Chapter 306
Chapter 306
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 306
Chapter Title: Herculean Might and Divine Power #6
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“What the hell is this Black Sea thing?”
At my question, Aerriol glanced around cautiously. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if wondering whether she should even say it, before finally opening her mouth slowly.
“It’s the monster serpent’s nest.”
“The monster serpent’s nest?”
“Shh! Keep it down! It might be right around here! If it hears us talking about it, it could come out!”
With her eyes wide open, scanning the surroundings, Aerriol made me lower my voice too.
Everyone knows the superstition: talk about ghosts and they’ll eavesdrop from nearby; talk about snakes and one’ll show up. So I could understand her overreaction.
“So what exactly is this monster serpent’s nest?”
“It was a few years ago. A monster sea serpent made its nest in a sea cave around here.”
A sea serpent, huh.
“The problem is, its poison aura is so strong that no one can get near that cave anymore! The pretty seawater’s turned pitch black!”
I pictured a sea snake.
From the documentaries I’d watched, I knew there were snakes in the ocean with venom ten times stronger than cobras. All sea snakes had deadly poison, right?
But in a world overflowing with spells and magic, one called a monster sea serpent was definitely no ordinary creature. A mega-evolved sea serpent or something.
A goddamn enormous sea snake. No, a python.
An insanely huge sea python coiled up in a cave, poisoning the whole area with snake magic. Whoa, scary as hell. I stopped imagining it quick.
Yeah, if something like that holed up in a cave, the sea turning black from its potent poison made sense.
That’s when Paranoya, who’d been listening beside me, piped up.
“Master Hassan, perhaps the prophecy that the Great Prophet spoke of refers to this…! Defeating the sea serpent and purifying the seawater…!”
For once, Paranoya’s words hit pretty close to the mark. I couldn’t think of any other possibilities myself.
But Aerriol just snorted at our speculation.
“Defeat that thing? Impossible. Even Lord Tritan could only seal its cave with rocks.”
“You serious?”
“Yeah! The Dragon of the Great Ocean, Lord Tritan, struggled against it—and you think you guys can do anything?”
“Hmm.”
I pondered for a bit. Tritan was the sole son of Neptune, absolute ruler of the seas.
With a badass title like Herculean Might and Divine Power, and a harem of nearly thirty members, he was probably insanely strong and ruthless, even if I didn’t know the details.
But even he’d only managed to block the cave entrance with rocks? That put the sea python’s threat level through the roof.
As I mulled over just how dangerous this sea python was, Aerriol added a few more words.
“Its deadly venom turns the seawater black! Even Lord Tritan staggered from the poison aura! It’s seriously powerful!”
Paranoya shot back.
“Staggering from mere poison? Doesn’t that make Tritan a pushover…? But Master Hassan here could be swarmed by Bashkir honeybees from head to toe and not blink…!”
“You mean the handmaidens of Goddess Ceres?”
“That’s right…!”
“Liar! Everyone under the sea knows how deadly those stings are! Surviving them unscathed? Finless landlubbers and their tall tales!”
“It’s no lie…! Master Hassan is greater than some punk like Tritan…! And his right-hand nymph, Paranoya me, is amazing too…!”
The two nymphs started bickering loudly, giving me a headache.
If the nymphs kept yapping like this, the monster serpent really might surface. So I clapped sharply to get their attention.
“Anyway, Aerriol. You said you had a plan. To turn the sea blue again. You haven’t told us what it is yet.”
“Oh, right. Yeah, the Black Sea’s a huge headache for us merfolk and Lord Tritan. It’s only blackened the water around the cave for now, but it’ll spread—it’s just a matter of time!”
“So?”
“So I came up with a plan! To make the sea blue again!”
“No, what’s the plan?”
“No idea! We’ll figure it out as we go! But if we succeed, even Lord Tritan will see my worth again! That’s my plan!”
No, scary. Could you even call that a plan? As I wondered how to respond, Paranoya burst out laughing.
“This one’s all talk with no plan…! Sea nymphs are all idiots…! Dumber than fish…! That Tritan guy’s probably an idiot too…!”
“What’d you say!? You, with that even dumber-looking face! Don’t insult Lord Tritan!”
*
*
*
By evening, we gathered at the inn we’d booked as lodging.
Luna and Elfride both looked exhausted, probably worn out from wandering the city all day.
I asked,
“Find out anything?”
“Nope, nothing special. You?”
“We got some leads, maybe. Not sure yet.”
I pulled something tiny and hard, about the size of a fingernail, from my pocket and placed it on the table. Luna and Elfride’s eyes widened at the sight.
“Whoa! A tear pearl? These are super rare! Where’d you get it?”
Luna placed the droplet-shaped pearl on her palm and shook it around.
I gave them a rough rundown: how Paranoya and I met a weird merfolk on the beach earlier, and what she’d said about the sea serpent.
“Tritan and a sea serpent, huh.”
