Quest Complete!

The hole was just big enough for a single person to squeeze through.

Azu handed the box she'd been carrying to Alexia, then reached both hands into the hole and hauled herself up by arm strength alone.

What greeted her on the other side was a small reef, surrounded on all sides by the sea.

She turned around and could see the small island where the cave had been.

It seemed they'd traveled all the way from there to here underground.

The reef jutting out of the water wasn't particularly large.

Azu took the box back from Alexia, then offered a hand and pulled her up as well.

Standing together, the space felt a bit cramped.

"It was so spacious underground, but this is quite tight."

"Indeed. Though I suppose we should be grateful there's a place to stand at all."

Azu nodded.

The large creature, having seen them safely to the top, slowly sank back into the underground lake.

"What was that thing?"

"Who knows…? In any case, we're lucky it was friendly."

It had seemed gentle enough, but if something that massive had gone on a rampage, there was no telling what would have happened.

The Apostle's power was completely spent.

She breathed a sigh of relief that things had ended peacefully.

"The distance isn't too far to swim, but… doing it while carrying these would be a bit difficult."

"What should we do? There's no guarantee we could come back to retrieve them if we left them here."

"And considering this spot might be submerged at high tide, it's hard to say."

Two boxes packed with pearls and coral.

Even without an appraiser's eye, Azu and Alexia could tell these were worth a considerable sum.

Worst case, they could leave the boxes here and write it off, but they wanted to bring them back if at all possible.

They were hard-won spoils, after all.

"Hmm…? Ah, maybe…"

Azu looked at the sea and had a flash of inspiration.

She took a step into the water, and her boots sank only slightly before stopping.

"Oh? It's shallow."

Alexia stepped in as well.

The underground space had been so vast. It made sense there would be a rock shelf just below the surface.

"Looks like we can walk."

She took another step forward.

The seawater came up to her ankles, but she was wearing boots, so it was no problem.

It appeared the shallows stretched all the way to the island.

Come to think of it, she recalled the boat taking a roundabout route on the way to the island.

They must have been going around these shallows.

In any case, it was a lifesaver.

Chatting with Alexia as they went, they headed toward the island.

The sun was high in the sky.

It was around midday by now.

They'd been fighting and exploring through the entire night.

If she let her guard down, drowsiness would crash over her. Azu hid a wide yawn behind her left hand.

"Sleepy, are we?"

"Yes… I want to sleep as much as I possibly can."

"In a way, that might be the greatest reward of all."

When they finally reached the island, Elza came running from the back.

"Oh, thank goodness! I was so worried!"

"What about you? Are you alright?"

"Oh, if you mean the injury, it's already healed. I'm fine."

Elza said this while lifting her bangs with her right hand.

Her skin was smooth and unmarked.

But the blood on her priest robe told the story of her wound.

It wasn't until Alexia pointed it out that Elza noticed, and she cleaned the blood away with a purification miracle.

She laughed sheepishly.

She'd taken a hard blow to the head, but there didn't seem to be any lingering effects.

"The Octopus got torn to pieces, but… we still have the Kraken's body. If we show it to the sailor coming tomorrow, the quest should be complete."

"That one was outside the scope of the quest anyway, so there's nothing to worry about."

"I'm starving, and I'm absolutely exhausted. Elza, do you have any food in your pack? Our supplies are ruined from the seawater."

Elza said she'd be right back and went to fetch her things.

Azu and Alexia sat down on the rocks and let out a long breath.

The fatigue seemed to drain out of them along with the air.

The sea breeze cooled their bodies, flushed from the sun and exhaustion.

After a short while, Elza returned.

She had a large loaf of black bread and some dried meat, so they sandwiched the meat in the bread and split it three ways.

It wasn't much of a meal, but the satisfaction of a job well done made it wonderful.

"This is delicious."

"I think you're probably craving salt because of all the sweating."

"You could have just said it's because we're eating together, you know…"

They finished their quick meal.

The cave stank of the Kraken's carcass, so none of them wanted to go back inside.

And there was nothing else to do, anyway.

Azu took off her boots and socks and dipped her feet in the sea.

She hadn't really gotten to enjoy the ocean, so she figured she'd have a little fun here.

There was a section near the small beach where the water was fairly shallow.

It was a shame Yohane wasn't here, but soaking in the sea and gazing at the scenery brought the grandeur of nature close.

Elza followed after Azu, hiking up the hem of her priest robe and wading in.

Alexia watched the two of them from shore.

For a while they forgot their exhaustion and played in the waves, then slept like the dead that night.

The sound of the waves lulled them with its gentle rhythm, and all three fell into deep sleep, forgetting even to set a watch.

They didn't wake until the sailor came to pick them up the next day.

The sailor confirmed the Kraken's body, and with that, the quest was complete.

Everything they'd found on the island was theirs per the contract, so the boxes belonged to them as well.

Unfortunately, there was nothing usable from the Kraken itself.

While regular squid was edible, Kraken meat was far too bitter.

On the boat ride back, Azu asked the sailor about the mysterious creature.

Alexia held Elza down as she flailed, demanding to know what they were talking about.

"Ahh, you lot are lucky. That's a Nessie. They say if you spot one, good fortune's coming your way."

"A Nessie?"

"It helps out fishermen whose boats get wrecked, and if you see one, you're supposed to come home with a massive haul. Mighty good omen, that thing is. Haven't heard anyone say they've seen one in a while, though… Maybe it was lying low 'cause the Kraken was rampaging."

So it was a naturally friendly creature, it seemed.

Whether it had helped them out of its own nature or as thanks for defeating the Kraken, who could say.

What an extraordinary experience, Azu thought.

They returned safely and received the quest payment along with a word of thanks from Zukashi.

The ban on entering the sea was immediately lifted, and tourists flooded toward the beach.

While Azu's group had been dealing with the Kraken, the fish monsters on this side had been cleared out.

Not a single monster remained, they were told.

Quest payment in hand, they headed back to where Yohane was.

There on the beach, they found Yohane and Finn—who was in a swimsuit for some reason—munching on large slices of watermelon.

Black, naturally. The swimsuit was black. She must really love the color.

Yohane waved to the three of them.

"Good work. There's some for you too."

He held out a half watermelon floating in ice water.

Finn drew a short blade from the belt strapped to her thigh and cut the watermelon into easy-to-eat pieces.

She glanced briefly at Azu, then picked up a fresh slice and bit into it.