When Grandpa Gon mentioned earlier that there were ‘plenty where that came from’, he was not kidding.
As soon as the six Sea Serpents were defeated, more splashed forward to attack.
I, however, have already exhausted my will to fight. I laid on [Mizumaru’s] cool and flexible deck, staring at the brilliant blue skies as battles occurred around me. Fer, Sui, Dora-chan and Grandpa Gon were destroying the Sea Serpents as though they were grinding on low-level monsters.
The [Ark] seemed to have gotten energised by their first successful S Rank kill and were even more enthusiastic than before, if Gaudino-san’s commands were anything to go by…
Something plopped onto the [Mizumaru] right next to my head and I sat up, startled. It was… a piece of meat.
“… …” now that I looked around, there were all kinds of things crowding the deck. Meat, skin, fang…
Oh, right, Sui must be busy collecting the Sea Serpent Drops. Ahh, as expected of Sui-tan~ Not only is she busy killing Sea Serpents, but she’s also collecting the Drop items on top of being our boat.
As expected, Sui-tan is the best~~
More meat plopped next to me and I decided to busy myself collecting the Drops. Hey, with everyone busy fighting, these could be tripping hazards, you know? Also, it would be too bad if something happened and the Drops fell into the ocean. That would be a complete waste of everyone’s effort fighting these S Rank serpents.
“Fumu, looks like we have moved out of the Sea Serpents’ area…”
“”Already!? Tch,”” Dora-chan grumbled.
“Well, it would be nice to collect more, but we should be moving on…” said Grandpa Gon, a little amused.
“Humph, this is why I like dungeons,” said Fer. “So many S Rank monsters in one area.”
“Indeed, you won’t see a situation like this on the surface, the creatures will devour each other or move away on their own…”
“”Sui collected lots~! Sui is good~~””
“Yes, yes indeed, Sui is the best~~” I crooned, ignoring the conversation happening on that side of the deck.
Speaking of sides of decks…
“Oi, we did it!”
“We defeated Sea Serpents! We are so badass!!”
“Five! Our party defeated five Sea Serpents!!”
“We are strong…”
The [Ark], who had been struggling under a cloud of inadequacy ever since the start of this dungeon challenge had somehow rediscovered their confidence after defeating five Sea Serpents on their own.
I guess anyone would feel inadequate after seeing individuals one-shotted a legendary S Rank monster that you only heard about in legends.
What I’m trying to say is that it’s a mistake to try and compare yourself to my familiars, any of my familiars
Anyway, I’m glad everyone from [Ark] is pretty cheerful and energetic now.
“Hey, shall we call it a day and settle on an island?” I said.
“Umu, yes. I wish to eat some Sea Serpent meat too.”
“Yeah, while you guys search for an island, I’m going to sort out the Drops with the others, okay? Better to divide it up now than later.” [1]
While the [Mizumaru] was sailing under Grandpa Gon’s guidance, I took out the Sea Serpent Drop collections.
As expected, there were meat, fang, skin and magic stone Drops.
“We’re taking all the meat,” said Fer immediately.
“Hey, that’s not how we start a negotiation!” I scolded.
“That’s how I negotiate. Oi, listen up, the meat is ours!” Fer barked at the [Ark].
“Fer!”
“That’s alright, Mukouda-san,” said Gaudino-san with a laugh. “We’re fine letting your party have all the meat-”
“No!”
“Eh?”
“Hm?”
“What the- Feodora!?”
Indeed, the one who loudly protested just now was Feodora-san.
“I want meat. I want to eat Sea Serpent.”
She looked very resolute and serious as she locked eyes with… Fer? Hey, are you seriously challenging our Fer to a staring match?!
Instead of being troubled by the possibility of losing a party member, Gaudino-san lazily said, “Oi, what are you going to do with the meat once you have it?”
“Yeah, what are you going to do with it?” Gideon-san snickered.
I was… confused and looked at Siegwald-san for an explanation. The Dwarf coughed into his hand, but I totally saw that grin on his face.
“The meat… eat it,” said Feodora-san, as though it was obvious.
Well, it was really obvious to me, but I wonder why the men started coughing suspiciously again.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about,” said Gideon-san. “Are you going to eat the meat raw?”
“No,” Feodora-san looked at them as though they were stupid. “I will eat it cooked.”
Cough! Cough!
Ah, I think I’m starting to get it…
But, seriously?
“Ahem, Feodora-san, if you could recall, does anyone from our team knows how to cook?”
“Ei, I could boil water and roast meat,”
“You burn the meat, actually, but the centre is still raw.”
“What? What about you? You can’t even start a fire without a tool!”
“Ahem,” said Gaudino-san again. “Feodora, think about this carefully, who do you expect to cook the Sea Serpent meat once we get our hands on it?”
“… but… delicious meat…”
“Do you think anyone from our party could do justice to this S Rank delicious meat?”
A sudden look of horrified realisation dawned on her face.
She clutched her hair, “B-but, delicious meat…”
“Ah, looks like she finally realised,”
“Well, at least we don’t have to lug the meat around for a while before having to sell it and see her sad face then…”
Woah, that actually happened? I felt a little sorry for Feodora-san.
Should I remind them that they could eat Sea Serpent when I cook it?
No, not yet. Before I bring up the meal, I must ensure that I am successful in my negotiations!
“Ahem, setting that matter of Feodora-san’s cooking skill aside, I shall list down the Drops we had gotten from the Sea Serpents. Let’s see…”
There was a lot of back and forth, but the end result was [Ark] accepting 3 skins, 3 skulls with a complete set of fangs, and 6 magic stones.
“Isn’t that… a lot?” Gaudino-san said hesitantly.
“Well, since you did defeat five Sea Serpents, the likelihood of you getting these Drops is pretty high,” I countered.
“But, six magic stones?”
“Our party took all the meat, so I have to give you something back, right? Would you like to exchange the magic stone for something else instead?” maybe if we restart renegotiating, I can push in more things for them…
“No, no, I think that’s fine,” Gaudino-san said quickly.
Fufu, my negotiation skills have clearly improved!
Well, it’s not like I know what to do with all those fangs, skin and magic stones except exchange them for money. So, it’s better for the [Ark] to have more. Although… I’m sure Lambert-san would love to have Sea Serpent leather, but, that was it.
Now that money was no longer a problem for me, having all this stuff in hand was kind of a hassle.
“Excellent, the meat is all ours I see.”
“Kekeke,”
“”Hohoho…””
“”Ehehehe~ meaty~ meaty~♪””
Why are you all laughing like villains?
As expected, these gluttons only value meats.
“Let’s enjoy some Sea Serpent tonight!”
“Ou!!”
A very cheery group headed towards the nearest island where we would be camping tonight.
Gumihou: These guys, lol
Eguchi Ren: Gununu, I have trouble pushing the story forward. Hoping to finish this arc quickly…
Gumihou: Don’t worry, I’ll smooth out any awkward edges
[1] Deleted most of the ‘meat is ours!!’ exclamations that just came out of nowhere
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