Chapter 66
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Kraken Hunt
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We were just about to set off amid their farewells.
"Mother!"
A voice rang out from afar, calling the Cateshi family head—Isna Mielephon's.
If asked whether she looked bizarre this time too, it was ambiguous.
She was dressed in ordinary clothes, after all.
Of course, they weren't the sort a duke's daughter would wear.
It was light resort wear, the kind you'd see at a vacation spot.
Just shrug off the outer layer, and you'd reveal a swimsuit fit for a noble lady at the beach.
Though swimsuits were only fine at pools—not elsewhere.
"Sigh... Isna, what on earth is that getup? Are you in your right mind?"
"The knights are heading to the resort, Belerest! I wanna go too!"
Luna's ears perked up at the word "Belerest."
"What's Belerest?"
"The continent's top resort spot. Gorgeous beaches, breathtaking ocean cliffs that are a work of art, and a super-luxury hotel run by the continent's premier Lavren family—it's a vacation city."
She looked at me expectantly after my explanation.
"No way, dude. You know how pricey that place is?"
"Leon, aren't you loaded now?"
As she said, money wasn't the issue.
We had enough to feast three meals a day and stay in a suite there for a full year—365 days—with plenty left over.
Even setting that aside, our funds deposited with the Lavren family had surpassed VVIP status, so we could've gone empty-handed.
But that didn't matter.
"Melissa would be heartbroken if she heard about it."
Melissa had an obsession with the family traveling without her.
It bordered on trauma.
She and I had lost our parents and baby sister to the Kraken there.
Just over seven months ago.
That's why I'd told her about it once.
That if she ever heard news of the Kraken—whose location was still unknown—I'd hunt down that damn monster and rip it apart.
My current specs fell far short, but I'd clashed with it countless times in the Labyrinthos, died to it hundreds of thousands of times, and torn it apart even more.
So its weaknesses, the angles to exploit, the dangers to watch—everything was etched in my memory.
The only reason I hadn't gone hunting was how hard it was to track; the beast roamed the continent's seas endlessly.
She seemed to grasp my meaning and didn't press further.
"Duchess, we'll take our leave then."
She nodded, staring blankly at her daughter for a moment after my words.
"Misha, accompany the young master. Attend and protect him for the time being."
"Yes, family head."
Misha the head maid looked startled briefly but quickly schooled her features to neutrality.
She didn't ask why.
Though, now that we were essentially officially engaged, it made sense.
"And Isna, the knights' destination isn't the Belerest resort—it's a small fishing village nearby."
Why would a duke's daughter go to a fishing village?
The question lingered only a moment.
Then an unexpected word burst from her lips.
"So what! It's octopus hunting! Kraken!"
That single phrase halted my steps.
Judging by the mood, it seemed like classified info. Sure enough, Isna yelped as the Cateshi family head seized her ear and dragged her inside.
"You'll need to have a talk inside."
"We'll be off then."
She nodded at my words.
"Sorry you saw that mess. Safe travels."
"Yes."
I boarded the carriage with Misha the head maid in tow—unplanned—and no sooner had we left Mielephon territory than I pulled out the communication artifact I'd stashed away for Melissa.
-Leon? What's up? Business done?
"Yeah, just heading out of Mielephon now."
-Okay. Swing by once on the way back.
"Might be a bit delayed, Melissa."
My words drew a puzzled question laced with suspicion.
-Delayed? Hey! Planning to run off with the cash?!
"Think we've found it."
-Found what! Your getaway route?! Quit the nonsense and turn ba—
"Got intel on the Kraken."
Melissa's shouting cut off into a choked silence beyond the artifact.
-Kraken?
"Yeah. Heading straight there now."
-That's insane! Absolutely not. Come back now.
Trembling undertones colored her response—undeniable.
She'd lost her whole family to the Kraken. The fear of losing me too must have gripped her.
[The 4th memory is being transferred.]
[Transferring Hall is...]
As the Librarian's text appeared, my resolve hardened.
"That damn cephalopod bastard—I'm killing it before I come back."
