Chapter 355 - Chapter 16: Sea Serpent Extermination ④
Thanks to Beatrix charging toward the sea surface, the sea serpent turned its face this way. Bathed directly in the full-power Light, it recoiled, and just as its neck arched back, Beowulf threw a javelin. The area around the opponent's throat is wide open. The javelin aimed there, however, hit its back side because the sea serpent twisted its body as if looking back from its recoiled state.
The sea serpent tries to flee toward the land side while changing direction. We managed to get through the seals' emergency somehow.
THUD!
We ram into the back of the sea serpent as it tries to dive into the sea. Beowulf, while holding a second javelin in her hand, used the momentum of the bowl's collision to thrust it in.
Unable to support my weight with my hands, my chest slams hard into the edge of the bowl. It hurts incredibly much. I can't breathe. It was good that I had cast Defend and Shield in double layers beforehand; otherwise, I might have broken a rib.
We should have hit it head-on, but perhaps because of the momentum of the sea serpent twisting its body, we are being spun. We were bounced to the right. We spun half a turn, and then splash, we plunged into the sea. At the moment of impact, thanks to Beatrix correcting the bowl's angle to be perpendicular to the sea, we weren't thrown out into the sea, but instead, I fell inside the bowl and hit the back of my head hard against it. For a moment, everything went dark, and stars flew. It's not just painful. I feel bad for Beatrix, who is gritting her teeth and maintaining the bowl, but it might have been easier to just lose consciousness.
"UOOOOOOOOOO!"
A war cry can be heard from above. When I instinctively looked up, Edward-sama, holding spears in both hands, fell down as if straddling the back of the sea serpent. When he thrust a spear in stab, he really is straddling it. Just like that, he went away along with the sea serpent.
"Wait, what should we do about Edward-sama?" Even Beatrix is panicking. It's no wonder. The Crown Prince is one-on-one with a sea serpent.
"Leave the sea serpent to him; let's rescue the seals while we can." Beowulf said so while starting to pull in the floating seals with a javelin.
"Is that okay? Beowulf, with just that?" I can't say it to her, but the person she might marry could die.
"It'll be fine. Look, the Primordian aerial scouts are gathering. They can help him anytime." I didn't notice because of everything happening, but all the bowls have appeared and are chasing the sea serpent. They must be making it so they can pull Edward-sama up anytime. Simultaneously, it also has the effect of not letting the sea serpent's attacks concentrate on Edward-sama alone. Most likely, Eleanor-sama and the others' medium-sized bowl is above them. In that case, let's rescue the seals first.
Beatrix transforms the bowl into an oval plate. She slides the edge under the bodies of the seals Beowulf pulled in and tilted it to pull them up. I cast full-power Heal. Next, I cast full-power Refresh, and they must have regained consciousness as they are looking around here and there.
"Can you swim?" Beatrix says something unreasonable while pointing to the sea and making swimming motions with both hands. But we can't fit all six seals in the bowl. It's over capacity. It seemed to have gotten through as the seals slowly descended into the sea. Beowulf is holding the right flipper of one. As she proceeds to the next seal as if pulling it, the seal we rescued first also seemed to have grasped the situation as it swam toward its unconscious companions.
By the time we had recovered all six, it seems they had surrounded the sea serpent with ice walls. Beyond the walls, the sea serpent is thrashing around splash, splash. They probably want to freeze it soon, but they might not be able to because Edward-sama is clinging to the sea serpent.
"We should let the coastal spirits rest. Let's go to that sunken ship." Beowulf points to the ship that was done in by the sea serpent, which now has only its mast and prow poking out of the sea surface, perhaps because the bottom of the ship has reached the seabed.
"Yeah. Let's go while guarding them." When Beatrix clapped her hands clap, clap and pointed to the sunken ship, the seals followed obediently. The ship is swaying in the waves, but it should be fine for grabbing onto and resting. I point to three seals, then point to the dish, then point to the beach, and it seemed to have gotten through. Three of them boarded. We change the shape to a bowl and aim for the beach.
On the way, we passed by Edward-sama and the sea serpent who were fighting. In a place like a preserve surrounded on three sides by ice walls, the sea serpent and Edward-sama were fighting. It's almost a duel. The sea serpent occasionally pokes its head out of the sea inside the preserve. On the other hand, Edward-sama seems to have safely boarded a bowl and entered inside the walls, holding a spear and attacking the sea serpent. The other bowls are outside the walls, firing arrows one after another. They seem to be aiming for the face, and several arrows are stuck around the sea serpent's neck. The sea serpent is desperately dodging while trying to bite Edward-sama. The reason it can't escape over the ice walls is probably because Eleanor-sama is pressing it down with a Wind Barrier so it won't jump out.
The extremely thick Holy Lances being fired from nowhere are probably Harris-sama and Sianya riding in Eleanor-sama and the others' bowl. The reason the sea serpent is thrashing around splash, splash with its tail is probably a countermeasure against Holy. Even for Holy, if it passes through water, its power and aim will drop significantly.
