Chapter 4
Slurp, slurp—
The sea is truly vast.
I’ve been wandering around like this, and yet there’s not a single ship willing to take in this poor girl.
I did come across a few ships, but all of them ended up sinking.
So many people addicted to drugs. They should be more careful when they’re sailing, at least.
The world is scarier than I thought.
Occasionally, I worried about the girl inside my lower hole.
But surprisingly, she’s been alive and well for several days. Still unconscious, though.
Maybe this hole is like a freezer that can preserve things.
Truly, the human body—no, the octopus body—is a wonder.
Oh! I spotted another ship over there.
Hopefully, this time, the people are normal.
I approached the ship with a faint hope.
Splish—
People seemed startled when I emerged too suddenly.
This time, I made an effort to be as quiet as possible, carefully rising to the surface.
There were a few people on the deck. Two women were talking near the railing.
The red-haired woman noticed me first.
She froze for a moment, then curled up on the ground and covered her ears.
Does she have a panic disorder? I’ve been through that, and it’s really tough. I hope she gets better soon.
And the silver-haired woman in front of her—
She was wearing what looked like a nun’s robe, but it was extremely revealing, with large parts cut out.
Just as I thought that her outfit was quite interesting, we made eye contact.
Despite the daring outfit, she seemed very shy.
She averted her eyes from me in 0.1 seconds, and a holy light began to shimmer around her.
She let out a strange moan and ran toward the others.
But the people on the deck were already foaming at the mouth or writhing on the floor.
Drugs again? But they seemed relatively fine compared to the others.
Just making strange noises, rolling their eyes, and writhing.
Compared to the people who bled and died on other ships, they were in better condition.
Hmm. Maybe I should choose this ship. It’s the only one that hasn’t sunk yet.
I felt bad about keeping the girl in my body for so long.
It might be better to leave her on a ship like this.
Since this ship seemed better off than the others, I decided to leave her here.
Slip—
I carefully took her out of my lower mouth and placed her gently on the deck.
She was covered in a slippery substance from my secretion.
I wanted to wipe it off, but my tentacles were slippery too.
I had no choice but to leave her to the people on the ship.
Swoosh—
With my task completed, I returned to the sea.
No matter how you look at it, I can’t be friends with drug addicts.
But at least I saved one person, so I was satisfied.
See, I’m a good octopus!
Slurp, slurp—
I started swimming again, searching for new friends.
Why don’t I have any friends when I’m such a good octopus?
But the sea is still vast. Let’s not jump to conclusions.
Let’s look for new friends…
***
After the colossal being passed by Lancelot’s ship,
the place was like a scene straight out of hell.
“Hriek, kikikikikik—”
“Get a grip, Lancelot!”
Even though Lancelot was only faintly aware of it in his sleep, this was the result.
Aria had to pour almost all of her holy power into healing Lancelot’s mind.
The reason Aria was relatively unharmed was thanks to the goddess’s blessing.
When Aria’s limit was reached, and she could no longer endure with her holy power alone, the Goddess intervened.
Thanks to that, Aria quickly regained her sanity and was able to help her other companions.
However, by then, several of her companions were already dead.
Those with weaker mental strength or who directly faced the entity had already burst apart.
Only a few with strong mental resilience, like Rowin, survived.
But even they were not in good condition.
“Hoo, hooo…”
“…Are you okay, Aria? What about Lancelot?”
“He seems to have calmed down for now. He’s strong, so he’ll get up soon.”
“You’ve done well. You should rest too, Aria.”
The one in the best condition was Rowin.
She had quickly cast a sensory-blocking spell on herself, minimizing the time she faced the entity.
Aria left Lancelot in Rowin’s care and stepped out onto the deck.
Rowin told her to rest, but there was still something she needed to do.
The mysterious woman that the colossal being had left behind.
Although she didn’t fully understand what had happened, Aria was certain that the woman had come from that entity.
“Ugh…”
Just trying to think back to that moment twisted her mind again.
She only tried to recall the memory for a moment,
yet even the mere act of trying to comprehend it caused such intense pain.
She might have to erase part of her memory when she returned to the Western Continent.
For now, though, the presence of this woman was crucial.
Clearly, the culprit behind this incident was that colossal being.
Staying near the woman who had come from that being was dangerous.
But without her, there was no way to learn about it.
It was a being that gnawed at one’s sanity just by thinking about it.
“Are you awake?”
The woman who had been unconscious earlier was now gazing out at the sea.
When Aria called out to her, she slowly turned around.
“Where… is this?”
“We are the Hero’s party from the Western Continent. May I ask why you are here?”
“Why… Well… I remember I was enjoying a ship party. But then… something terrifying… appeared and overturned the ship. I fell into the sea, and that monster grabbed me with its disgusting tentacles… After that, I don’t remember much. It felt like… a very strange sensation…?”
Aria had the ability to use holy power to detect lies.
There wasn’t a single lie in the woman’s words.
It seemed she truly had been at a ship party before being captured by the colossal being.
But how could she be completely fine after being caught by such a horrifying creature?
She even seemed quite healthy.
It was hard to believe that she had been attacked by the creature and then fell into the sea.
