Nido Tensei Shita Shounen wa S-rank Boukensha Toshite Heion ni Sugosu ~ Zense ga Kenja de Eiyūdatta Boku wa Raisede wa Jimi ni Ikiru ~

Chapter 49: The Seaside Town and the Squid Problem

It was when I had requested an appraisal for the Kraken I had defeated.

“Excuse me, Mr.
Rex.
I would like to talk to you about the appraisal, so could you please come to the private room over there?”

Since the content was about appraisal, we headed straight to the private room.

“Oh, I’ve been waiting for you.”

There were already several people in the private room, and they called us to come inside.
However, I felt a slight surprise at the sight of one of the people inside.

“Are you Mr.
Ronzen, if I’m not mistaken?”

Yes, the person who was there was Mr.
Ronzen, the fisherman I met the other day.

“Oh, it’s you, Mr.
Ronzen.
And you’re also the guild master who oversees the adventurer’s guild in this town called Fizio.”

Mr.
Ronzen smiles mischievously.

“So, were you lying about being a fisherman?”

Why would you go out of your way to do something like that?

“No, no, being a fisherman is not a lie.
This town is a port town, so the person in charge of the organization needs to be knowledgeable about maritime work such as ships and fishing.
Well, there is a rule that retired individuals are appointed to leadership positions for the sake of preventing corruption and collusion, but that’s how it is.”

So, Mr.
Ronzen is a former fisherman?

“So, what exactly does the guild master need? We asked for an appraisal of the defeated Kraken, didn’t we?”

I asked Ronzen-san why he called me, saying that.
However, to be honest, I had a vague idea of what their conversation was about.

“Perhaps you’re asking about other Krakens?”

“How did you know!?”

Not only Mr.
Ronzen, but also the other people who were with him had surprised expressions on their faces.

“Yes.
The Kraken we defeated this time was a juvenile Kraken that had not yet grown into an adult.”

“Its a child!?”

Huh? Did you not notice that?

“The Kraken, originally, would crush the captured ships before devouring the people and food inside.
It seems to have a habit of cracking open shells before consuming the contents.
However, the recent Kraken did not eat the military battleship but instead tossed it around and threw it into the harbor.
That was an act commonly done by young Krakens who have not yet developed enough strength to destroy ships on their own.”

The small boat that was specifically made for fishing decoys was completely destroyed.
The reason why we couldn’t destroy the battleship this time was probably because it was a large ship that the military had built with great pride, and it was made with a material called Ancient Plant, which is harder than iron.
Well, if it were an adult Kraken, it would still be able to crush it though.

“I didn’t know the Kraken had such characteristics…”

Mr.
Ronzen stares at me with a surprised expression.

“I’m curious where you acquired such knowledge, but well, let’s leave that aside for now.”

Mr.
Ronzen regains his composure and refocuses on us.

“Originally, the fact that the Kraken is not a single entity is classified information.
If it were to be revealed to the outside, there would be a risk of losing the ships that come for trade from the towns outside this Great Inner Sea, as there would be no ships left.
If that were to happen, the maritime route of the Great Inner Sea would be completely paralyzed.”

Indeed, it’s a place you’d want to avoid in a maritime town.

“Well, it seems that the savvy merchants are aware of it, so they deliberately change their transportation route from the middle of the town and transport their goods by land.”

“However, we don’t know when it will be revealed that there are multiple Krakens.
We must urgently resolve this issue, and everyone was deeply concerned about it.”

“In the midst of all that, you came to this town.
You, who can defeat the Kraken.”

Following Ronzen’s words, people who had been silent until now start to join the conversation.

“Or rather, who exactly are you? Are you famous elsewhere?”

“They are probably famous in other towns.”

Everyone nods in agreement with Mr.
Ronzen’s words.

“We are the leaders of the adventurer guild in the towns adjacent to the Great Inner Sea in each country.”

Wow, everyone, I am a guild master now.

“Why are the important people from the Adventurer’s Guild here again?”

And to top it off, each guild leader is from a different country.

“We were originally invited to the launching ceremony of the state-of-the-art battleship built by our country’s military.
Defeating the Kraken is a common issue for all of us, you know.”

