Chapter 112:  Diver. (2)

Around noon, at the coast of Mudside.

“Haaak… Haaak…”

“He’s, he’s gonna die.”

The Daphne Knights, their whole bodies turned limp like seaweed, were sprawled along the shore.

Their faces had gone pale, lips turned bluish-purple—enough to mistake them for ghosts.

Amidst this scene—

Uuuung!

On everyone’s skin appeared the glowing shape of a net, radiating a blue light.

Respiro.

A secret art that allowed one to breathe longer underwater.

It had manifested, proving that they had mastered it.

Sssk.

At that moment, a shadow fell beside the knights.

When they turned their heads—

“Did you bring back what I ordered?”

Hardin, arms crossed, stood over them with a grim expression.

“H-here it is.”

Each knight grabbed the black dragon fish that had been flapping beside them and handed it over to Hardin.

“Give it here.”

“…Yes.”

Crunch!

Hardin twisted the neck of the black dragon fish and slung it over his shoulder.

Then, exhaling deeply through his nose, he scanned the area.

‘The one left now is…’

As his gaze swept across the shore, it suddenly halted, and Hardin walked in that direction.

There—stood Mikkelsen, his face twisted in despair.

Hardin approached and asked,

“You still haven’t caught it?”

“Just a little… just wait a little longer. I’ll definitely succeed.”

Mikkelsen answered nervously.

His face was scowling, as though filled with anger.

He looked exhausted, clearly not in good condition.

But strangely, his eyes still burned with life.

Hardin pressed his lips shut.

‘Is it sheer obstinacy? Or frustration with himself?’

Whatever it was, it didn’t matter.

Hardin knew very well what became of men wearing that expression.

“Eeeek!”

Mikkelsen drew out mana again, his body trembling violently.

He clenched his teeth so hard that blood seeped between them, veins bulging across his body.

He looked like he could collapse any second.

“Mikkelsen, you don’t have to push yourself that hard…”

Beryl, his face filled with worry, reached out to stop him.

“Brother… stay out of this.”

“Ah, r-right.”

Mikkelsen spat out a mouthful of blood, then glared toward the harbor with venomous eyes.

The harbor lay under the faint descent of moonlight.

When Mikkelsen closed his eyes tightly, fragments of past memories flashed before him like a revolving lantern.

 Hurry and build it, hurry!

 No, no! Not that side…

Back when they had exterminated the Kreveion and restored Mudside.

 Uwaaah! Over there, it’s an Ice Hog, Brother Beryl!

 Dodge to the sideee!

The days they had risked their lives in the Ruslan Mountains, fighting to win the princess’s investment.

 Hey, take good care of this chicken-head.

 …The Cockatrice, we’re supposed to?

 Then if you don’t do it, who will?

And… the time they had captured the Cockatrice to build the breakwater, helping here and there with the work.

‘That was really shit.’

It had been shit, and it had been sheer backbreaking labor.

There had been more than a few moments where they had nearly died.

But… that only made him angrier.

‘That harbor we built, the harbor we managed to put together.’

What? They’re just going to shut it down on their own?

No. No, that couldn’t be allowed.

His body trembled even harder.

“Uaaaaaaah!”

A groan full of pain burst from Mikkelsen’s mouth.

Then—

“Oh?”

“What’s that…”

Over his body, nets of light floated up.

The spacing and glow were denser and brighter than any other knight’s had shown.

Everyone’s eyes widened.

‘Tch, took you long enough.’

Hardin’s lips curled into a smirk.

And then—

“Here I gooo!”

Tat! Tat! Taaat! Splaaash!

Mikkelsen dashed forward roughly and plunged straight into the sea.

Everyone held their breath, staring into the dark water.

One minute, two minutes… time passed.

After about five minutes had gone by,

Beryl asked with a worried look,

“Young Master, isn’t he too late?”

“Wait.”

“But…”

“Nothing will happen. Just wait.”

Time passed again.

“Why isn’t he coming up?”

