◆Dark Knight; Kuroki

  We were heading north by riding on Aspidochelone’s back.

  The ice spirit’s power was really strong in the icelands of the north.

  The cold wind that blew to the grand central continent came from there.

  The krakens were living around this ice island.

  And we were currently heading to that very place.

  It’s been three days since we departed from Nosoi, the orc’s country.

  So far, its been smooth sailing journey.

  The orc Ezasa had his fleet sail around aspidochelone as if protecting it from any danger.

  The orc’s ship had no watch tower or sail.

  If you ask how their ship could move, it simply because their ship was puled by an oceanic monster called an orca.

  Orca was a huge oceanic monster with a nose resembling that of pig, fangs, scales covering their body, and bristles growing on their body.

  Since their faces resembled that of an orc, they were nicknamed as the oceanic orc.

  Ezasa and co from the orc-tribe tamed this orca mainly for fishing.

  I looked at the outside scenery from the 3rd floor of the mansion on aspidochelone’s back.

  Since glass had already been invented in this world, I could take a look at the scenery outside without having to open the window.

  Though the price was expensive, it wouldn’t even put a dent in Modes’ pocket by installing the entire windows of the mansion with glass.

  Upon looking outside, I saw more and more ice floating in the ocean.

  There was a barrier protecting this mansion from the cold air, so it wasn’t that cold in this place.

  Nevertheless, I, who gained the power of a Frost Dragon, could move outside just fine.

  I stopped looking at the outside scenery and scanned inside the room.

  「Ma~n. There’s nothing that can beat hot pot during cold weather right, Poh-chan.」


  「Indeed, Your Highness.」


  Polen and Putina were enjoying a cheese hotpot.

  Both of them have been eating since a while ago.

  Especially Polen, isn’t she already eating a bit too much for her size?

  Did she suffer from some sort of disease that was gonna kill her if she didn’t eat?

  But well, maybe I didn’t have to stop her.

  I mean, she kept saying that she didn’t want to capture the kraken so let’s not make her mood take a nose dive.

  Was what I felt as I looked at Polen.

  She looked like she was enjoying the hot pot after all.

  And then, that smile.

  Yes, I guess I really shouldn’t say anything when she looks like she’s really enjoying the food.

  「Won’t you come and eat with us, Master Kuroki~?」


  「Thank you for your offer but do allow me to refuse, Your Highness… I’m already full myself.」


  Unfortunately, I had to refuse her invitation since I’m already quite full myself.

  「… I see.」


  Polen looked so lonely.

  I feel bad for her but I really couldn’t eat anymore.

  I did eat along with them in the beginning but anymore than that was honestly impossible.

  「Nufufufufufu. Since Your Excellency said so, then I shall take the responsibility to eate the food.」


  「AH!! SO SLY!! POH-CHAN, THAT MEAT IS MINE!!」


  Polen and Putina were eating happily.

  Nevertheless, Putina was also a big eater.

  Though I couldn’t see it now, her real appearance was that of a giant bear, maybe the amount that she ate didn’t change even in her human form.

  I turned my attention to the outside again.

  Thereupon, I could see a lump of ice floating right in front of us.

  It seems we’ve arrived at the nearby icelands.

  「Your Highness, there’s an iceland in front of us. I shall go out a little bit to take a look at the iceland.」


  「Hu~ff」


  Polen replied so while stuffing food into her mouth.

  I left the mansion and headed toward the head of aspidochelone. Liburm, the high lizardman general, had already been waiting there.

  「If it isn’t Your Excellency. Is something the matter?」


  General Liburm greeted me the moment I arrived.

  「Well, I actually came to see the situation since I saw icelands right in front of us, General Liburm. Is it going to affect our voyage?」


  「Yes, since Ezasa is our guide.」


  Liburm and I were looking at the scene in front of aspidochelone.

  Ezasa’s fleet were looking for a route to avoid crashing against the floating iceland as they advanced.

  「I see, come to think of it, General Liburm, I heard that the kraken are living around this area of the sea, do you know how to find them?」


  「Don’t worry about that, Your Excellency. We’re going to find a selkie’s guide to locate the kraken’s position for us.」


  「Selkie? The earless seal?」


  「Yes. The kraken’s most favourite food is selkie. For that reason, we can easily find kraken around the living place of the selkies.」


  Selkie were the beastman’s form of an earless seal.

  Selkie lived as earless seals in the sea, but they’re going to shed their skin once they mature enough and gained a human form.

  A selkie’s human form was really beautiful, they’re the best at charming humans.

  The selkies targetted the dissatisfied human husbands or wives, and charmed them to have a s*x.

  But then, it was just a one night stand. The selkies went back into the ocean when the sun rose.

  Selkies could only spent a single night with the human they tempted with and they had to go back to the sea immediately after that.

  By the way, legend said that the human who wanted to meet selkies had to drop seven droplets of tears into the sea.

  In addition, hiding the seal skin of selkies would prevent them from returning to the sea and left them with no other choice but to become the other party’s spouse.

  But, since they were originally sea dwellers, they would often gaze out to the sea even after they married the human.

  In addition, they would return right back to the sea, or their home in the sea once they found their hidden seal skin.

  Selkies were an existence that were born because of the mating between the demon beast earless seal and the human tribe.

  In most situations out there, the descendants of the two should be born as the father’s race if it was male or the mother’s race if it was female, but Selkies were a rare race whose child inherited both of their parents racial traits, all of them were both an earless seal and human.

  That seems to be the Selkie’s ancestry.

