169: You know, tasty ingredients don’t care about how they look, right?

After savoring some rare and exquisite delicacies, we headed toward the sea, as we’d heard it was located north of the town.

It was my first time seeing the sea. Excited.

That’s what we’d heard at the dining hall.

The walls of the Mizoho Shrine Nation stretched northward too, so the sea wasn’t visible at first glance.

The town of Mizoho was smaller than Goldendown, sure—but still vastly larger than any fortress city we’d seen so far. Smaller than the capital by a bit, so by all accounts, it was a massive city.

We walked a good distance before finally reaching the northern gate.

I’d been keeping pace with Maina, so we were moving at a normal pedestrian speed—probably just took longer because of that.

Then, a warrior standing at the gate called out to us.

"Are you adventurers from the Empire? I didn’t see any bounty requests submitted to the Adventurer’s Guild today."

Kyle and I glance at each other.

"No, we’re just tourists from the southern kingdom. Heard there was an ocean ahead, came to see it."

We weren’t really here for sightseeing, but explaining we were a diplomatic envoy would’ve been too much hassle.

"Interesting. Still, I wouldn’t recommend it."

Kyle and I exchange another look.

"Why’s that?"

Could the port be some kind of military secret?

Rivers are one thing, but a sea port? That’s rare enough already.

"The sea ahead forms a big bay. The inside’s fairly safe, sure, but monsters still drift in now and then. You’d be better off sticking to the safer towns."

Guess he was just being nice.

Kyle mulls it over for a second, then nods. With our group, it should be fine.

"Thank you for the warning. We've got reliable guards here, so we'll be fine."

"Is that so? Then I won't stop you. Be careful on your way."

"Yes."

After passing through the northern gate and walking a while, a massive puddle finally came into view. And then, a faintly rotten smell drifted on the wind.

The inlet was huge—its cape stretched out like a wall right at the horizon.

As we neared the harbor, countless wooden ships of all sizes floated on the water.

The harbor was large—close up, you could see massive vessels among them.

Still, the inlet was so wide that from afar, it looked sparse. You could picture an enormous lake fitting snugly inside. That’s what I mean.

"Nice harbor. The docking area for large ships is especially impressive. The small boat docks look messy, though."

"Either way, it's lively."

"Craft! Look, look! That ship over there! Look at all the fish piled up!"

A large fish tank was built into the ship—several big barrels were being filled with fish from the tank.

We drifted closer, pulled in by the scene.

Uncertain if they were sailors or fishermen, everyone was bare-chested, sweat pouring down like a waterfall. Sunburned skin, dark.

A lean but wiry man glanced our way.

"Huh? What?"

"Ah, sorry! We were just sightseeing around, didn’t mean to intrude, did we?"

"Nah! Not at all! Today’s been a great catch—feeling good, so go ahead!"

They welcomed us with a grin. We stood around, curious, watching the unloading.

"Never seen fish like these before."

"Whoa! That one over there—looks about the size of Jitarou!"

"Looks like food, huh!"

"Kinda sounds like cannibalism, don’t it?"

"Can you eat raw fish?"

"Maina... you haven’t eaten any yet?"

We crowded around, chattering, pointing at all the fish. The sailors seemed amused by our wide-eyed reactions, showing us strange creatures and naming each one.

"Hey. Crabs are actually tasty?"

"Damn right! Boil 'em, grill 'em, even涮 (shabu-shabu) is top-tier!"

"Never had that dish."

"Then you gotta try it! I’ll show you a real good spot!"

"This is sea bream! Best raw, no contest!"

"This is octopus! Try it in oden or takoyaki!"

Persia shrieked at the sight of the octopus.

"Wait a second! You’re telling me we’re eating that demon-like thing with the tentacles!?"

Yeah, it did look like a slime and a lope, mashed together and split in half.

This ain’t no demon. You can eat it just fine! There are giant demons that look the same, sure—but that’s not the same thing.

So… is that a demon’s kid or something!?

Nah, not even close. How about this one? They call it an octopus. Tastes great, I swear.

Looks no different from an octopus, really.

That’s pretty much how it went.

I’ll admit, it’s hard to see octopus or squid as food. Persia’s got a point.