She looked healthy and full of energy.
“That crea… Ugh… That being attacked our ship as well. It left you on our deck before disappearing. Do you have any memory of being placed here?”
“Not at all… I just…”
The woman hesitated, as if trying to recall something, then remained silent for a moment.
For some reason, Aria felt a sense of unease from that action alone.
It seemed like she didn’t feel any discomfort while trying to recall her memories.
Even thinking a little about that being made Aria feel like she was going to lose her mind.
Yet, the woman was calmly talking about her encounter with it.
“It was so… terrifying. It felt like my mind was going to break. No, it did break. I was caught by the tentacles… and I don’t remember much after that. But I vaguely recall… I think it swallowed me.”
“Swallowed you?”
“Yes. It was a truly horrifying moment… I think. It grabbed me with its tentacles and shoved me inside its body. I can’t be sure because the memory is blurry…”
The woman trailed off.
It didn’t seem like she was lying; she really couldn’t remember.
“But are you okay thinking about that creature?”
“Pardon?”
“I mean, when you think about it, or when you were facing it, didn’t you feel like your mind was going to completely break? I can’t even think about it without being overwhelmed with fear…”
Even while talking, Aria shook her head multiple times, trying not to think about it.
“When I first saw it, I definitely felt like that. It was so terrifying… I thought I’d gone insane. But now, I feel fine. Thinking about it is just… something that happened in the past.”
“Then, you remember what it looked like?”
“Yes. It was a grotesque octopus-like creature with disgusting tentacles.”
The woman described its appearance.
Aria feared she might go mad just from hearing it. But that didn’t happen.
Maybe it was because she couldn’t actually grasp the creature’s image in her mind.
“I-I see. Whenever I try to recall it, I’m overcome with fear. That’s amazing.”
“Oh… Is that so? It must have been really terrifying for you. I was scared too, back then.”
It was as if the woman couldn’t comprehend why Aria was so scared.
As if she was saying, “Yes, it was scary, but it’s over now, right? What’s the point of thinking about it again?”
For Aria, whose mind would falter just from thinking about the being, the woman seemed even stranger.
“For now… I’m starting to get a headache, so let’s talk about this later. Come to think of it, we haven’t even properly introduced ourselves.”
“Oh, I’m Hestia Kurhan, the second princess of the Kingdom of Osgan.”
“I’m Aria, the Saintess of the Western Continent. By any chance, is the Kingdom of Osgan the one in the Eastern Continent?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Is this ship heading to the Eastern Continent now?”
“Yes, for the time being…”
“Then I’ll stay with you a little longer. I’ll be sure to repay you once we get back.”
Since their destination was the same, Hestia decided to travel with Lancelot’s party on the ship.
***
The Kingdom of Osgan was known for its warrior culture.
The kingdom’s culture valued strength as a virtue.
It was common to see people of all ages swinging heavy iron weapons as a part of everyday life.
This applied to Princess Hestia as well.
‘Is that why she could endure the presence of that being?’
Aria thought for a moment that, being from the warrior kingdom, Hestia might possess the mental fortitude to withstand even that fear.
But she quickly realized that wasn’t the case.
When it came to mental strength, Lancelot, the hero, far surpassed her.
And even Hestia said she was on the verge of losing her mind when she saw that being.
Regardless, the ship finally reached the Eastern Continent.
Lancelot and the remaining party members were somewhat recovered.
But the psychological trauma and deep-rooted fear remained.
It was something even Aria’s holy power couldn’t fully heal.
“Finally…”
“But what about the return trip? Ugh…”
Despite the long-awaited sight of land, the party members didn’t feel particularly happy.
They had lost three comrades during this journey.
And the five who survived were left with serious trauma.
The return trip would be another challenge.
And more than that, no one believed they could face that being again.
They had encountered an enemy that seemed utterly invincible.
“…For now, let’s be thankful we’re alive. No need to worry just yet, right?”
Lancelot forced a smile to comfort his companions.
He felt the same fear, but he couldn’t show it.
The pain of losing comrades was heavier on him than anyone else, but he kept that hidden as well.
He was the hero carrying humanity’s fate on his shoulders, and the leader of this party.
Vowing never to lose another comrade again, he watched as the shores of the Eastern Continent drew closer.
“The fate of the world now rests on this octopus. Shoo, shoo, shoo-shoo-shoo, shooya, yabalom-shoo-shoo.”
A strange voice interrupted his thoughts. It was Hestia.
Even after spending several days together, Lancelot still found some of her actions peculiar.
“Is she really okay?”
“Yes, she says it’s a speech style that’s popular in the Western Continent. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with her mentally.”
“But why is she holding an octopus and acting like that?”
“I don’t know? Ever since that day, she said every octopus looks adorable to her.”
“Hmm…”
An octopus fetish, huh? Definitely not your average girl.
Then again, maybe that’s why she could stay sane after experiencing such horror.
Lancelot didn’t think too deeply about it and turned away from Hestia, who was playing with the octopus.
“Drop the anchor—!”
With the captain’s shout, the gruelling first voyage of Lancelot’s party came to an end.
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