Free Web NovelChapter 170: The Sea
"So this is the sea, huh...?" Mika muttered bored as he stared at the water.
A few hours ago.
After two days of traveling, the group, which was heading to Grat, arrived in Hafor, Malnor’s biggest port city.
The group arrived in the middle of the day and immediately unloaded their packages off the horses and carriages. Following that, the Tiam siblings and Ophelia led the group to the ships without giving them a chance to rest or to get a view of the city. It felt like everything happened in the blink of an eye when they boarded the ship.
And now, when everyone settled, they were already traveling on the sea.
"..."
Mika turned his head to the ship’s main deck. There, everyone was still inspecting the ship with sparkling eyes.
The ship itself was unlike any other normal ship Mika read about in books. With its multiple sails and high mast, its overall height was at least five times that of an average ship, which was used to only transport goods. In addition, this ship even had cannons installed in the hulls and on the sides of the main deck.
But what made the ship even more menacing was the fact that chained tamed shark-type monsters swam around the ship, protecting it from other monsters. And in front of the ship, the leader of the shark group swam underwater. However, compared to the other sharks, this one was at a bare minimum half the size of the entire ship.
Knowing these facts, one would usually think that the ship was the safest place in the world, however, there was the possibility that even those measures were not enough for a certain being.
"It feels more like a private vacation, doesn’t it...?" Mika commented taken aback.
Because this ship was rented by the Tiams to transport their group over to Grat, only a meager number of people boarded it, making the spacious ship look even more vast.
"And how is it? Your first time on the sea?" Sara, who joined Mika’s side, asked with a huge grin on her face.
While her brother was busy going over paperwork with Ophelia, Sara strolled around the deck and checked on the people.
"Aside from feeling a little nauseous, it’s not so bad. For the most part, it’s calm and the sea breeze is comfortable to a certain degree." Mika replied with a slight smile.
"..."
Sara stared at him as if she saw a ghost.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"N-no! I-it’s just... I didn’t expect that answer..." Sara said shyly.
"?"
"Usually, most people would feel scared, nervous or tense whenever they board a ship..."
"But you’re also fine, aren’t you?"
"Me?"
Sara immediately heaved a sigh.
"I- No. We two are exceptions, I guess." she added with a comforting smile.
She turned around and leaned her forearms on the rails.
"Hey, Mika. Have you ever heard the legend about ’The Nightmare in the Sea’?"
"Not really, what’s that about?"
"Heh, now I feel sorry for ruining your image of the sea..." she huffed self-deprecatingly.
And with a stern gaze, which was unlike her, she was about to tell Mika the tale of The Nightmare in the Sea.
It was said that it appeared not too long after the first demons invaded the world. Even though no one survived it, some people started to speculate what it looked like. Some would say that it was a giant whale, a serpent, which was big enough to even touch the clouds, an octopus or even a simple human being.
Nonetheless, everyone agreed on the deeds this being did. No matter how many ships or people and no matter how strong the resistance was, it managed every time to devour them, leaving nothing behind. People would soon notice how some people would just go missing once they had set sail to the sea and therefore, they would even request the Grand Order for help.
But even when some members teamed up, the result was the same. Thus, the people began to believe in the existence of a sea monster, against which even the Grand Order stood no chance.
This tale alone led Grat, which was once visited by a lot of people, to get isolated from the other nations, leaving it to its own devices.
However, since the start of the being’s activities, the number of missing ships and people sunk tremendously, which made it possible to travel over the sea on rare occasions. That was why the Tiam siblings were able to visit Loogam.
"How long will be on the sea?" Mika asked.
"For 10 days."
This ship was steered by a hired helmsman. It also had, in addition to its sails, a magic device, which would serve as an engine to drive the ship in return for one’s own magic. That way, the pace would double itself.
Currently, there was magic stored so that they could travel for 10 days comfortably.
"I see."
"Hm? No other reaction from you? Aren’t you scared? Or angry?" Sara asked confused.
"After facing one demon after another, a mere tale won’t make me feel uneasy. I have to see this sea monster with my own eyes before judging." Mika elaborated as he was about to head over to the others.
However, Mika had another reason.
Most of the time, the system would create a quest beforehand or warn him in some ways if Mika truly was about to face a mighty opponent or someone he could not beat yet. And especially in the case of the sea monster, the system did not say anything yet, meaning that Mika did not have to worry about it for now.
"..." freёweɓnovel.com
Slightly agape, Sara watched Mika’s back getting smaller as he joined the white-class students.
She turned to the sea once again.
"I wish I could be like you." she muttered with a nervous smile.
There was a part she did not tell him about yet.
There was another rumor around that being. It was concerning the missing people.
It was indeed true that they went missing, however, on very rare occasions people, who would miss someone, would frighteningly retell the moment when they happened to see that person, who was supposed to be missing, again.
Instead of joy, they were scared. After all, the missing person would return after a certain amount of time. But just partly.
Once a young woman shared her experience of how her mother, who went missing for 15 years, appeared in front of her with the appearance of a demon, who lost her senses and memories.
Another witness, an old man, remembered how his father, who also disappeared for 30 years, showed himself again. At that point in time, his father should be dead due to his age but he returned looking the same as before he set sail to the sea. And he, too, had traits resembling that of a demon.
There were a few other cases stating the same and every case also ended the same way: By eliminating those, who seemingly returned as demons.
In the end, many people would dismiss those reports as exaggerations of the sea tale. Because ultimately, missing persons returning as demons sounded like a bad ghost story with the purpose of scaring people.
However, there were also a group of people, who actually believed those stories.
"Sara, what are you doing there alone?"
Yarjak, her older brother, approached her after he finished his business with Ophelia.
"Nothing, big Bro. Just getting a little nostalgic there." she replied with a wide smile.
"?"
Her brother tilted his head.
"Anyways, let’s join the others." he suggested as he turned his back on her.
"Sure." she said, sounding like her usual self.
However, beneath that smile, she hid her pain and frustration.
Sara Tiam, who was just 7 years old on that day, accidentally witnessed how her mother had to kill her father, who mysteriously returned after vanishing for 3 years. And just like the other reports stated, her father was also a person with demon-like traits.
Only Sara, her mother and the eldest child knew about that incident.
"..."
With closed eyes, Sara took some deep breaths before she headed over to the rest.
Witnessing that moment at that young age was something she could not and did not want to forget.
That day served as her selfish ambition to become stronger in order to get her revenge and to put an end to the tale surrounding ’The Nightmare in the Sea’.
She made it to her duty as the daughter of her late father and as Grat’s crown princess to take that down.
"Sara, get over here! We’re planning the schedule!" Yarjak shouted from afar.
"Stop pestering me! I’m already on my way!" Sara shouted back.
And before doing so, she and her family had to deal with the current problems in Grat.
Only after solving them, she could focus on it again, ’The Nightmare in the Sea’.
However, it had a name, which the humans avoided speaking out loud as much as they avoided the sea.
The monster lurking in the depths of the sea and one of the four transcendental beings:
Leviathan.
