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

Episode 50: Squid Festival and the Giant Whale

“To celebrate the defeat of the Kraken, we will hold a squid festival!”

The voice of the emcee, spread by wind magic, announces the beginning of the festival, and the people gathered at the port cheer.

“Thanks to the cooperation of the shipowners’ association and the adventurers’ association, the Kraken was successfully defeated! This is all thanks to the brave adventurers and sailors!”

Everyone applauds at the emcee’s words.

“And look! This is the pitiful sight of the Kraken that ravaged our sea!”

With the emcee’s words, everyone’s gaze focuses on one spot in the port.
Normally, that spot would be filled with shipping cargo and materials, but today it was an empty square.

No, there was only one huge object wrapped in a large cloth, sitting there.
And when the sailors who were waiting in the square pulled the cloth, there was a large stake sticking diagonally into the ground, and in the middle of that stake was the pitiful sight of the Kraken pierced through its body.

“Oh! So that’s the Kraken!”

“It’s huge!”

The townspeople express their impressions of the Kraken one after another.

“And to celebrate this joyous day, we will treat everyone to Kraken cuisine!”

“Whaaat!?”

“Can you eat Kraken!?”

“Is it safe to eat a monster?”

Upon hearing about Kraken cuisine, the townspeople express their unease.
Well, humans tend to be cautious when it comes to things they’ve never eaten before.

“However, some of you may still be worried about whether you can really eat Kraken meat! To answer your concerns, the guildmaster of the Adventurers’ Guild, Mr.
Ronzen, will actually taste the Kraken cuisine in front of everyone as a poison tester!”

“Wow!”

With the emcee’s words, Mr.
Ronzen appears in front of the Kraken.
And several magicians who appeared with him cast fire magic on the Kraken, burning its surface.
The sauce that was already applied to the Kraken’s surface is burned by the magic, and the smell of burnt fills the air.

“Wow, it smells so good and savory.”

“Yeah, it looks delicious.”

The townspeople involuntarily salivate.
And the chefs start to dismantle the well-cooked Kraken.
As the large pieces of Kraken meat are quickly cut into smaller pieces, the townspeople cheer with excitement.

Well, to let you in on a secret, the Kraken meat is already pre-cut to make the dismantling process easier.

And a table is set up in front of Mr.
Ronzen, with plates of Kraken meat placed on top.

“Now, Mr.
Ronzen, please enjoy the Kraken meat!”

With a nod to the emcee’s voice, Mr.
Ronzen grabs a piece of Kraken meat and bites into it wildly.

“…”

The townspeople watch in anticipation as Mr.
Ronzen silently chews on the Kraken meat.
And then he raises his head and declares.

“…Delicious!”

The crowd gathered at the port cheers at Mr.
Ronzen’s words.

“Now, we will open the Kraken cuisine! If you want to try it, please line up in front of the staff holding the flags over there!”

“Alright! I’m going to challenge the Kraken meat!”

“I’m going too!”

“You dare to rampage in our sea, Kraken! I’ll enjoy eating you!”

The townspeople start lining up for the Kraken meat.

“With this, the Kraken incident is safely over.”

We murmured while watching the townspeople happily lining up for the Kraken meat from a good vantage point.

“I think they have this festival in other towns too, right?”

Liliera, sitting next to me, asks while eating the prepared Kraken cuisine.
Hmm, it smells so good, making me hungry.

“Munch munch munch.”

Mofumofu seems to be engrossed in devouring the chunks of Kraken meat.
Both of them should focus more on the festival.

“Yes, as a commemoration of defeating the Kraken, they plan to hold the Squid Festival every year in coordination with other port towns.”

“Why coordinate with other towns? Why not just do it in our own town?”

Liliera tilts her head, and it’s understandable.
Indeed, while the request to defeat the Kraken came from the guildmasters of each port town, there was no need for them to work together for the post-incident arrangements.
But that’s if you think on a town-by-town basis.

“I think it’s more of a national intention.
It’s a ceremony to show that from now on, we will share the Great Inner Sea fairly without encroaching on each other’s territories and waters.”

“Well, we made quite a profit from it.”

After all, as proof of defeating the Kraken, I was asked by the guildmasters to sell the entire body of the Kraken to each town.
Apparently, they wanted to show the townspeople, external merchants, and travelers the proof of defeating the Kraken.

“But I think it must have been quite an expense for the guild.”

Liliera’s point is that the rewards for defeating all the Krakens far exceeded what each port town had originally anticipated.

After all, while each guild knew that there were multiple Krakens, the number turned out to be seven, which was beyond their expectations.
So the cost of the two extra Krakens was quite a burden, that’s for sure.

“But well, I heard that the budget will be provided by the country.”

Ensuring the sea routes is vital for the operation of coastal nations.
So as a country, they wouldn’t mind providing the budget for that purpose.

