Melren, the port city.
Located southwest of Orario, it serves as a gateway connecting Orario to the sea, a harbor town where ships, cargo, and people come and go in massive numbers every day.
Out in front of it stretches Lake Rorog, a brackish lake connected to the sea where saltwater and freshwater mix.
And today, there were those who had business here.
The famous Loki Familia.
"Khehe, this place and that place too. It's paradise for the eyes everywhere you look."
Loki Familia had come here on a request to investigate the lakeside, while also taking a consolation trip for the members who had been suffering from their recent expedition into the deep levels and all the other chaos that had followed.
Strictly speaking, only the female members were present, but for the goddess Loki, with her very manly tastes, that was nothing short of a blessing.
She got to openly and freely admire the growth plates(?) of her cute children.
Which was why she had gone so far as to spend a hefty sum and prepare custom swimsuits for each and every one of them.
So for today, the lakeside beach belonged entirely to Loki's paradise.
That was certainly how it was supposed to be...
"What are you lot doing sneaking in here? We rented this place for the whole day! A pitiful little Familia like yours should get lost this instant!"
"Huh? What are you talking about, you godless fool? We're here for work too today. Don't go picking fights for no reason."
"I don't know anything about that nonsense! None of my business! Ugh, I hate this, I hate it! My paradise! Give me back my one and only paradise!"
Loki's sinister ambition was immediately spoiled by the arrival of yet another outside group.
And if those outsiders happened to be Hestia Familia, with whom the goddesses in particular never got along and always bickered whenever they met, then it was even more irritating.
As a result, Loki's mood had gone from one extreme to the other between before arriving here and after arriving here.
In other words, today was absolutely destined to be a terrible day for her.
If possible, it would be best not to get too close.
"Hey! What are you doing, casually laying down narration from the side like that!? Are you not even a god and still trying to cross the fourth wall or something?!"
As expected of Goddess Loki.
Her retorts, as lacking as her nonexistent chest, were also needlessly petty.
At this rate, nothing that should grow would ever grow.
Her future was deeply concerning.
At the very least, a person should have an A, or at least be bigger than a young man.
But then again, she was Loki, wasn't she?
The goddess of the unshaped?
Yeah, probably not happening.
"Y-you... Kyaaaah!"
"Oops, dangerous. Goddess, could you handle this for a moment?"
"Eh? N-no, wait! Even I'd have a hard time dealing with Loki when she's this pissed—gyaaah! You damned washboard chest! Don't grab someone else's chest however you please!"
And so, the catfight began.
No, the goddesses' chest battle.
Who would emerge victorious from this fierce struggle?
Coming soon to a box office near you.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't tease my goddess so much."
"Oh, Tiona's mother has arrived. Have you been well?"
"Who are you calling mother? And if anything happened, it'd be on your side, not ours. You really caused a stir out there, didn't you?"
"Heh heh heh, back then I was completely. out. of. my. mind."
"Haa, looking at you makes it feel like there's another Loki in the world. You're exhausting in all sorts of ways."
"No, it's not that bad."
"That wasn't a compliment."
At Riveria's scolding, I merely shrugged.
After a sigh, as though she had given up trying to care, she moved the conversation on to the next topic.
After all, there were matters between us that needed to be addressed.
"Still, what exactly are you here for? We came to investigate after hearing rumors about the man-eating incident."
"We did too, or rather. The Guild sent a request directly to me. They said the danger level of the monsters around the lakes and sea near Melren has been rising lately. They asked me to investigate the cause if possible and bring back what I found.
Well, think of it as a sort of water quality survey. As for the other Hestia Familia members... they're just here to have fun while they can? They've had to put up with a lot because of me lately, after all. We should make time like this whenever we can."
"So you do know when to feel sorry."
"Only when it comes to my people."
"Hmph, that's enough then. It's not my place to say, but make sure you rest well."
"As you command. Though..."
Wouldn't the princess be changing into a swimsuit too?
Just as I was about to say that—
Boom!
The moment that question left my mouth, all kinds of magic flew at me from every direction.
Of course, the culprits were the elf members of Loki Familia who had been watching us closely the entire time.
Their sincere killing intent stabbed at me alone with pinpoint precision.
"Shameless!"
"Rude!"
"Pervert!"
"Rapist!"
"Go die!"
"Wait! I can accept the others, but not rapist! What do you take me fo—puhk!"
Bang! Bang! Puhat! Thud!
Wow, magic exploded beautifully from all around, painting the sandy beach in its own colors.
Hmm, as expected of Loki Familia.
Every spell flying toward me was superb.
Especially Lefiya; compared to the last time I saw her, her magical energy felt stronger.
Looks like she's been working hard and growing safely.
Phyrbis would be proud if she saw this.
"Still, what a shame."
If it were Riveria's swimsuit scene, that would have been premium among premiums, a legendary top-tier shot among legendary top-tier shots.
As a man, not being able to see that up close was honestly pretty disappointing.
If I could take a picture and distribute it... ah, just how much would that be worth?
"Miss Ann, why are those people making such a fuss at empty air?"
"Who knows? I don't. Maybe it's some kind of Loki Familia training method?"
