A rare magical miracle in the world

"Thank you for your kind words, Master Flai. I will never forget your kindness."

The fishmonger was visibly excited, though deep down he cursed Flai vilely, yet he had no choice but to put on this grateful front.

As Flai and Ireina departed, they took with them not just the best seafood from this fishmonger’s stock, but from every fishmonger’s.

Not just one shop, but each and every one.

"Damn rats!"

"Utterly disgusting!"

"Rising to the Upper Tier by clinging to a woman, a despicable triumph!"

"..."

This was hardly unusual; many elites did the same, keeping most of the market’s top ingredients for themselves.

Without Flai, there would be Ele, Cale.

Moreover, Flai had often bullied these fishmongers in the past, now returning for revenge, completely in character.

"Boss, the slave market is here for today’s portion."

"Over there, help yourself."

The fishmonger, still fuming, pointed casually, and the vendor, looking at the mountainous pile of fish, said, "That, those seem to be from yesterday morning..."

"If I tell you to take it, you take it!"

The fishmonger snapped, "They’re not our slaves, what does it matter to us if they die? Heat it up a bit, who can tell if it’s fresh or not."

"Now get going!"

"Oh, okay, I’m on it."

The vendor had the large pile of fish taken to the slave market, where there were enormous pots of boiling water.

"Dump it all in."

The fish weren’t cleaned or descaled, just thrown into the boiling water, then scooped out nearly cooked.

Soon, some burly men carried the pots filled with fish soup towards the cells where the slaves were kept.

The cells came in two types: the prison-like, separated into individual units housing seven or eight people each.

This was considered better treatment, meant for the more expensively priced slaves.

"Food, food’s here."

"Give me, give me food."

"More, please, I beg you, give me more."

"..."

They were given fish soup, though it tasted foul and was very fishy.

But as long as it filled their stomachs, they would put anything in their mouths.

"Food’s here, we’ve got food."

Elsewhere, the cells were built lower down, where only the color of the sky was visible through the bars overhead.

The slaves here drank rainwater that fell from above, and ate leftovers from other slaves.

"Clear out below."

And it wasn’t just that— the guard at the slave market placed the pots down and simply poured the contents through the iron grates.

"Splash."

The fish soup fell, and the people below surged towards the center, holding up whatever containers they had, opening their mouths wide, fighting desperately for a share.

Masses of fish scales, bones, gills, and fins, mixed with the soup, were trampled under the dirty feet of the slaves, scattered everywhere.

For a moment, the stench was overwhelming.

But the slaves didn’t care; if they couldn’t catch what fell from above, they would lay on the ground, oblivious to the filth, frantically searching for bits of fish to stuff into their mouths.

"Haah! Haah!"

There were still some slaves, sticking out their tongues, desperately licking the filth on the ground. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

And those above looked down upon this scene, reminiscent of hell on earth, with not a trace of pity in their eyes but filled with mockery and ridicule, "Despicable creatures, as disgusting as livestock, absolutely repulsive."

"Dang~~ Dang~~"

The bell tower rang, and as the sun set, the fiery evening enveloped the city.

"Hahaha!"

In Hiruen, a bar in the wasteland, a group of adventurers whose origins were unknown were indulging in drink.

"Drink!"

"Cheers!"

"I can’t, really can’t."

"What, already can’t handle a few drinks? Are you a bunch of women, huh? Hahaha!"

"..."

"Did you hear?"

At another table, a man cloaked in a hooded trench coat said to his companions, "A number of fleets have encountered sea beasts at sea."

"Impossible, right?"

"According to myths, sea beasts seem to appear only during storms, but recently, there hasn’t been any big storm."

"Maybe those aren’t sea beasts."

"What?"

The group turned their attention to a figure, a middle-aged man, who was also the leader of the adventure group, "I heard that these days, people have been fishing up strange fish from the deep sea."

"Oh, I’ve heard about that!"

An adventurer said, "Those fish, covered in eyes, are truly unnerving."

"Hiss~~~"

The mortal adventurers, ignorant of the truth, still felt a sense of awe towards such terrifying matters.

"Guests, here’s the fish you ordered."

"!!!"

Having just mentioned fish, none of them dared to eat it, promptly asking the server to take it away.

"You still have to pay for it even if you don’t eat."

"Here, here, take the money."

For these brave souls who ventured through the seas all year round, ghost stories from the sea were never to be taken lightly.

They were well aware that most ghost stories were not without foundation.

The deities of the ocean (Master of Miracles) were both good and bad, not all were benevolent towards humankind.

Just like Morgan, King of the Southern Sea, legend has it that he kept numerous sea monsters, and those who angered him would be dragged away to feed his little pets.

"It’s somewhat reminiscent of the ancient disaster with the sea beasts."

At that moment, a blind old man, leaning on his cane, walked over, and the adventurers were intrigued, with the group leader quickly inviting the elder to sit down.

"Waiter, bring the dishes!"

Group Leader: "What is the disaster with the sea beasts, is it related to the sea beasts?"

"Hoo~~"

"Slurp Slurp."

The elder, savoring the meat broth and feeling his body and soul warmed, said, "The disaster with the sea beasts was the calamity triggered by the birth of sea beasts 200 years ago; not having heard of it is quite normal for you."

"Back then," the old man continued on his own, "the seas first saw the emergence of incredibly fierce big fish, and some fishermen disturbed the hideously ferocious marine creatures."