandable why they are so shocked. However, Drake is also a relatively easy dragon to defeat. Since wyverns, are flying dragons, even if they are of the same race, the Drakes are slightly weaker.
◇◇◇
“Ugh, I feel sick. I want to get back to the land as soon as possible……”
“Are you okay? If you feel like vomiting, just do it, don’t overdo yourself.”
“Thank you Pero. My stomach is empty now and I don’t have anything to throw up.”
In the cabin, a haggard Erna is being rubbed on the back by Pero. It’s been more than two weeks since we started our voyage but she still hasn’t gotten used to traveling by sea and is suffering from seasickness. In the bed next to her, Liz was snoring heavily. She seems to have gotten used to it.
When I was fishing for bonito, Erna was also making a fuss about how she didn’t like ships. Freya, sitting on a chair, is dexterously peeling an apple with the tip of a spear. She cuts it into pieces, puts it on a plate, and offers it to Erna.
“You can eat some fruit, right? You better eat some.”
“Thank you as always, Freya. I’m so indebted to you.”
“Please stop. It’s like you’re dying.”
“I’m probably going to die. This seasickness is an incurable disease. It must be so.”
A weakened Erna looks at the sea out of the cabin window and lets out a dry laugh.
This is serious. I’m sure she’ll get used to the sea soon, but I’m not sure if she’ll keep her spirits up until then. I’ll have to cheer her up later.
Then, suddenly, the door to the room was flung open and Margaret enters. For some reason, she looked angry.
“Enough already! Can’t you just come around from seasickness already? As a mage, you’re the only master I can have. I don’t want to be forced to train like a warrior every day. Or, are you inferior to me so you can’t teach me?”
“That’s not true…… I’m just not feeling well right now.”
“Then I want you to demonstrate the ability of those who wear that dark brown robe. That is, show me what a master-level mage is. I don’t like to ask people who are inferior to me to teach me. That’s all what I’m trying to say.”
Margaret waved her hand and walked out of the room. I had noticed that she had a strange rivalry with Erna from the time I met her, but I didn’t expect her to provoke Erna at this time. Suddenly, I glanced at Erna and saw that she was about to get out of bed with her staff as a cane.
“H-hey, you’d better still rest.”
“I can’t rest. As a master class mage, it’s frustrating to be ridiculed. If she wants me to show her my ability, I’ll show her! I’ll prove what I’m capable of. The magic of Great Mage Erna…… Uoh?!?”
I held Erna as she fell. Apparently, she is weaker than I imagined. I placed her on the bed and put a futon on her.
“I’m sorry. I felt lightheaded.”
“It’s okay, just take a rest. It’s not too late to do Margaret’s training after your seasickness subsides. I’m sure she’s just here to vent her frustrations with her current training.”
When I said that, Erna gives a small nod and smiles.
“But I kind of understand how she felt when she said that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Human mages are often compared to elven mages. Elves had high affinity for magic after all. That’s why I think Margaret has followed the path of magic to prove that she is not outdone by the elves.”
If you ask me, I feel that there is indeed such a tendency in the kingdom. This is because just being an elf, they are expected to be able to use powerful magic. If so, it’s not surprising that Margaret harbors something close to hostility towards Erna. As a mage, she is jealous of Erna.
“Still, rest for now. You are an important comrade and a force to be reckoned with after all.”
“Comrade…..? Haaa~”
“Uh-, y-you are also a dear person to me. So just rest well.”
“W-what did you just say? Come on, what did you say~?”
“Eei! D-don’t cling to me! Wait, you’re fine!”
I pushed Erna’s face with my hand and tried to push her away.
I’m screwed. It seems that I said too much.
“……What are you doing-nya?”
Lena, who opened the door and came in, looked at me with a shocked face.
◇◇◇
Baja and I were both holding a glass of liquor while looking at the map. We are discussing the journey so far and the future route we’ll take.
“It’s been three weeks since we’ve sailed-nya. It look’s like we’re going to get to our destination ahead of schedule-nya.”
“Then how much longer will it take to reach the island?”
“About a week if there’s no trouble-nya. But it’s been going so well so far that it is quite scary-nya.”
“….Those sea dwellers, right? They will probably only appear when we get closer to the island.”
“In fact, it wouldn’t be strange if they come out right now-nya. We entered the waters that the islanders said we shouldn’t be in-nya.”
On the map, the location of the island we are heading to was marked with a red X. There is a wide area with a no-trespassing word written around it. That said, it doesn’t mean that something will immediately happen when we enter it though.
Right at that moment I thought so, the ship that was sailing smoothly just now shook violently. Baja fell out of his chair and the glass of liquid was even poured on his face as he was about to drink.
W-what?! What happened!?
I rushed out of the captain’s cabin and moved to the deck while coughing.