Hippolyte broke her prolonged silence with a soft hum after hearing my explanation.
The dark brown barley wine in the wooden cup she twirled made a small whirlpool that looked ominously fierce.
“Is it reliable?”
“Doesn’t seem like a lie.”
“Well, I heard similar rumors while poking around. Local fishermen were worried about catching deformed fish nonstop. Probably from the poisoned sea. Anyway, solid intel.”
“Good to hear.”
“But if we found it this easily, the others have too.”
Hippolyte had a point.
If we dug it up so quick, the other teams—who were working hard—likely knew it by now.
Even as we sat here leisurely eating, someone out there might be chasing the prophecy quest.
Feeling antsy, Luna spoke up.
“Then shouldn’t we get moving now? Can we really afford to relax? What if someone else steals the credit!”
But Hippolyte just chuckled softly.
“No need to rush. Tritan struggled so much he only sealed the entrance with rocks, right?”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Tritan’s a powerhouse I’ve heard of. If even he gave up on slaying it, no one else’ll take it down easy.”
“Hmm.”
Hippolyte said that, but Luna propped her chin on her hand, unconvinced, lost in thought.
“Still, all the top dogs are here. If we slack off, won’t they snatch it right from under us?”
“Rushing blindly’s dangerous too.”
We couldn’t agree.
With everyone’s wild personalities and thoughts, convincing each other was tough.
I suddenly got curious about this Tritan guy with his thirty-plus harem.
Over thirty women.
Even one word each is thirty words.
Must be chaos. No way he keeps his sanity.
Does he even remember all their names?
Part of me envied the guy for his harem, but another part found him obnoxious.
Controlling and leading that many women? Suddenly seemed impressive.
If I had a harem of thirty? I’d end up like a fish gnawed to bits by piranhas.
Hell, with just Luna and Hippolyte, I was already battered and on the ropes.
What’s the secret to juggling that many women?
Do divine heirs like him have some special trick?
I kinda wanted to meet him.
Clink.
Someone set down their cup, snapping me out of it. Elfride, foam on her lips from the beer, finally spoke up after a while.
“If it’s tough for others, it’ll be tough for us too, right? Can we even take down that monster sea serpent?”
Elfride nailed it. Luna and Hippolyte stopped talking, just eating in silence.
The mood turned gloomy, so I figured I should say something. I recalled my beach chat with the merfolk Aerriol.
“Tomorrow, she’s guiding us to the Black Sea. We’ll rent a boat at dawn, head out, see it ourselves, then decide.”
“Master Hassan’s wisdom is spot on…! It radiates the dignity of the next-generation ruler, fully prepared with sage insight…!”
Paranoya’s usual flattery seemed to work. The jammed-up atmosphere loosened a bit.
And so, the next day.
“I’m the captain of this fine vessel, the Gorgor—Gorgor himself.”
We rented a boat idling at the docks early morning.
“She’s smaller than most, but fast as hell. Even in windless zones, stored wind magic gets us far.”
Not sure how it worked, but a weird magic stone at the stern blasted wind from the hull’s bottom to propel it forward.
Like a magic electric motor?
Bigger than a rowboat, a tad smaller than a yacht. Plenty of room for our group and gear—felt stable enough.
“Fifty silver for a day’s steep.”
“Worth every coin. Thirty years at sea, not a single accident—only Gorgor here. Now, hand over the luggage.”
With that, our group boarded.
Once we raised the chains and anchor, the Gorgor set off toward the open sea.
“Master Hassan! Look, Paranoya floating over the water…! Finally left the land behind, now the seas bow beneath me…! I surpass all land nymphs…!”
First time on a boat? Paranoya was thrilled, clinging to the rail and peering at the sea.
The splashing waves mesmerized her—she forgot to close her mouth, chattering nonstop. Luna played along beside her.
“Haven’t been on a boat in ages! Took a month like this from Ideophe to the continent. Brings back memories!”
Luna and Paranoya were loving this surprise cruise. But Hippolyte and Elfride weren’t as hyped.
Hippolyte silently polished her sword and armor. Elfride, though—
“Ugh… urgh…”
Seasick bad—looked miserable. Come to think of it, elves feared large bodies of water? Even boating was torture.
Our party’s top firepower, Elfride, out of commission? Unsettling.
The captain asked,
“Where to?”
I recalled yesterday’s talk with Aerriol before parting. Where was the meetup?
“Uh, something like Dog-Shaped Rock.”
“Oh, Dog Rock Reef. Meeting someone there? Not exactly people territory.”
“Just head there. Might be late.”
“Got it.”
No way he guessed we were meeting a merfolk. Sea nymphs rarely showed themselves to humans.
When we reached Dog Rock Reef or whatever,
I was shocked to see a figure waiting atop it.
No sign of the merfolk I’d arranged to meet. Instead, a guy in sleek, scale-like wetsuit hugged his body tight sat on the rock.