Chapter 304

304th Episode – Strength of Monsters #4

Hippolyte finally returned to our lodging as evening approached.

“My stomach’s growling. Let’s have dinner. Did anyone catch any crabs today?”

Judging by her restless movements, it seemed she was quite fond of the large crabs Paranoi had caught yesterday.

However, Paranoi had spent the entire day troubling Elpride and resting at the lodge, so there was no chance of finding crabs today.

Thus, we ended up eating some sort of luxurious gruel, stew, or soup sold by Delphi’s inn for about 10 copper coins per bowl. It was made by simmering shellfish and shrimp, and surprisingly, it was quite edible. As the meal was nearing its end, I casually inquired Hippolyte.

“You are back quite late. Did you happen to visit the Great Oracle on your way back? I believe it has something to do with a warrior’s mission.”

Hippolyte appeared highly startled and placed the shrimp she was holding back down.

“How do you know that?”

At her flustered expression, Luna, who was busily separating fish bones and flesh to place on Paranoi’s spoon, chimed in.

“I’ve heard of it! You can enter the Chamber of Awareness without waiting for your turn through some special channel, right?”

“Ah, I see. You’ve heard the story somewhere, I guess. Yes, it’s true. Though it was supposed to remain a secret, revealing it now won’t cause significant harm.”

I had thought it was an incredibly important secret, but judging by Hippolyte’s reaction, it didn’t seem to matter much whether it was revealed.

Thus, I casually asked her again as if it were just an offhand comment.

“If it doesn’t cause any issues, could you tell me what this ‘mission’ is all about?”

“In fact, I did have something to discuss regarding this prophecy. There’s a concerning point about this year’s mission given by the Great Oracle.”

Hippolyte then gave a brief explanation.

As we had expected, Hippolyte had met the Great Oracle today, and the prophecy she received was about “the one who turns the sea water, blackening, back to blue will have an opportunity.”

Elpride, who had her shrimp stolen by Paranoi, frowned and questioned.

“Make the blackened sea water turn blue? It’s a strange prophecy.”

“Most prophecies by the Oracles are typically like that. Full of metaphors and allegories, they’re not easy to interpret. Anyway, this year’s mission is to turn the sea water blue.”

Luna then asked.

“Does that mean if we all work together to complete this mission, we’ll have the chance to become gods?”

Hippolyte, however, only crossed her arms and slowly shook her head in response.

“I don’t know about that. I’m not sure where you’ve heard this, but even if the mission is completed, it doesn’t mean someone will instantly become a god. We must inquire about the appropriate throne of god available for me from the Oracles.”

“What does that mean?”

“The Oracles give the warriors who complete the mission one chance to ask questions. They will answer anything, and through this question-and-answer session, several things can be learned. It’s quite complicated to explain.”

Hippolyte looked somewhat troubled as she cut her explanation short.

Perhaps she thought this wasn’t the right place to discuss in front of so many people because indeed there were others around eavesdropping on our table conversations.

“Turn the black sea blue, is it?”

“Let’s head to the sea.”

Actually, some of them immediately got up from their tables as soon as our conversation ended. Seeing this, Luna looked flustered.

“Are they going to take the lead and snatch the opportunity?”

“Relax, Noxdotty. Hastily moving body and mind won’t solve anything. It’s not an easy task either. Anyway, you’ll understand once you experience it. So, would any of you like to help with this task?”

Knock, knock.

Hippolyte tapped the table with her fingers and asked.

“Alright, count me in. I want to meet these Oracles too. That’s why I came to Delphi.”

Elpride was the first to answer. Thinking about it, Elpride had joined the Delphi expedition for her own reasons.

“Having a mage isn’t bad either. Great, that’s one person taken care of.”

Hippolyte’s gaze then shifted towards me, Luna, and Paranoi.

I glanced at Luna when I caught her piercing gaze. There were many reasons for me coming to Delphi, and among them, the biggest was Luna.

Luna was not just any demigod; she was a pure goddess.

Although she didn’t realize it herself, I hoped she would at least discover something about her identity through this opportunity.

There’s a high possibility that the Gigas from Hell are targeting Luna. If Luna realizes her divine nature, she might be able to protect herself to some extent.

However, there was also something I was worried about.

It seemed that Lord Nox, Luna’s father, didn’t want Luna to realize her true identity. Although I didn’t talk much with Nox, from our brief conversations, it seemed like he wished for his daughter to live like a normal person.

But as it is, Luna is doubtlessly destined to become some kind of goddess. It’s only a matter of time, and something that is impossible to hide.

A hawk raised among chickens will eventually soar through the skies.

It’s a rather strange feeling.

I’ve heard that upon becoming a deity, one’s personality and values can change drastically.

Luna changing?

That thought is hard to imagine.

On one hand, I was also concerned that if the present human Luna disappeared and she became a divine, immortal entity, we might end up parting ways.

So, I contemplated.

What if I made Luna a goddess of a small domain?

For example, if she became the goddess of a small ditch or a small hill, wouldn’t that allow her to continue leading her current ordinary life? Like Caesar’s parents who lived happily in a small mountain, perhaps we could build our own small temple in a garden and live quietly.

Of course, this is just my imagination.

What should I do?

While I was deep in thought, Luna suddenly raised her hand.

“I want to join too! It sounds fun! Actually, I have so many questions I want to ask the Oracle. I wonder if they could tell me the method to lift the curse on Ideope Island?”

