Chapter 12. Lolias couldn't win against tentacles

"Hmm... Huh... where am I?" Luka found himself in an unfamiliar room upon waking up. Judging from the position of the sun and the air, it had to be morning. It felt like he'd remembered something important, but—

"Finally decided to wake up, Luka?"

"Um, Alice... could you remind me what happened yesterday?"

"So you don't remember... I did not believe you to be such a drunkard."

"Eh!? I got drunk?!"

Apparently, he'd drunk so much it had caused him to blackout. Luka wasn't entirely convinced, but judging by Alice and Ilias' cold looks, it had to be true.

Internally, however, the two breathed a sigh of relief.

"More importantly, let us have breakfast and then move on to San Ilia or whatever already."

"Indeed. Luka, make sure to eat heartily and protect me with all your heart."

"Of course," Luka agreed to have breakfast first. Whatever he'd forgotten, he would surely remember in due time.

"Hmm, not too bad, I suppose."

"So this is the food of common folk, is it?"

Alice acted surprisingly spoiled while Lolias ate with great interest. Being served in a port town's inn, the menu was centered on seafood, which Luka also had a good helping of. He ate slowly as he tried to remember what happened in this location.

"Ah, right, I almost forgot about Meia."

"Meia? Who is that?"

"The mermaid who asked me for a favor yesterday. She was one of my companions in the other world... Astaroth brainwashed her into believing she was the Queen of the Southern Seas after Kraken was turned into a dried squid.

"Astaroth!? That wretched succubus!?"

"So the Queen of the Southern Seas was done in as well..."

The two were surprised to hear such a name mentioned in relation to a disproportionally ordinary mermaid.

"Can we stop by Meia's place before we head to San Ilia?"

"You are the one who decides where our journey takes us. Do as you please."

"Why do we have to hear out a monster's request?... Then again, there should be an orb in the Southern Undersea Temple... Very well, I shall allow you to visit that mermaid called Meia."

Having received the pair's permission, Luka quickly made his way to Meia's house, slightly dismayed that Ilias was being as pompous as ever. The location of the house was the same, and after a knock, the door was soon opened.

"Oh my, you are that adventurer from yesterday. How did you know where to find me?"

'Oops,' Luka thought, only now realizing he'd never asked in this world.

"Oh, well, you know, I just asked around for a mermaid matching your description."

"Why, thank you for going to such efforts. Please, come inside."

It appeared she had been fooled for the time being. After leading them inside, Meia set out tea, snacks, and seafood on a table. Luka refrained; the two extras beside him most certainly did not.

"So... How can I help you?" Luka asked with a forced smile.

"You see... I am in love with a human man."

Hearing that, Lolias made a disgusted expression, but it went ignored. Or rather, Luka hid her from view using his body.

"But even though my darling and I love each other... we are not officially married as we cannot perform the marriage rite required by the law of the sea."

"You... cannot perform it?"

'Huh, didn't she just go to deliver the pledge by herself in the other world? Did something happen?' Luka wondered as she explained she wanted him to make the trip in their stead due to the route being so dangerous. The fact both man and woman needed to make the trip together in this world caused a lot of questions... and just allowing a proxy to deliver the pledge in their stead seemed rather haphazard... Though, coming to think of it, sea dwellers seemed to be rather haphazard in general.

As Luka was lost in thought, the door flung open.

"I'm home!"

"Ah, welcome back~."

A cute boy, smaller than Luka, cheerfully entered through the door.

'She hasn't changed at all!' Luka thought, palming his face while the Monster Lord and Goddess watched on in befuddlement.

"Ah, well, you there, mermaid. Don't you think it would be better to wait until he has matured a little more?"

"But... darling is already 25 years old."

"What!?"

"My word..."

"Hold on just a moment there! No matter how hard I look, I cannot see anything here but a shota!"

"I just used a little bit of mermaid magic to stop him from aging."

Hearing that, Alice's hand met her face, similar to Luka's. Ilias, on the other hand, adopted an extraordinarily harsh look.

"Ah... what selfish things monsters do to satisfy their twisted desires... and no way to make such wickedness cease..."

"..."

Alice looked away, unable to refute Ilias' words. As for Luka, despite having some complicated feelings, he decided to pretend he didn't see anything since there were no further victims of shotafication.

"So, allow me to ask once more. Won't you go to the undersea and bring our pledge to the Queen of the Southern Seas?"

