Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: An Aquarium Containing a Whale (3)
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I whispered into Enbi's ear—what I honestly wasn't sure was an ear or a gill, but anyway, the spot that looked like one.
“This is a gift given to me, no one else. Think of it as a present from you to me for suggesting we subjugate the demonic beasts together.”
“…….”
“If the sea gets contaminated by demonic energy, your orca pod won't be far behind in suffering. It could even mean Elsenote drawing his last breath.”
“What kind of nonsense is...!”
“Shh. Rather than grabbing Halo yourself right now and shaking down Yuse, handing him over to us first and protecting the sea is the smarter move. Isn't it? If you're truly the master of the sea, you need to make a master's choice.”
Enbi pondered for a moment, then nodded as if he couldn't help it. He had no idea. This moment, not the earlier battle, was his true defeat.
“An interesting human. If you can pull it off, give it a try.”
[♥]
The poor merman had been duped by a human, raising his favorability by one.
Great, I'd snagged one heart, but I needed four more before I could bring up the story of Elsenote's flute.
“Still a long way to go.”
I stood up and turned toward the crown prince. He met my eyes as if he'd been waiting.
“Crown Prince Thymeus, what do you think? About taking this merman Enbi as our ally.”
The crown prince crossed his arms and gave me a languid look. His expression screamed he could see right through me, making me flinch for no reason.
“I was wondering just how far your insolence would go.”
The crown prince smirked with just one corner of his mouth, looking annoyingly smug.
“Do whatever you want.”
[♥♥♥]
Huh? Instead of the one supposed to raise favorability, the stern guy's shot up? No clue why....
“For now, shall we get up?”
When I grabbed Enbi's wrist and pulled him to his feet, Destrodo released the seaweed that had him bound tight. Enbi stretched grandly, then thumped me on the back.
“Met an interesting human.”
“Guh, yes, glad to meet you too.”
“Let's drive out all the dark energy from this sea together!”
I gave an awkward smile to Enbi, who'd bounced back so quickly, and straightened my clothes.
Either way, the real game started now.
***
Boom! Rumble!
Explosions echoed nonstop over the sea. Centered on our ship, the orca pod swam as if leaping into the air, tearing into the demonic beasts. These weren't ordinary orcas—they were demonic beast orcas. Any beast caught in their sharp, heavy teeth burst apart helplessly.
“Amazing! At this rate, we'll wipe out the demonic beasts in Sulsuri Strait in no time!”
I clapped as I approached Enbi. He stood on the deck commanding the orca pod, looking just like an orchestra conductor. He turned to me with sparkling, rather innocent eyes.
“Impressed by this much?”
Enbi spread his arms wide with a grin. The orca pod leaped high like it was putting on a show.
“I'll show you something even greater. Friends! Let's split the sea!”
At Enbi's shout, the orcas moved in perfect unison. Their speed propelled our ship forward too.
As the orcas cleaved through the deep currents, spreading mana, the seawater parted to the sides around our ship, carving out a deep gull-wing shape in the center. At the same time, demonic beasts lurking in the ocean depths sensed the ominous aura and burst out.
“Just commanding is boring!”
Spotting a demonic beast, Enbi leaped from the ship and charged straight at it. He slammed bodily into the beast like a brute, launching it into the air.
It was Pippin's job to finish those off. Pippin used the ship's edge as a springboard, soared out to split the beast's head in two, then landed safely back on deck.
Thud!
The beast's head crashed onto the deck. The sailors hurriedly dragged it away. That head would count as spoils for our Gluttony family.
“Well done, Pippin!”
Pippin nodded with a grin. You could tell he was pretty hyped.
“Your human friend has some moves?”
“Dortega have incredible regenerative abilities, so they recover no matter where you hit them. You have to decapitate them in one go to avoid trouble.”
“Dortega? Right, that's what you humans call them? Tough to spot, and you know their traits well.”
“It's a hobby. I figured it'd be hard to carve up something that big all at once, but it's actually fun. Can you draw out more?”
“Sure! As many as you want. They're deadly predators that eat baby orcas, so it's to our benefit to wipe them out!”
Pippin and Enbi clicked perfectly in battle. Enbi would use the orcas to lure the beasts out, then Pippin would spring up like a coiled toy and send them to the afterlife before dropping back onto the deck.
Soon the hunt fell into a steady rhythm, leaving dents in the deck wherever Pippin landed.
“Fits like a glove. My bodyguard through and through.”
Was scooping Pippin up from that village ever this satisfying? If the crown prince had taken him, I'd have regretted it forever.
