Chapter 43 – 44

Chapter 43 – Red waves crashing!!

"A s-sea of blood?"

Fule got off of the iron carriage and blinked rapidly.

I too could hardly believe my eyes as I looked at the raging, red waves.

And when I came to the realization that it was composed of countless little red creatures, my body started to shake.

The red waves…were the result of numerous red creatures that looked like crabs.

"What…crabs!?"

Fule seemed to have understood that they were living creatures as well.

"Crabs. But those…"

"I think they're called Scissor Crabs?"

Fule said. I nodded.

They were still too far for me to make out clearly. But I could still see that their arms were huge. You could not mistake them for ordinary crabs.

And judging by the fact that they had quite a lot of magic energy as well, they must be Scissor Crabs, which were a type of monster.

Scissor Crabs were powerful monsters that had giant pincers that were sharp enough to cut through trees.

Their actual bodies were about the same size as a human, but their eight legs made them look larger and more intimidating.

They often landed on the shores of the kingdom, and were known to kill and eat livestock and crops.

What made them different from the Killer Birds, who were considered pests, was that they only attacked villages that were close to the sea or rivers.

But in spite of all that, Scissor Crabs were feared by the people more than the Killer Birds.

The reason for this was that Scissor Crabs were covered in a shell that was hard like iron. Which meant that most attacks outside of magic were ineffective.

Not only that, but the Scissor Crabs themselves could use lightning magic that paralyzed people.

For some small fishing villages with no protective walls, the Scissor Crabs were deadly. In fact, whole villages had been wiped out in the past.

"If I remember correctly, they even eat goblins…"

"Yeah. Humans too. I think they will generally eat anything."

Even if I sent everyone to hide in the caves, all of our crops would be eaten.

I had to get rid of them no matter what…

And so Fule and I started running towards Baris and the others.

However, I saw that they were all by the shore and were preparing to fight back.

Aside from Baris, Rienna, Kamyu, Erevan, Ashton, and Haines were there.

There was also a line of goblin, kobold and orc archers. And a number of Golems as well.

The arrows would not be of much use. But Scissor Crabs were generally weak to magic.

So having Baris, Rienna, and Kamyu here would make things a lot easier.

Rienna, who was the strongest magician after me, was the first to move. She created a magic fireball and unleashed it upon a group of Scissor Crabs.

Following her lead, Baris, Kamyu, and the Golems also unleashed fire magic.

And as the explosions of fire blasted the hordes, the charred crabs went flying into the air.

However, as soon as one cluster was gone, more would come in to take their place.

Upon seeing this, Erevan ordered the archers to attack.

While the ordinary arrows did not seem like they were doing much, some were using crossbows that Mappa had made. And the bolts easily tore through the shells of the Scissor Crabs.

Everyone fought bravely, without shrinking back in fear.

Especially Rienna, who had gained immense power through the crystals. Under her determined hands, the Scissor Crabs were sent to their graves, one after another.

Fule had become quite respectable with magic as well, and the number of Scissor Crabs started to dwindle rapidly.

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As for me, I concentrated on sharing magic energy with them and blocking the thunder attacks with Shield.

Eventually, we could see that none of the Scissor Crabs were moving, and cries of joy erupted everywhere.

And so I approached Rienna and the others in order to commend them.

"All of you. You dealt with that so well. It was brilliant."

They all looked at me and smiled.

"We're not worthy of such praise, Lord Heal! Besides, without your power…"

Rienna started to say, and Baris and Kamyu nodded.

"Yes. That power…it was from you, wasn't it? Without that help, the crabs would have likely covered our beaches."

"Oh, yes. We really would not have been able to stop all of them without your help."

Apparently, they had caught on to what I had been doing.

Well, I hadn't necessarily meant it to be a secret…

"No, you succeeded because you all studied magic really hard. Also, those who don't use magic also did really well."

I praised Erevan and Ashton's teams as well. And then we inspected the corpses of the Scissor Crabs.

"…Still, why are there so many of them?"

Everyone knew that Scissor Crabs came from the sea.

If I remembered correctly, they needed nutrition for laying eggs. And so they would come to the shore or to river banks in search of food.

However, this was such a large swarm of them, and so soon after the Leviathan too…

Was it really just a coincidence?