"Please do!"

"Alright, I accept your request."

Even if it wasn't Luka's aim, going to the undersea temple wasn't a bad idea either way if he'd get a ball of guidance out of it. The trio accepted the pledge as well as the ball of guidance and left Meia's house and then Port Natalia as a whole.

"I cannot believe I have to help fulfill a monster's request..."

"Don't be like that, Ilias. It's not a bad deal in exchange for a ball of guidance. We had to get one somewhere anyway, so why not just take this opportunity?"

As Luka attempted to calm down the grumbling Ilias, the three of them proceeded along the beach. Being on a beach for the first time, Alice picked up shells, crabs, and seaweed that were washed on shore... and then ate them, curious about their taste.

However, this peaceful atmosphere was suddenly broken.

"Kyaaa!?"

The scream of a young woman resounded. At first glance, it looked like a helpless girl was being attacked by a monster.

Sea Cucumber Girl appeared!

"D-Don't come any closer!"

"I'm hungry... You are fine too; let me suck some of your vitality..."

"Stop!"

"Cease, vile monster! I shall bestow divine punishment upon you!"

Luka and Ilias jumped forth to stop her. The latter, in particular, was holding her dragon scale bow at the ready, excited for her first monster extermination in this body.

"Y-You are..."

"Please leave this to me and run to safety!"

"Y-Yes...~"

With the woman out of the way, Luka stepped before the sea cucumber girl.

"Oh, you look more delicious... Alright, I'll squeeze a lot out of you..."

"No, you won't!"

Luka and Ilias entered a battle stance. With his current abilities, Luka could seal her in an instant, but if he did, Ilias wouldn't be able to gain any experience, so he relegated himself to support.

"Light, grant her strength! Enhance Technique!"

Luka cast Enhance Technique! Ilias' dexterity rose!

"Take this, three shots at once! Hah!"

Ilias used Multiple Arrow! Sea Cucumber Girl took 764 damage!

"S-So cruel..."

Sea Cucumber Girl was defeated! 500 experience points obtained!

Ilias reached level 6!

"So this is how it feels to vanquish monsters directly... how truly wonderful. You have served me well, Luka. I commend you."

"Ah, thank you."

While Lolias was delighting in the sensation of having beaten up a monster with her own hands, Luka walked up to the collapsed monster and sealed her with Angel Halo, making sure to also retrieve the arrows in the process. It seemed like the bow and arrows were worth their rather hefty price tag.

When he turned back around, the girl they had just saved from being chased around was there. Just as Luka wondered if he hadn't seen her somewhere before, she revealed herself as a Shellfish Girl. She was about to try making Luka her husband by force if need be but was turned into a pincushion by an angry Lolias and then sealed.

"What a troublesome and brazen woman. It is people like her that tarnish the reputation of monsters."

"Trying to fulfill your desires without even considering what other people may want, shame on you. Shame on you, indeed."

For a change, Alice and Lolias cooperated as they dug a hole and buried the sealed shellfish and sea cucumber girls inside.

"The shellfish aside, is the sea cucumber going to be alright if you do that?"

"Monsters are sturdy even if sealed. She won't die from this much."

"Indeed. She has much reflecting on her misdeeds to do. Normally, I would have condemned her to 30,000 years of toil, but this much will do for now. Be grateful for our mercy."

While wondering why those two got along on only the strangest points, Luka held aloft the ball of guidance, creating a path through the water. He had already used that path several times, but for the other two, it was a first, leading them to look around curiously as they walked into the sea.

Alice's hand lanced out into the water, grabbing a fish, which she promptly ate raw. "Hmm, the sea is quite an interesting place, I must say."

"I feel like the only thing expressing interest might be your stomach."

"What a glutton of a Monster Lord..."

As Luka and Lolias expressed their disapproval, Alice suddenly erased her presence. A monster was near.

"Well, I guess making a road like this stands out quite a bit."

"That is perfectly fine, is it not? It merely means further opportunities to punish monsters."

Unlike Luka's sigh of exasperation, Lolias was rearing to go. Having experienced the sensation of becoming stronger as she beat a monster for the first time, she must have been quite elated.

"Luka! I shall entrust the vanguard to you!"

"Sure."

Somewhat glad she was having fun at least, Luka stepped forth to draw their enemies' aggro.

"Ohohoho, There truly is no need to fear the likes of a monster!"

