The King's Story
When walking along the seashore, one sometimes encounters strange things carried in by the waves.
This happened about a hundred years ago.
"A huge monster has washed ashore."
An unusual urgent report reached the ears of the king. Veshkan felt curious about the news, and since he was bored sitting idly in the palace, he decided to go out and inspect the scene.
Guided by a pathfinder, he headed toward the beach… and soon discovered it.
An unbelievably gigantic sea turtle.
Its size was immense. It looked as though a large hill had suddenly risen along the coastline. Even Veshkan, an experienced naga king, felt a hint of tension at the sight of such a colossal magical beast.
How should we deal with that?
To assess the situation, Veshkan stood at a distance and observed the turtle monster. Soon, he noticed something strange.
The monster wasn't moving. The sea turtle remained perfectly still without even the slightest motion. Feeling puzzled, Veshkan approached it.
The turtle lay sprawled on the ground with its eyes closed. It did not look to be in good condition.
Is it dying?
It was a curious thing.
Why would such a massive and majestic magical beast be lying there helplessly? Veshkan quickly realized the reason.
Huge barnacles had grown all over the turtle's shell. Barnacles as thick and large as boulders. They had sunk their roots deep into the turtle's body, sucking away its nutrients.
Demonic barnacles.
One of the nuisances frequently found in the Northern Sea. They parasitize living creatures, rooting themselves into the body and draining blood and nourishment.
I've never seen barnacles that large before.
It was extremely rare for demonic barnacles to grow to such a size.
That was probably because…
The sea turtle itself was an incredibly ancient being. Having lived for such a long time, the barnacles that had rooted themselves in its body had also parasitized it for centuries, growing enormous like ancient trees.
The barnacles had become so large that the host could no longer bear the burden. At this rate, the sea turtle would soon stop breathing.
There's no need for me to step in.
The matter seemed likely to resolve itself.
Walking as if on a casual stroll, Veshkan circled the sea turtle once. Meanwhile, he thought about how they might transport the corpse of such a massive magical beast.
As he was thinking…
Blink.
Suddenly the sea turtle opened its eyes. Its gaze quietly rested on Veshkan, but as if exhausted, it soon closed them again and slumped.
Its attitude was like that of one who had given up on everything. It seemed to realize there was no hope.
The turtle monster had resisted and chased away approaching enemies before, but against the powerful naga king, such struggles were meaningless.
"…Hmm."
Veshkan stared at the turtle silently. With his arms folded, the naga king contemplated something.
He replayed what he had just seen.
The sea turtle's eyes had been striking. Large, round, and holding multiple colors like jewels. Veshkan suddenly wanted to see them again.
"Open your eyes."
The naga king gave the command.
But the sea turtle did not move its eyelids at all. Naturally so—this magical beast could not possibly understand the naga language it was hearing for the first time.
Tap. Tap.
Veshkan poked the turtle's cheek a couple of times with his spear, as if knocking.
However, contrary to his intention, perhaps because the spear tip was sharp… the turtle withdrew its head into its shell.
The situation had become even worse than before. Veshkan could no longer see the turtle's face.
Naturally, his gaze turned elsewhere. The naga king stared at the barnacles growing on the turtle's back.
…For some reason, they irritated him.
"Remove them."
"Yes, we will do so."
The nagas did not question their king's command. Without hesitation they climbed onto the turtle's shell and began pulling out the barnacles one by one.
Because there were so many warriors, the work proceeded quickly. The barnacles pulled from the turtle's back piled up in heaps.
Veshkan picked up one of them, tore open the shell himself, and chewed the flesh inside.
Not bad.
It tasted similar to crab meat soaked heavily in saltwater. Surprisingly delicious for how it looked.
Not only that—the value of it as an inner core was also high. These barnacles were magical beasts that had lived for centuries, and their bodies were densely filled with the energy of the demonic realm.
If he fed these inner cores to his warriors, the strength of the army would rise another level. Just as Veshkan was feeling satisfied with that thought…
A naga general approached him cautiously.
"Your Majesty, there is a problem with the work."
"What is it?"
"The barnacles' roots are too deep."
The smaller barnacles were easy to remove, but the large ones growing at the center of the shell were difficult to pull out.
Hearing that, Veshkan stepped in personally.
The naga king climbed onto the turtle's shell and examined the giant barnacles.
Indeed… these can't be pulled out carelessly.
The barnacles were as thick and large as massive trees, and they had rooted themselves far too deeply. If he tried to pull them out by force, the turtle's back would tear open and its organs would spill out.
So instead of removing the roots, it would be better to destroy the barnacle's body.
…The shell is extremely hard.
The barnacle shells were unbelievably tough, hardened by hundreds of years of time. Breaking them one by one would be difficult.
Therefore Veshkan climbed onto the body of one barnacle. What he faced there was the plate covering the top of it.
He thrust the blade of his spear forcefully into the gap.
Clang!
The spear tip wedged its way into the barnacle's lid. Gripping the spear shaft with both hands, Veshkan applied force as if using it like a lever.
For a moment the tension held…
Crack!!
The barnacle's lid was ripped out from the root. It looked like opening a can with a spoon. With the tough lid gone, the soft flesh inside the barnacle was exposed.
Veshkan ordered the general.
"Dig out what's inside the shell with your men."
"Understood."
After that, the same task repeated.
Veshkan personally pried open the barnacle lids, and the naga warriors followed behind him, scooping out the flesh inside and pulling it out.
Though they could not remove the barnacle shells or their roots, that alone was enough. With their bodies destroyed, the barnacles lost their lives and could no longer drain the sea turtle's blood and nutrients.
