Payment in Tusks

After Sera informed them that the Kraken’s corpse had disappeared, the group quickly got dressed and rushed toward the Royal Navy docking bay where it had been kept.

Upon arrival, they found the docking bay in ruins.

The massive chains that had secured the Kraken now hung loosely. Slimy goo covered the cracked stone foundation, while one side of the reinforced metal gate had been bent inward.

“What exactly happened here?” Lina asked, carefully stepping onto the gooey, slippery surface. “What could have caused this much damage?”

“According to the message I received earlier this morning, the guards arriving for the morning shift found the night guards unconscious,” Sera explained. “That was when they noticed the damage and discovered that the Kraken’s corpse was missing.”

“Who could have broken through such a large reinforced steel gate?” Lina asked, trying to imagine what kind of attack could have bent it at such a strange angle. “More importantly, how could they have taken something so massive without drawing any attention?”

“Perhaps a skilled swordsman cut the Kraken into smaller pieces,” a confident female voice answered from behind them. “They could’ve stored the pieces inside a national-grade magic bag and walked away. Afterward, they used magic to damage the gate, making it appear as though someone had broken in from outside.”

A short, blonde-haired navy officer entered the docking bay with a smug expression.

“Oh?” Lina immediately turned toward her. “Are you suggesting that we stole a giant, rotting fish corpse? How would doing that benefit us in any way?”

“Don’t misunderstand, Captain,” the woman said with a smile as she stopped directly in front of Lina. “My mistake—former Captain. I was only offering a possible explanation for the Kraken’s disappearance.”

The atmosphere instantly became tense as the two women stared at each other, both prepared to draw their weapons.

“HOW ARE YOUR BREASTS SO BIG?!” Skayla shouted.

Skayla had somehow sneaked up behind the navy officer and placed both hands against the woman’s chest, carefully assessing their size.

“What’s your secret?” Skayla slowly turned toward Lina. “Is it genetics?”

“Why are you staring at me?!” Lina shouted, covering her chest. “ARE YOU TRYING TO INSULT ME?! ALSO, FOR THE RECORD, YOU AREN’T THAT BIG EITHER! WE’RE ALMOST THE SAME SIZE! YOURS ARE ONLY SLIGHTLY BIGGER!”

“I’m not looking at you,” Skayla replied. “I’m looking at Sera behind you.”

Lina slowly turned around and finally noticed how large Sera’s chest actually was.

“H-H-HOW DID I NOT NOTICE THAT UNTIL NOW?!” Lina shouted, staring at Sera in disbelief.

“Well... I normally bind my chest with a long strip of cloth before putting on my uniform,” Sera explained. “When the message arrived, I didn’t secure it properly, and now it has come loose. I usually bind it to avoid attracting unwanted attention while giving orders to the younger officers.”

She gestured toward Skayla, who was still groping the blonde navy officer.

“Lesha, I’ve told you that you need to get used to binding your chest if you want to avoid this kind of attention.”

“I’VE TRIED BINDING MY CHEST, BUT IT HURTS TOO MUCH, MOTHER!” Lesha shouted, struggling to suppress the embarrassing sounds escaping her as Skayla’s hands wandered dangerously close to a sensitive area. “PLEASE GET HER OFF ME!”

An involuntary moan escaped Lesha and echoed throughout the docking bay.

After Lina subdued Skayla, everyone gathered inside a small conference room at the Naval Port.

“My name is Lesha, First Lieutenant of the Royal Navy,” she said, introducing herself with a salute.

“My name is Lina, former Captain of the now-disbanded Order of Scarlet,” Lina replied, glaring intently at Lesha over her earlier accusation. “This pervert here is Skayla, an apothecary and my childhood friend.”

Skayla waved while rubbing the spot where Lina had smacked her earlier.

“Nice to meet you both,” Lesha said with an awkward grin as everyone took their seats.

“And my name is Seidon, Commander of the Royal Navy!” A middle-aged man abruptly stood and proudly spread his arms wide, waiting for applause.

“Sit down!” Sera exclaimed, placing both hands on his shoulders and forcing him back into his seat.

Sera then turned her attention toward Lesha.

“Before we do anything else, First Lieutenant Lesha, you need to apologize for accusing them without evidence,” she ordered. “As a member of the Royal Navy, you should never accuse innocent people without proof.”

Lesha stood back up.

“I sincerely apologize for my earlier accusation and rude behavior,” she said, lowering her head.

