Maseki Gurume – Vol 2 Chapter 4 Part 6

It’s Ko-Fi’s Supporters’ chapter (15/52), enjoy~

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Part 6

 

After three days and two nights, they all boarded a ship to return to the royal capital. The ship was owned by the Royal Kingsland Academy. It was about two times smaller than a battleship, with a total length of about 130 meters.

While feeling the sea breeze on the deck, Ain asked Chris.

“Hey, Chris-san. Our eyes met when we were in the forest, right? I don’t think it was just my imagination.”

“What exactly are you talking about? I have no idea──.”

“You are lying, aren’t you? I can see you were upset and scurrying around.”

“…Mmm.”

It was a pointless resistance because the entire plan had been detected. It would still take nearly thirty minutes to get to the royal capital. Ain was having a chat with her.

“Hey, were you really scurrying around? I know I felt like our eyes met, but I didn’t see that much detail, you know?”

“──I-I was tricked…?”

“That’s right. Let’s just say it like that.”

“Geez… I thought I was tougher, but haven’t you grown up to be cunning…?”

“I have Katima-san, so I am not troubled by teaching materials anyways.”

The problem seems to be that the two of them get along too well. Chris put her elbows on the fence and held her head.

The sound of the gentle waves and the scent of the tide. Ain gradually healed the fatigue that had built up over the past days.

“Anyway, I was really annoyed by this scheme, so I thought I’d say something to my grandfather.”

“…But I think His Majesty also wishes for Ain-sama’s growth too, you know? That’s what I think, or so I’ve been told…”

“I know. But… Hmm, that wasn’t the best way to do it…”

If the crown prince needs to go through a heavy ordeal like this one, he is naturally willing to accept it. The reason his heart is not cleared up is because he does not like the way it is done.

“I’ll think about it until we get to the royal capital. If it comes to it, I’m willing to not speak to my grandfather for a few days.”

“I-I want you to refrain from doing that…”

However, the fact that Ain and Dill have grown closer is superimposed. Chris made up her mind to report this as soon as she arrived at the royal capital.

Suddenly, the surface of the sea began to shake. It happened while the two of them were enjoying a peaceful conversation.

“Hmm… what’s going on all of a sudden?”

Ain leaned out a little from the fence. Then Chris put her hand around Ain’s body and made him step back with a sharp look.

“Please step back; something seems a little off.”

She pulled out the rapier on her waist, and… she took a breath, and the atmosphere changed. The peaceful atmosphere of the earlier moments fades away.

The knights on board the ship approached the fence at once as if in response to her.

──The roar of the tide against the ship increased.

“Prepare the cannons! All of you, without exception, prepare for the attack!”

The soles of the knight’s shoes kicked hard on the deck. Everyone turned to face the cannons mounted on the front, back, and sides of the ship, and at the same time, the ship increased its speed rapidly. During this time, the churning of the sea surface only increased.

“…Chris-san, you can’t be sure that this is all part of the scheme… can you?”

“There is no such thing as risking your life! So I think it would be better if Ain-sama stayed inside the ship, or… stayed by my side…”

She grabbed Ain’s hand without a second thought. This is the first time she has done this. Looking at the hand that was held, Ain followed her footsteps as she began to walk.

In the end, the surface of the sea foamed up, and the seawater burst into waves so high that it reminded him of a castle.

“M-monster…!?”

A huge monster, half the size of the ship Ain was on, stood in front of his surprised gaze. The long, undulating arms and legs look like an octopus, yet they also look like a squid.

“Kraken…? H-how did it end up in this coastal waters…?”

“Chris-san! It’s only natural that it’s so big, but is it strong…?”

“It’s a monster that even a battleship would have trouble dealing with…! But with this ship, it is possible to deal with it, even if it is difficult…!”

The Kraken that appeared was only one. If it extended its arms and legs, it would undoubtedly be longer than this ship.

Ain was relieved by Chris’s words, but…

“But… something doesn’t seem right…?”

Chris continued, and she stopped in her tracks in confusion. Kraken is not likely to attack the ship, but it is looking around and acting as if it is groping for where to go.

