## Chapter 957 – The Sea

And so, I spent my vacation time in utter leisure and relaxation.

Enjoying inhuman levels of water play, then heading into town for sightseeing, buying groceries for dinner, indulging in harem sex until dawn with the night sea and the sound of waves as our backdrop, and then falling asleep.

It was a life of luxury that most people couldn’t even dream of.

This was truly the life of Kim Kat, I would say.

A transcendent being should live like this. Who am I? I’m the ridiculously powerful Heavenly Demon Paladin, aren’t I? Many women and extravagance are only natural.

Anyway, I was spending my days in such a decadent manner that even my muscles were getting lazy when I came into town to eat.

“Excuse me, sir. Have you heard the news?”

An employee approached and said that.

“What news are you talking about?”
“Oh, I see you haven’t heard. It seems that the corpse of a giant marine monster washed up on Third Public Beach last night. So everyone’s gone to see it.”
“Huh? A giant marine monster?”

What is this about?

“I heard it’s incredibly big, and opportunities like this are rare, so it might be good to go take a look.”
“Oh… is that so? I’ll have to go check it out.”

I guess coming here to eat three times gets you this kind of sweet information.

“A giant marine monster? What could it be?”
“I wonder?”

Cloudy and Liztina tilted their heads.

This is still a world where people live, so it wouldn’t be strange to have giant marine creatures like whales. After all, whale carcasses wash up on beaches from time to time. It must be a similar phenomenon.

Of course, it’s a good sight to see.

“A giant marine monster… the only thing that comes to mind is a sea serpent.”
“Ah, I’ve heard the name.”

Karin nodded at Risha’s words.

According to the description, it seemed to be just a ridiculously large sea snake-like monster. A monster that occasionally attacks and destroys ships. But it doesn’t seem to appear very often. After all, this is a country where fishing is quite active. If such monsters appeared and rampaged as they pleased, that wouldn’t be possible. Unlike on land, are there not many vicious monsters in the sea? It feels a bit like that.

“Anyway, let’s go see it!!!”

If there’s something like that, we have to go see it no matter what.

“Alright!”

After finishing our meal, we headed to the so-called Third Public Beach.

This was just a typical beach. The entrance fee was relatively cheap, so it seemed like a place where ordinary people could come and play without much burden.

—Buzzing.

Despite it being morning, there were quite a few people, probably because the monster’s corpse had appeared.

—Murmuring.

That must be where the people are gathered.

“Hey, Blackie. I think I can see something above the heads of the people over there?”
“Let’s go closer.”

With a pounding heart, I went to the scene, and indeed.

“Oh, shit.”

A ridiculously large monster’s corpse was sprawled out on the beach.

The thickness of its body was greater than my height, boasting an enormous size. Of course, it was smaller than the Deathworm, but that huge, deep-sea eel-like maw was definitely bigger.

This kind of thing lives roaming the sea?

Isn’t it impossible to sail a boat?
It feels bigger than a sperm whale.

Moreover, it hadn’t been dead for long, so there wasn’t much damage, and I could see its appearance properly. It’s truly terrifying. If I encountered something like this in the sea, I wouldn’t be able to fight it.

“How can such inhuman creatures exist…! They’re like evil demons!!!”
“It’s really fucking big.”

Hilde was as always in shock, and Winia frowned as she examined the corpse.

“I’m really amazed too.”

I couldn’t help but admire it as well.

“Witch? Is this a sea serpent?”
“It might be a little late to say, but this witch is not a marine monster expert, so I don’t know for sure.”
“Oh.”
“Are you going to say that the witch doesn’t know everything again!!”
“No, I wasn’t thinking that? Kehehe, our witch here. Huh? Huh? What’s that sound?”
“Kuh…!”

At that moment, Ari, hiding behind me, said.

“Do these kinds of monsters live in the sea…? I’m suddenly starting to feel uneasy. I don’t feel good.”
“This kind of thing lives in the deep sea. It’s not on the beach.”
“Still, I don’t think it’s wise to go out to sea… Please don’t ride a boat, no matter what. Even if it’s on land, if you encounter something like this in the sea, you won’t be able to survive.”
“Hehehe, our Ari is so worried.”

She seemed to be thinking the same thing as me.

“Don’t worry. I’m thinking the same thing. I’ll never go out to the open sea on a boat, even if I die and come back to life. There’s no need for me to go to a place where I’m at a disadvantage.”

Everything I’ve trained and honed so far has been for fighting on land. To have a full-scale naval battle on the open sea? Impossible.

Kim Kat on the sea is just a strong pushover.

I have no intention of going to such a place.

“Hmph… That’s right, Kat. It’s good to play on the beach, but it’s not good to go out to the open sea. It’s a place where you have to rely on luck more than skill.”
“That’s right, exactly.”

Cloudy’s words were a hundred times right.

“It’s certainly scary to be at sea. Weather conditions, ship defects, and attacks by these monsters are not something that can be dealt with by individual skill. You have to be lucky.”

Liz also nodded.

This is sea phobia.

“Then you won’t be going out to the open sea?”

Ari seemed a little relieved when I declared that I wouldn’t go out to the open sea.

“Yeah, yeah. The country is wide, so why would I bother going to the sea?”

After all, there are only islands out there.

“Alright, alright! Don’t get too close! It could explode due to decomposition!”
“I know it’s interesting, but please step back a little! We can’t compensate you if you get hurt by an explosion!”
“Tourists, please step back a little!!”