"That's because your equipment is quite a bit ahead of the curve. But, leaving that aside, you are handling that bow quite well, Ilias."

"That goes without saying, there is no weapon this Goddess cannot handle!" Lolias boasted, proudly sticking out her chest and laughing in a manner that was unusual for her. It seemed she was gradually getting used to things.

"Still... Sea Cucumber Girl, Jellyfish Girl, Sea Anemone Girl, and Anglerfish Girl... This path sure has a lot of ferocious monsters that assault and try to eat people regardless of gender..."

"Sea-dwelling monsters are truly a savage bunch to force humans to pass through a road like this."

"Going along this path to reach the Undersea Temple is a trial for the to-be-wedded couple. To show their courage and strength as they fight back together against the monsters seeking to devour them... Or so I suppose," Alice explained somewhat grumpily while glaring at Lolias, having apparently taken exception to something she said.

"That's a really harsh trial for ordinary people..." It was said that for the average person, the monsters on Ilias continent were the limit, with only the more capable being able to stand against monsters of Sentora on equal footing. In other words... wouldn't it be impossible for a normal man to marry an aquatic monster?

"My word... To treat humans as food and yet still have the gall to put all sorts of conditions on them when electing a spouse... how utterly selfish."

"...There are reasons for monsters doing what they do," Alice answered with a complicated expression.

Consequently, a question popped into Luka's mind. If monsters, in general, had regulations about who to make their spouse... "Then, do Monster Lords also have some sort of requirement to marry a human?"

"Indeed. Strength—That is the only requirement for a man. We are allowed to marry only a man stronger than ourselves... That is the law of my family."

"In other words, both you and all other Monster Lords have and always will be forever alone. How pitifu—Oww, OWW!? Stop it, Monster Lord! Luka, help me!" Lolias mocked her with a smug smile, only to be instantly wrapped up by Alice's tail until she was completely hidden from view.

"W-Well, let's calm down, Alice... Ilias, please don't provoke her so much either."

That said, a man stronger than the current Monster Lord, Alice... unless it were a hero on the level of Heinrich, it would probably be impossible... In her shrunk form, she might be able to find someone suitable, but it would also mean she would no longer be able to be the Monster Lord.

Despite causing a bit of a commotion, they managed to proceed deeper into the Undersea Temple, where a giant figure, even by the standards of sea monsters, was waiting for them. Unlike in the other world, the Kraken was perfectly fine. Luka took a step forward.

"Are you the Queen of the Southern Seas?"

"...That is correct. I am the Queen entrusted to rule the Southern Seas by the Monster Lord herself. Tell me, human... and angel, just what is your business in this Undersea Temple?"

"Quite the conceited monster to act so high and mighty in front of me... But no matter, so long as you hand over the Blue Orb, I do not care."

"The Blue Orb!? So this angel is here as a vanguard of Ilias!? I shall never hand over the orb entrusted to me by the Monster Lord!"

"Wha—!? Il... Iris, please don't say unnecessary things! That's not it, we're just here to deliver this pled—"

"I have heard enough!"

"En garde, you oversized squid! I will shred your legs and have Luka cook them!"

"I'd rather not!?" Luka despaired about how this sort of thing just kept happening, even over here now, but got into a combat stance nonetheless.

"Come at me! I shall not flee like some coward even in the face of an angel!"

"Hmph! I will be opening a soup kitchen in Port Natalia that serves squid!"

"Ah, come on!"

Luka wondered what to do, not really wanting to get involved in the fight. Ilias peppered the Kraken with arrows but was caught by her tentacles shortly after. It seemed like facing off against a Queen-class opponent was still too much for her after all.

"Fufufu, quite weak considering what a big mouth you have... Now then, allow my tentacles to extend you an invitation to a paradise of pleasure..."

"Eep!? L-Luka! You have to help—AH!? H-Help meeeEEE!?"

And so, for the first time in her long divine life, Ilias was subjected to tentacle play.

'Well, if she suffered some consequences here, then maybe she might refrain from any future actions as hasty as this or like what happened with Queen Ant back in the other world,' Luka coldly calculated, opting to slowly try to convince Kraken rather than rescue Ilias outright.

"Um, I apologize for her actions, so won't you be so kind as to forgive us? We do also have actual business to attend to here."

"Actual business? Why didn't you say s—"

"L-Luka!? Are you really going to call yourself a Hero and still lower yourself to negotiate with monsters!? HyaaA!?