  The Hippogriff seems to have this trait too. Hippogriffs were a race that was born between gryphon and horse.

  「Your Excellency, it seems we’ve arrived at the Selkie’s village.」


  When I looked at the direction where Liburm’s finger pointed at, I saw a few earless seals on the ice.

  There were a lot of them.

  Just like that, the gargantuan turtle, aspidochelone, steered toward the selkies.

  And just like that, we were heading toward the Slekie’s village.

  ◆Princess of Hell; Polen

  Audience room in Aspidochelone’s mansion.

  Handsome gentlemen were kneeling on the floor, bowing their heads down in front of me.

  I suddenly had the urge to laugh upon seeing such a scene. Reason being, every single one of them was a young man of the Selkie tribe.

  They’d come to welcome us who’d just arrived at their village.

  All of them were half-naked, only coiling their seal skinn around their waist.

  Honestly, they were eye candy since they has such nice, well-proportioned bodies and handsome faces.

  「Welcome to our village, o the daughter of our Great Demon King, Your Highness Polenna.」


  They said my name with their clear and refreshing voice.

  The one who greeted me was Inul, the representative of the Selkies. I remembered his name since I’d heard it before from General Liburm.

  Inul was a brown-haired, black-eyed, gallant-looking young man. He might be the most handsome amongst them.

  Currently, he and the other Selkies were down on one knee, bowing their head toward me.

  Show your face please.

  「Please raise your head, everyone.」


  I urged them to raise their heads.

  Inul and co then raised their faces at once.

  Their beautiful eyes were looking at me.

  Yup, handsome was justice after all.

  I desperately held back my feelings that wanted to hug them so much.

  I mean, I had a bad experience with a young selkie way back, a really long time ago.

  That time, that young selkie was bringing tribute from his tribe to my dear father. I, wanting to get along with him, clasped his hand tightly, and broke his hand.

  I mean, I just squeezed his hand lightly.

  But then, a selkie’s body was way more fragile than mine. Thus, they ended up severely wounded just by bumping into me.

  He cried upon seeing his broken hand and fainted from the shock.

  Thus, I mustn’t repeat that tragedy again.

  That’s why I decided to treat them as eye candy and forbade myself from touching them.

  「Here you go, Your Highness. The best seafood in this area.」


  Inul, the representative of the selkies presented a seafood platter consisting of shellfish, prawn, and fish to me.

  Poh-chan unintentionally bent forward upon seeing that.

  「Yaay, let’s have seafood hotpot before we go to catch the kraken, Your Highness.」


  Poh-chan spoke with drool dripping from the edge of her mouth.

  Her appetite couldn’t be underestimated.

  But, I understood her feelings.

  「You’re absolutely right, Poh-chan. Gufufufu.」


  Let’s have some seafood hotpot while looking at the handsome selkies. That would make the hot pot even more delicious.

  「Inul-dono. Do you happen to know the location of the kraken around this area?」


  Master Kuroki, who stood by my side, came forward and asked that question.

  Master Kuroki was donned in his usual Dark Knight’s armor.

  But, he unfastened his helmet in this occasion, so I could see his face.

  Master was smiling as he knelt on one knee on the floor in front of Inul.

  Maybe he did that so that their line of sight would be in line.

  The scene of handsome people facing each other was really picturisque. Creative artist could make all kind of scenes with this spectacle alone.

  「Yes, Your Excellency. In fact, the kraken appears rather frequently nowadays. It seems they are aiming for us since they often appear when we go out to fish.」


  「I see… The kraken is aiming for you guys, eh… Can you guide us to the location where you often run into that kraken?」


  「By all means, Your Excellency!! Many of our brethren have already fallen victim!! Please avenge our brethern!!」


  Inul spoke while crying.

  Such tearjerking story.

  HANDSOME MEN WERE THE TREASURE OF THIS WORLD!! HOW DARE THAT KRAKEN TO EAT THEM!!!

  「WORRY NOT, INUL!!! THIS POLEN WILL HUNT DOWN THAT KRAKEN!!」


  I said such passionate words as I stood from my chair.

  Our surroundings raised a cheer upon seeing that.

  Inul and co look so moved, and Master Kuroki was looking at me with look of admiration on his face.

  Seeing that, I realized that Master Kuroki’s evaluation of me had skyrocketed.

  YAAAY!!

  「W-WHAT’S HAPPENED TO YOU, YOUR HIGHNESS?!! YOU USUALLY ONLY LAZE AROUND, EAT AND SLEEP EVERYDAY, RIGHT!!!?」


  Poh-chan who stood by my side spoke too much.

  I wanted her to keep her silence at this kind of time.

  「AS EXPECTED OF YOUR HIGHNESS!! MOVING TO SAVE THOSE IN NEED IS THE DUTY OF THOSE WHO STAND ABOVE!! AS EXPECTED OF THE CHILD OF YOUR MAJESTY, THE DEMON KING!!」


  Master Kuroki looked really delighted.

  How embarassing.

  「Ehehehehem is that so? You make me embarasse~d.」


  I posed an embarrassed gesture.

  「THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR WILLING TO MOVE FOR US, YOUR HIGHNESS!!」


  Inul and co were apparently moved to tears by my declaration.

  I almost blurted “Then let me to hug you” just now.

  「WELL THEN!! EVERYONE, LET’S HAVE SEAFOOD HOTPOT TONIGHT! WE’RE GOING TO HUNT THE KRAKEN TOMORROW!!」


  Everyone raised a war cry in unison upon hearing my remark.