"Don't they use attribute magic on each other?"
"Hmm. If the opponent drops lightning, not just Edward-sama but the sea serpent will also take big damage. Our Glaciate is also no good; the reason is the same. Both would freeze."
Could it be that if Edward-sama wasn't with the sea serpent, they could have frozen it well?
"Maybe so. But originally, we were able to corner it this far thanks to the coastal spirits. He was just single-minded in wanting to save us, who were trying to rescue those coastal spirits." Well, that might be so, but even during the first one, there was no need for him to jump in.
"Isn't it fine? He bravely tried to save us with just his body."
"He might be a bit hasty, but he's not a bad Crown Prince. I can see why he's admired by his subordinates." Oh my, both of you have become his allies. Don't blame me if your futures get decided.
After going back and forth twice and dropping the six seals off at a forest near the beach, they took off their kigurumi and became their coastal spirit forms. I had them hide behind rocks, gave them a canteen with wine, and let them rest. At the beach, the duel is still continuing.
"When we subjugated the Wyrm, we dug a hole and dropped it in, didn't we?" Beowulf asked.
"That's right. Can't we do that this time too?"
"Shall we approach secretly from behind? The beach side doesn't have a wall, so it should be fine."
"Seems doable. I have one Camouflage scroll, so let's try it."
Both of them are motivated, but it's a bit difficult. At that time, the arrow Bonnie fired blinded one eye. Everyone should be aiming this time too, but the sea serpent is also on guard, so it won't take it easily. Originally, a Wyrm is a flying snake and mainly does aerial combat. Compared to that, the sea serpent is in the water, albeit shallow. It might be difficult unless we catch it off guard.
Wait? Hold on a second. We can catch it off guard.
"Beatrix, Beowulf. Can I have a moment?"
I approach from behind the sea serpent along with Beowulf. Now the bowls are just surrounding it, and the only one directly fighting is Edward-sama. Instead, the sea serpent is having its attacks blocked by Wind Barriers. Every time it opens its mouth to bite, it's being bounced off by an invisible wall. Judging from its face being covered in soot, it must have breathed fire and bathed its own face in it.
Beowulf raises her right hand. The two of us take a deep breath. We slowly exit the pine forest and gradually increase our walking speed. Our feet get caught in the sand. So as not to trip, I ran with a low posture following Beowulf's lead. Finally, we reach the place where the sand is wet. Just as I thought it became easier to run, Beowulf dove as if to lie prone. While water splashes rose, I saw the sea serpent looking this way. I'm already chanting Light with full power. I had been illuminating Beowulf's back. Now that the obstacle is gone, I caught the sea serpent's face directly. The sea serpent turned away as if hating it. With this, we've caught it off guard!
Just as I thought that, I tripped over Beowulf, who was lying prone, and fell.
THUD!
A dull sound echoed from in front. Along with Beowulf, while getting soaking wet, I raised my body and looked at the sea serpent. The sea serpent's arched neck, which had turned away, is somehow swaying unsteadily. Beatrix's bowl, with Camouflage and Magic Reflection cast, had been flying above us. She accelerated it all at once and slammed it into its head. Since she filled the bowl with sand, it has the weight of a rock. The sea serpent was fine until it dodged the surprise Light, but the second surprise attack we had prepared was the real one.
THUD!
This time it's a hit from overhead. The sea serpent's head dropped with a clunk. Furthermore, two extremely thick Holies are unleashed from empty space. I also unleashed one. Edward-sama is not one to miss this chance. Along with a roar, he jumped from the edge of the bowl and thrust the silver spear he held deep into the brow.
The sea serpent sank into the preserve and stopped moving. Cheers rose from those riding the bowls. Edward-sama swam to the sandy beach just like that. The coastal spirits and Beatrix also came running.
"We did it. It's thanks to your support."
"No. It's all thanks to Edward-sama's hard work."
Edward-sama and Beowulf are patting each other's shoulders and praising each other's efforts.
Bowls descended one after another, and everyone surrounded Edward-sama.
"Jeanne, Beatrix, Beowulf. Good work. Protecting the coastal spirits, and then the final blow from the feint. It was magnificent. You are the pride of our country." Magdalena-sama praised us. Being called the pride of the country by the Queen makes me feel embarrassed.
"Well, you know. Recently, I've been doing nothing but farming, so I guess I worked a bit hard for that." The thick-skinned mage is the same as ever.
Henry-sama and the others, who appeared, descended.
"Edward-dono, that was magnificent."
"No. it is the result of the efforts of everyone, starting with Henry-sama."
"It was splendid. There are no weak soldiers under a good general. As long as you are in command, Primordia will never fall behind other countries."
"I am grateful for those words."