Around that time, soldiers came and started to control the crowd. Then, as if they were used to it, they brought stakes and ropes and installed them around the corpse.

Was this the barony here?
Judging by their actions, it seems like this kind of thing happens often.

Anyway, the onlookers followed their words and stepped back.

“Why is there such a thing…”
“The sea is mysterious after all.”
“I’m so glad I came on vacation! To see such a rare thing!!!”
“Today is the best day ever!!”

The tourists seemed to be just having fun and enjoying themselves, looking at the monster’s corpse with interest and sharing their opinions. Well, it was certainly fun to watch.

It was the first time I’d seen such a sea monster.

“The tourists may like it, but… since ancient times, the corpses of these marine monsters washing up…”
“It’s not a good omen.”
“We should refrain from going out to the open sea.”

But the onlookers who seemed to be original residents of this area just shook their heads. Is it some kind of bad omen? You can certainly think that way.

“Please be aware that crustacean monsters may come ashore targeting the corpse!”

The soldier who was controlling the crowd shouted that.

“Oh my, will this beach be closed then?”
“It will if monsters come.”

Karin answered Liztina’s words.
Certainly, there is a high possibility that this place will be closed.

Well, as long as this kind of thing doesn’t come our way.
I just hope this doesn’t cause any problems.

It was then.

“You can’t come in!”
“Just let me take a look! I’m a magician!”
“A magician?”

A young man was about to approach the monster’s corpse when he was stopped by a soldier. He introduced himself as a magician, so does he know something?

In an instant, everyone’s attention was focused on him.

“I’m a magician who studies these things! Just let me take a look! I won’t demand any responsibility even if an accident happens!”
“Th, that…! Please wait a moment!”

The flustered soldier called for an officer, and after the magician and the officer exchanged a few words, permission was granted.

“Well… take a look on your own. Don’t do anything dangerous.”
“Thank you.”

The magician who received permission began to explore around the monster’s corpse. All the spectators, including us, watched him.

“What on earth is he going to do?”

Hilde tilted her head.

“Well, he seems like an expert in this field? He came to play and is just trying to take a look since it’s here?”
“Is that so?”

We just have to watch.

“This is…! Very dangerous! We should run away right now!”

The magician, who had finished his exploration, returned to his original position and shouted with a pale face. At those words, one of the onlookers shouted loudly.

“What on earth is the matter!”
“This is a sea serpent! A very powerful marine monster! Why would something like this wash up here!!”

It seems that it is a sea serpent after all.

But why did it wash up?

“Well… there are many reasons, but the corpse of such a large sea monster washing up is not that uncommon. It happens often. What’s dangerous about it? The soldiers can handle crustacean monsters.”

It was the officer who answered.

“This is not that kind of problem!! Look at the wound on the back!! It’s clear that it died fighting something!!”
“Died fighting?”
“I’m talking about the traces of battle…! And there aren’t many beings that can kill something this big! Above all, the condition of the corpse is quite clean! It hasn’t been dead for long, which means that the being that killed it may come ashore to find the corpse!!!”

As the magician shouted that.

—Oh, oh oh oh oh!
—That can’t be!!
—A monster is coming!!

The onlookers exclaimed.

In short, this sea serpent was killed by some tremendous being and washed up on the beach. The magician claimed that the killer might come this way to retrieve the corpse because it hasn’t been dead for that long.

“What could it be? A sea monster that can kill something like this.”

Liztina tilted her head.

There really might be something.

“Well… maybe something similar to that one. But what problem would a legless thing cause if it came?”
“Other than the sailors, not really?”

Winia answered Karin’s words.

As she said, it didn’t seem like a particularly serious matter. What the magician said was too exaggerated. More than anything else, sea monsters are sure to be able to exert their power when they are in the sea.

It’s the same as land monsters not being able to wreak havoc in the sea. If sea monsters could cause trouble on land, they would have come up all the time.

“So it’s not a big deal!!”
“Well, that’s about it.”

We just have to play.

“Hmm… Thank you for your opinion. What are your name and title? I would like to report to the higher-ups.”

The officer asked the magician.

“I’m Lilken Zelf of the Shasta Magic Tower. I’m staying at the Cheolrid Inn. Make sure to report this threat.”
“Alright. I’ll report it for now. But why do you know so much about this?”
“My major is marine monster research. I heard that the corpses of giant marine monsters often wash up here. So I was aware of that and came on vacation.”
“They certainly wash up a lot.”

The story ended there.

The soldiers strengthened their control, and the magician left. Soon, they announced that the beach would be closed, so we got a refund and went outside.

“But, Blackie.”

Winia said as we were leaving.

“I’m suddenly feeling a little uneasy.”
“Because of what the magician said?”
“It somehow sounds right. What if something else shows up like last time?”
“What’s the problem with that? It’s okay. What can sea creatures do if they come? And we’ve gotten so much stronger compared to then. I could cut down ten thousand mermen if they came.”
“I hope so…”

I’m not particularly worried.

What can a sea monster do?

We are people who have a track record of slicing up Andromalius and Berial, as well as the Spirit King, the Otherworld Monster King, and even the Demon General Dor.

And this is a professional tourist destination that is properly managed. First of all, there were no pickpockets or people trying to hit on us when we went into town. The navy owned by the lord here must be working hard, so it won’t be easily ruined like the city that was screwed over by those mermen last time.

I’m just worried about our vacation.