Maybe I have a talent for being a pirate.
That was the thought that crossed my mind when the 10th ghost ship joined my fleet.
[Wow! I’m in my teens!]
With this fleet, it feels like I could just wreck everything and dominate the sea. I mean, those old ships can’t possibly withstand the ones coming at them now!
I’ve eaten so much that this ship’s size has almost doubled!
Now leaning against the bow of a ship that’s not even worthy of being called a sailing ship, I looked forward. Unlike before, the foggy sea area couldn’t block my view.
It was partly due to my enhanced eyesight, but the blessing of the Quartz family allowed me to pierce through the fog.
This is why they emphasize the Quartz family so much.
A blessing optimized for smashing outsiders, huh?
This time, I’m going to hunt down those little pests, as Eligos put it, but where could they be…
I was pondering just that when—
“Captain! To the north… Kraken!”
A half-toothless anonymous ghost sailor standing next to me shouted desperately. I quietly turned my gaze in the direction he pointed, noticing the Kraken.
Is it here to block my territory?
I looked around my fleet and shouted with all my might.
“Crew! We’re going hunting! Tonight’s dinner will be octopus!”
“Captain… are we… really doing this?”
What is it? Why the disgust?
Seeing the horrified reactions of my crew made me tilt my head.
Ah, I guess Western folks were afraid of octopuses. It’s a fantasy world, but it’s still based on Western tastes, so it makes sense.
“Shut up and eat! It’s for freedom!”
What can you do, even if you dislike it?
“Ahooy! Forward!”
I turned the ship’s bow and charged straight at the Kraken.
Retreat?
That’s only something weaklings do. In the past, I would have thought frantically about how to deal with this, but a head is what you use when you’re out of strength.
I decided to save my brain for the battle against the gods and let my body do the work.
[Contractor, what’s that octopus? It’s huge!]
“Tonight’s dinner.”
[Are we eating that?]
“Yeah.”
The last time I cut one up, it was quite nice. This time, thinking about being able to feast on octopus sashimi grilled by a Phoenix’s flame made my mouth water.
Ah, I crave dipping sauce.
Why is there no dipping sauce here?
“Captain… collision!… here…”
“James! Tell everyone to surround the Kraken!”
“I… am… Sarabo…!”
“James! Relay it quickly!”
Just hurry up. I was eyeing the Kraken, which seemed ready to collide any minute now, and drew up the energy of the World Tree.
The Kraken seemed to sense something was off, thrusting its tentacles out of the water and glaring at me.
Seeing a scar over one of its eyes, I recognized it as the Kraken I had encountered before. The creature was staring at me with a gaze full of hatred.
Oh, it’s noticed.
“Crew! Up ahead is the culprit that keeps you trapped in this sea area! If we catch that guy, you can escape from here!”
“Ahooy!”
“Do not fear! Freedom is right before you! I will lead the charge! Hooooo!”
My ship surged forward, slicing through the waves as it opened its mouth wide towards the Kraken. The Kraken, seeming startled, swam backward as I opened my ship’s maw.
What a pity. I wanted to finish this in one go.
I ripped a plank off the floor, fashioned it into a spear, and set it ablaze.
With that simple move, the Kraken’s gaze met mine once again.
They say even a brush of coats can form a connection, and if our eyes met, maybe we were destined—destined to kill and be killed.
“Rue, we have a new toy, so look forward to it.”
[Huh?]
I hurled the flaming spear towards its eye.
The fiery spear sliced through the fog and pierced the Kraken’s eye, igniting its flesh.
It’s not just any fire; it’s the Phoenix’s flame. Monsters are weak against Phoenix flames, so this is yet another disaster for it. I charged once more at the writhing creature.
But the Kraken seemed to have no will to fight anymore, thrashing its limbs as it tried to submerge beneath the waves.
“Not happening.”
I crafted several more spears, embedding them in its body to hinder its movements. As the creature realized it couldn’t escape downwards with the flaming spears sticking into it, it flailed its tentacles toward us.
Seems like it’s got the mindset of taking me down before it goes down.