“M-Master…… These guys suddenly got on ship….…”
On deck, Liberto froze with his hands raised high up. A three-pronged spear was attached to his neck, and it was held by a blue-scaled man. His eyes were sharp as a shark’s, his fingers and toes were webbed, and he also wore a metal armor. There were about five other similar men on board, and like Liberto, the members of Sword of Glory had a spear pointed at their necks.
The man glared at me and opened his mouth.
“What’s the purpose of you humans in these area? Answer well or I’ll kill them right here.”
“Wait. I’ll be honest with you, so don’t kill them.”
“I can’t promise that. Don’t lie, just tell me what you’re here for.”
The man presses the tip of his spear tightly against Liberto’s neck. I can’t make a bad move because I don’t know who the other person is. I have no choice but to respond to their demands for the time being.
“We are on our way to the Forbidden Island. Our purpose is to meet the God Tree.”
“For God Tree-sama? What is your aim Human?”
“It’s going to be a long story, but if I had to make it short, it would be for the sake of this world.”
“I don’t know what you mean. Are you making fun of us sea people?”
It seems that I have spoiled the man’s mood. But in the first place, it is difficult to only talk about the main points. Even me, a person involved, is still in a state where I don’t fully grasp the whole picture.
Angels, Barrier, World Tree, Gods…… These are the ones I want to hear.
“Do you know what the World Tree is?”
“I don’t know. We don’t know about the land.”
“It’s the entity that creates the barrier that protects this world. Ah, to be more precise, it’s the God Tree who did it. However, the World Tree is known as one of the Six Sacred Beasts which are the key pillars of this world, and it has recently been killed.”
“The Six Sacred Beasts…. Key Pillars……”
The man finally seemed agitated. He turned his face to the other men and exchanges words with his eyes.
“You are lying! There is no such thing as six sacred beasts on land.”
“Wait! I’m telling the truth!”
“I’ll punish you for speaking nonsense! This is your punishment for encroaching on our territory!”
Just as the man was about to put more force into the spear, a voice came out of nowhere, “Stop, Mars.”
“I didn’t expect Leviathan-sama to come to a place like this.”
“I have come because I was told that a guest is coming. Please leave them with me.”
“Yes! As the order of Leviathan-sama who sits at the top of the Six Sacred Beasts.”
The man called Mars moved his spear away from Liberto’s neck. However, the owner of the voice is nowhere to be found. He was said to be the leader of the Six Sacred Beasts, but I feel doubtful whether it is true.
“Human, if you are a guest, you are welcome. But if you behaved disrespectfully to Leviathan-sama, I will behead you immediately.”
“Not being rude or anything like that, I can’t see the Leviathan-sama you spoke of though?”
“Kuku, Kuhahaha! Can’t people of the land see Leviathan-sama’s great figure?”
Mars leans forward and looks directly under the ship. When I also looked into it in the same way, I saw that a huge object was moving under the surface of the sea. No, this is the torso. The enormous body, which is as thick as four ships lined up side-by-side and wriggles like a snake beneath the ship. Although its total length is unknown, it looks like a sea creature with a long body that extends several kilometers. I can barely tell that it is a fish because I can see the scales, but the size is too large to fit in that category. It’s a monster that humans can’t beat for sure.
“It’s so ridiculously big. I almost believe it’s actually a sacred beast.”
“It’s true! Leviathan-sama is a sacred beast! Kuu! Nevermind, it’s a waste of time to argue with you. At best, you should imprint the sublime form of Leviathan-sama in your eyes.”
After saying that, Mars jumps into the sea with his comrades. I used my analysis skills to peek at them at the last minute. As it turned out, their race was Merman. In terms of stats, they are only slightly stronger than Liberto and the others.
I changed my mind for the time being and decided to talk to this Leviathan-sama guy, that is swimming beneath the surface of the sea. Although he said we are a guest, but his purpose is currently unknown.
“What should we do now? If possible, we would like to go to the Forbidden Island.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve been asked by God Tree-sama to pick you up. I’ll show you the shortest way to the island.”
“Then thank you for that. By the way, is it true that you are one of the Six Sacred Beasts?”
“Indeed. In the ocean of this world, there are six secret sacred beasts, including me. Normally, the Six Sacred Beasts on the land are responsible for creating the barrier that protects this world, but in an emergency, we, the Sacred Beasts of the Sea, will be the energy source of the barrier.”
“Six Secret Sacred Beasts you say…….?”
Then, there were a total of 12 major holy beasts in this world?
Now that I think about it, it is strange that the Sacred Beasts are concentrated only on land. It is a given that there are living creatures in the sea too. Then it is rather normal that they have one underwater too. I finally found out why the barrier had been repaired.
“You—the person who want to meet you, Shinichi Tanaka, is waiting on the island.”
“Is it a person who want to meet me? Isn’t it the God Tree?”
“You’ll understand if you go there. Follow me.”
Leviathan-sama begins to move forward leisurely, taking me and the others with him.
What kind of person is waiting for me on the forbidden island?
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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