I Became an Evolving Deep-Sea Creature-Chapter 24

Chapter 24. The Sun King
For a short while, while Étienne was on land, Yul wandered near the Continental Ocean, observing various creatures.
It was to confirm exactly what differences existed compared to those of the Great Azure Ocean.
‘There are no creatures that use mana signals.’
Most of them could not use mana signals. If the sea creatures of the Great Azure Ocean saw them, they would surely think of them as “prey.”
There were orcas here as well. However, unlike the orcas of the Great Azure Ocean, they were not very intelligent, and their scale was much smaller, traveling only in groups of four or five, or at most six or seven.
They could have small talk with Yul, but not higher-level conversations.
-You? Who?
-I am Yul of the Orca Tribe from the Great Azure Ocean. I also serve as a Patroller. Are you the tribe of this sea?
-What say? Don’t know.
It seemed their intelligence was rather low. A female orca swam up to Yul and said,
-Mate? You want?
-No.
Yul flinched and swam away.
‘Indeed, the orcas of the Great Azure Ocean were special.’
Yul reconfirmed that the intelligence of orcas who had not received the grace of the Deep King Tribe was quite low.
They were ordinary orcas who communicated with ultrasound waves, but had no idea how to send mana signals.
While wandering around, Yul thought about visiting the Kingdom of Britain when he discovered a ship from the Kingdom of Frangia carrying magic stones.
‘Let’s see what we have here.’
Yul approached cautiously.
This was his first major contact with humans, and safety couldn't be checked enough times.
To make sure there was no possible danger, he approached from below the ship and used「Perception」to analyze information.
It was an enormous carrack. A gigantic ship with a displacement exceeding 1,000 tons, and with a considerable crew.
[Frangian sailor, sailor, sailor.]
[Armed with flintlock muskets.]
[At the bow, Étienne Drake.]
[And beside Étienne, an unidentified man. Appears to be a very high-ranking individual, with clothing distinctly different from other sailors. Estimated to be a noble.]
‘Who is he?’
However, since there was no mana, he was not a mage. After confirming that there was no hostility, Yul surfaced and revealed himself.
The man in splendid clothing shouted in surprise.
“Oooooh! A real orca has appeared! How magnificent!”
Yul spoke to Étienne.
-Hey, who’s the man beside you?
“My apologies for not telling you beforehand. This is the Duke of Albarto, the Duke of Alcasso, the Count of Relim, and the supreme ruler and absolute monarch of the Kingdom of Frangia, His Majesty Sun King Jean XIII.”
Quite the list of titles. The Sun King, dressed in garments adorned with dazzling jewels, stepped to the bow and puffed out his chest proudly.
Then he made a ridiculous demand.
“You, orca! Become my pet!”
-No.
“Then how about the guardian beast of the royal family?!”
-I don’t like that either.
The Sun King found this rather amusing.
“To think one would defy my command to my face, how rare this must be.”
-Listen. Maybe on land you’re a king or an emperor, but on the sea, you’re just another mortal.
“Hahaha! That’s true! I do not rule the sea, after all.”
-Enough. Give me the magic stones.
Although one might have taken offense at Yul’s words, the Sun King seemed to think otherwise. He laughed boldly and gestured with his hand.
“Hahahahaha! Forgive my rudeness! Bring the magic stones!”
Yul subtly observed. When he used「Perception」, there were no nets, and none of them held guns. This king seemed to have quite a bold nature.
-Put them in my mouth. Ah.
A sailor holding a barrel of magic stones stood by the railing. Carefully, he tilted the barrel and poured them in.
Rrrrrrr.
Because they were small, they poured into his mouth like a handful of ice.
-Chomp, chomp. Alright. I forgive your rudeness, Sun King.
“Haha! Look at him eat. Prepare more for the fellow.”
That tone-like saying, ‘Give that creature another treat.’
Even as Yul crunched on the magic stones, a small irritation rose within him, but it soon melted away under the allure of more stones.
“How adorable. Look at this orca eating magic stones.”
“Your Majesty, please, it’s too close. Even if it shows no hostility, this is far too dangerous……”
“Excellent! I shall remember this meeting, and from this day on, the royal banner of the Trombon Dynasty shall bear the orca!”
The Sun King declared this as he pleased, but Yul had no interest whatsoever. Whether they placed an orca or a lion on their banner, what did it matter?
With an indifferent look, Yul continued to crunch on the magic stones, observing his lifespan.
【Your Current Lifespan】
[120 years 30 days]
‘As expected, it increased!’
Despite being less efficient than he was as a jelly octopus—owing to his larger size—the sheer quantity made the lifespan-enhancing effect remarkable.
‘Even if Madness activates, I should be able to endure it to some extent.’
Quite an encouraging result. Even in his jelly octopus state, when he used Madness, he could tear through sharks and similar creatures. What would happen if he used it now, as an orca?
-Hey, Étienne. But why did you bring that king along?
“His Majesty is our ship’s most fervent patron, so there was no choice……. Besides, His Majesty also paid for the magic stones.”
His Majesty, huh. Yul’s translation rendered it as His Majesty, not His Highness, which was indeed the appropriate title for a monarch of an absolute kingdom.
Yul, who had grown accustomed to eastern traditions, found addressing a king as His Majesty a bit awkward at first, but he adapted quickly.
“Paid for the magic stones, you say.”
In truth, Étienne hadn’t intended to reveal that much, but between paying for the magic stones himself or receiving royal support, he leaned toward the latter.
Who cared whose name the magic stones were bought under, as long as they were supplied? He figured it only made sense for a wealthy and curious king to foot the bill.