“And if possible, I wanted to see a scene of defeating the Kraken, but the outcome was as you saw.”

Ah, it easily became a toy for the Kraken.

“To be honest, I was disappointed, but it’s fortunate that I met you all.
Life is connected by strange fate.”

“Now, let’s get back to the topic.
We want you guys to defeat the Krakens in the Great Inner Sea.
The reward will be the full amount of the Kraken hunting rewards offered by each town’s guild.”

Hmm, the reward for defeating the Kraken in this town is 1500 coins, and there are currently five people here, including Mr.
Ronzen.
So, in total, the reward for this time that we haven’t received yet would be 7500 coins, right?

“I want to confirm something.”

“What is it?”

“So the reward for defeating the Kraken that the guild is recruiting for is per individual, right? Considering that there are multiple Krakens, it’s safe to assume that, correct?”

“Ah, ah…”

Ronzen-san hangs his head after being asked something he didn’t want to be asked.

“If the number of Krakens defeated exceeds the total number of towns, will we receive rewards for the excess Krakens defeated?”

This was a concern for me.
It’s great to be asked to do a job, but I don’t want to be deceived about the contract terms and be unfairly taken advantage of.
I don’t want to repeat the same mistake as in my past life.

“I don’t want to think that they are there, but in that case, we plan to pay additional compensation.”

Hmm, if they’re going to give me proper compensation, I don’t see any problem with accepting it.

“I understand.
I will accept that request.”

“Wow!”

“I appreciate you accepting it.”

Mr.
Ronzen extends his hand to me.

“Please express your gratitude after the request has been fulfilled.”

I also extend my hand and we shake hands firmly.
Now, let’s fulfill the request.

◆

“So, what are you going to do now?”

Liliera-san asks me a question as I arrive in the harbor.

“First, we will investigate how many Krakens are present between the Great Inner Sea and the river mouth.”

Because if you don’t know the total number of enemies, you won’t know for sure if you have truly annihilated them.

“How do you investigate such a wide range?”

“It’s simple.
Just use flight magic to go above the Great Inner Sea and use detection magic to confirm the presence of the Kraken while heading towards the estuary.”

“Do you really know if it’s a Kraken or not with your detection magic?”

“Yes, all we need to do is investigate the creatures within the Great Inner Sea that exhibit strong powers.”

If you want to investigate in detail, there are specialized spells for that, but this time it’s just a simple extermination, so you don’t need to research it in such detail.

“That’s why I will investigate from the sky, but what will Liliera and the others do?”

I will make sure to check how Liliera and the others will move.

“I don’t like the sky, so I’ll look for a job that I can do in the city.”

“Kyu!”

It seems that Liliera and Mofumofu don’t like flying in the sky.

“I understand.
Well then, I’ll be going now.”

“Yes, have a safe trip.”

◆

I use flight magic to reach the deepest part of the Great Inner Sea, and immediately activate exploration magic.

“…Are there two nearby?”

I confirm the presence of two Krakens deep within.
Additionally, I sense one near each town in the Great Inner Sea, excluding the town of Fizio.
I suppose they have claimed these areas as their territories, likely due to the abundance of prey.
These territories likely consist of areas with plentiful fish and places where they can consume the shellfish that humans discard.

And then move along the Great Inner Sea and travel to the mouth of the river.

“Hmm, it seems like there are no Krakens along the way to the river mouth.”

Well, rather than that, it seems that the narrower part of the river is shallower than the main body of the Great Inner Sea, so the Kraken doesn’t seem to recognize it as its territory.
Well, it still seems to be about ten meters deep though.

“Well, I wonder if you understood the number of Krakens.
But anyway, even though they don’t have territories, they can still go out to sea.”

If that’s the case, it doesn’t seem strange to go out to the open sea, which is wider and has abundant food.
Or is there a reason why they don’t want to go out?

“Well, that doesn’t matter now.”

Well then, let’s go back to town… No, before that, maybe I should go over there.
In order to prepare the necessary tools for defeating the Kraken, I returned to the capital city through the gate.

 

“Alright, then I will begin the Kraken extermination from here!”

