How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 225

250. Labyrinth of the Sky (5)

My body is stronger than the average person.

Moreover, if I can use artifacts to move underwater, there’s virtually no chance of drowning.

Above all, since I proposed this method, it’s my duty to take the lead and be responsible.

“Okay. One. Two…….”

And when I was ready.

“Three.”

I immediately activated my ability.

In an instant, water rushes in, and my vision goes black.

Before the kraken’s tentacles can grab us again, Cruse uses magic to propel us upward, launching himself and the Princess out of the water.

‘He’s a strong swimmer.’

It’ll try to chase them, but.

‘No way.’

Using magic, I cast Magic Missile, a basic 1st-circle attack spell.

It’s the fastest spell to cast, and.

More importantly, its power isn’t diminished underwater because it shoots pure magic arrows.

The kraken seems to find it quite irritating and turns its attention to me.

Come on, then.

‘Undine!’

I immediately summon Undine [a water spirit] to manipulate the water around me, intentionally creating strong currents.

I throw myself into the currents Undine creates and immediately start evading.

‘Underwater combat is surprisingly manageable…….’

Even so, it’s still not easy.

There are very few techniques I can effectively use because of the buoyancy of the water.

‘First, I need to drag him out of the water…….’

Instinctively, it probably won’t want to be dragged out of the water easily.

If so…….

‘I have no choice but to make it thrash around.’

Instead of creating distance, I approached its torso as if I were being launched like a projectile.

Literally a human torpedo!

As soon as I was close enough to its torso, I used spiritism to borrow the power of the gnome [an earth spirit] to create a hard rock, shaping it into a sharp point covering my fist, and then punched with all my might.

Thwack!

Along with a dull sensation, the kraken shook violently, as if struggling.

If I let go now, it’s all for nothing.

I use the embedded rock as a fixing pin to hold on and take out the Hydra Dagger from my chest.

A dagger with potent poison that even monsters can’t ignore.

‘Its size is so big that it won’t have an instant-kill effect…… but it will definitely be painful!’

I stabbed with all my might, thwack!

The feeling of it thrashing became even more violent, and now I’m barely holding on.

‘Get out of the water! If you stay in the water, I’ll just keep tormenting you!’

I’m a harmful human.

And whether it’s a beast or a monster, they instinctively spit out food that causes them pain.

As if soaring upwards, a sensation of rapid acceleration pressed down on my body, and the kraken leaped out of the water.

And it threw me off.

“Got it!”

I was hit in the face by the roughly splashing water and relished the outside air as I fell away from it.

“Goodness! Aileen! What are you doing!”

Cruse, who had predicted that I would pop out, was preparing magic in the sky, perfectly timed.

A spear made by carving a huge rock was waiting in the sky.

As they say, fishing is best done with a harpoon.

“Shoot!”

As I shouted as if giving an order, the rock harpoon narrowly brushed past my body and pierced the kraken’s torso perfectly.

Thwack!

The sound of flesh being crushed rang out, and black spray splattered.

Is it ink?

‘Now’s the chance!’

Activating gravity control, I put its torso within range and generated an anti-gravity field to launch it upwards with all my might.

Bang!

A sound like something rupturing rang out, and the kraken’s torso soared upwards.

A great catch!

“Sprite! Finish it off!”

I summoned the lightning spirit Sprite [a type of elemental] as is.

The high-level lightning spirit Sprite soared up as if ascending and became a sharp lightning bolt, accurately piercing the kraken’s torso…… mainly the part where the brain would be.

I definitely took it down.

Watching the huge squid fall, lifeless, I suddenly muttered.

“……Kraken for dinner tonight.”

“I’m not going to eat it, so Aileen, enjoy it to your heart’s content,” Cruse retorted, as if he had reflexively heard my nonsense.

Well, just kidding.

Kraken has a terrible reputation for being tasteless.

* * *

Anyway, as a result, we safely arrived at the intermediate area.

Perhaps Sylvester’s party in the original work didn’t show a faster progress speed than us either.

It’s thanks to my trick.

Originally, it would have taken weeks to get here, but we reached it in less than a few hours.

“I want to go straight on, but let’s take a break for a while.”

When I suggested it, they both nodded quickly as if they had been waiting for it.

If it weren’t for the kraken, we would have taken a leisurely break, but everyone is completely soaked and looks like drowned rats because we were forced to escape halfway.

Our bodies are heavy, and our body temperature is dropping.

We need to dry and inspect our equipment and recover our stamina.

Out of consideration, I let the two of them change their clothes and equipment first, and I decided to handle the kraken’s corpse from a distance.

‘Kraken materials were valuable, right?’

Apparently, maritime battles are difficult, so they are not easy to obtain.

If they happen to catch one, the fishermen dance with joy that day.

To give an analogy, it’s like a dead whale getting caught in a net in modern Earth.

Moreover, it’s a kraken that lives in freshwater.

Generally, it’s an impossible individual.

In other words, it’s a mutant.

It must be precious.

‘But I can’t move the whole thing, so I’ll have to cut off only the necessary parts.’

If it weren’t a dungeon, I could have used space connection to send it to another place and then take it.

Well, anyway, let’s take only the valuable parts.

“……The flesh is burnt because of Sprite’s lightning, but it’s originally useless.”

The internal organs are also a pass, but I’ll take the eyeballs.

“The suckers were sold at a high price…… I’ll cut those out separately too…….”

Surprisingly, there’s a lot to take.

And separately, is there anything else I should remember to take?

Let’s think.

“……It’s good to take the ink too.”

The Princess spoke from behind, as if giving advice.

“The ink, you say?”

“Kraken ink is quite valuable as a medicinal ingredient. ……Probably.”