It’s the ruler of the foggy sea area, putting up a fight before running away wouldn’t do its reputation any good.
I opened my ship’s mouth wide, watching the incoming tentacles. The ship, gaping like a jaw, bit into the approaching tentacles.
The Kraken shrieked in agony as its limbs were torn apart, purple blood spraying everywhere. As that blood stained the sea, the stench began to rise.
Gotta catch it quickly.
“Advance! Launch the spears at it!”
No sooner had my words ended than the spears rained down from my fleet towards the Kraken. I watched the spear storm for a moment before calling out to Rue.
“Rue, can you brainwash that thing?”
[But I don’t want to deal with an octopus monster…]
Isn’t it sort of a relative?
Species hatred?
[Contractor, are you thinking something strange?!]
“Anyways, try it. Didn’t you want to check out the sea floor? If we take its body, we can explore down there too.”
[Is that so?]
“Yeah.”
[Then I’ll give it a shot!]
Taking the bait, Rue jumped onto the ship’s bow and attempted to brainwash the Kraken.
“Kraken! How about negotiating with me!”
So look over here, I’m ready to negotiate.
I didn’t miss the moment the Kraken’s gaze turned towards me. Rue immediately began to shine, attempting to brainwash the Kraken.
“Rue, how’s it going?”
[Um, it’s going somehow? But it might take a bit!]
Is that so? I seized the opportunity while the Kraken was subdued and got closer.
Seeing it up close, it’s filthy huge. My own massive ship didn’t even measure up to a third of the Kraken’s body, and I was amazed as I watched the now prickly Kraken.
[Contractor! Throw me at that octopus!]
“Got it.”
Gotta fulfill its wish. I picked up Rue and hurled her like a baseball at the Kraken. Rue spun through the air like a shuriken towards the Kraken, which stared blankly at me.
[This is dizzyyyyyyy!]
Spinning through the air for what felt like forever, Rue landed on the Kraken’s eye. And when her body fused inwards, as if taking over a high elf’s body…
[Wow! This body is huge!]
“Everyone halt! This creature is now a part of our pirate crew, so don’t attack!”
[A mascot?]
“Rue! Look for pirate ships around the foggy sea!”
[Okay!]
Rue disappeared into the water. Watching her, I leisurely went to the ship’s storage, neatly sliced some octopus legs to make them easier to eat, and returned to the bow.
“Hmmm.”
How long will this take?
I popped some octopus sashimi grilled by Phoenix flames into my mouth.
Wow, that’s delicious.
It’s a taste that makes me crave alcohol.
“Captain… that… thing…”
“It’s Kraken stew. Want some?”
“We… don’t want… that…”
“It’s… scary…”
“Captain… monster…”
Ah. Now that I think about it, these guys were the ones eaten by the Kraken. Although they responded well, it seems they don’t want to eat it. With a slight twinge of disappointment, I enjoyed munching on the octopus sashimi.
[Contractor! I found several more ships!]
“Attention all! We’re going to welcome our new ally!”
A ghostly cheer echoed from the ghost ship. Apparently, even ghost ships have camaraderie.
And so, we began to slice through the waves, rampantly exploring the foggy sea area.
—————
“…Is the Kraken really getting taken down so easily?”
Egeir couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
It was a thunderbolt to him that had just recently descended, and the news of losing the Kraken was devastating.
“What’s Ran doing?”
“Isn’t it a bit too quick for the Kraken to be subdued? It’s happening so fast that it seems they couldn’t prepare at all.”
Sedna quietly chimed in.
“You might be right. I suppose that makes sense, youngest.”
‘This is troublesome.’
There was no place better than here to abandon the foggy sea, so Egeir had no choice but to think. He stroked his beard, which reached his chest, and sighed repeatedly as he watched the fleet stirring in the foggy sea.
“If we don’t somehow fight and overcome this, we may not regain dominion over the sea.”
“A mere human, no less.”
“That? Oh, wait a minute. Are they not human? If Ran starts to exert serious power, even a ship…”
I can only rely on Ran.
While waiting for Ran to prepare to unleash his true power beneath the sea, Egeir and Sedna held their breath.
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