Chapter 127: The Kraken Attacks!
After finishing lunch, Ryohei Tanaka and the others started playing cards. A wholesome game.
Perhaps because he had gone to bed so late last night, combined with the hot weather and the alcohol he drank at lunch, Ryohei started to feel a wave of drowsiness after just a short time. He gave his spot to Pekola—who had been craning her neck, watching with great interest—retrieved the eye mask Minos had given him from his bag, and walked over to a nearby parasol, sinking lazily into a beach chair.
Ryohei draped a bath towel over his stomach, put on the eye mask, and prepared for a short nap.
The sea breeze blew gently, carrying the unique salty scent of the ocean. The parasol blocked the scorching sun, bringing a bit of coolness. The sound of the tide rolling in and out drowned out the noise of the card game, becoming a natural lullaby. Ryohei quickly fell asleep.
When he woke up, it was already past three in the afternoon.
"You're awake?"
Yurine, who was reclining in the beach chair next to him, her beautiful leg with the reddish-brown garter stretched out straight while the other was bent, looked up from the fashion magazine she was reading. She turned her head to look at him.
"Mmmph—!" Ryohei took off his eye mask, stretched both arms above his head, pointed his toes, and arched his back, letting out a satisfied groan.
"I'm awake," he replied, smiling at Yurine.
He stood up from the beach chair, stretched his body, and sighed with a satisfied smile. "That was a great nap!" He felt completely refreshed.
"Want some water?" Yurine shifted, picked up the mineral water bottle she had been drinking from, and thoughtfully handed it to Ryohei.
"Yeah, I'm actually pretty thirsty," Ryohei said, accepting it. He walked over to the side to rinse his mouth, then tilted his head back and took several gulps to rehydrate.
While drinking, he scanned the area.
No one was playing cards anymore. Under the canopy tent, Yusa, Koji-kun, Poporon, and Pekola were all taking an afternoon nap. Under a nearby parasol, Medusa, just like Yurine, was holding a fashion magazine and flipping through it with interest. As if sensing his gaze, Medusa looked up and gave him a gentle smile. Ryohei smiled back.
He then returned to his parasol, put down the water bottle, and asked Yurine, "Did you get any rest?"
"Mhm, I slept for a little while earlier. I just woke up," Yurine replied, her gaze lifting from the magazine. Her reddish-brown eyes looked at Ryohei with a hint of laziness.
"Speaking of which..." Ryohei turned to look out at the sparkling sea. He scanned the water, then looked back with a slightly puzzled expression. "Why don't I see Lucoa, Jashin-chan, and Minos?"
"Lucoa got a phone call earlier. She said she was going to a friend's place and hasn't come back yet."
"Jashin-chan and Minos are having their swimming rematch. Who knows where they've swum off to now," Yurine replied, as she happened to know.
Ryohei was momentarily stunned, wondering who this "friend" of Lucoa's could be. 'Tohru?' he guessed. He then asked Yurine if she wanted to go for a swim, but she refused, saying the sun was too strong.
So, he went to splash around in the ocean by himself for a while. It was kind of boring alone, so he quickly came back ashore.
Not long after that, Minos came sprinting out of the ocean, kicking up two massive white wakes as she hit the beach.
"First place!" she declared. She planted her left hand on her soft waist, raised her right fist above her head, and struck a pose, her cow tail swishing gently.
It looked like she had won again.
Ryohei, lounging comfortably in his beach chair and scrolling through his phone, tossed a glance at Minos and then looked back down.
A few moments later—
"Guwaaaah—! Help me!"
Jashin-chan's panicked screams suddenly split the air.
Ryohei and the others looked up curiously, only to see a gigantic, pink-and-white squid the size of a small mountain, which had appeared from out of nowhere. The squid's tentacles were thicker than pythons, covered in suckers, and its massive head had a pair of large, deep eyes that glowed with a vicious light.
Jashin-chan was currently wrapped in one of its thick, pink-and-white tentacles, dangling high in the air.
"Waaah—! What is THAT!?"
Minos, who had just sat down, shot up from her beach chair. Her ruby-red eyes widened uncontrollably, her mouth hung open, and she stared in utter disbelief at the giant squid. 'This is no ordinary creature!' This was not something that should be appearing on a human beach...
"Jashin-chan..."
Seeing Jashin-chan in danger, Medusa didn't even bother to put on her shoes. She ran frantically out from under the parasol, her face a mask of worry.