We came back to the port once again to defeat the Kraken.

“Wow!”

As it was the second time they were being defeated, the fishermen and sailors around cheered.

“I’m counting on you.”

Furthermore, Mr.
Ronzen and the guild leaders from each town were also present this time.

“Yes, leave it to me.
…By the way,”

I look around at the surrounding fishermen.

“Wasn’t the existence of the Kraken supposed to be top secret?”

It seems like everyone is just accepting the idea of Kraken extermination as normal.

“Oh, the guys working around this area’s sea usually know.
But we keep it a secret from outsiders and those working on land.”

I see, so the target of extreme secrecy was different.

“So, how do we defeat it?”

“First, regarding the Kraken, I have confirmed a total of seven of them.”

“7 Krakens!? Were there really that many!?”

The people at the port are surprised and exclaim in astonishment upon learning that there is a Kraken present, more than they had anticipated.

“Fortunately, we did not spot the Kraken until we reached the river mouth, so I believe that if we defeat the Kraken that resides in this Great Inner Sea, the problem will be resolved.”

Well, it’s not impossible for another child of the Kraken to come from the open sea again, you know.

“S-So, you can defeat that many Krakens!?”

“Yes, I’m fine.
Please don’t worry.”

Smiling, I answer the guild leader who asks with a worried expression.

“How exactly are we going to defeat it?”

That’s right, explanation is important.
I will explain the overview of the Kraken extermination to the guild leaders.

“First of all, the reason why battling underwater creatures is difficult is because when the injured opponent escapes into the water.”

Well, in that case, you could use magic or magic items to attack enemies underwater, but it’s still a hassle to fight against opponents who can freely move in water.

“So, first, we eliminate the water and drag the opponent out onto the ground.”

“What?”

“Well, actions speak louder than words, so let’s actually try it.”

I float up into the sky using flight magic and head towards the center of the Great Inner Sea.
Using detection magic, I locate the position of the Kraken that resides in the center and cast magic towards it.

“High microburst!”

A magical explosion occurs, generating a polar and high-speed downdraft towards the sea surface.
Despite being localized, it forcefully strikes the wind within a range of nearly 3km, causing the waters of the Great Inner Sea to be instantly propelled and scattered into the surrounding air.
Looking down at the sea surface, the temporary absence of water has caused the sea to dry up.
And on the seabed, the remains of the Kraken, blown up to the sea surface by the high microburst, can be seen.

“Alright, next!”

I took out a giant stake from my magic bag and threw it at the Kraken.

“Go! Elder Plant Stake!”

As the name suggests, a giant stake made from Elder Plants flies towards the Kraken.
Yes, the reason I returned to the capital was to head further into the Beast Forest and harvest Elder Plants as materials.

The Kraken struggled to escape, but its massive body was lifted onto the artificially created land and it couldn’t move properly due to its own weight.
Then, a high-speed stake flew towards the Kraken and pierced its body.
After a while, the surrounding seawater flowed into the empty area, and the scattered seawater turned into rain, returning to the Great Inner Sea.

And I pulled on the rope that was attached to the stake I made with Elder Plant, retrieving the Kraken along with the stake.

“Now, shall we collect the remaining Krakens?”

Using the same method, I continue to defeat Krakens one after another.
And I defeat all of the Krakens.
Hahaha, without water, even a Kraken is nothing to be feared.

“Alright, Kraken extermination complete!”

As I returned to the harbor, I began lining up the Krakens in the open space.

Yeah, this Kraken is definitely smaller than the Kraken I know.

“Well, that’s about it.”

And, as I turn around, I report to the guild leaders who were waiting there.

“…”

However, the guild leaders were trembling and not saying anything.
Huh? What’s wrong? Could it be that I didn’t explain enough?

“Well, not just the Kraken, but if you can accurately locate and count the Krakens with detection magic, all you have to do is hit them with attacks.
If you can grasp the knack of leaving them no escape route, extermination isn’t that difficult.”

“No, that trick is not normal at all!!”

Huh? That’s strange.
I demonstrated it properly.
If you just remove a bit of seawater from the ocean, it’s a piece of cake, you know?