Chapter 326

Several days had passed since the subjugation of the Kraken.

The adventurers who had gathered to defeat the Kraken mostly returned to their original regions or continued wandering to new places for further adventures.

This was also true for Kurt and his party, who had played the most decisive role in discovering and defeating the Kraken.

But that was their story.

For the people who had always lived in Leila, life in Leila continued as usual.

After the subjugation, Leila officially announced to its citizens that the strange phenomena they had experienced were all caused by the Kraken. They also announced that the subjugation team had eliminated the Kraken, thus removing the source of the anomalies.

At first, the citizens were skeptical of the sudden announcement, but they had no choice but to accept the truth after seeing the publicly displayed remains of the Kraken—its unnatural, cleanly severed leg and parts of its body that looked as if they had been gnawed by rats.

And so, Leila gradually began to regain its former lively atmosphere.

Just as wounds heal over time, the city of Leila was also healing.

—

The Queen of the Mermaids, Marin, also returned to where she belonged after everything was settled.

Although she now knew that humans were not inherently evil, as she had once believed, she had a place to return to and people she was responsible for.

Upon returning to her homeland, Marin first shared the joyous news of the Kraken’s defeat with her precious people.

“Is it true!? The Kraken has really been defeated!?”

“Hehe. It’s true. So, from now on, you don’t have to worry about when the Kraken might cause havoc again.”

“Waaah!”

“As expected of our Queen! I always believed in you!”

The mermaid villagers erupted in cheers of joy at the news Marin brought.

The fact that their Queen, who had gone missing while protecting them on the frontlines during the Kraken subjugation, had returned safely was already cause for celebration. But the news that the Kraken, the root of all evil, had also been eliminated was an even greater joy that nearly drove them mad with happiness.

“But, Your Majesty, how did you manage to defeat the Kraken?”

“Hehe. I received some help from the humans.”

“H-humans!? You don’t mean those man-eating creatures, do you?”

“No. It was indeed the humans. Don’t worry. The humans I met were not as evil as the legends made them out to be.”

“Guh…! To think you approached the humans alone and requested their cooperation! How truly remarkable you are…!”

“I simply did what I had to do as the Queen of the Mermaids. As the Queen, it was my duty to protect my people. For my people, I wasn’t afraid to step forward as their representative and ask for their help.”

“Sniff… While we were drowning in sorrow in the depths of the sea, you were risking your life for us… How noble you are! As your subjects, we are ashamed!”

“Please don’t praise me too much. The humans did most of the fighting. I didn’t do anything particularly grand. At most, my song played a decisive role in delivering the final blow to the Kraken.”

“Even in your humility!! Ah, my Queen! I will follow you forever!”

And so, the mermaid village was freed from the crisis of the Kraken, and their loyalty to Queen Marin soared to new heights.

—

Of course, the sea around Leila also changed.

After the Kraken had taken residence, the once unpredictable waters of Leila gradually returned to their usual calm. The swarms of man-eating crabs and man-eating piranhas that had terrified Leila’s citizens also began to disappear.

Thus, Leila’s sea began to return to its former state.

But not everything returned to how it was before.

Although the Kraken was gone, the events it caused led to several new changes in Leila’s sea.

For instance, the appearance of mermaids was one such change.

Starting with Marin’s contact and interaction with humans, the mermaid village began to see humans as not the evil beings they had been taught to believe. Gradually, they began to reveal themselves to humans.

The mermaids, who had long maintained an extreme isolationist policy, began to slowly interact with humans, sharing stories and gradually building relationships.

When mermaids spotted merchants or fishermen adrift at sea, they would guide them or share fresh ingredients. In return, humans shared their technology, knowledge, and cooked dishes with the mermaids.

Thus, the mermaids, who had long built their own society and strictly avoided contact with other human races, finally took their first steps toward mingling with others.

However, the true reason for this great step forward—a mermaid’s desire to once again taste the delicious dishes she had enjoyed on land—would remain a secret known to no mermaid or human.

—

The changes in Leila’s sea didn’t stop there.

The Lowdrake Pirate Crew, who had escaped from Leila, blamed the city’s authorities for the failure of their restaurant.

After all, their captain Drake’s cooking skills had been recognized by Leila’s citizens.

So, they converted their pirate ship into a floating restaurant.