In fact, the guildmasters also said that if the sea routes become safe due to the absence of the Krakens, the amount spent can be recovered in no time.

“Also, they plan to hold the Squid Festival every year as a commemoration of defeating the Kraken.”

“What’s that?”

“It will become a new specialty of the town and be held as a festival in coordination with other port towns.”

“Why coordinate with other towns? Why not just do it in our own town?”

Liliera tilts her head, and it’s understandable.
Indeed, while the request to defeat the Kraken came from the guildmasters of each port town, there was no need for them to work together for the post-incident arrangements.
But that’s if you think on a town-by-town basis.

“I think it’s more of a national intention.
It’s a ceremony to show that from now on, we will share the Great Inner Sea fairly without encroaching on each other’s territories and waters.”

Well, this kind of story was common even in my past life.
Defeating a common enemy often led to letting go of past conflicts.
It doesn’t mean that everyone becomes best friends, but overcoming hardships together does create a sense of solidarity to some extent.

“It’s kind of messy for a festival, don’t you think?”

Liliera gazes at the festival scene with a bewildered expression.
Perhaps she sees the festival in a different light.

“Well, thanks to that, we received additional rewards.”

“Additional rewards? I didn’t hear about that.”

Well, this was something I was asked to keep secret as the one who defeated the Kraken.

“Remember, at the beginning of the festival, they mentioned that the Kraken was defeated through the cooperation of the Adventurers’ Guild and the Shipping Guild, right?”

“Yes, they did.”

“Originally, I was supposed to appear there as the hero, but I declined because I didn’t want to stand out.
That’s why I proposed to make it a collective achievement of the entire guild.
After all, there were adventurers and fishermen who protected the ships from the Kraken, even if it was only temporarily.”

“Huh?”

For some reason, I feel like there are multiple meanings behind that “huh?” Is it just my imagination?

“It was said that without a hero, the festival wouldn’t be lively, so they asked if we could at least make it a reward for the guild as a whole.
In reality, the adventurers and fishermen have been protecting the ships from the Kraken for a while now, so it’s only fair to recognize their contributions.”

“But how does that become an additional reward? It seems like you’re the only one losing out in that case.”

“Well, the guildmasters said that they couldn’t just receive such a great achievement for free, so they added 1000 gold coins to the rewards from the guildmasters’ own pockets.”

“Even if it’s divided among the five of you, that’s 200 gold coins each.
Money really does exist where there is money… But still, you seem to be accumulating more and more money.”

“I did spend some of the money to build a house, you know?”

“But you still have a lot left, right? Enough to live a carefree life.”

“Ahaha…”

It’s true that I, as a guildmaster, own a considerable amount of money.
But as someone who lives as an adventurer, I don’t have a reason to retire just because I have money.

However, it’s not good to hoard money and not use it.
I remember someone saying in my past life that if you hoard money and don’t use it, it will stagnate the economy.
They told me to spend more money.

 

However, I don’t really want to indulge in anything luxurious, and I wonder if there’s any meaningful way to use money.

“Well, I’ll think about how to use the money later.”

“Just don’t spend it on anything weird, okay?”

What would be considered a weird way to spend it?

As we talked about such things, we gazed at the scene of the Squid Festival.
I noticed that various food stalls had been set up in the harbor, and there were stalls selling various dishes made with Kraken meat.

Ah, those stalls must be part of the Squid Festival plan too.

While the surface was bustling with the Kraken Festival, the place where we were had a relaxed atmosphere.

That’s when it happened.
Boom! A very loud sound echoed throughout the town.

“W-What was that!?”

“Could it be another Kraken!?”

The bustling harbor, which was filled with the Squid Festival, suddenly became agitated, and everyone’s gaze was focused on the Great Inner Sea.

“Hey, what’s that!?”

Someone pointed to the center of the Great Inner Sea, and there, a large and black island that had never existed before came into view.

“Wait, was there such an island in the Great Inner Sea?”

“No, there shouldn’t be…”

Everyone was puzzled by the sudden appearance of the black island.
But no, that wasn’t an island.

“H-Hey, is that thing moving?”

That’s right, it’s not an island.
That’s why it’s moving.

“What is that!?”

Liliera-san couldn’t hide her surprise at the sight she was seeing for the first time.
But I was surprised about something else.

“Why is he in this place…”

“Rex-san, do you know what that is?”

Liliera-san asked me a question after hearing my muttering.

“Yes, I know.”

Yes, that is undoubtedly him.
But his appearance was much smaller compared to the one I knew.

“That is the Megalowhale, the natural enemy of the Kraken!”

In response to my words, the Megalowhale let out a roar-like sound and spouted water.

“Kyaa!?”

The water spouted by the Megalowhale fell into the surrounding sea, creating a large water column.