Whatever pondering I might have done, ultimately, Luna’s life belonged to her. She decided her own life without any hesitation.

*

“Turn the black sea blue. Maybe if we wander around the seaside, we might uncover a small clue. Let’s split up and search.”

The next day, we followed Hippolyte’s instructions and decided to split up to scout the coast near Delphi.

Hippolyte, due to her personal Gold Tier adventurer duties, would act independently. Since Elpride expressed her wish to team up with Luna, Paranoi and I ended up working together for our duo activities.

“Don’t let the wind blow into my belly! I’ll really get angry if you do it again!”

Watching Elpride, Luna seemed highly irritated and was venting her anger. Despite responding with a dismissive “I won’t,” Elpride still seemed uncertain, still growling to herself.

Would it be okay pairing those two up?

“Master Hassan, are you coming with me again today to the sea? We need to catch a lot of crabs!”

Of course, there were concerns on my side too. Spending the whole day with Paranoi could mean enduring a lot of noisy chatter, and I already felt a ringing in my ears.

Thus, I set out with my bag filled with candies made from hardened honey. By the time half a day hadn’t even passed, I had already nearly exhausted my supply.

“Master Hassan, the sea is always blue and vast! Thinking of Neptune, the King of the Sea, and the Nymph Sisters of Oceane beneath these deep waters truly fills my heart with grandeur!”

Paranoi chattered incessantly, seemingly charmed by the sea. Her bucket was filled with small fiddler crabs she had caught, which rattled as they rubbed against each other.

“d*mn.”

Paranoi was right; the sea was always vast and blue. To make a black sea blue again—what could it mean? Perhaps it referred to the darkened sea at night. Should we illuminate it to make it appear blue again?

As I was deep in thought, Paranoi piped up.

“I think we’ve caught enough here… Over there, the restricted beach known as the sacred domain is quiet and rarely visited. I’m sure there will be plenty of fish and crabs there. What do you think about checking that out?”

“Isn’t the sacred domain a place where not everyone can enter?”

“We aren’t just anyone, right? It’ll be fine. And besides, the forbidden zones called sacred domains are just playgrounds for nobles and demigods. They only warn people not to enter.”

“That’s true.”

Who knows? In an area untouched by others, there might be the key to unraveling the prophecy.

So, following Paranoi’s suggestion, we headed towards the restricted beach that was supposed to be uninhabited. Passersby muttered to themselves as we passed by.

“Look at them; heading towards the restricted waters.”

“Another body to clean up, it seems.”

“The sea must not be angered—.”

Some seemed to whisper ominous words. Unaware of their murmurs, Paranoi jumped into the forbidden beach waters before I could stop her.

“Ah! Master Hassan, look! Paranoi caught a scallop!”

“Good job.”

I sat thoughtfully on the quiet beach.

Black sea?

For the ocean to turn black, an oil spill might have happened, right? Turning an oil-covered sea blue certainly sounded like a heroic mission.

“Ah! Here, here, Master Hassan! I’ve caught a lobster this time! Grilled, it would be absolutely delicious!”

“Great job. Put it in the bucket.”

But in this world without oil tankers, what would cause a massive oil spill in the sea? It was a difficult puzzle.

“Master Hassan! This time, I caught something incredible! It’s a mermaid!”

“What? What did you catch?”

I was utterly shocked. Looking back at the beach, I saw Paranoi struggling to drag something out of the surf and onto the sand.

“Let me go!”

Indeed, it was a mermaid just as Paranoi claimed: a woman’s upper body combined with the fins of a fish for the lower half.

“d*mn, it’s a mermaid! How did you catch it? What did you do?”

“It’s Siren, a nymph of the sea! The land-dwelling Paranoi has captured her, proving Paranoi’s superiority over sea nymphs!”

“So this is also a nymph.”

“Whenever you put Paranoi’s fingers in the water, fish larvae often bite, so I just grab them when they do. This one reacted the same!”

Ah, so that’s how she caught loads of crabs and lobsters. It was certainly an impressive technique, although not something I particularly wanted to know.

Anyway, I quickly scanned the mermaid dragged out from the sea. She didn’t seem particularly intelligent, given that she got caught by Paranoi, likely reducing her intelligence equivalent to less than half a sweet.

Nevertheless, the existence of a mermaid race was an overwhelmingly exciting discovery.

How could such a body structure even exist?

Curiosity and intrigue drove me to extend my hand and stroke the fins of this sea nymph.

Smooth and cool to the touch.

Her long red hair curled like seaweed, and she wore a top made from woven seaweed and shells, adding a touch of realism.

Her ears looked more like small fins rather than Paranoi’s, making me wonder if they were ears or gills. Extending my hand to touch them, she shrieked in terror.

“I’m Eariol! Mess with me, and you’ll regret it! Let go of me now, you barbarian of the land!”

“Who?”

“Eariol! How dare you tread into this forbidden sanctuary and then subject me to such an insult! Master Triton will never forgive you!”

Her voice was exceptionally shrill and loud. I thought mermaids were supposed to sing beautifully, but it seemed not.

So much for that. At least the naiad with fins was cheerful.

While I was rubbing my ears, Paranoi squeaked in fright.

“Isn’t this Triton, the Strength of Monsters?”

“Exactly! Even a lowly naiad from the land knows the fame of Master Triton! Apologizing to me, Eariol, the favorite and most beautiful scales of Triton, would be wise of you!”

Paranoi began quivering with fear.

“Master Hassan, it’s best to return her to the sea quickly!”

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