Chapter 74
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Drawing the Kraken Ashore
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She bounced over to me like a rubber ball, grabbed my cheeks with both hands, and peered into my face from every angle.
"It's really you, Young Master?"
"What, you think I'm someone else?"
"No, it's just... I heard you got swept up in a teleportation spell..."
"Yeah, I did get teleported. All the way to the Kraken's nest."
Her eyes went wide at that.
"The Kraken's nest?! You went to that super exciting place?!"
"Is this girl nuts? Ah, sorry, that slipped out."
"Hehe, it's fine. I know you're the type to ask straight to my face if I'm crazy."
"Uh, well."
She always knew how to leave me speechless. No, on second thought, I wanted to shout that her own behavior was pretty crazy—but I held it back.
"Let go, Luna."
I gritted my teeth as Luna pinned me from behind in an instant.
"Miss, if I may—just one smack, nothing more or less?"
"Of course not! Come on, let's go! Grandpa's waiting."
I shook my head at the sight of her turning on her heel and bounding off energetically, then followed behind.
Apparently, right after I vanished, the Kraken had attacked the village.
Its behavior was probably driven by anxiety over lifeforms it couldn't dominate with mental control.
Plus, the heretics had tried interfering with its mind, which must have amplified that unease.
Fortunately, Sword Saint Osberg Mielephon's presence kept it from rampaging too wildly before retreating.
Osberg Mielephon, who had been directing the aftermath from the temporary command tent, spotted me and Luna. His eyes widened as he hurried over.
"You two! Are you alright?!"
"Yes. Luckily, it wasn't a long-range teleport. We escaped right away."
"Phew... That's a relief. If something had happened to you, I wouldn't have been able to face so many people."
"I heard the Kraken came charging in, though."
"It did. It backed off quickly, thank goodness, but the damage was worse than expected."
He let out a weary sigh.
An unprepared battle was bound to bring sacrifices.
Still, the fact that there were only injuries and no deaths owed much to Osberg's lofty skill.
"If I may be so bold, sir—the Kraken rampaged more than anticipated, and we've lost too many supplies. Injuries are piling up too."
"......"
Osberg's expression darkened.
A stern-looking man in armor stepped forward.
A Mielephon family member—likely Isna's uncle.
"To be blunt, our chances of subjugating it have dropped too low."
"What do you propose?"
"We fall back, regroup, and request reinforcements from the main house."
"By then, the Kraken will have finished laying its eggs. Are you trying to get the family head killed?"
"A cold analysis shows that pushing on like this risks not just failure, but casualties so severe the subjugation force might never recover."
Osberg sighed at the man's unyielding rhetoric.
They'd fended off the heretics, but the mess those cultists left had thrown the entire subjugation into disarray.
"This is my karma... I should have exterminated them all back then..."
"It's not your fault, Grandpa. And Uncle, isn't there a chance the Kraken's weakened that much?"
"Sadly, no—the Kraken isn't the type to crumble so easily, Isna."
From the looks of it, much of their prepared equipment for the subjugation had been wrecked.
"Above all, its mental attack capabilities have recovered substantially. In battle, we could easily see allies turning on each other."
"How many immune artifacts remain?"
"We used most evacuating villagers who couldn't make it out in time."
Osberg groaned.
Then, as if resolved, he spoke.
"Leave a minimal crew and withdraw."
"Grandpa!"
"Listen to me, Isna."
"You're just going to leave Mother like that?!"
He shook his head at her cry.
"We'll subjugate the Kraken. But I'll do it alone."
The knights and retainers' faces darkened, accepting they couldn't sway his grave decision.
Even Isna bit her lip in uncharacteristic silence.
That was when I spoke up.
"Excuse me, but catching the Kraken doesn't seem that hard."
Every eye turned to me.
Some carried looks that said, Can't you see the situation? What do you know to butt in like this?
Of course, given my position as the fiancée's betrothed, no one said it outright.
"Looks like the family head picked the wrong son-in-law."
Ah, there's always one who goes straight for the kill.
It was Isna's uncle, the one pushing for retreat.
Not that I couldn't understand his stance. Miraculously no deaths, but further fighting was impossible.
"Well, from where I'm standing, our odds look plenty good."
"Ha, fine. If you're so confident, you must have a basis. Speak—how do you plan to counter the Kraken's mental attacks?"