"At least put some saliva on your lies before you say them."
"Like this? Rerorerorerori~"
"Honestly..."
As anyone who had caught on from this conversation would know.
In fact, the person talking with Loki Familia until just now was not me.
What can I say?
It was my clone...! No, just an illusion.
In short—
"I should probably calm things down now. [Shatter.]"
Kyouka Suigetsu.
Clink!
With the sound of glass breaking, the false image of me vanished.
Only then did the elf members of Loki Familia realize what I had done, and their faces went utterly blank.
Riveria, who had witnessed the entire scene from the side, let out a deep sigh, looking as though she found the whole thing utterly hopeless.
Ah, hahaha, teasing proud elves is such great content!
"Miss Ann, your face looks downright evil right now."
"Hmm? What did I do? Rerorerorerori~"
My victory declaration, performed while respecting the original expression as much as possible, left the elf mages looking nothing but furious and humiliated.
Ah, cherries are so sweet. So sweet.
"Ugh, what a cunning—!"
"This is so unfair! How can a filthy man like that have that much power...!"
"This is the worst. That person really is the worst!"
Heh heh heh, the laments of losers are always so sweet to hear.
"...Miss Ann, stop it. I'm embarrassed just watching you."
"Knock it off. It's indecent."
Oh, looks like Loki's parent-teacher conference has arrived.
And since even our Lili was telling me to stop, I suppose it was about time to quit.
Besides, this had all just been a little pastime to kill time anyway.
"So, you've been fiddling with something and getting ready this whole time. What exactly are you planning to do, Miss Ann?"
"Ah, this? It's nothing much."
In the past, there had apparently been another entrance connected to the Dungeon at the bottom of Lake Rorog.
The aquatic monsters that still live in the sea and lakes today can be thought of as descendants of those that escaped back then.
Because of that, the sea was less a gracious field of opportunity for humanity and more just another danger zone.
That didn't mean human fishing and navigation hadn't developed, but compared to now, the risk had been far too high.
Back then, the Zeus, Hera, and Poseidon Familia had joined forces to slay Leviathan, the sea tyrant, one of the targets of the Three Great Quests.
Using the fossilized corpse as material, they completely sealed the lake-side entrance.
After that, no more aquatic monsters could come out of the Dungeon.
And so the sea became safe, humanity prospered, and everyone lived peacefully and happily ever after.
...That would have been nice if it had ended that simply, but reality was different.
"For some reason, the monsters in the sea have been getting stronger and stronger. And sea monsters are already harder to deal with than land ones, so there are very few adventurers who can actually take them on."
"So Miss Ann came here on a Guild request to investigate the cause, right? Then is that some kind of magecraft tool for the investigation?"
"Hm? No. This isn't some gentle tool for investigation or anything like that."
"Then what is it?"
"It's repeating what I said earlier, but the important thing here is that there's a Leviathan corpse at the bottom of this lake."
"And that is... why?"
As the smile at the corners of my mouth deepened, Lili's expression was also gradually tinted with unease.
But I didn't notice the change in her.
"A target of the Three Great Quests. The sea tyrant. It's the kind of material that stirs my romance in every possible way."
And so.
"How could this Magus be satisfied with scraps alone? I was going to haul the whole corpse up with this..."
"Stop him, everyone! That crazy bastard's really planning to do it!"
"Gah! Lili, even you...!"
My grand plan was stopped at the very beginning by the betrayal of my beloved disciple.
Not only Lili, who was right beside me, but everyone nearby who had overheard our conversation rushed over in alarm, subdued me, tied me up with ropes, and buried me in the sand to stop me.
You damned lot...!
Why can none of you see the flow of the times!
"You think I'm doing this just because of some personal greed!?"
"Then what were you planning to do with it?"
"Well, of course..."
"Of course?"
"I was going to research the corpse..."
"And after researching it?"
"..."
"Please be honest."
Otherwise, I'll go the rest of my life without ever looking at Miss Ann's face again.
At Lili's threat, which carried unmistakable sincerity, I finally raised the white flag.
Haa, fine.
To be honest...
"I wanted to revive Leviathan and see it in person once."
Jurassic, or kaiju.
How could I, as a man of romance, not want to confirm that for myself!
"Yes, crime confirmed. We'll confiscate this and return it to you when we get back to the city."
Of course, after this, Miss Ann will be applying for a ban on approaching the lake.
At Lili's words, along with everyone around us nodding in agreement, I hung my head and shed tears of genuine sorrow.
"Uuuugh, isn't that way too cruel~!"
HEEEEYYYY!
Pure, unfiltered grief.
A roar of passion itself.
"Bell, let's go play over there."
"Uh, no. I mean, I..."
"All right, are these fish okay grilled as barbecue?"
"How about sashimi? It's rough, but I learned from my mother back home..."
"...Hello? Guys? Everyone? Minna?"
And yet, astonishingly, no one paid me any attention at all.
Eventually, I stopped thinking.
Magus, super sad.
========================
The website for reading paid chapters is available on my Patreon. The number of chapters on Patreon: 134
Link: patreon.com/UltraMagnus_T