The sailors and knights behind us handled the small fry, but none measured up to our Pippin.
“Gluttony family takes first place in this demonic beast subjugation for sure.”
“Never seen such a unique hunting method.”
“Impressive....”
Hearing the admiration around me felt great. I ruffled Pippin's hair wildly after he took down his tenth beast.
“You cute little thing.”
“Master, what's this all of a sudden?”
“'Cause you're earning your keep.”
“Good to hear.”
The crown prince was commanding knights from the opposite side, handling beasts steadily, but not quite matching Pippin and Enbi's combo. Not that his skill lacked—corpses piled up reliably on his side too.
With beast bodies thudding onto the deck nonstop, the ship kept rocking.
“Better to ride the beasts than get seasick.”
Pippin muttered that as he used leaping demonic beasts like stepping stones to keep hunting.
I took the laid-back role of checking if any were still alive on deck. No way Pippin botched the job, but just in case, I poked around the corpses with Lagia.
[You know what that reminds me of? Stabbing food you don't wanna eat with a fork. Kinda unpleasant, Sierra. I won't nitpick your flashy battle expectations, but this treatment stings a bit.]
“Bear with it.”
[Just a bit ago you were begging how you needed me.]
“I do need you. But right now....”
I kept poking the beast corpses as I wandered.
“Right now, I can't shine. Ever hear that the protagonist shows up late?”
[Huh? I've lived ages, but first time hearing that.]
“You heard it now. I'll get my moment later.”
The day I could reveal I'm a necromancer, that is.
In the midst of the subjugation, Gerbera emerged from the engine room. She rubbed her temples with a hand, shaking her head as if her head hurt.
“The ship's shaking like crazy? What's going on? Those thuds are giving me a headache; can't focus.”
She spotted the chaos on deck, gasped, then burst into hearty laughter.
“Now I get it. Whose handiwork is this?”
My lips curved deeply. I stabbed Lagia deep into a beast corpse and shrugged arrogantly.
“My knight and guest pulled it off together, so it's fine to call it my achievement.”
“Jeez, your personality.”
“What? I'm right.”
“Well, if you nitpick, yeah.”
Gerbera tilted her head with an awkward smile.
“You really seem different, Sierra. Normally you'd just help the sailors clean up. Joining the hunt yourself like this.”
I looked straight at Gerbera and asked.
“So, you don't like it?”
“As if.”
Gerbera lightly tapped my shoulder.
“Looks way better. Suits you, that arrogant vibe.”
“I'll take it as a compliment.”
Thud! Another beast dropped in front of us. This one, felled by Enbi, was still twitching. Water-attribute beasts weren't ideal for Gerbera to finish off.
“Mana low? Step back, Gerbera.”
I raised Lagia high and sliced the beast longways to find the core. Once I'd filleted it like fish, a red core appeared.
[Time to shine? Even for the small stuff, I give it my all—that's the legendary weapon Lagia!]
Lagia made a show of sharpening its blade. I stomped the beast's body and sliced out the core. It squished, spilling red liquid like jelly.
“Guess I didn't finish it clean? Haha!”
Enbi ran over, grinning sheepishly. I shook off the beast fluids from Lagia and shook my head.
“This is plenty. You're doing great. As expected of the future merman king.”
“Keep praising me and I'll get embarrassed.”
He said that but clearly loved it, flashing a big smile.
“Huh? New human?”
He soon noticed Gerbera and approached with curious eyes. Gerbera edged closer to me, frowning.
“Not a demonic beast? Eyes aren't human. Webbed hands too.... Intelligent beast?”
“Watch your mouth, Gerbera. He's my guest.”
“The guest you mentioned....”
“Merman. Enbi the merman. Not your average one, so tread carefully.”
At my advice, Gerbera smiled awkwardly and extended a hand to Enbi.
“Nice to meet you. I'm Gerbera Pride. I handle this ship's engine.”
“Engine?”
Enbi circled Gerbera, then perked up his gills. Like a dog catching a strange scent and pricking its ears.
“Smells like it doesn't belong in the sea.”
“You saying I don't fit the sea?”
Gerbera laughed brightly and glanced at me.
“Sierra, you think I don't suit the sea either?”
“Uh, well?”
Enbi had clearly pierced right through Gerbera's fire attribute. She didn't mesh with the sea in that sense....
“If you like the sea, Gerbera, then you suit it. What does the sea's master think? Right?”
Enbi tilted his head, deep in thought. Gerbera grabbed him and turned him toward the open sea.
“Let me show you something fun. Flames are the flower that suits the sea best.”
This oughta be entertaining. I sidled up beside Gerbera.