The most fundamental, basic issue.
To subjugate the Kraken, they needed a way to block its mental assaults.
"Even the immune artifacts known to the Magic Tower only buy 30 minutes max. And now we don't even have those. So how exactly—"
"I'll make some. 30 minutes? Pfft. I'll whip up ones that last days, no sweat."
No choice but to milk the Mielephons for all they're worth.
He sneered coldly at my reply.
"This conversation's pointless. You? Craft immune artifacts? Do you have any idea how many months the Magic Tower spent securing their supply?!"
His voice rose as someone entered the tent.
"Young Master, I bought everything you asked for... but looks like bad timing on my part."
Misha, the head maid, fell silent upon sensing the tent's tension.
"You're back sooner than I expected. Did you get everything I requested?"
"Yes, Young Master. Every item, full quantity, no issues."
"Perfect. Now we just wait three days."
All eyes shifted from Misha back to me at my words.
"In three days, the Kraken will come charging in with bloodshot eyes."
Three days.
They'd held out without retreating solely on Osberg Mielephon's unilateral call.
Even as tactical supplies dwindled to nothing—risking catastrophe—he trusted Leon.
Isna's uncle, Beren Mielephon, couldn't hide his anxiety.
"What in the world is the old man thinking...?"
As the family's special subjugation captain, he'd mobilized under the family head's orders for the Kraken hunt.
The plan had been meticulously prepared.
But things had gone from bad to worse. No one foresaw the heretics' involvement.
Thanks to the Sword Saint, casualties were minimized—but Beren had seen it.
Osberg overexerting to save knights amid the Kraken's frenzy, taking wounds in the process.
That's why he'd urged retreat, only for Leon Cascadia to muddy everything.
"What is he doing?"
"Holed up in the workshop."
"It's been three days already!!!"
He couldn't contain his rage.
"Damn it! Kraken subjugation isn't child's play!"
He'd seen plenty of hotheaded youths overreaching for glory.
Beren trusted Sword Saint Osberg's judgment. He had no intention of badmouthing the man he endorsed—Leon Cascadia.
But.
Leon had been a profound disappointment over the promised three days.
First day: Staring at the sea cliffs all day with a robed healer.
Second day: Subordinates said he slept the whole time.
Third day: Just silently swinging a sword in the clearing.
The Kraken staying dormant for three days was odd, but they couldn't linger forever.
The longer they stood guard doing nothing, the more fatigue built—and the fishing village suffered.
His weird sword-and-magic combo was bizarre, but fine, Beren could overlook it.
No more.
"Is he still swinging that sword?"
"Yes."
"Take me to him."
"B-but sir, the elder said not to disturb him..."
The knight flinched, cold sweat beading as Beren's glare turned murderous.
"The Mielephon subjugation force isn't some cleanup crew dancing to a slacker's tune without a plan. Lead the way. Now."
Beren stormed off to find Leon.
There he was, silently slashing at empty air—watched by a robed woman and Isna.
"Uncle?"
"Leon Cascadia."
His voice icy, he drew his sword without hesitation and leveled it at Leon's throat.
Isna blinked at Beren's sudden move; Luna watched with a subtle expression.
What they shared: none seemed particularly surprised.
"Knew it was coming."
"You can't say that. Sir Beren, please lower your sword first."
"The elder gave you three days. I've led our wounded knights, playing along for three days."
He snapped in a frigid tone.
"Credit where due—the Kraken's stayed put like a miracle. But what the hell is this now?"
"Hmm."
"Were our knights' lives disposable to you? Explain yourself in a way I can buy, or else."
Leon glanced at Luna.
Shall I?
As Luna raised a tiny fist, Leon sighed and shook his head.
"Noon already, huh."
Three days quiet, but the limit was clear.
"Time to start the Kraken defense. Let's get to it."
"Ridiculous!! Three days with no launch prep! You think ships float on command?!"
"Why launch ships?"
The hardest part of Kraken hunting: fighting at sea.
No matter how strong, a capsized ship ends the fight.
"Wh-what?!"
"I'll drag it onto the beach. Worn out till it can't tell friend from foe."
"What nonsense is—"
"Just so we're clear, weakened or not, it's still a Kraken. Fight at sea, we're 100% wiped."