Demon Prince 56.1

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Chapter 56.1. Surprisingly Delicious?

The interior of the cave is fairly spacious.

At least it doesn’t seem cramped enough to hit our heads.

“It’s dark, Jun. Can you light it up?”

“Sure. [Lighting].”

I hand out sticks with magical lights attached to Sebasto, leading at the front; me, in the middle; and Noella, guarding the rear.

“Can’t you light up the whole cave more brightly?”

“I could, but we’d risk getting noticed by the Sahuagin.”

If they retreat into the water, it’ll be a hassle.

“The Sahuagin aren’t particularly intelligent, right? Shouldn’t it be fine?”

“Who knows? For now, this should be enough, right? No need to take unnecessary risks. Watch your step.”

““Okaaaay.””

We cautiously move deeper into the cave.

The path is mostly linear, but there are occasional alcoves where lurking Sahuagin attack sporadically.

“Take that!” “Hyaaah!”

The sporadic attacks by the Sahuagin are hardly a problem.

Tina and Nina handle them with ease.

Both wield dual short swords like Noella, blending magic into their combat.

Their fighting style resembles Yuu’s.

“Did you learn magic at school?”

“Yes!” “That’s right!”

“Tina and Nina, as well as Ruu and Kuu, seem to excel at school.”

“Of course. We’ve been training them.”

The four little maid maids have not only improved their combat skills but also excelled in academics.

They’ve learned to read, mastered basic arithmetic, and even made lots of friends.

“Well done, you two.”

““Ehehe.””

When I pat their heads, they smile happily.

You have to praise hardworking kids.

“Winter break is coming up, right? Feel free to go out and play with your friends.”

“Really?” “We can?”

“Invite Ruu and Kuu too. Just don’t go too far or to dangerous places, okay?”

““Okaaay! Thank you!””

Such obedient kids are adorable.

“Jun-sama, aren’t you still a kid yourself?”

“Maybe you should take a break and go play, too, Jun-sama?”

Oh, right. I’m still just a twelve-year-old kid.

Although, I do enjoy adventuring despite the training.

“Do you have any recommended spots for fun?”

“How about playing in the servants’ quarters?”

What would we even do there?

“Just to confirm, what do you mean by that?”

“Girl games.”

“Rejected.”

Don’t suggest that kind of thing to a kid.

“There’s a casino in the town next to the royal capital. How about that?”

“Oh, a casino. That sounds fun.”

I never went to a casino in my past life.

I didn’t gamble much, but it could be fun to try.

“Jun, I wanna go too! Take me to the casino!”

“Onii-chan, me too!”

“Alright, let’s plan a trip soon.”

““Yaaay!””

Talking like this, we safely progress through the cave.

But something feels odd.

“How many Sahuagin have we encountered so far?”

“Uh… five, Jun-sama.”

Nina answers. Just five?

“That’s not many.”

“Really? Isn’t that normal?”

“They said there’d be at least fifty Sahuagin in this cave. Doesn’t it seem like too few have attacked?”

“Hm. Can’t you use detection magic to check?”

“I tried, but there’s just a cluster near the underground lake.”

Could they have fled back to the sea?

If so, we might need to set up an ambush.

“Why did the Sahuagin settle in this cave in the first place?”

“Does something seem off, Noella?”

“Yes. While there’s water and an underground lake, this is still land. It’s odd for creatures that live underwater to make this their home. They can move on land, but it’s not their natural habitat.”

So, they might have fled here from the sea.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

““Same here.””

Lately, none of our requests seem to wrap up neatly.

Are we miscalculating things?

“If it comes down to it, we’ll teleport out. Be prepared.”

“““Understood!”””

We press on until we reach the final area where the underground lake is visible.

“One, two, three… ten Sahuagin.”

“Counting the ones we met earlier, that’s fifteen. Far short of fifty.”

“Something’s definitely off.”

Could something have attacked the Sahuagin already?

Did they retaliate and lose?

But there’s no sign of such a struggle.

“Jun-sama, look over there.”

Sebasto points toward scattered Sahuagin scales, limbs, and bloodstains.

A battle took place here?

“Something clearly attacked the Sahuagin here. What’s intriguing is…”

“They were fighting with their backs to the cave entrance, facing the lake?”

“Exactly. Or perhaps, they were defending themselves from something that emerged from the lake. There are no signs of battle by the lake’s edge.”

For the Sahuagin, masters of underwater combat, to avoid fighting in the water is unusual.

And this underground lake connects to the sea.

My bad feeling intensifies.

“Jun-sama, I hear noises from the lake bottom. Something’s coming out.”

Lily twitches her ears as she informs us.

As expected of the Rabbitfolk, her hearing is impeccable.

“The Sahuagin are panicking. It’s coming!”

The surface of the lake ripples and rises.

What emerges is a giant leopard-print octopus with white skin and blue spots.

That grotesque appearance is unmistakable— a blue-ringed octopus.

Except this one isn’t octopus-sized.

It’s larger than Bahamut, the dragon divine beast we saw before.

“That’s… a Giant Blue-Ringed Octopus!”

“It’s actually an octopus?!”

“That thing is way too big!”

Ai and Yuu’s shock is understandable. I’m stunned too.

The part of its body above water alone is about fifteen meters tall.

“Hey, Jun-sama. Can you actually eat that thing?”

“Seeing it in person… I doubt it.”

“Lily doesn’t think so either. It’s gross.”

“That’s not the kind of octopus I was imagining!”

Even I wouldn’t want to eat that.

And if it’s anything like modern Earth’s blue-ringed octopus, it’s highly venomous.

“That octopus is eating the Sahuagin.”

“So, the Sahuagin fled here to escape it.”

The panicked Sahuagin rushed toward us.

Looks like we have no choice but to fight.

“First, take down the Sahuagin. Stay away from the octopus. It’s probably venomous, so be cautious. Sebasto and Noella, back up Tina and Nina.”

“““Understood!”””

The battle begins.

We dispatch the fleeing Sahuagin with spells and sword strikes.

Everyone pitches in, and since the octopus had already thinned their numbers, we eliminate the Sahuagin with ease.

But our actions seem to have angered the octopus.

Now, it’s targeting us.

“Sebasto! What kind of attacks does this thing use?”

“It uses its eight arms for physical attacks and sprays ink. The ink is toxic, so avoid it!”

The cave may be large for us, but in the presence of that massive creature, there’s little room to evade its ink spray.

My armor has poison resistance, but the others don’t.

“Watch out! It’s spraying ink! Keep your distance!”