“The Megalowhale is a giant whale monster that can grow up to 5 kilometers in length.”

“W-5 kilometers!? Is that really a living creature!?”

I understand what Liliera-san is trying to say.
It’s hard to believe that there is a creature of such absurd size.

“And, um… Megalowhale, right? It looks about 100 meters in size, but isn’t that different from what you said?”

Yes, as Liliera-san said, that Megalowhale was too small compared to the one I knew.
The reason for that is probably…

“That is probably a newly born juvenile.”

“A juvenile with that size!? It’s bigger than the Ancient Plant!”

“Yes, please look.
The fish that were hit by the tide that just poured down are floating up to the surface.
The Megalowhale’s spout not only contains seawater, but also a substance similar to bone that is generated inside its body.
And the seawater and bone stones that were launched high into the sky fall back down, and they eat the surrounding creatures that float up when they are hit.”

The Megalowhale opens its large mouth and starts swallowing the fish that floated up with the seawater.
The scene looks as if a black hole has opened in the sea.

“Even so, the amount of food for the Megalowhale is relatively small.
Normally, creatures the size of a Kraken would be their main source of food.”

“The Kraken as the main food…”

Liliera-san is exasperated, but this situation is quite bad.

“There are no creatures the size of a Kraken in the Great Inner Sea.
If this continues, the fish in the entire Great Inner Sea will be devoured by the Megalowhale!”

Yes, the Megalowhale, a giant whale that can grow up to 5 kilometers in length, requires a considerable amount of food to sustain its massive body.
Without a doubt, the creatures in the Great Inner Sea will become extinct within a few months.

“The Kraken’s offspring probably escaped to the Great Inner Sea to avoid the Megalowhale.
If adult Megalowhales enter the Great Inner Sea, they would get stuck.”

Yes, adult Megalowhales wouldn’t be able to pass through that narrow sea route.

“So, what should we do about that?”

Upon hearing Liliera-san’s words, I also pondered for a moment.

“First, let’s consult with Ronzen-san.
We haven’t been commissioned to exterminate it, and I don’t think we can even afford to buy it if we do exterminate it.”

“Yes, I think that’s a good idea.”

To be honest, just working for free isn’t ideal.
If there’s a risk to our lives, I wouldn’t hesitate to help, but as long as the Megalowhale is a whale monster, it’s safe while on land.
There’s no immediate need to exterminate it since there’s no commission for it.

If we act out of goodwill, we’ll end up getting involved in troubles just like my past life.

So this is the scene where we negotiate with the guild leaders as a business.

 

We avoided the crowded streets and made our way to the harbor along the rooftops.

“Ronzen-san!”

When we called out to him, Ronzen-san noticed us.

“Hey, good timing! Do you know anything about that thing!?”

As expected of the guild leader.
He started with gathering information.

“That is called a Megalowhale, a monster that is the natural enemy of the Kraken.”

“The natural enemy of the Kraken!?”

I repeated the explanation I gave to Liliera-san to Ronzen-san.

“…So that thing was the cause of the Kraken’s escape.”

“Yes, but as long as it’s on land, there’s no need to worry about the danger to our lives, so there’s no need to panic.”

Well, there is a crisis of all marine products being wiped out.
Ronzen-san was holding his head while looking at the Megalowhale.

“But well, if we know that it will become such a big threat in the future, we need to exterminate it quickly before it’s too late.”

Indeed, if we let it stay in the Great Inner Sea for too long, it will become a threat to the Great Inner Sea if it can no longer go out.

“I want to exterminate it, but if it becomes such a big target, it will definitely be classified as an S-rank mission… We just applied for additional budget for the Kraken extermination, and now we have to request additional budget for an S-rank mission.
I don’t know if it will be approved.”

The higher-ups in the guild have a tough job.
And then, at that moment.

“Naval Knights, move out! We’re going to exterminate that giant monster!”

A familiar ship set sail from the harbor and headed towards the Megalowhale.

“Isn’t that the military’s state-of-the-art ship!?”

It seems the crew members are safe.

“Hahaha, yes! Since it doesn’t have tentacles, there’s no worry of it throwing the ship! This time, it will show the power of the latest state-of-the-art ship!”

“Um, what exactly is happening?”

Why are they suddenly heading out to exterminate it when there haven’t been any casualties among humans yet?

“Ah, probably because they couldn’t do anything against the Kraken and were defeated.
They need to achieve something or they won’t be able to make excuses to their superiors.”

They were defeated by the Kraken even with the latest battleship.
They definitely need to achieve something or they won’t be able to make excuses to their superiors.

However, even though it’s not a Kraken, it’s still a creature of about 100 meters in size.
The battleship is about 30 meters, less than one-third of its size.
The battleship approaches the Megalowhale while casting attack magic.
In response, the Megalowhale doesn’t react at all.