"Perhaps it was god that sent them to us? After all, what an amazing catch!! All of you! Let's pull them up!"

Erevan started ordering the others to pull up the Scissor Crabs.

Well, I suppose it was a good thing that we had more food.

I had heard that Scissor Crab meat was rather delicious.

Furthermore, their hard shells and sharp pincers could be used as materials for creating weapons and tools.

"Aye. We should hurry. Let's move them to the freezer before they go bad!"

And so we started to gather the Scissor Crabs.

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Chapter 44 – We ate crab hot pot!

"Ah, I'm tired…"

I rotated my arms while looking at the freezer in the cave.

There were so many Scissor Crabs piled up, and all of them wouldn't have been able to fit inside of the freezer.

That being said, I didn't want to let such valuable and delicious meat go to waste.

And so I had to expand the freezer quickly. But this ended up taking more time than I thought. And now it was already night time.

Still, I was used to digging. And the others did help me. So it wasn't as hard as it might have been…

"More importantly… Ahh! Achoo! …It's cold!"

My breath came out very white as I wiped my nose.

As I had used ice magic to freeze everything here, it was very cold.

In fact, it was much colder than any of the winters had been back home.

But it wasn't just that. The very sight of the frozen Scissor Crabs sent shivers down my body.

Next to me, Fule spoke up through chattering teeth.

"Sh-shouldn't we get out now? It-it seems like the Golems have finished carrying the Scissor Crabs."

"Ah-ah…yes. Let's go."

And so we stepped out of the giant freezer and closed the door.

I had thought we'd be able to escape the cold then, but the caves were already much colder than the surface.

It would not do much to warm my body, which was chilled to the bone.

I couldn't feel my hands. It would be necessary to get to a bonfire as soon as possible…

The Golems were hurriedly rushing back to the surface, but Fule and I trudged on heavily.

As I thought of the long trek ahead of us, Mappa appeared on the iron carriage as if he had been waiting.

There were two goblins sitting in it and it seemed like he was teaching them how to control it.

Normally, Mappa was supposed to be in charge of the smithy.

In order for him to focus on his real job, it was necessary to teach others to be able to operate the iron carriage.

That being said, could he really communicate with them when he didn't even talk…?

Then Mappa saw us and gestured for us to get in.

Fule and I were very grateful, and got in without hesitation.

And then the carriage headed towards the entrance.

The goblins were holding the levers, and Mappa just watched them. So, it seemed like they really had learned from him.

"Ahh. I'm hungry…"

I muttered without really thinking.

Now that I thought about it, I had been thinking about dinner before the Scissor Crabs appeared.

However, the work I had to do was very important. So it couldn't be helped.

Well, we weren't the only ones that were hungry.

While me and the other miners were expanding the freezer, Erevan and the others had been pulling the Scissor Crabs onto the beach.

And Rienna and Baris used ice magic to freeze them. They had only just learned that spell, but they were working very hard.

They were hungry as well… Hell, someone right next to me was hungry, judging by the sounds I was hearing.

"Uh, yes. Aren't you just starving?"

Fule said with a look of embarrassment.

Hey, you don't need to get so red in the face… But I guess that was another way that goblins were just like us.

"Yeah… Well, we'll be able to eat a mountain of Scissor Crabs soon."

Yes, Scissor Crabs were a delicacy among nobles in my country.

I had eaten a bite of it before, and it was delicious.

It had been served grilled…

I suppose we could cook it with fire magic tonight.

"…Hmm? What's this smell?"

As I imagined what the Scissor Crab would taste like, a similar but more concentrated smell entered my nose.

Had it really smelled this wonderful before…?

No, perhaps it just smelled that way because I was so hungry.

In any case, it didn't matter. I just wanted to eat it quickly. As such thoughts entered my mind, the goblin driven carriage arrived on the surface.

The first thing that jumped out in front of me, were giant Scissor Crab legs that had been boiled in a great pot.

However, starved or not, I could not eat that much… But then I saw that there was also a smaller pots filled with cut up meat, and everyone seemed to be eating from it.

"…So there are other ways of eating it too."

"Ah, Lord Heal! And Fule! Welcome back!"

