Vol 5: Chapter 46
A “continental shelf” refers to the topography of the seabed, which means that the seabed, which gently slopes a certain distance away from land, suddenly deepens at a fixed distance.
The fact that there is a continental shelf here means that the archipelago where the sage is could be located quite far away. I started wondering if it was on a different continental plate… but now is not the time for that.
I explained what a continental shelf was all the way through, but Dante-san still looked at me with a confused look.
「Reiji, I’ve never heard of the word “continental shelf”. What about you, mayor?」Dante asked.
「The depth of the water around the locations where Umibozu was sighted is well over 100 meters. We do not know how deep it is, so the seafloor topography is uncharted.」
「Ah……」
Of course. They don’t have a way to chart the topography of the seabed. There are no undersea exploration vessels in this world, and, obviously, no ultrasonic measuring instruments.
「However… I have heard that the species of fish caught in the waters around here are different. Is that true?」
The mayor asked the knights, but most of them said they didn’t know. One young knight raised his hand in response.
「My grandfather is a fisherman. He said something like, “Umibozu doesn’t come near the harbor because it eats different prey”.」
「That is the first time I’m hearing that. I have never seen anything like that in the reports.」
「M-Mayor, it’s alright if we don’t read too much into grandfather’s words… We don’t know what kind of monster Umibozu is in the first place, so what it eats is even more of a mystery.」
「Hmm… I see. Maybe your grandfather has a great fisherman’s intuition.」
「Yes, sir. I feel obliged.」the young knight said.
「Reiji-dono. I had never heard of the existence of a continental shelf, but does the ecology of the fish that live there change?」the mayor asked.
I tried hard to remember the knowledge from my life in Japan.
「Well, yes, maybe. The presence of a continental shelf should change the movement of ocean currents, so I think that not only the habitat of fish but also the season when migratory fish visit will change.」
「Hmm… in other words, Umibozu appears on the continental shelf off the coast of Zackerhafen for food?」
「There is a possibility of that, but I think…」
Right when I was about to voice another possibility–
「—Mayor! We found a magic ship ahead!」
The voice of the knight who was on the observation deck rang out.
「They’re in battle!! They’re in battle with something!!」
It was hard to believe that the small dot on the horizon was what we were chasing—the magic ship on which Lark was sailing.
There were large splashes of water around them. It was unclear whether it was an attack from the magic ship or an attack from the bottom of the ocean.
「Can’t we go faster!?」
「This is full speed!」
I called out to the knight in the wheelhouse, but it seems we are already sailing as fast as we can.
I rushed out to the deck and headed for the bow of the ship. I found Zerry-san there.
「Bocchan.」
「Can you see what’s going on, Zerry-san?」
「Somewhat.」
Drool and spit was stuck around Zerry-san’s mouth due to vomiting from seasickness, but I didn’t feel like pointing it out at the moment.
Zerry-san has even better sight than me. Even though I can use a skill which enhances my vision, Zerry-san has much better eyesight. It is probably a racial trait of a cat beastman.
「It’s looking bad.」
Zerry-san said, looking out with a hand over her strained eyes.
「Oh my, they’re not fighting. They’re running away!」
「Eh–」
I see… I thought it was strange that we had caught up with Lark’s ship, which was supposed to be one day ahead, but it seems that they encountered Umibozu and made a U-turn to escape to the coast.
A green tentacle-like thing sprang up from the ocean with a tremendous splash of water. Although the magic ship avoided a direct hit, it was swaying violently.
「That thing is…Umibozu!?」
I doubted my eyes.
The magic ship heading towards us was sailing across a dark-coloured sea. I thought it was just a change in the color of the ocean, but in actuality, it was an extensively widespread “shadow”.
The whole thing was Umibozu.
It was a size which can easily swallow an entire village or a town.
(How the hell do you fight that!? In the open sea no less!)
The magic ship can be seen clearer and clearer. It seems that they had also noticed us, and as if saying “escape”, someone was waving a white flag from the deck. Suddenly, large waves rose, causing the magic ship to sway violently again. The white flag flew into the sky.
The number of tentacles appearing from the ocean increased. There is no escape if they get caught by that.
「Ah–」
A black blade burst forth and cut through the tentacles.
「Shit! Stupid Lark!!」
She used【Shadow King】without hesitation. Does she not know she is dying because of that skill? Or is she using it knowing full well about the consequences? Either way, it’s stupid.
「We can’t get any closer! Let’s withdraw, mayor!」
「B-But…」
「We can catch up while turning!」
「Hmm…」
The knights were urging the mayor to turn back. They were correct. I don’t think this ship is equipped to handle that huge creature.
「Mayor–」
I called out.
「Please turn back.」
「Bocchan, you–」
Zerry-san was startled when I said that.
However, what I tried to say was a little different from what Zerry-san assumed.
「Please turn back. I will jump over to the magic ship over there instead.」
I developed【Fire magic】and【Wind magic】.