I see. They gave the credit to Edward-sama, who couldn't have confidence as the Commander-in-Chief. I finally understood the reason why Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama hadn't stepped in until now. If Wilson-san had stepped in in addition to those two, the sea serpent extermination would have become Sertoria's achievement. We set the stage for Edward-sama to deliver the finishing blow. Being praised as the pride of the country had that meaning. When I looked at Magdalena-sama, she smiled at me, then went to Miana without saying anything.
After a while of excitement centered around Edward-sama, the work of pulling up the sea serpent began. Ropes were wound around various parts of the sea serpent's body, and the bowl group pulled it up and brought it to the beach. By that time, the people from the fishing village also arrived. Edward-sama announced the sea serpent extermination to the fishermen, and they were wild with excitement. Among the archers who participated this time, there are people from the area where the sea serpent appeared. There were also those whose acquaintances had been killed, and at the call of such people, Edward-sama took off the sea serpent's head like a ritual, and the village head and the gathered fishermen were even more excited. Edward-sama, who was in a good mood, announced a banquet involving the people of the fishing village at his own expense, so that day became a banquet on the sandy beach.
Two sea serpents were successfully subjugated. They were underwater enemies that magic doesn't work well on, but we managed somehow. The second one was also cut into rounds, and the distribution of profits became the same as the first one. I don't know how much they will sell for, but Eleanor-sama says they won't be cheaper than snakes. The snake's skin and fangs exceeded ten gold coins. Since we subjugated two, even if it's the same amount, it will exceed twenty coins.
When we returned to the palace, the King praised us significantly, and it was decided that he would provide convenience for the Class of 175 to open a shop in the Primordian Royal Capital. This is a store that will also be used for trading with the coastal spirits, and it seems it will be under the direct control of the Royal Family. Until now, scrolls for Thought Communication and Anti-Sepsis were carried directly to the palace because there was no store. Now they can be handled at the store managed by Sianya. As a result, sales items such as clothes and accessories can also be sold.
"I have already given you the right of free passage and free commerce. The store will be a facility under the direct control of the Royal Family and will also have a great relationship with the Church. No middleman fees are necessary. Freight charges can be the same as for other countries like Medioland." So he said. In other words, normally you would add the middleman fee to secure the store's profit, but there's no need to think about that, so there's no need to raise the price. Since freight charges are free for up to one horse-drawn carriage, they can be sold at the same price within that range.
However, at the moment, there are no items to sell. Since we are making them bit by bit by hand, we have our hands full up to the fourth shop.
"Your Majesty. I have a request." It's Mary. Regarding trade, including the home base of Sertoria, she is straddling six countries.
"What is it. Say anything."
"Then, taking advantage of your kind words, I shall speak with all due respect. At present, with our production capacity, even if you lend us a new store, we have no items to handle. Therefore, if it pleases you, could we handle items made as measures for the needy in your country? Items from orphanages would also be fine. Of course, as long as you bear the necessary expenses such as freight charges incurred on land routes, no middleman fees or the like are necessary at all."
Cadogan-sama and Sianya were happy about this.
"Actually, we are already handling such items from Northern Gram, Finis, and Sertoria. Each country is selling its own unique items as products. For example, in your country, trade in seafood with the coastal spirits should begin. If a dried fish factory is made as a measure for the needy, unique items can be sold, I believe." As expected of Mary. Trade with the coastal spirits will be under the direct control of the Royal Family. If that matter is linked to measures for the needy, it's killing two birds with one stone. And this matter has already been discussed once with Edward-sama.
"Your Majesty. Regarding this matter, Sianya and I have already had a talk, and we believe it is not a bad story for our country as well." Edward-sama also made the suggestion as promised, and it was finalized.
"If you have even shown concern for our country's measures for the needy, then I must think of something else as well. Mary, is there anything?" The King makes a generous proposal.
"Then, Your Majesty. With all due respect, one more thing. Currently, as profits from the sea serpent extermination, we have received the skin and fangs for two of them. However, we do not have a trade route with the continent where they can be sold for a good price. If possible, it would be a great help if you could introduce us to a merchant who would buy them."
"What? Is that all? Then I shall call a merchant as early as tomorrow." He decided to call a royal purveyor. I'm sure they'll buy them for a good price. It's hard to carry them back, so it's just right. Beatrix poked Mary with her elbow while smirking, and she replied with a wink.
That night, a dinner party was held at Edward-sama's private residence. Since it's personal, it was said that status doesn't matter, and even Bonnie, who normally wouldn't be able to enter the palace, was able to participate, even though the King and Queen, Sianya, and even Cadogan-sama were there. Edward-sama's private residence is close to the sea, as expected of a fishing enthusiast. The coastal spirits were also invited, but they were terrified when Dune and Mel were called. By the time the Great Shark appears, I'll be coming to do the shark extermination. After successfully subjugating it, it'll be a banquet. They'll just have to get used to it.