Rienna said. She was carrying a small pot in her hands.

I answered her as she walked towards us.

"Hello, Rienna. You not only froze all of them, but you even cooked all of this… But aren't you tired?"

"Not at all! You're the one who should be tired… And in any case, with such great ingredients in front of me, how could I do anything but cook them!"

She smiled with all the warmth of a goddess.

Ah, any sense of fatigue was blown away when I looked at Rienna…

"I just finished making enough for everyone! You two must eat with us!"

As I had ordered the others to take a break after they were finished gathering the Scissor Crabs, there were some who had already finished eating.

"Aye, let's do that! I'm really hungry…"

I said as my stomach growled loudly. Rienna chuckled.

Then she put the pot over a fire and told us to sit down.

And then she served the Scissor Crab meat into smaller bowls.

Aside from the crab meat, there was also fish and clams inside of it as well.

It was more of a soup, than boiled crab.

I had been expecting some fragrant, grilled crab at first, but since I was so cold now, this was much better.

Now that I think about it, what were Erevan and the others doing?

I looked around and saw that most of them were sleeping on the ground spreadeagled.

…Ashton, Haines, and Kamyu had passed out from too much drinking. Hell, so was Taran the Cave Spider.

They must have been drinking wine with their crab. However, they had emptied a whole barrel.

Still, they had blissful expressions as they slept. Both the crab and wine must have been incredibly delicious.

While I looked at Erevan and the others, Rienna gave me, Fule and Mappa our seafood bowls along with some spoons.

Ril, the baby kobold also popped out of nowhere and sat next to me.

"Pl-please eat up!"

"Aye. Nothing can stop me now. Ah, ohh…"

While my right hand was quite warm after holding the soup bowl, my left hand was still very numb. And so I dropped my spoon onto the ground.

But when I tried to pick it up, my hand would start shaking, and I couldn't grab it."

"A-are you okay? Lord Heal?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to warm up a little… Don't mind me. Eat up, Fule. It will help you get warm."

"…Yes. I'll eat first then."

Fule said as she took a sip of her soup.

"…Oh! It's delicious! The princess really does make the best crab hot pot!"

Fule said excitedly. Rienna laughed.

"Hehe. Thank you, Fule. But without the Scissor Crabs and the leaves of the World Tree, I would not have been able to make it so well."

"I think it's because of your skills… But it's true that these taste much better than any crabs you can catch in the river!"

Fule said as she continued to gobble down her food.

Ah, it looked so good… Well, maybe I could drink it without using a spoon.

As I thought this, Rienna took the bowl from me and scooped up some of the soup with my spoon.

"Here, Lord Heal. Just open your mouth."

"Huh? No-no. You don't have to do that."

"Don't argue with me! I want you to eat it before it gets cold!"

"Uh…thank you."

Rienna's rather forceful request could not be rejected.

Still, being fed like this was a little embarrassing. I felt like a little kid.

Even more so because the person doing it was so pretty…

That being said, I was also starving.

And so when Rienna raised the spoon and told me to open my mouth, I obliged.

I must have looked really stupid to anyone who was watching… Ah…

The crab slowly approached my mouth.

The moment my lips closed over it, I could feel the meat melt in my mouth.

The soup was filled with the flavor of seafood, and it poured down my throat.

What was this… Was this food…?

Somehow, everything I ever ate back at the palace was left in the dust…

I was so moved by it that I didn't know what to say. But then Rienna looked at me with a worried expression.

"I-I'm sorry, Lord Heal! Was it not to your liking?"

I slowly shook my head.

"Rienna… You must be some goddess reborn… Or else, how can you explain this?"

"Lord Heal? Don't you think that's a little bit of an exaggeration?"

Fule said with a chuckle.

She probably thought I was joking.

But it wasn't an exaggeration.

As for Rienna, she trembled and her eyes looked wet.

"Oh, I…I didn't expect you to praise it that much! …Oh, that makes me happy! Lord Heal, I'm very happy!!"

"Aye, Rienna! I'm very happy right now as well!"

Then she offered me another spoonful.

"…Lord Heal!"

"Rienna!"

I quickly ate it.

Fule looked a little confused by what she was seeing, but in any case, that night I ate crab hot pot until I was stuffed.