Chapter 248: The Harassment of Sea Monsters
After rescuing fishermen from the attack of sea monsters, Rest was welcomed with a grand feast. That night, he spent the evening at an inn, relaxing after the festivities. He soaked in the hot springs, allowing the warmth to melt away his fatigue. Fortunately, there were no unexpected encounters in the hot springs that day. It left him with a complex mix of relief and disappointment.
“Help! Count! It’s terrible!”
However, the following morning, while he was having breakfast, a villager rushed into the inn. Rest didn’t know his name, but he recognized him as the man who had offered him drinks during the feast.
“What’s wrong? Is it another monster attack?”
“Uh, well… maybe not. But can you come with me for a moment?”
“I suppose I can…”
“Great, follow me!”
The man led Rest away from the inn. Perhaps because they had shared drinks, the villager seemed unusually familiar. As a former commoner, Rest didn’t mind it much, but a haughty noble would likely have been furious at such treatment.
“Where are we going…?”
They arrived at the coastal area, a little distance from the village. There, thick wooden poles were lined up, and some sort of structure was built over the sea. However, part of this structure lay in ruins, with wooden debris washed up on the shore.
“This is the shellfish farm,” the villager said, gazing regretfully at the damaged wooden apparatus.
“A farm? You were farming shellfish here?!”
“Yes, we were cultivating oysters. This was all Madam Sanada’s idea.”
“Shoko’s… and oysters, you say?”
“Yes… We had set up poles over the sea and dropped weighted ropes to nurture the young shellfish. We were finally starting to see results after a lot of trial and error, but…”
“So it was destroyed by someone…”
There was no doubt about who the culprit was. It was the very monster they had fought yesterday.
“That’s terrible… Could it be that this is revenge for yesterday?”
Rest had unleashed Lightning Magic to drive away the monsters. Perhaps this was their way of retaliating by destroying the farm.
“If they did this knowing it was a place humans cherished, then they truly are malicious creatures…”
Instead of fleeing or sulking, the monster had deliberately chosen to harass them. It was clear that this creature posed a significant threat to the village. Even if they managed to drive it away, it would likely cause trouble elsewhere. They had to defeat it without fail.
“Madam Sanada was looking forward to the oysters growing here… She invested her own wealth for the sake of the village, and now this…”
The Queen Dowager, Shoko Sanada, also hailed from a coastal town, and it was likely that oyster farming was practiced in her hometown as well. It was disheartening for Rest to see Shoko’s efforts for the village trampled upon.
“I really must take action… The question is how to defeat it.”
The weakness of water attribute enemies was lightning, but striking the sea with lightning would only disperse the energy, resulting in minimal damage. While it might have a repelling effect like scaring away sharks, actually defeating the monster would be a challenge. The Star Eater could only be used in close combat, and Amaterasu’s laser would be weakened by the water. Using the God of Flame might work, but the collateral damage could be too great, risking secondary harm to the village.
(A steam explosion could cause a tsunami, or marine life could perish, leading to a decline in catch… It’s clear that none of these outcomes would be good.)
“…By the way, are there other farms like this in the area?”
“Yes, there are. Although they haven’t fully taken off yet, there’s a pearl farm over there.”
“…There is?”
Rest couldn’t help but feel a mix of disbelief and admiration for the village’s progress. He sighed, half in exasperation and half in awe, as he pondered how to defeat the monster.