A hovercraft roars across the sea. Lethia is humming in the cockpit as she drives.
By the way, this hovercraft is really fast. It seems that 250km/h is not an exaggeration. It's not just breaking through the waves, it's running through them.
I fully activated my [[Search(A)]] and searched for signs of the Kraken, but there was no response from the Kraken.
"General, where is the Kraken?"
"There's a reef area up ahead, and I've heard it's best to go offshore from that reef area."
I've heard, huh? So you've never seen it yourself. Or you're too incompetent to figure it out. I don't care which, I'm going to stay with this general until I get my reward for defeating the Kraken, right?
"Lethia, I need you to veer a little more to the right."
"Yes, sir."
Looks like we'll have to run around until the Kraken responds.
"How are we going to fight the Kraken when it comes out?"
She asked me something the general might have been wondering.
"What it is is a secret. Well, let's just say it's magic."
The general wasn't happy, but didn't ask any more questions. Hurry up and come out, Kraken-chan. It's because you don't come out soon that I'm having a hard time with the general.
"Glose-san, the sun will be setting soon, so let's call it a day."
We had been searching for the Kraken in the morning on the hovercraft, but we could not meet the Kraken.
"Yeah, let's go home for the day."
Instead of the harbor, we landed directly from the beach and headed for the place where the general's men were.
I told her we'd leave the beach at the same time tomorrow and we went to the inn. I can't help feeling tired with that woman.
No Kraken appeared the next day. And the day after that... after seven days of repeating this, I was getting tired of it.
"You're not in these waters anymore, are you?"
"That's right, if we can't encounter it after searching so hard, there's nothing we can do about it."
Perhaps she heard me and Sailor's conversation, but the general looked quite agitated.
"Lord Hendler, the Kraken will be there!"
"But we've been looking for you for seven days. If you can't find him tomorrow, please pretend we never talked about this."
"Huh... okay..."
The next morning, our last day of exploration.
It's a pity that we couldn't get fish in the fishing port, but I'm not crazy enough to keep looking for something I can't find. Besides, there are other fishing ports.
All right, let's go!
There's something about the general that's got her fired up. She's doing nothing but eating and drinking the tea and sweets Sailor serves in the hovercraft, and she won't fight the Kraken even if it appears.
I can't help but sigh at the sight of such an army of women. How did it come to this?
We've been running the hovercraft for 30 minutes. The time has finally come.
"Lethia, 30 degrees to the left."
I know the words "rudder" and "tiller", but I don't know which is which. So I can only give directions like left, right, east, west, north, south, and so on.
"That's 30 degrees to the left!"
"Grose-san, did you find it?"
"That's a pretty big reaction. Get a little closer and you'll see if it's the Kraken."
Sela smiles at me, saying she's finally ready to fight. For a moment, I thought she was Lethia. I'd like to think that Sela isn't a brainiac.
"Master, what does Saint-Loup do?"
"Because Saint-Loup should just sit with Ruby."
"Okay, one."
"Ruby's not on again, Pee."
He patted Saint-Loup's head and offered Ruby a cookie as well.
It's time to raise Ruby, too. I don't want her to get greedy.
"You can finally fight the Kraken, can't you!"
"We're the ones fighting. General, please sit down."
"Uh, yeah... got it."
I know you're not happy, but you're useless to me.
I mean, why are you so determined? Do you think you have the strength to take on the Kraken?
I went out on deck and stared at the sea. Beside me, Sailor holds her staff and waits for the Kraken.
General, please come inside.
"M...mmm..."
It would be better for the generals to sit quietly in the middle of the battle.
"Lethia, that's definitely a Kraken. Stay on course."
"I'll take care of it!"
"Sailor, I think we'll be making contact in about two minutes, so get ready."
"Yes!"
"Saint-Louve and Ruby, please sit quietly."
"Okay, one."
"Yes, sir, Pee."
A hovercraft blasts its way through the ocean, defying the waves.
We are communicating with each other through radio intercoms, so there is no problem, but the general and her attendants have to talk loudly.
"Sailor, left front."
"Yes!"
You can see the Kraken's big reaction emerging from the depths of the ocean in [[Search(A)]].
"Lethia, slow down and maintain five knots. Just be ready to accelerate at any time."
"Yes, sir."
Sailor and I put on our safety belts and hooked them to the fence that had been added to the hull to keep us from being thrown out of the hovercraft.
"Here it comes. Ten, nine, eight... three, two, one, zero!"
When I counted one, the surface of the sea rose, and at zero a part of the Kraken's body appeared on the surface. The impact made the surface of the sea rough and shook the hovercraft.
"Yikes!"
"Are you okay, Sailor?"
We couldn't stand up properly because of the big tilt of the hull, but thanks to the safety belt, we were not thrown out.
The Kraken that appeared was shaped like an octopus, but its head alone seemed to be 20 meters long. Its legs appeared on the surface of the sea, and their length was so long that we could not even tell how long they were.
There are 8 legs out in the ocean. I knew it was an octopus.
"What the hell was that?"
From inside the hovercraft, I could hear the commotion of female generals and soldiers.
I could tell by her voice now that she'd never seen a Kraken before, and that she didn't understand what her men were reporting.
So it was confirmed that she didn't know anything about the Kraken.
Sailor, come on!
I don't care about the generals, but right in front of me, the Kraken is stretching out its legs to drag the hovercraft into the sea.
"Yes!"
When Sailor raises her wand and activates the spell, a blizzard blows that covers her vision, the sea freezes with a ticking sound, and the surface of the Kraken also freezes, making it difficult to move.
Even a Kraken would find it difficult to move freely when the surface of the sea is frozen.
So I took the Barrett M82A1 out of storage and set up the tripod.
"Lethia, go around to the left."
"Oh!"
I could feel my hand tighten around the Barrett M82A1. Through the scope, I can see the eyes of a giant Kraken.
Place your finger on the trigger. Breathe in slowly and deeply. Boom.
As soon as the shot was fired, the Kraken blocked the bullet with its huge legs. However, the bullet penetrated the thick leg, which was several meters long, and hit the Kraken's head.
The trajectory's been deflected?
I don't know if he predicted the trajectory of the bullet or if there was something else that made him known, but the Kraken blocked my shot.
I've punctured some of its huge legs and its massive head, but the Kraken is struggling to break free of the ice as if nothing had happened.
"Grose-san, I am!"
"Please!"
"Ice Javelin!"
Sela produced a number of ice spears and fired them at the Kraken. The ice spears did not pierce the Kraken but broke it, and a film of ice covered the Kraken from the point of impact.
I'll eject the shell and look through the scope. Boom.
"Oh, not again."
The Kraken is so wary of my sniping that he blocks my shot with his foot again.
"Grose-san, I'll do it!"
"Don't worry about me, just keep doing what you're doing!"
"Yes!"
I'll do what I can do. If the legs get in the way, destroy them all.
Change the bullets to attribute bullets and look through the scope.
"Hmm?"
At that moment, the hull of the hovercraft tilted, and Sailor and I were knocked off our positions.