"What on earth is this...?"
The group that arrived at the scene could only mutter in dazed disbelief at the sight before them.
The first thing they laid eyes on was, naturally, a monster of such gargantuan proportions that it defied belief. That much they understood, but the creature was already being systematically dismantled by a crowd of more than fifty adventurers. With so many people working in unison, the massive beast was steadily being reduced in size. Given the scale of the carcass, the workers looked for all the world like a swarm of ants taking apart an insect far larger than themselves.
"You there! Just what is this monster...?"
The group had been dispatched by the guild and city leadership. A giant monster had appeared in the immediate vicinity of Emocion, and when the adventurers who left the city to investigate failed to send any word back, the officials had feared the worst. They had arrived on the scene prepared for a desperate struggle—in all likelihood, a suicide mission—only to find a massive butchering operation in full swing. It was only natural for the man leading the group and those following him to be thrown into confusion. Seeking answers, the representative called out to an adventurer passing nearby who was lugging a lump of meat the size of a man’s torso.
"Hm? This? Word is it’s the Lemures."
"Wh-!?"
The name was so unexpected that the official was struck speechless.
The Lemures was a monster that could only be described as a disaster; it had haunted the coast off Emocion for some time now, sinking a staggering number of ships. Why was it here, on land? And why was it already dead? Before the man could find the words to ask, the adventurer decided the conversation was over. He turned to leave, still clutching the meat.
"Wait, hold on! Give me more details!"
"Huh? Sorry, but as you can see, I’m in the middle of a job. If you want details... well, fine. A few of you come with me. I’ll introduce you to our boss; you can get the full story from him."
As the man spoke, several other adventurer parties passed by, each carrying similar torso-sized lumps of meat. The adventurer glanced at them and then spoke hurriedly.
"Look, now’s the time to earn. If you want to know anything else, ask the boss, not me."
"...I understand. Lead the way. The rest of you, scatter and gather information. Ask the perimeter guards, not the people dismantling the corpse."
"Yes, sir!"
The group nodded and dispersed at the representative's command. Satisfied, the official followed the man with the meat as they moved along the length of the creature identified as the Lemures.
"...Even seeing it from inside the city, I knew it was big, but up close... it’s truly immense. The one who defeated this must be the same person who’s been drawing the Lemures away so the ships could leave the harbor, right?"
"Yeah. It was incredible. We only saw it from a distance, but you know how they say a knight is 'one with his mount'? I don't know what the equivalent is for a Gryphon, but it was something like that. At the end, he blew the giant monster's whole head off. See for yourself."
As they walked, the monster’s head finally came into view. Just as the man had said, the head had vanished entirely. Nearby, a large adventurer and a smaller one were using their weapons to carve through the carcass. A male adventurer with a nervous expression was writing on a piece of paper while talking to others, while beside him, a female adventurer with a whip was barking instructions and piling lumps of meat onto the grass.
These four were, of course, Rei, Egret, Hendeka, and Miroir. Their tamed monsters, Seto and Shen, were nowhere to be seen, but had the official looked up, he would have seen them circling high above to keep watch. They were also monitoring the adventurers to ensure no one pocketed any materials on the sly, though the official likely wouldn't have realized that was their purpose.
"Hey, Rei! This guy says he has business with you."
"Hm? Oh, wait a second... Egret, right there. We’re taking out the magic stone embedded in the heart. Don't go overboard with your strength and scratch it."
"Hey, give me some credit. I wouldn't do something like—"
"...Remind me, who was it that accidentally cut the Lemures’s vocal cords?"
"Ah... fine. Carefully and gently, right? Yeah, leave it to me. I’ll get it right this time."
Rei gave Egret a flat, deadpan stare. Egret spoke with his eyes averted, clearly embarrassed.
"I’m serious. If you scratch the magic stone... you know what happens, right?"
"L-Leave it to me!"
His voice pitched slightly higher with nerves, Egret thrust his spear into the heart tissue surrounding the magic stone and slowly began to pry it loose.
Honestly, if the heart wasn't positioned so high up, I would have done this myself, Rei thought with an internal click of his tongue as he looked up at the heart. It was larger than his own body and sat about two meters off the ground. Standing at roughly 165 centimeters, Rei found it difficult to reach the magic stone embedded that high up, which was why he’d been forced to rely on Egret.
As someone who had come to Emocion specifically for this magic stone, Rei absolutely refused to let it be dropped or damaged.
"Alright, here it goes. And... hup!"
With a sharp grunt, Egret succeeded in prying the magic stone from the heart with the tip of his spear. He handed it over to Rei carefully, ensuring it didn't fall to the earth.
It was approximately thirty centimeters in diameter—the largest magic stone Rei had ever seen. The only stone he knew of that surpassed it in size was the Ancient Dragon magic stone he had encountered in the dungeon with Elena.
There’s no way this thing is just C-Rank, Rei thought. He wiped the blood and bits of flesh from the stone and stored it in his Misty Ring. Only then did he finally turn to the man who was staring at him in dazed shock—or more accurately, staring at Rei’s right hand, where the magic stone had been just a moment ago.
"Sorry about the wait. As you can see, we’re a bit busy. So, what do you need?"
"...Ah, yes. My apologies. I am Oburus, an official with the City of Emocion's Administration. A giant monster suddenly appeared near the city walls, so I was sent to assess the situation... though it seems I’m either too late or I've arrived at exactly the right time."