-Well, I don’t really care either way. Hey, King, so is there anything else you wanted?
“Yes, I do! I want to form an alliance with you. What do you say?”
-An alliance, huh.
“I seek to conquer the western seas. Are you not curious about what lies at the end of that vast western ocean? Behold that distant sea!”
From his story, it seemed the Sun King harbored a grand ambition to explore the western seas.
If Yul were to help him, exploration would proceed faster and with far greater ease.
-There’s nothing much out there, even far away.
“Have you heard nothing about it?”
Yul recalled the western seas. He had heard various stories from other Orca Tribes.
-I’ve heard that at the far western edge of the Great Azure Ocean, there lies an enormous landmass. I don’t know if it’s an island or a continent, though.
“Oooooh! Then take me there!”
-It’s extremely far. I’ve never been there myself.
But it wasn’t wise to refuse outright; opportunities to meet a king weren’t common.
Yul didn’t plan to reveal information about the seas so easily.
-If you share your sea charts with me, I’ll consider an alliance. And you’ll also have to provide magic stones regularly. How about it?
“Oooh. Would that be enough?!”
-For now, that’ll do. Besides, it’s not easy to trust you yet. We’re meeting for the first time, after all.
“I am the King of Frangia! There is not a shred of falsehood in my words.”
-But you said it yourself, remember? On the sea……
"On the sea, I am but a mortal. Hahaha. True indeed! Then I shall swear it upon my name, before all these sailors as witnesses—I will uphold my promise to you. Scribe, record this."
From behind the Sun King, one of his attendants, who had been watching this unbelievable scene unfold, leapt forward and began frantically writing down everything happening before him.
If he was going this far, surely the king had his pride. At least a shallow trust could be formed.
‘I don’t know how long this deal will last, but it’s not bad to have another ally on land besides Ian.’
Yul fully intended to keep his end of the bargain, but as the saying goes, “a king’s word can twist with the wind.”
He could stop fulfilling the promise and strike from behind at any moment, so trusting him completely was difficult.
-Good. To work together properly, I’ll need a representative. Do you have someone who can manage my assets?
“I do have a clever fellow.”
-I’d like to entrust my assets to him. I plan to handle magic stone transactions through an agent as well.
“Excellent!”
The Sun King nodded. The more this orca became entangled with human affairs, the longer he could see him, after all.
It was also beneficial for Yul. Dealing with humans wasn’t easy, but if such a channel were established, it would make things much simpler.
From now on, Yul would periodically receive their exploration logs and check the progress of their expeditions.
Even without exploring himself, he could learn about places he had never been through human records.
He also agreed to trade undersea items regularly in exchange for magic stones.
After that, he parted ways with the King of Frangia. Though the king regretfully told him to visit the royal palace anytime, Yul declined. He had no desire to be kept in a tank as a spectacle.
* * *
A few days later.
Hugh Retel, the third son of the House of Count Retel from the Kingdom of Frangia, stood by the shore. As the third son of a noble family who had started working as a merchant, Hugh had recently heard, through the Sun King’s recommendation, that he was to serve as someone’s representative.
He had his own affairs to tend to, but he was a noble loyal to the king. He entrusted his current business to others and came here to fulfill this new duty.
But the strange thing was, he wasn’t being sent to manage some noble’s estate.
Swaaaah—
With the sound of waves, the cold sea breeze blew in.
“To be told to wait here, at this dock, what does that even mean?”
Hugh, shivering in the chilly air, pulled his mink coat tighter around himself. If nothing appeared after a bit more time, he planned to leave.
And then it happened, an enormous creature suddenly erupted from the surface of the sea.
“W-what… what is that? A w-whale?”
“It’s an orca, milord.”
Even the servants behind him were stunned, but what shocked them even more was that the orca spoke to them.
-Are you the representative the Sun King mentioned?
“Y-yes. Ah, ah, ah-yes, that’s right.”
After stammering for quite some time, Hugh finally managed to form proper words.
-Good. What’s your name?
“My name is Hugh.”
-I’m Yul. Remember it well. And the magic stones?
“I b-brought them.”
-Good. Wait a moment.
Though there weren’t many this time, Yul poured a few magic stones into his mouth and then dove back into the sea.
When he resurfaced, he was holding a massive clam.
-How about this?
“A-amazing. Th-there are so many jewels inside.”
-I brought it from the deep sea. It should be worth the magic stones, right?
Hugh examined the clam Yul had handed over. Inside were numerous precious gems.
He picked up one of the pearls and checked its quality—it was quite remarkable.
Then, momentarily forgetting that his trade partner was an orca, Hugh’s eyes brightened as he spoke.
“O-of course. In fact, this should be worth even more than the magic stones.”
-For now, I’ll trade magic stones for things like jewels. If you help with the Sun King’s affairs, you’ll also receive magic stones. And I’d like any remaining money to be deposited in the Royal Bank.
“Yes, that’s possible. However, the bank requires a separate contractual procedure.”
-Really? Then, for now, you hold onto it. Later, once the money accumulates, we’ll deposit it in the bank and make some investments. Find something worth investing in.
“Understood.”
Apparently, the Royal Bank required a special contract process.
Yul could have offered far greater treasures, but he decided to start with small trades first.
He memorized Hugh’s face and spirit. Later, by using the Mantra of Communication, he could contact Hugh even from afar and exchange goods as needed.
‘This should work as a trading method.’
He was simply following the way the Nugh family conducted business—now, it was with humans. There might even be room to explore something like stock investments here.
‘For now, getting accustomed to human society should come first.’
And, of course, making sure Hugh faithfully carried out his part of the agreement.