(Is it running away from something…?)

From Ain’s perspective, it seemed as if it was scared. The fear and surprise were gone, and the inexplicable gesture of foreboding was perplexing.

The distance between the Kraken and the speeding ship increases.

“The less we provoke it, the better we can get out of these areas… I don’t think we’ll need to bombard it.”

It seems that it will be done peacefully ─ the two of them thought this for a while.

The swaying of the sea’s surface is incomparably greater, and in proportion, the Kraken swims to the opposite side of the ship, moving its arms and legs greatly.

A roaring sound echoed from the sea.

“Chris-san! Could it be that there are other mon…?”

“──Aaaaaaaaah!”

Before he could finish, the reason for all the commotion appeared. The ship, no, a giant body that will exceed even Princess Olivia’s battleship.

“Eh…?”

Ain naturally kneels down on the deck. He was pressured by the power of the huge presence that appeared in front of his gaze.

A wind hole was made in the Kraken’s head as it fled. The Kraken, on the verge of death, spread its arms and legs wide and raised them high into the sky.

The monster that appeared was truly a predator.

“No… way… how could that monster, the sea dragon──.”

Chris helped Ain out of his reverie and started talking.

In the meantime, even with a battleship, it’s hard to deal with the Kraken, and that monster just preys on it without any effort whatsoever.

Its fins are large in proportion to its huge body, and its fangs are so sharp and long that a small ship could be crushed with a single bite. The huge vortex that was generated around the monster that appeared was pulling the Kraken to the center to prevent it from escaping, probably because it controlled the flow of water so freely.

“S-Sea Dragon…? Chris-san, do you mean the one just now is a sea dragon…?”

It certainly is a dragon, from what it looks like. It looked like a sea serpent, with fins on its long body that looked like wings and pale scales covering its entire body.

The gesture of swirling in and out of the sea is as graceful as a dragon flying in the sky.

“──Aaaaaaaaa!”

“What?”

The ship they were riding on would be destroyed as easily as an out-of-breath Kraken. For the first time in his life, Ain’s body shook with uncontrollable fear.

“More speed! Hurry up! While the sea dragon is eating the Kraken… hurry!”

Chris held up Ain and rushed to the control room.

“Ch… Chris-san…? It’s all right, isn’t it? In this ship──.”

“Ain-sama, that monster is the sea dragon that I mentioned…! It’s the king of the sea that has carved out so much of the continent and the port of the capital!”

She never answered that it was okay.

“We can’t do anything with this one ship! B-but… I will protect Ain-sama with my life! So please don’t worry…”

The only thing to do now is to run away. With a large amount of sweat on her forehead, Chris’s smiling face is still trying to act bravely.

“Vice Commander Cristina! The sailor said the furnace is at its limit!”

“If it’s not broken, it’s not the limits! Hurry it up; it’s the only thing we can do with our current strength!”

“Y-yes!”

Because Chris was holding ain, he couldn’t see the sea very well. The only thing that was clear was the sound of a powerful splash and the cries of the Sea Dragon, and the fear of death made his body tremble.

“…Don’t worry! I’m here!”

She put her hand on Ain’s back.

Despite being in a position of being protected, Ain is annoyed at his own pathetic appearance.

He squeezed his mouth shut and stood up on his feet, brushing Chris’s hand away.

“I-I was just twisting my leg when I fell! I didn’t mean I was scared!”

He managed to act with what little manly spirit he had left.

When Chris saw Ain saying that with a snort, she laughed as usual even though it was an emergency.

“──Yes. It’s the usual dignified Ain-sama.”

“If you want, I’ll go absorb the magic stone of the sea dragon or whatever it is…!”

“Hahaha… I’d like to ask you if there’s ever an opportunity to do that…”

The two of them run to the control room. It was only a few minutes after this that the ship escaped the threat of the sea dragon.

Perhaps satisfied with preying on the Kraken, the sea dragon did not pursue the fleeing ship, but disappeared.

The news of this commotion caused a great uproar in the royal capital, but no matter how many months passed after that, the sea dragon never showed itself.

 

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