Oburus introduced himself with a wry smile, feeling the awkwardness of missing the actual battle. Rei offered his own name in return.
"I’m Rei. A C-Rank adventurer from the City of Gilm."
"Yes, I’m aware. You’re quite famous in many circles, Rei-san. More importantly, as an official, I must thank you for enabling our ships to leave the harbor so many times."
"I was just fulfilling a request. As for this thing..." Rei glanced back at the mountain of a corpse behind him. "You’ve probably heard from the others, but it’s the Lemures."
"So it truly is the Lemures... but how did a monster that was supposed to be far out at sea end up here?"
"I have a magic item I obtained through certain channels. I used it to perform a forced teleportation."
"...Forced teleportation? If you don’t mind, could I see this magic item?"
Oburus made the request with an air of disbelief, but Rei simply shrugged.
"Unfortunately, it was a single-use item. It crumbled to dust the moment the Lemures was teleported here."
"I see... well, that is... no, I suppose there's nothing for it. It isn't my place to pry. However, this creates several complications..."
Rei nodded, anticipating the man's concerns. "No one has actually seen the Lemures’s true form before. Because of that, you’re worried the city won't recognize this monster as the Lemures. Am I right?"
"Exactly. But if you knew that would be an issue, why use such a method?"
"It’s simple, really. My strongest magic is fire. I can use other types, but compared to my fire, they’re little more than child’s play. That being the case, I have an extremely poor compatibility with a target hiding at the bottom of the ocean."
"...I see. I take your point. That aside, how do you intend to prove that this was the Lemures?"
"I suppose the fact that Seto and I haven't been attacked while flying over the coast isn't enough, right?"
Rei asked the question just to be sure, but Oburus naturally shook his head.
"It’s true we’ve seen that the Lemures was targeting you, but that’s merely empirical evidence. It isn't formal proof."
"Fair enough. In that case, I’ll stay in Emocion for a while longer. If no ships are attacked during my stay, surely that will be enough for everyone to accept this was the beast?"
"Even then, there will be those who claim it simply fled elsewhere... but I understand. I will try to persuade my superiors along those lines. And, um..." Oburus hesitated, looking nervously at the massive corpse. "What do you plan to do with the Lemures materials? If you’re willing, it would be a great help to the City of Emocion if you could sell them here."
"Even if you say that... we believe this is a Rare Species or a High-ranking Species of Sea Serpent, but since no one has ever seen one before, the market value is a mystery. For now, we’re just separating the meat and the skin, but..."
"I see. If the Lemures is indeed a relative of the Sea Serpent, then the fangs, bones, skin, and certain organs like the liver and blood would be valuable..."
"..."
Rei followed Oburus's gaze to the ground. The grass was thoroughly fouled and stained by the blood that had poured from the monster.
"...I suppose we should give up on the blood."
"Yeah. As for the skin, I have plans for it, so I won't be selling much to the city. Besides, the Lemures’s skin is dangerous. It constantly seeps a corrosive liquid."
"What could you possibly intend to do with such a hazardous material?"
"Well, I’m not sure I should tell you... though I guess it’s better than being suspected of something worse. What do you think happens to the smoke if you burn skin soaked in corrosive liquid?"
"...That sounds incredibly dangerous."
"I don't plan on using it on people. It’s for things like Goblins that swarm in massive numbers."
Rei gave a small shrug and walked over toward Miroir.
"Rei, we've gathered a significant amount. We’re going to run out of space to put it all soon, so hurry up and store this."
"I’m on it. More importantly, did you get the guild card information for everyone helping with the dismantling and the guards?"
"No problem there. Hendeka’s been keeping a thorough log. Right, Hendeka?"
"Ah, yes. Fortunately, I’m literate, so I've recorded everything."
Rei nodded at Hendeka, who smiled bashfully, and immediately began touching the piles of meat and skin on the grass, storing them into his Misty Ring one after another. Oburus watched the process with the same shocked expression he’d worn when the magic stone disappeared.
As Rei worked, several figures approached Oburus. These were the subordinates he had sent out to gather intel earlier.
"Oburus-san, we’ve got the gist of it. ...Well, to be honest, the only thing we found out is that the monster was already dead by the time anyone got here."
Oburus nodded at the lanky man's report; he hadn't fared much better himself. Still, thanks to his direct talk with Rei, he had enough information to move forward.
"I see. In that case, I need you to return to the city immediately and give an initial report to our superiors. Tell them the giant monster that appeared near Emocion has been subjugated. Furthermore, tell them there is a high probability the creature is the Lemures, and that it was defeated on land after being forcibly teleported by a magic item."
"...Sure, I can do that, but just me? Even if monsters are scarce on the highway, isn't it a bit risky to go alone...?"
"What are you talking about? We came here on horseback. You’ll be riding back, of course. At that speed, you won't have to worry about the Goblins that usually haunt the road."
"And if something else appears... no, never mind. I’ll go report right away."
Perhaps realizing that Oburus was starting to look at him with a very cold eye, the man retracted his complaint and hurried off. Watching him go, Oburus figured it was only natural for a person to be a little shaken after such a massive monster had appeared so close to home.
"Alright, all the harvested meat and skin are stored. Call me again when the next batch is ready."
"Got it. Good luck to you and Egret. ...Though I expect it’ll take quite a while yet."
Miroir looked out over the Lemures’s immense bulk lying across the plains. Rei offered a small smile and returned to the dismantling work with Egret.
With over fifty adventurers laboring together, the task was finally completed by the time evening fell.