"That's a huge squid!" Ryohei was also startled by the giant creature, but he immediately recalled a certain segment from Jashin-chan Dropkick. 'The Kraken?' There was definitely a plotline about this...
"Why would there be a squid this big in Okinawa? And it's pink and white!" Yurine was equally shocked. She put down her magazine, got up from her chair, and stared in amazement.
Poporon, Pekola, Yusa, and Koji-kun, who had woken up at some point, walked over.
Poporon crossed one arm and pinched her chin with her other hand, studying the giant squid. "This... looks like the Kraken," she said, her tone uncertain.
"Hm?" The name sounded familiar to Yurine. Then, as if remembering something, she asked Poporon curiously, "You mean the one from Norse mythology?"
"Right," Poporon nodded. Her gaze shifted to Jashin-chan, and she raised a hand to cover her pink lips, a purely malicious smile spreading across her face. "What terrible luck! That girl!"
Poporon and Jashin-chan did not get along. Seeing her enemy in such dire straits instantly put her in a fantastic mood, as if she had just eaten honey.
"Hey—! Don't just stand there! Somebody save me!" Seeing Ryohei and the others gathered together, but not a single one moving to help her—and one of them even gloating—Jashin-chan finally snapped.
Desperate, she locked her eyes on Medusa, who was closest. "Medusa! Save me!"
"E-Even if you ask me..." Medusa replied, a troubled look on her face. She wasn't a fighter.
So... she clasped her hands together in front of her chest, bowed her head to the Kraken, and tentatively... requested: "Um... exc-excuse me, could you please let Jashin-chan go?"
"ARE YOU STUPID?!" Jashin-chan was so incensed by this move that she screamed. 'How is THAT supposed to work?! If that worked, I would have begged for mercy already!'
"Ahahaha—! That's hilarious!"
"So funny!"
Yurine and Poporon both burst out laughing. They looked at each other mid-laugh, both surprised. And then—they locked eyes. A mutual understanding had been formed. They were kindred spirits.
"Aaargh—!"
"It hurts! Stop! It's going to break my bones—!"
The tentacle suddenly tightened. Jashin-chan could almost hear her bones creaking as a mask of pain appeared on her face. She then noticed the Kraken opening its beak, which was filled with sharp teeth, as if it was about to eat her. Jashin-chan panicked.
"D-Don't eat me!"
As if a desperate idea hit her, Jashin-chan frantically looked back at the helpless Medusa on the beach and pointed at her with her tail. "If you have to eat someone, eat that woman over there! She's tastier than me!"
Then she screamed at Medusa, "Hey—! Medusa, hurry up and switch with me! My life is more valuable than yours!"
"Jashin-chan..."
This betrayal completely crushed Medusa. Her voice was filled with disbelief and deep despair. She lowered her head, her shoulders slumped, and she went into a depressive slump.
"That girl is just the worst," Poporon said, clicking her tongue. She then suggested to the group, "Let's just ignore her. Let her face the consequences." The last part was definitely tinged with a personal grudge.
However, Ryohei Tanaka strongly agreed with the first part.
"Eeh? You can't be serious! Dame, dame yo—"
"Aaaah—!"
The Kraken tossed Jashin-chan into its mouth, chewed a few times, and then swallowed.
"Ah! She got eaten..." Minos said, hands on her hips, her eyes turning into blank dots.
"We should still save her!" Pekola finally said, unable to bear it. They had known each other for a while, after all. Even if Jashin-chan was scum, a degenerate, and bullied her constantly, she had also given her food before.
"Maa..." Seeing Jashin-chan get eaten, Yurine sighed, exasperated. "Guess we have no choice. Let's go save her."
"It's hunting time."
Yurine turned around and picked up a trident from the beach. Weapons Master Yurine never lacked for weapons. She had brought the trident along because she had planned to go spearfishing.
"Mmm..." Yurine stared at the Kraken. A squid is just another kind of fish. Albeit, a few billion times bigger. But that just made the hunt more exciting.
"Right!" Minos slammed her right fist into her left palm, then charged at the Kraken, her long white legs kicking up sand.
Ryohei Tanaka stood with his arms crossed, stroking his chin as he looked at the Kraken.
'In the original story, I think this thing gets eaten...'
'So, what's the best way to cook squid?'
Ryohei was already planning recipes.
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