Chapter 79: Leviathan and Ajillo 

“Father! There are tiny little crabs over here!! Look! They walk sideways! They’re so cute!!”

“Oh? You’re right.”

Amate crouched down on the sandy beach, completely captivated as she watched a tiny crab scuttle sideways across the shore with its little pincers raised.

Honestly…

You’re much cuter than the crab.

The thought naturally crossed my mind.

As I gently patted her head, enjoying the way her eyes sparkled with innocent excitement, Luka and the others wandered over to join us.

“Eight-niisan, what’re you doing?”

“Observing crabs.”

“Oh! Just watching them is boring! Let’s catch a bunch of them and make them fight each other!”

“N-No, Nor-chan. That would be cruel…”

As someone who had spent his childhood making rhinoceros beetles battle in the woods…

I couldn’t exactly argue with much conviction.

The children and I continued following the little crabs as they wandered across the sand, laughing every time they suddenly darted sideways or disappeared into tiny holes.

Then, just as we were absorbed in our little expedition…

Someone bumped into Nor.

“Ow!! Watch where you’re going, you little brat!!”

“H-Huh!? You’re the one who walked into me!!”

“What’d you say?”

Having been yelled at out of nowhere, Nor immediately abandoned crab-watching and jumped to her feet, glaring right back at the man.

“H-Hey, Nor! I’m terribly sorry. We weren’t paying enough attention.”

“Not paying attention!? You think saying sorry is enough!?”

“Urgh!”

The furious man grabbed me by the front of my clothes.

To be fair…

We had been sitting right in the middle of the beach while watching crabs.

We weren’t completely blameless.

Still…

I hadn’t expected him to explode with anger over something so minor.

If Eve or Raphiel had been here…

This would have turned into a shouting match in seconds.

…No.

Now wasn’t the time to mentally escape reality.

I needed to calm this man down somehow and draw his attention away from the children—

Just as that thought crossed my mind—

“Hm? Is the ground… shaking…?”

A deafening rumble echoed through the air.

Goooooooo…

Without warning, an enormous surge of seawater rushed onto the beach.

“Everyone!”

Acting on instinct, I threw myself in front of Luka and the others, shielding them from the incoming wave.

The man grabbing me wasn’t nearly as fortunate.

The rushing water swept him clean off his feet and carried him somewhere down the shoreline.

By the time the water receded, I was completely soaked.

Wondering what in the world had just happened, I slowly turned toward the sea.

There—

A colossal dragon’s head rose above the ocean’s surface.

It stared directly at us.

“…D-Don’t tell me… Leviathan…?”

『Correct. Are you the guardian of these children?』

Guardian.

For a brief moment, my brain froze at the unexpected word coming from the mouth of the legendary sea monster.

Then I looked more carefully.

Perched atop Leviathan’s enormous head were Raphiel, Eve…

…and Ryu.

At that point…

I more or less understood everything.

No…

I didn’t just think I understood.

I was absolutely certain.

Those three had caused trouble.

“My children are terribly sorry!!”

I immediately bent forward into a perfect ninety-degree bow.

Leviathan stared at me for a long moment.

Then—

Her gigantic body suddenly began glowing brilliantly.

Light enveloped her.

When it faded…

Standing before us was a beautiful woman.

“Humans are so very small. It’s rather difficult to hold a conversation without adjusting my size.”

“O-Oh…”

She easily stood over two meters tall.

Long, pale aqua-colored hair was elegantly pinned up with pearl hairpins, while a loosely worn kimono draped over her figure.

White cloth was wrapped securely around her ample chest beneath the open neckline.

She possessed such otherworldly beauty that if someone had introduced her as Princess Otohime of the Dragon Palace beneath the sea…

I would have believed them without question.

Every tiny movement caused her impressive chest to sway ever so slightly.

“My name is Levia. I’m Leviathan, ancient ruler of the seas. A pleasure.”

“T-Thank you for introducing yourself. My name is Tsurugi Eight… Eight is my given name.”

“Hmm… then I shall call you Eight.”

Levia took a deep breath.

Then—

She exploded.

“DON’T TURN THE OCEAN DIRECTLY ABOVE MY BEDROOM INTO A BATTLEFIELD!! JUST WHAT KIND OF EDUCATION HAVE YOU BEEN GIVING THOSE LITTLE BRATS OF YOURS!?”

“I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry!! They’re completely at fault!! Please forgive them!!”

I bowed again.

And again.

And again.

I was fairly certain I apologized more in those few moments than I had during my entire life up to this point.

Then Raphiel quietly spoke.

“It’s entirely Eve’s fault. She was the one who challenged Ryu to a fight in the first place.”

“Hey!! You were enjoying yourself just as much!!”