Before long, every barnacle had been dealt with.
I should rest a little.
Veshkan sat down and chewed the barnacle flesh to recover his strength.
As he did…
He suddenly felt a gaze. The turtle had extended its head out of its shell and was staring straight at him.
Is it hungry?
That would make sense.
It looked as if it had been starving for a long time, and its shell was badly damaged after so many barnacles had been torn off. To heal its wounds, it needed to eat inner cores and recover its strength.
Veshkan generously tossed several large barnacles toward it. The sea turtle opened its jaws like a baby bird and eagerly gulped down the food.
After eating for quite a while…
Swoosh.
The turtle suddenly approached and slowly pushed its head forward. Soon it pressed its forehead against Veshkan's body and kept rubbing against him.
It seemed like an expression of affection. However, the turtle was so enormous that the force behind the gesture was tremendous.
Veshkan braced himself and endured it.
"…Looks like I ended up taming it."
It seemed the sea turtle had decided to devote its loyalty to the naga king who had saved its life.
How should he make use of this creature?
After some thought… he built a fortress using the barnacle shells that had grown on the turtle's back. Since the flesh inside the barnacles had been hollowed out, they could be used as buildings once roofs were added.
"Tasha."
Veshkan personally gave the turtle its name.
Thus, Tasha became both the king's mount and a friend to the naga tribe.
***
The long story came to an end.
After listening quietly, Woojin finally spoke. The story had been somewhat interesting, but…
"…That's not exactly useful information."
The story basically meant that if you happened to find a gigantic sea turtle washed ashore and healed it, you might be able to tame it.
But it was such an unusual case that it was hard to apply in reality. When Woojin complained about that, Veshkan replied with a grin.
"Becoming the companion of a powerful magical beast requires luck and the right circumstances. Didn't you already know that?"
"That's true."
Even the magical beasts Woojin had tamed so far were the result of several lucky coincidences.
The wolf Rex and the flying squirrel Coco.
Both of them had approached him on their own and joined the group. So even if someone asked Woojin how to tame magical beasts, he wouldn't really have anything to explain. It wasn't something he intentionally accomplished.
In that sense, the reason Veshkan had told such a long story about the sea turtle earlier…
"…He just wanted to brag."
Woojin had been surprised that Veshkan accepted Cindy's request so readily, but since the situation could never really be replicated, it seemed he had simply told the story to show off.
If it had truly been rare and valuable information, Veshkan would never have offered it so lightly. The naga king was always strict about calculating profit and loss.
While Woojin was thinking that…
"…I have a question."
Cindy suddenly spoke.
"Why did you save the turtle's life? It seems like a very irrational choice."
Veshkan had gained great benefits by taming the sea turtle, but that was only the result after the fact.
Taming a powerful magical beast was extremely rare. There was a much higher chance that the turtle would recover its strength and escape back into the sea, which would result in a huge loss for the naga tribe.
"If the turtle had run away, wouldn't you have lost an incredibly valuable inner core?"
Tasha was an ancient sea turtle magical beast that had lived for an immeasurable length of time. Its bones, meat, and inner core were worth an unimaginable amount.
From a cost-benefit perspective, it would have been far more rational to slaughter Tasha and collect the various materials rather than heal it.
So why had the naga king so readily chosen to treat the sea turtle?
"Now that I think about it… that is strange."
It was a fair point.
Thinking the same thing, Woojin and the others looked at Veshkan. As their attention focused on him, Veshkan thought for a moment before explaining.
"I wanted self-satisfaction."
"Satisfaction?"
"Yes. The sense of superiority that comes from showing mercy to a lifeform comparable to an ancient being. Opportunities to experience that are very rare."
Mental satisfaction was very important. Sometimes one had to indulge in such things to make a long life less boring. The naga king had lived for hundreds of years and pursued many different experiences.
Since this was a rare opportunity for such an experience, it was worth doing. As Veshkan finished explaining…
Cindy tilted her head.
"That explanation sounds overly complicated. Isn't it just because you're kind, Lord Veshkan?"
You made that choice because you're a good person.
A simple and straightforward conclusion. But Veshkan suddenly frowned deeply. The naga king began hissing irritably, clearly displeased.
"You fail to understand my words… How could you possibly arrive at that conclusion?"
"I thought you were an intelligent human, but this is extremely disappointing."
Veshkan jerked his chin toward the door.
"Leave my chamber immediately."
"Y-yes…"
Cindy's face turned pale as she hurriedly bowed her head. Woojin spoke up.
"Hey, why are you suddenly so angry?"
"That was an insult difficult to tolerate."
Since she was part of Woojin's group, he would overlook it once. But if he heard such a remark again, he would not let it pass so easily.
Veshkan's eyes gleamed sharply as he said this. Since he clearly seemed to be in a terrible mood, Woojin had no choice but to back down.
"Alright. See you later."
They hurried out of the naga king's chamber.
As Woojin's group returned to the sailing ship, Cindy—still looking gloomy—asked:
"Oppa… did I say something really wrong?"
"I'm not sure…"
Even Woojin had been a little surprised. He never expected Veshkan to get that angry over such a comment.
Claire then spoke.
"In my experience, men who usually act proud don't like being called kind."
Sometimes there are men who take the word kind as an insult.
Cindy looked puzzled.
"But it was a compliment. Why would that upset him?"
"Exactly. Men can be so difficult to understand sometimes…"
Claire clicked her tongue.
They had been chased out before even finishing their discussion about trade. The ending of the meeting wasn't great, but they had still learned one thing from the conversation.
Veshkan doesn't always calculate profit and loss.
Even the naga king had his own sense of emotion.
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