Still, the sea’s a treasure chest of ingredients.

With a safe, massive inlet like this, life gets a lot richer.

“Hey, Kyle. Ain’t got nothing like this in the kingdom?”

“Not sure. I don’t know, but if we looked, we might find one. Though human settlements along the coast are still few and far between. If we keep pushing inland, we’ll probably find something.”

“Either way, the kingdom’s sea’s on the south side. Ain’t no place we can’t reach.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Goldendor is in the northwest of the kingdom, so we can't reach southward.

Then again, we're supposed to be making friends with those little foreign states, huh. Well, that's just great.

That pleasant moment ends abruptly.

A large ship nearby suddenly explodes into pieces.

A roar and a spray of water rise at once, and a chunk of the shattered hull flies straight toward us.

““Prismatic Barrier!””

Me and Eva cast the defense spell at the same time.

It's a quick cast, good for reacting on the spot, so we use it often when we need to block attacks.

It's weaker than other defensive spells, but this one from the two of them—Twilight and the Sage—isn't ordinary.

It casually bounces back a broken piece of mast.

“Kyle, Maina, get to Craft’s side! Ryuuko too!”

Raidock yells without a pause.

I grabbed Kyle and Maina’s hands, standing near a nearby fisherman’s hut.

Since we were at it, I shoved the fishermen into the hut with us and decided to guard them together.

“Persia, Marilyn, Jitarou—cover the front! The rest of you—smash that thing!”

Raidock’s eyes locked onto something long, massive, and writhing with multiple suckers.

A white tentacle coiled around a small wooden boat, snapping it to pieces with a crunch.

And there were several of them.

Rising from the sea a short distance away was a tall, slender body with two pairs of white, triangular fins.

I couldn’t help shouting.

“Is that an octopus?!”

“Not a monster, surely?!”

Not just me—Persia shouted too. I get it, I really do.

I tried to speak to Maina to calm her, but I didn’t have to.

“Looks tasty,” she said.

Gleaming at the feast like she’s already eating it!

Huh?

Wait—Maina, did your personality just change?

“You lot… gonna lose your spark, huh?”

“You really gonna struggle over something like this?”

“You haven’t even figured out how strong these monsters are yet.”

“Still, you’re not even worried, huh?”

Me and Raidock smirk.

“Then let’s show you what we’re made of. Alright! I’ll handle the annoying tentacles with Camille! Eva and Solar, take the body over there!”

“““Got it!!”””

Raidock, the Azure Sword Saint, closes in on the tentacle wrecking the nearby docked ship. He dashes across the splintered wreckage of the hull, swinging his orichalcum blade.

“”Crimson Lotus Rising Dragon Slash!“”

The flaming sword slices through the tentacle—giant as a tree—ripping it apart and setting it ablaze.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. That move was supposed to have a long cooldown, wasn’t it? Couldn’t be used over and over...

Raidock, who’d just casually unleashed that devastating technique during the eight-headed hydra battle. Guess the power of the Sword Saint’s insignia really upped his level—like, two notches.

Meanwhile, another tentacle approached. Camille closed in.

...Wait, weren’t they just running across the sea?

That speed was insane. One second she was far away, the next—she was right on it, unleashing some wild move.

“...Mirroring Avatar.”

As Camille murmured it, she suddenly multiplied into multiple copies.

“What the hell is that!?”

“Is she splitting!?”

“Is that a ninja’s insignia technique!?”

“If there are that many, can’t I just take one of them!?”

Like hell you can!

Besides, it’s not real—she’s just creating illusions, not actually multiplying!

Still... damn, that’s a flashy name for a move, man.

But our shock wasn’t done yet.

““““‘Shadow Dance Funeral Twin’””””

To think every single one of the Camille clones had unleashed a swirling technique.

Not just illusions or tricks—every single one of them used a real, effective move. It was ridiculous.

Of course, even a giant tentacle turned to confetti in an instant.

“…That crest was nasty too.”

“Good to have you.”

“Yeah… back to one now…”

What’re you lamenting about, huh?

“Perfect bite-sized… would go great on a skewer.”

Today’s biggest shock? That was Maina’s line.

Maina—-—-—-—-—-—-?!

Reopening now.