“I’m a pacifist.”

“…Mmm… I was… merely invited… I did… nothing wrong…”

Maybe I should skip all three of their dinners tonight.

“Honestly… young people these days…” Levia muttered before suddenly pausing. “Hm? Sniff… sniff… I smell something delicious.”

“Huh? Oh… that’s probably the seafood salt yakisoba. We were eating it earlier.”

“…Hmm?”

Levia suddenly leaned in close.

Very close.

She circled around me, repeatedly sniffing at my clothes and body.

“U-Um… what are you doing?”

“…Are you… perhaps… an Otherworlder?”

“Huh? Ah… yes.”

“I knew it!! Then you shall cook for me!!”

“…What?!”

The request came so abruptly that all I could do was blink in confusion.

“Um… may I ask why?”

“Because meals made by Otherworlders are delicious. Some years ago, I happened to rescue another Otherworlder on a whim, and that one cooked marvelous food for me. You can cook as well, can you not?”

“I mean… reasonably well, I suppose.”

“Excellent! Then prepare a meal for me, and I shall consider this entire incident settled! Come now! Hurry!”

The mention of another Otherworlder certainly piqued my curiosity…

But if I could resolve all of this with food…

That was an incredibly cheap price to pay.

“…Guess I’ll make that.”

I had originally intended to save it for tonight’s dinner…

But desperate times called for desperate measures.

First came the preparation.

I peeled several cloves of garlic before slicing them thinly.

The broccoli was cut into bite-sized florets and lightly boiled in salted water until just tender.

The mushrooms were halved.

I removed the stems and seeds from the dried red chili peppers.

Next came the seafood.

I removed the veins from the shrimp before peeling them.

Then I carefully slipped a knife between the shells of the scallops and oysters, severing the adductor muscles to free the meat cleanly.

Finally, I added one more unusual ingredient—

the Sea Centipede we’d acquired earlier.

“Alright. Prep work’s finished. Now then…”

I generously poured olive oil into a frying pan until the bottom was nearly covered.

The sliced garlic and dried chilies followed.

Keeping the flame low, I let everything slowly warm together.

Very slowly.

Patience was essential.

As the aroma of roasted garlic gradually infused itself into the olive oil, I smiled.

Perfect.

“In go the broccoli, mushrooms, squid, octopus, the scallops and oysters… and while we’re at it, the Sea Centipede too!!”

The key here was resisting the temptation to overheat the oil.

Instead, I let everything gently simmer.

While the seafood slowly cooked, I sliced a fresh baguette into thick pieces.

Once the broccoli had softened and every ingredient had absorbed the fragrant garlic oil—

It was finished.

Seafood Ajillo.

“Oh ho! It appears it’s done!”

“Please. Dip the bread into the olive oil first, then place the seafood on top before eating.”

Levia obediently soaked a slice of baguette in the shimmering garlic oil.

She topped it with shrimp, octopus, and squid before popping the entire thing into her mouth.

“…This…!!”

Her eyes flew open.

“The rich umami of the seafood has completely dissolved into the oil!!”

“…Eight… I want some too.”

“I wanna eat it too!!”

“…Mmm… me too…”

“You three need to spend a little more time reflecting on what you’ve done.”

I intentionally hardened my tone.

But before any of them could complain…

Levia gently laughed.

“Ah, enough of that. I already said this meal would settle the matter. The moment you offered this dish to me, all of their offenses were forgiven.”

“…Well… if you say so, Levia-sama…”

“Yaaay!!”

The instant permission was granted…

Raphiel, Eve, and Ryu all descended upon the frying pan at once.

Not one of them looked remotely repentant.

“This is incredibly delicious.”

“The garlic-infused olive oil soaking into the bread and bursting in your mouth the moment you bite into it’s absolutely irresistible!!”

“…Mmm… delicious…”

“I’m glad everyone likes it. Come on, Luka. You too. Tifana-san as well.”

Before long, everyone had gathered around the pan together.

The seafood ajillo disappeared with astonishing speed.

“Mmm. I’m thoroughly satisfied. If this is the sort of food I receive, I wouldn’t object to you causing a commotion above my bed again.”

“…Please spare me. I’ve already used up all my olive oil.”

“Hehehe… I was only joking.”

Levia smiled contentedly before transforming once more and returning to the sea.

“…Whew.”

Thank goodness.

Somehow, we’d managed to resolve everything peacefully before it turned into a true disaster.

“…Father. Father.”

“Hm? What is it, Amate?”

“There’s smoke rising from the direction of the harbor.”

“…One problem ends only for another to begin.”

A very unpleasant feeling settled into the pit of my stomach.

Something told me…

Our next headache had already arrived.