-Leon?! Don't do anything crazy!! If I lose you too!!
"I'll grab something tasty on the way."
-Hey!!!!
[Sage's Hall is being transferred.]
[Essence of Magic Engineering, the Machine God's Heart is implanted.]
The massive memory transfer brought excruciating pain, but my body was already half-ruined.
This much was nothing.
Sea King Kraken.
The culprit that took our parents—who'd set off on a trip with our baby sister seven months ago—and our littlest sibling, never to return.
The fiend that shattered our house, forcing Melissa to abandon the academy for six months and pour everything into rebuilding.
No way to confirm if our parents truly died to it after boarding that ship, but debris washed ashore bearing Kraken slime and fracture marks.
True to its deep-sea nature, its size was immense, its power unmatched in the ocean.
Past subjugation efforts gathered countless troops and heroes, yet all failed.
The Kraken roamed the continent's coasts periodically, claiming no fixed lair, making ambushes—or even locating it—a nightmare.
But intel existed: once every 500 years, it approached land to spawn.
The spot was unknown until word from a small fishing village pinpointed it.
That explained Isna Mielephon's resort getup and fuss.
Belerest lay within imperial borders.
No international friction for the subjugation.
"Spawning, huh... Makes sense; a Kraken with spawn is fierce, but during laying, it's greatly weakened."
Five hundred years ago, it laid eight offspring—all slain during the spawning window.
Just the mother Kraken left.
Take her down, and the tragedies end.
To it, mere hunting and feeding—but victims see no mercy in that.
I had no duty to stop such disasters.
My hunt was pure revenge against the squid that wrecked House Cascadia.
"Leon, whatcha thinking?"
Luna asked as I stared silently out the carriage window, munching snacks opposite me.
"Nah, the Kraken."
"Hm?"
"Just don't get why Mielephon is going solo-secret on this subjugation."
The Kraken's difficulty dwarfed land monsters.
Sea creature and all.
Even in its once-in-500-years spawn phase, why Mielephon handling it covertly alone?
"Must be a reason they need that Kraken."
"Like?"
"It wields immense mental power—one of its biggest weapons."
She munched on calmly.
"To save someone cursed by it, they gotta kill the source or whatever."
"Impossible. Kraken mental attacks don't root like curses, gnawing the mind."
Varied as they were, that type was exceedingly rare.
Assuming it matched the Kraken I knew.
"Anyway, at your level now, Leon, it's tough. Ocean terrain gives it too much advantage."
"I have a way."
Before, we'd needed the spawn phase exploit.
Not anymore.
I opened my palm for her to see.
A mystical blue light gathered above it like a hologram.
"Not spirit mana or aura. Wait—Leon, why's your heart different?"
She noticed the change instantly.
"A heart whose structure defies analysis... Artificially made, yet no mere construct dwells within... This is..."
She pressed close, ear to my chest.
Listening to my heartbeat, she lifted her head in my arms.
Our faces inches apart—awkward—but her expression was grave.
"This wasn't here recently. What did you do?"
"You got secrets too. Fair's fair."
She pouted at my signal to drop it but slowly pulled away.
"Need time to adjust—I'll show you later."
The memories integrated fine, but my flesh hadn't acclimated to the new Hall's traces.
Unusual case; never happened before.
"Young Master, we're nearing the fork to Bata Kingdom."
Misha the head maid's voice came from the driver's seat outside.
The spacious carriage could've fit her inside, but she insisted as mere maidservant.
She'd serve me now, away from Mielephon awhile.
Her title and vibe had shifted slightly.
Leaving homeland for foreign life couldn't thrill her.
Yet she showed no concern.
"Misha, take the left path please."
"Pardon? Left isn't to Bata Kingdom... Wait, Young Master?!"
Quick on uptake, she grasped my intent.
"Yes. We're heading to the port village near Belerest. But first, I hear there's a magic city en route."
"Magic city, sir? Ah, yes—Gaifen, home to the Mage Tower. Its magic market brims with wondrous new items. Though... test products mean accidents galore."
"Misha, could you procure the items I mention from now on?"