“Apology accepted,” Lina replied with a nod, knowing Lesha had meant no harm.

“Now, this is coming from me as your mother,” Sera said, removing the white glove from her right hand.

She slapped Lesha across the face.

“I NEVER TAUGHT YOU TO DISRESPECT HONORED GUESTS UNDER OUR FAMILY’S PROTECTION!” Sera shouted.

Lesha held her cheek as tears filled her eyes.

“I truly am sorry, Mother,” she said, struggling to hold back her tears.

“That is some seriously tough motherly love,” Skayla whispered to Lina.

“I mean, being a mother is no easy task,” Lina replied thoughtfully. “I wonder if my mother would’ve done something like that if I misbehaved.”

Seidon quickly leaned toward Skayla.

“Lesha is lucky that Sera only used her right hand,” he whispered. “I’ve seen her strike people with her left hand, and their teeth always went flying. When she uses her right hand to discipline you, it means it’s an act of pure love.”

“So when she knocked you into the ocean with her left elbow, does that mean she doesn’t love you anymore?” Skayla asked with a smirk.

“Love works in mysterious ways,” Seidon replied with a smile. “She’s just a little tsundere.”

A white glove immediately struck Seidon in the face.

“Let’s continue, shall we?” Sera suggested, wearing a commanding smile reminiscent of Queen Seraphine.

Once everyone was seated again, the private conference began.

“Regarding the disappearance of the Kraken’s corpse,” Seidon said as he slid copies of his preliminary investigation report across the table, “we discovered that it became a late-night meal for a large herd of A-Rank Drunken Walruses.”

“HUH?!” everyone shouted as Sera placed a hand against her forehead.

“How did you reach that conclusion?!” Lesha exclaimed. “First, how did they enter the Royal Navy docking bay? Second, why would they even come here to eat?”

Seidon calmly placed a five-foot-long walrus tusk on the table.

“We found this along with several smaller tusks in the water where the Kraken had been submerged,” he explained, picking up his report. “The night guards regained consciousness not long ago and reported hearing loud banging against the metal gate. When they went to investigate, a large, round body struck them and knocked them unconscious.”

“You’re saying a herd of Drunken Walruses breached our facility?” Lesha asked. “I can understand them overtaking a vessel, but I’ve never heard of them invading a naval facility.”

“Starving monsters often behave unpredictably, just like starving people,” Seidon said with a chuckle.

“Wait, they broke in here because they were hungry?” Lina asked. “Why didn’t they hunt for food in the sea? There were plenty of sea monsters they could’ve eaten instead of risking their lives by entering human territory.”

“Well... there were plenty of sea monsters,” Seidon said, glaring at Lina and Skayla. “At least, there were until two wonderful ladies unleashed Keraunos and electrocuted every sea monster in the surrounding area.”

Lina and Skayla slowly looked away.

“Moving on,” Seidon continued. “We kept the Kraken submerged to prevent the body from drying out, but its scent must have drifted out to sea and attracted the starving herd. They followed the scent back here, broke through the gate, and consumed the entire corpse.”

Seidon glanced toward the tusk.

“I can only assume they left their valuable tusks behind as payment,” he said with a chuckle.

Drunken Walrus tusks were commonly carved into high-quality drinking horns that enhanced the flavor of ale.

“That reminds me...” Skayla said suddenly, turning toward Lina. “Earlier, you called the Kraken a fish, which isn’t correct. Squids and octopuses are cephalopods, which are completely different from fish.”

Lina flicked Skayla on the forehead.

“That is what you focused on?” Lesha asked with a sigh. “What is going on inside your head?”

“Wait a moment,” Lina said as her expression became serious. “You said nothing was left behind except for the tusks, so where did the Mana Stone go?”

Seidon’s expression turned grim as he cast a soundproof barrier around the conference room and removed a letter from his chest pocket.

“After Sera told me about your conversation yesterday, I contacted Zenos and asked him to locate Atena’s report on the ruins of the lost Kingdom of Agos,” he explained. “Zenos found the report and sent me his findings this morning through the Adventurer Guild’s emergency mailing system.”

Seidon held up the letter.

“The contents are classified and disturbing, so I would like anyone who doesn’t want to hear them to leave.”

Seidon glanced around, but no one moved.

“According to Atena’s report, Manavores do not possess Mana Stones.”

“HUH?!” everyone shouted except Skayla.