"I see, so you were this angelic vanguard's Hero companion... In that case, I cannot simply leave you be!"

Yet Ilias already made the situation worse for herself all on her own. Buried in tentacles, her expression looked like she was about to finish.

"Oh my goddess! Please reflect on your actions a bit, Iris!"

Heaving a sigh at being unable to extend the conversation even a bit, Luka readied Angel Halo. Several tentacles crept forward, testing the waters while also protecting Kraken's main body. Even a top-notch swordsman would likely be overwhelmed by so many, let alone an ordinary one. However...

"This is it... The ultimate flash strike... Giga Slash!"

Tentacles and body, all were engulfed and cleaved by the strike empowered by multiple elements.

"What!? Impossible, all my tentacles in a single blow!?"

The tentacles all flopped to the ground, completely void of strength, followed by a twitching Ilias. Taking the opportunity, Luka pulled the pledge out of his pocket while closing in on Kraken and waved it around right before her eyes.

"That's... a marriage pledge... Why didn't you say anything sooner!?"

"S-Sorry." Luka bowed with all his might on behalf of Lolias, somewhat glad he didn't have to resort to sealing her.

"What, you already finished things? A shame, a little longer, and we would have probably seen something rather entertaining," Alice chuckled as she reappeared in her monster form. The sight of Ilias lying on the floor in a twitching mess, unable to get up, must have been immensely enjoyable to her.

"Oh, a monster was with you too?... Wait! You cannot mean to marry both of them at once!?... Then again, no rule says you cannot, either..."

"N-No! I'm just bringing it here as a proxy!"

"Obviously not, you idiot!"

"...Proxy? Why didn't they come here themselves? I swear, youngsters these days..."

"On the beach, in the sea, and even in the temple, we were attacked by ferocious monsters that would have tried to eat humans or monsters alike, which might have something to do with it."

"...That is simply a trial they need to overcome."

"I think that unless the process changes, the only result will be less sea-dwelling monsters marrying." After all, the magical revolution did not occur in this world, resulting in the average strength of humans being even lower."

"...Monsters have their circumstance, Luka."

"Indeed. But I suppose it does not matter if you are a proxy. There is no rule stating the couple need to carry it themselves after all."

'...They really are a haphazard bunch.'

"Either way, I have received the pledge. As such, I, as the Queen of the Southern Seas, acknowledge Meia and her husband as an officially wedded couple."

"Hmm, then I shall also grant them my blessing as Monster Lord."

"Then, I grant them my congratulations as an unblessed Hero."

"I... I do... not..."

"What a noisy angel."

"EEP!?"

And so, Meia and her husband received three blessings for their marriage. Having both a Monster Lord and a Hero give their blessing as a set may very well have been the first time in 500 years. However, it still felt a bit incomplete without the actual couple being there. Having received the marriage ring, the trio made to return. Somewhat in disbelief that Alice had managed to fool Kraken despite literally calling herself the Monster Lord, Luka lifted Ilias into a piggyback, foregoing any recovery spells.

"Time to head back. Let's go, Iris."

"Uuuh... I have been defiled..."

"Make sure to remember to deliver the ring. Also, thank you for bringing humans and monsters closer. Allow me to send you back to the surface as a sign of gratitude. Feel free to visit again should you need anything."

"Ah, we can just return using magic, so you don't need to... Eh?"

"EEP!?

Luka was surprised when a tentacle suddenly grabbed him, and Ilias let out a scream.

"Let's see... land should be about that way... Farewell."

Proving Luka's ominous feeling, he was flung at a sixty-degree angle.

"Wait! The road of guidance isn't... glub, glub!?"

"You damn meat-headed squi—glurg, glurg!?"

And so, the two shot through the roadless seawater, eventually crashing onto the beach. Luka barely managed to safely catch Ilias.

"Uuuh... That was awful..." An incredible teary-eyed Lolias muttered in his arms.

"Sheesh, why are sea monsters so reckless? Are you sure you don't have personnel problems, Alice?"

"...That's just how it is with them. Even if I put someone else in charge, things would mostly remain the same."

"Uuuh... When I regain my power, I will be having fried squid." Even with her unfortunate experience, it seemed she wasn't discouraged. With a wry smile, Luka warped to Port Natalia, still carrying Ilias on his back.

After delivering the ring, Meia 'rewarded' Luka, which caused Ilias and Alice, who heard the moans, to lay into him.