If the authorities made it impossible to open a restaurant on land, they thought, why not open one in the middle of the sea, where they were practically outside the law?

If their reputation as a floating restaurant ever surpassed their reputation as pirates, they could settle on land and open a proper restaurant.

At first, the merchants who encountered them trembled, suspecting a new form of extortion. But after tasting their dishes, they couldn’t help but change their attitudes.

Although the prices were a bit high due to the limitations of being at sea, their dishes were delicacies that couldn’t easily be found on land.

To taste such delicacies in the middle of the sea, where fresh and delicious food was hard to come by after long voyages, was a treat.

For sailors who had grown mentally exhausted from long voyages, the price was worth it.

Their cooking was as alluring as an oasis in a desert.

Thus, the news that the Lowdrake Pirate Crew had transformed into the Lowdrake Floating Restaurant quickly spread among the merchants who frequented the area, and they became a popular attraction that many ships eagerly sought out.

—

However, not everyone welcomed the Lowdrake Floating Restaurant.

Leila’s military commander, Regina, was a prime example.

Even though the Kraken subjugation had left a gap in the military’s strength, allowing their escape was a blow to her pride. And now, they were doing business right in Leila’s waters.

For Regina, who took pride in maintaining Leila’s security, this was an unbearable insult.

Thus, she worked tirelessly to capture the former pirates, now the owners of the floating restaurant.

But despite her efforts, the Lowdrake Floating Restaurant repeatedly evaded Leila’s soldiers, leaving Regina feeling humiliated each time.

Every day, she vowed, “Today, I will definitely catch them,” and worked day and night to capture the Lowdrake Floating Restaurant.

However, Drake, the owner of the restaurant, seemed to enjoy her pursuit as a form of entertainment, and it seemed unlikely that Regina would capture them anytime soon.

—

Meanwhile, the thriving food scene in Leila wasn’t limited to the Lowdrake Floating Restaurant.

The Inn ‘Red Shell’ was another example.

Its reputation soared day by day, and after hosting the Kraken subjugation team’s celebration banquet, it became the most famous restaurant in Leila.

The Kraken Sausage that Kurt had introduced during the banquet had become a legendary menu item at the Inn ‘Red Shell.’

However, the innkeeper couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed as customers demanded squid sausages, some wanting soy sauce flavor, others tomato sauce, and so on.

Still, the Inn ‘Red Shell’ continued to thrive.

—

One day, the innkeeper, finally finding a moment to catch his breath, slumped into a chair with a tired expression.

As a chef, having many customers was a happy thing, but it was also exhausting.

“Sigh… I’m so tired. If only my daughter were here to help with the cooking and serving. But no, she had to become a soldier to maintain security…”

“Ahaha… But Regina is doing a great job, isn’t she?”

Lito, who had been staying at the inn while waiting for his father, had started helping with the inn’s work.

He hadn’t given up on waiting for his father, but he couldn’t just sit around with a sad expression forever.

So, Lito found something he could do and began helping the innkeeper as a way to repay the kindness of being allowed to stay.

At first, the work wasn’t easy, but he gradually got used to it, moving his small body diligently.

This change would have been unimaginable for the old Lito.

Back then, he would have just missed his father and relied on others, never trying to do anything himself.

Perhaps this change came after he met the adventurers who had helped him that day.

They had understood his pain and supported him.

From that day on, Lito gained the strength to move forward.

Although the adventurers had now left Leila and returned to Astram, Lito sometimes thought of them and unconsciously looked in the direction of Astram.

“Sigh… So, I don’t expect you to quit your job and help with the inn. But at least find a strong young man who can cook well to take over the inn. Instead of bringing a potential son-in-law, all you do is work… When do you plan to get married? Sigh. Who would even take you? I’m worried.”

“Ahaha…”

As the innkeeper continued his lonely lament, Lito could only smile awkwardly and nod along.

Ding-dong.

“Ah! A customer has arrived. I’ll go greet them!”

“L-Lito!? …Sigh. They’re all the same. This is why they say you shouldn’t take in black-haired beasts.”

As the inn door opened and a customer entered, Lito quickly got up from his seat. The innkeeper sighed deeply and shook his head at Lito’s hasty departure.

—

“Welcome! How many…? Just one…”

“…I’m back.”

And on that day, Lito finally welcomed the customer he had been waiting for.