“Is that effective?”

“The Megalowhale has a sturdy body that can ram into its prey, so I don’t think those attacks with that level of power will hurt or bother it.”

The magic cast at the Megalowhale for intimidation purposes is strangely low in power.
They need to increase the power a bit more for the attacks to have an effect.

And then the Megalowhale moved.
The Megalowhale attempted to ram into the battleship.
The battleship desperately tried to evade, but it couldn’t avoid it completely.

The ship’s magicians forcefully changed the ship’s course with wind and water magic, managing to avoid a direct hit, but the Megalowhale’s body collided with the ship’s side, causing the hull to shake greatly.
Then, with a powerful strike of its tail on the water’s surface, the Megalowhale caused the ship to shake even more.

The Megalowhale then made a large arc and once again attempted to ram into the rear of the battleship, which was desperately trying to maintain its posture.

They couldn’t avoid the second assault, and the battleship capsized.
That ship really had no luck.
But, it’s about time we can’t just leave it alone.
We need to go rescue them.

“By the way, can we defeat that thing?”

Ronzen-san asked if we can exterminate the Megalowhale that repelled the battleship.

“Yes, since that is still a juvenile, it won’t be so difficult to exterminate.”

It’s a bit more challenging when it’s an adult, but since it’s still a child.

“That’s right, it’s still a child even though it’s that big.”

And it’s a genuine newborn.

“Well, we have no choice!”

Ronzen-san exclaimed while scratching his head.

 

“I’ll persuade the other guild members to gather the money somehow! Can we request the subjugation of the Megalowhale!?”

“….Understood.
Leave it to me.”

Alright, if it’s an official request, it will serve as a reason to subjugate the Megalowhale!

“In that case, let’s quickly defeat it and rescue the people from the capsized battleship!”

I pull out the stake of the Elder Plant that I had just stabbed the Kraken with and jump up high into the sky.

“The tree, the tree flew in the sky!”

The spectators around me are surprised by the fact that the stake of the Elder Plant flew up.

“Aim carefully… there!”

I throw the stake of the Elder Plant towards the Megalowhale.
I’m aiming for the hole that spouts water!

“Boooooom!”

The stake pierces into the spouting hole of the Megalowhale, causing it to scream in sudden pain.
Alright, I succeeded in sealing its spouting attack by plugging the hole.
It would be a disaster if the sailors who were thrown into the sea were injured by the spouting attack.

“The sailors are nearby, so lightning and ice attribute magic attacks are strictly forbidden.”

Let’s defeat it with normal attacks here.
I fly towards the Megalowhale using flight magic.

And I thrust the sword made from the mutated species’ blade into the water surface.
The cut water surface rises up like a tail, following my high-speed movement.

I change course and go around to the back of the Megalowhale.

“Sonic Saber!”

I activate the wind magic sword and pierce the sword into the Megalowhale’s skin while flying through.
The mutated species’ sword is only about 1 meter long, just like a normal sword.
With this sword, no matter how sharp it is, it cannot cut through the massive body of the Megalowhale.
However, the wind blade generated by the Sonic Saber magic extends the blade pseudo-physically while maintaining the same sharpness as the mutated species’ sword, piercing through the Megalowhale’s body and reaching the sea surface directly below it, running from its tail to its forehead.

And the wind blade that was swung continues to cut through the water surface, splitting it for hundreds of meters.
As the cut water surface gradually returns to normal over a few seconds, the Megalowhale’s body shifts from the center and then splits into two.

“The… the huge monster suddenly split apart!”

The spectators watching from the land are in a state of confusion because they don’t understand what is happening.

And as the split Megalowhale’s body is slammed onto the sea surface, the sea waves greatly ripple.

“Whoa!”

The screams of the sailors thrown onto the sea surface rise.

“Oops, Life Sphere!”

I cast wind healing magic on the sailors I notice and rescue them.
The sailors who have been enchanted with magic are enveloped in a spherical wind and float on the water surface.
This magic not only protects the people in need of rescue with a wind barrier but also temporarily serves as a boat to protect those who have been involved in a water accident.

“Now, I need to rescue the people who sank into the sea.”

Using detection magic to search for human reactions, I rescue the people in need of rescue.
As I continue doing so, ships from the port town also arrive and the rescue of the sailors begins.
And one hour later, all the sailors are safely rescued.

“Honestly, no matter how powerful the monsters that appear are, they all end up being treated like puppies when it comes to Rex-san.”

Liliera-san says in a tone of exasperation, but that’s not true.
Strong monsters are really strong.
It’s just that the monsters I’ve encountered so far happen to be a bunch of weaklings.

By the way, the state-of-the-art warship had some scratches but was reported to be safe.
Hmm, it’s sturdy.