“…Could something have happened?”

Before long, most of the knights had gathered close to the shore.

‘It’s been over six minutes already.’

‘Is he really okay?’

Faces filled with worry.

They all knew because they had learned Respiro.

Just because one learned it didn’t mean they turned into actual fish.

By now… Mikkelsen should have already surfaced.

“Shouldn’t we go in after him?”

“Wait.”

But Hardin didn’t move an inch, only repeating that they should wait.

Time dragged on, feeling like forever.

“Damn it! We can’t just stand here!”

Splash! Splash!

Just as Beryl was about to dive into the water—

Bwooosh!

Suddenly, a pillar of water surged upward from below.

Smaaack!

“Keuk!”

A shadow burst out of the water column, landing a blow squarely on Beryl’s jaw.

Splash!

Beryl was knocked backward and fell into the water.

“Owww! My head…”

Then, Mikkelsen emerged, frowning and rubbing his head, before opening his eyes wide and speaking.

“Huh? Brother Beryl, what are you doing there?”

“Haha… ahaha… it’s nothing. Are, are you alright?”

“Yeah, well. This is nothing.”

Mikkelsen grinned crookedly at Beryl, who was making a tearful face.

“Oh, right. Anyway, take a look at this.”

Mikkelsen turned his body and stretched out the arm he had been keeping close to himself.

And then—

Flap flap!

A huge black dragon fish was wedged tightly between his elbow, thrashing wildly.

“…Holy shit, that’s big.”

“He caught that? Mikkelsen did?”

The black dragon fish was easily twice the size of the ones the others had caught.

The moment they saw it—

“Oooooh! Well done, Mikkelsen!”

Beryl spread his arms wide and pulled Mikkelsen into a hug.

“Ah, I’ll drop it! Let go of me!”

“R-right… ahem!”

Beryl stepped back with an awkward look.

As Mikkelsen trudged out of the water toward the shore—

“Mikkelsen! Mikkelsen!”

Clap clap clap!

The other knights, perhaps carried away with excitement, began chanting Mikkelsen’s name while clapping their hands.

“Uwooooh!”

“Ehem, it’s not like I did something that great.”

Mikkelsen walked forward slowly, looking embarrassed.

When he finally reached Hardin, he lifted his head and spoke.

“What do you think, Young Master? This much… should be fine, right?”

Hardin smiled faintly—

Smack!

“Ah?”

He flicked Mikkelsen lightly on the forehead, then snatched the black dragon fish away and slung it over his shoulder.

Mikkelsen tilted his head and rubbed his forehead, while Hardin snorted and said,

“If it takes you over six minutes to catch one of these, what are you going to do?”

“B-but, since I caught one this big, can’t you take that into account…”

“Phew, enough.”

Hardin turned his body sharply and began walking forward.

“Hurry up and follow. We’re late.”

“Ah, yes…”

Would it kill him to give a single word of praise?

Everyone trudged after Hardin, feeling completely drained.

Not long after—

Tatatak! Tatak!

They arrived at the campfire Hardin had prepared in advance. He said,

“Sit by the fire, all of you. No point in training if you end up catching a cold.”

“…Yes.”

Everyone sat down in a circle around the fire.

Warmth quickly seeped into every corner of their bodies.

“Here, take one each.”

“Hm? What’s this?”

Hardin handed each of them a sharpened wooden skewer.

The knights stared blankly at the skewers they’d been given, until Hardin lifted up a black dragon fish and said,

“Do as I do.”

Crunch! Crack!

He pierced the tail of the black dragon fish with the sharp end of the skewer, then twisted it through the body until it was fully skewered.

Once finished, he lifted the skewer and placed it over the fire.

Ssshhhhh!

White smoke rose from the black dragon fish’s body.

“Keep turning it while it cooks. It’s fine if the skin gets a little burnt.”

“Yes.”

About ten minutes passed as they all followed Hardin’s lead, grilling the black dragon fish.

Before long, the savory smell of well-cooked fish filled the air.