“Ah…….”

Come to think of it, I remember that there was a potion made from kraken ink in the original work.

It’s not just simple ink.

A natural material with the unique energy of a monster condensed.

I almost forgot about that.

“As you say, let’s take that too.”

I smiled and thanked the Princess for her advice and started extracting the ink.

“But how do you know such things so well?”

“There is a territory in the Empire that hunts kraken to generate income. They offer potions made from kraken ink to the Imperial Family every year.”

“Ah…….”

I nodded nonchalantly, finished taking the materials, gathered the kraken’s useless parts, and left them to sink underwater.

“You’re used to dealing with monsters, aren’t you?”

“It’s nothing. Anyone who makes a living doing this would know how to do it.”

“……Didn’t you say you were a merchant before?”

“Do you believe that?”

She shakes her head.

Before that, I thought she just came to advise me on handling the kraken, but it didn’t seem like that.

Does she have something else to say?

“It’s a little late, but I wanted to say thank you.”

“For what?”

“As I said, it wouldn’t be strange if you guys abandoned me.”

“That’s a joke, as Cruse said.”

Was she seriously thinking that?

Then I’m a little disappointed.

How could someone as kind as me have such terrible thoughts?

But there’s also a part of me that thinks it wouldn’t be wrong to abandon her.

The existence of a Princess who hid her identity and attended the kingdom’s banquet.

‘They’ll turn a blind eye.’

Yeah. Usually, they’d abandon her.

However, I wasn’t protecting her solely out of pure kindness and conscience.

Even though Princess Resilia’s importance is small, there is a possibility that troublesome things will happen in the future without her.

‘There’s also the reason I want to put the powerful in debt.’

There is definitely a calculating purpose.

‘But there’s no point in saying that.’

Let her think what she wants.

Afterwards, I hesitated for a moment and tried to return the artifact I had borrowed earlier.

“I forgot to return this.”

An artifact that allows you to move and breathe underwater.

I borrowed it, so I should return it.

However, Resilia seemed to hesitate for a moment and then refused.

“No. Keep that artifact.”

“Is it okay?”

“It’s not that expensive. Besides, it’s better for someone who can use it to have it now, right?”

If another monster comes out, it means that it would be more useful for me to have it than for her, who wouldn’t be of any help.

“You can think of it as a reward.”

“Indeed, that’s reasonable. A reward.”

I don’t dislike the idea of paying with the artifact she has because she doesn’t have a proper reward to give right now.

I obediently took it.

‘If so…… ah, I can return it with that.’

I had a good idea.

I took out the key from before and handed it to the Princess.

“……Are you telling me to take care of it?”

“No, you don’t have to return it. After all, Your Highness will need that key.”

“……!”

Only then did Resilia understand what I meant and opened her eyes wide.

“You need it, right?”

“I need it!”

She shouted desperately, as if afraid that I would change my mind.

I thought so.

From the beginning, she had been aiming for this key before me.

The reason is still a guess.

It seems like there’s some reason.

‘Then it’s okay to give it to her.’

Anyway, the value of that key will disappear once this incident is over.

Rather, it would be better to let her use it as something to save face so that the Princess’s position isn’t difficult.

It’s a little consideration.

I also intend to put her in debt.

“I don’t know the details of Your Highness’s situation, but I think taking that will save face?”

“……Then I’ll gratefully accept it.”

“I’ll make good use of this too.”

I gave something useless and got something quite useful in return.

‘By the way…… have they caught up with him yet? Or are they still far away?’

Anyway, rather than clearing the dungeon, I should now be thinking about how to stop Pelen Throne.

At this point, Sylvester is moving to gain power based on the information I gave him.

It’s not certain whether he got it or not.

Maybe he needs more time?

‘I think we’ll collide with Pelen Throne first…….’

I need to think of a plan.

‘The biggest problem is that Sylvester properly gets the second treasure of this dungeon.’

If he doesn’t, he has no chance of winning.

* * *

Similar time.

How long has it been since Sylvester and Alnix wandered inside the dungeon based on the information Aileen left behind…….

“……It really was here.”

“……I know, right.”

Both of them blankly looked up at the firmly sealed door.

Honestly, they were half-doubting it.

They didn’t think it was a trap, but what if Aileen knew the wrong information?

There was an uneasy feeling.

However, in conclusion, Aileen’s information was true.

There really is a door.

“……It’s quite a solid seal.”

Sylvester frowned, stroking the firmly closed door with his fingertips.

The moment he touched the door, he felt like static electricity popped.

“At least it’s certain that there’s something inside.”

“Then there’s no need to refuse!”

Alnix seemed motivated and boldly tried to open the door.

“The device to open the door like other dungeons…… is not visible.”

“Maybe it’s for a different purpose than those.”

Sylvester muttered and drew his sword.

“Are you going to cut it?”

“I don’t see any opening device or anything else. And there’s no time to waste looking.”

He intended to destroy the seal itself at once to open it.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be so sturdy that it couldn’t be cut.

“Opening it itself won’t be difficult…….”

Sylvester braced himself and swung his sword at the door.

Ping!

A sharp noise that dug into his ears rang out, and his sword energy drew a large diagonal line on the sealed door.

The surface was carved away by the sword energy, and at the same time, the seal itself was torn apart.

Bang!

A light burst sound like air exploding rang out, and the door that had lost its seal slowly began to open.

“Just in case, be prepared.”

“Aren’t you too worried? No matter what, there’s no way there’s anything strange…….”

Alnix confidently stepped forward as if wanting to say that he could be more comfortable.

“Ooh…….”

He made eye contact with what was inside and reflexively stepped back.

“……There is something strange.”

“Yeah…… there is.”