Hardin peeled away the skin roughly, then bit into the flesh and said,

“Once you think it’s cooked enough, eat.”

“Ah, yes…”

Was this really safe to eat?

It looked like something that absolutely shouldn’t be eaten.

While everyone exchanged doubtful glances with suspicious eyes—

Grrrrooowl!

Mikkelsen’s stomach growled.

‘Ah, screw it.’

In the end, Mikkelsen was the first to take a huge bite of the black dragon fish.

Chomp, chew chew.

And the moment he swallowed that bite—

“Ooooooh!”

Mikkelsen’s eyes widened like lanterns.

The firm texture of the flesh, the savory aroma, and the flood of juices that filled his mouth.

“This is insanely—no, ridiculously delicious. You all need to try it!”

“Delicious, you say?”

“It doesn’t look it though.”

“Have you lived your whole life being fooled? I’m telling you, it’s the real deal!”

Perhaps spurred on by Mikkelsen’s over-the-top reaction, the knights began biting into the black dragon fish one after another.

And then—

“Huh?”

“Oooh…! What kind of taste is this?”

Their eyes went wide, and they began devouring the fish in a frenzy.

Watching this, Hardin’s lips curved slightly.

‘Damn brats, I sure worked them hard.’

Well, they had pulled through.

Thus, their training ended with a meal to mark its finale.

“Fuuuuuh… feels like I’m alive again.”

“This stuff tastes great.”

Only when nothing remained but the bones of the black dragon fish did the knights nod in satisfaction.

Hardin tossed the bones into the fire, then stood up and dusted off his hands as he spoke.

“Alright, let’s call the training done here. Go inside and get some rest.”

“Really?”

“Finally, it’s over!”

Everyone’s faces shone with joy—until Hardin added casually,

“Yeah. We’ll need to save our strength if we’re carrying out the operation tonight.”

“…Excuse me?”

“What… what did you just say?”

The knights blinked, asking again.

Hardin only shrugged as he replied,

“I said we’re running an operation tonight. We need to get rid of those ships belonging to Count of Tread.”

“…Well, yes, but…”

“How… exactly are we supposed to do that?”

“It’s better if you don’t know.”

A wave of unease swept over them, but Manton pressed again.

“Still, could you at least tell us a little? Even just a hint?”

Hardin scratched his head for a moment before continuing.

“Well, fine. I’ll just tell you now. Doesn’t make a difference whether I explain later or now.”

Crossing his arms, Hardin began to speak slowly.

“What you and I have to do tonight is…”

And as he went on, gesturing with his hands and arms to illustrate,

with each phrase Hardin spoke, the knights’ brows furrowed, their eyes went wide, then narrowed again, repeating in a cycle.

After Hardin’s long speech finally came to an end—

“…So that’s what we’ll be doing tonight.”

Finishing his explanation, Hardin crossed his arms and raised the corner of his lips in a sly grin.

At that moment—

“Y-Young Master… were you serious about what you just said?”

“Huhhh?”

“You mean we’re really doing that?”

Manton and the other knights all gaped, their mouths hanging open.

Their faces had gone pale, as though they had seen a ghost.

Hardin tilted his head and replied,

“Of course. If I wasn’t serious, why would I have put you through all this crap? What, should we just hand the harbor over instead?”

“That’s not what I mean, but… it just sounds way too extreme, too dangerous…”

A chill spread through the group of knights.

Undeniable bewilderment was written all over their faces.

At that moment, Hardin waved his hand dismissively and said,

“Enough. It’s decided, so just get inside and rest.”

Then he turned and headed back toward Mudside.

Leaving behind the knights, still in shock, Hardin walked farther and farther away.

“Brother Beryl, isn’t this… isn’t this basically a screwed situation for us?”

“…It does seem that way.”

This wasn’t a dream, was it?

Defending the harbor was one thing, but this…

‘This is way too dangerous.’

Left behind on the beach, the Daphne Knights’ worries only deepened endlessly.

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