Chapter 597 I'll Pretend I Didn't See It

"Sea Fang" Xia Nan. Recently, this name had become quite familiar to the officials of the Barracuda Bay Governor's Mansion, and even to the nobles of the surrounding waters.

The main reason, of course, was that he had rescued Baron Farrow's daughter from a local gang.

For the vast majority, it was just a maritime anecdote, easily forgotten once heard.

But a small minority who made a habit of gathering intelligence had followed up on the name and dug up much more information.

As an ambitious young official in the Governor's Mansion hungry for promotion, Orisi frequently interacted with adventurers. Because of this, he had been among the first in Barracuda Bay to learn Xia Nan's name.

Xia Nan had never hidden his actions, after all. His trail of activities since arriving in Barracuda Bay had been extremely clear.

At first, Orisi hadn't taken the strong, black-haired young adventurer seriously.

The image Xia Nan presented to the outside world at the time was roughly that of a Class Level 3 professional adventurer.

But as the days passed, Orisi heard the name with increasing frequency—especially after personally leading his guards to clean up the gang lair in the Saltwater District, a place left littered with mangled corpses.

His estimation of Xia Nan steadily grew.

Even so, Orisi had still pegged the young man as merely one of those rising adventurer stars that popped up in the Southern Archipelagos every few years.

In terms of power, no matter how highly one estimated him, he was probably just a bit stronger than the likes of Lorraine from the Blade of Vengeance or Tieg from the Raging Tide Warband. He certainly hadn't reached the level of "Algae Scale" Dodd.

Given the brutal elimination rate of the adventurer profession, no matter how dazzling Xia Nan was right now, it wasn't guaranteed Orisi would still be hearing his name in five years—or even three.

So when Orisi stepped off his ship and learned from the dockside adventurers that this Xia Nan had almost single-handedly dispatched the Shark Beast—a creature they described as a "monster" and a "nightmare"—

...he had been somewhat skeptical.

Until now, when he personally stood on the ravaged battlefield, gazing at the Coral Altar whose sheer scale far exceeded his imagination.

All the contempt and underestimation buried deep in his heart instantly vanished, replaced by a profound, visible astonishment.

Truthfully, thanks to his position at the Governor's Mansion, Orisi knew a fair amount about creatures like the sahuagin and the schemes they were trying to execute.

The mansion was, after all, a vital regional department for the Servia Kingdom's control over the Southern Archipelagos. Even if it had long been infested with corrupt parasites, they still knew far more about the sea's turbulent undercurrents than any information broker.

The Governor's Mansion knew about the sahuagin's Sacrificial Ritual, and they were well aware of the Shark Beasts those monsters summoned to the Material Plane; they simply hadn't disclosed the information to the public.

As a partial insider who had personally seen a few Shark Beast corpses and the altars used to summon them, Orisi possessed a decent understanding of the sahuagin's sacrificial mechanisms.

Generally speaking, it was very simple and followed the basic rules of normal sacrificial rituals.

The larger the altar, and the greater the quantity and quality of the sacrifices, the stronger the summoned Shark Beast would be.

When he received his orders from his superiors and set out from Barracuda Bay, Orisi had already been warned that the scale of the fishmen's sacrificial activities might be expanded because Stodd Island was hosting the Lunar Tide Banquet.

But he never expected this so-called "expansion" to result in the altar before him—a structure that, even collapsed down to a mere foundation, remained far larger than any altar he had ever seen.

Even those smaller altars summoned Shark Beasts that required an elite team of Class Holders to handle.

A monster summoned by an altar of this scale—

"It actually wasn't too bad," Xia Nan replied politely to the young official's inquiry.

"Because right as the Sacrificial Ritual was about to finish, I tried to interfere a bit."

"I wasn't completely successful, but it did cause the summon to take some damage the moment it descended. It wasn't in its perfect form."

Having already learned of the battle's brutal progression from the other adventurers on the docks, Orisi knew full well the actual situation was far less simple than Xia Nan made it out to be.

Leading two guards, he circled the massive Coral Altar again and again.

Only after a detailed inspection did he walk back to Xia Nan's side.

Speaking in a tone that seemed just as polite as before, yet carried a distinct shift in attitude, he said slowly, "Well—this summoned Shark Beast's corpse should be your spoils of war, right? Have you already made arrangements for it?"

"I'm quite curious about this Shark Beast. If it's convenient, could I—"

Xia Nan had been present earlier when Orisi explained the recovery regulations to the adventurers on the docks, so he knew the Shark Beast's corpse technically fell under the scope of mandatory recovery according to the Governor's Mansion's rules.

Since he had originally planned to bring it back to Barracuda Bay to craft into equipment, he couldn't help but feel some resistance toward this protocol.

But seeing Orisi's current attitude, it seemed there might be room to negotiate.

Not wanting to invite unnecessary trouble, Xia Nan considered for a moment and agreed to the official's request.

Fifteen minutes later.

Inside a town courtyard used for processing spoils of war.

—

Orisi stared at the five-meter-tall behemoth corpse before him. Just a single arm was larger than a full-grown adult's entire body.

He stood rooted to the spot, his body unnaturally stiff.

As a Class Holder of no small rank himself, he could still feel the exaggerated, oppressive aura radiating from the massive corpse, even though the Shark Beast was completely dead.

Muscles as hard and solid as bedrock, a razor-sharp spine gleaming with cold light, thick and tough skin emanating an eerie blood-red hue—

If an ordinary person simply stood before its corpse, they would likely find it hard to breathe.

It was hard to imagine what it was like to fight such an entity head-on.

Though he hated to admit it, when the thought of battling such a creature surfaced in his mind, a trace of fear inevitably rippled through Orisi's heart.

He didn't even know how one would go about fighting it.

Yet right here, right now, this enormous monster—a creature whose oppressive power and ferocious cruelty radiated from its appearance alone—

—was thoroughly, completely dead.

And the adventurer who had killed it was standing right by his side.

His gaze unconsciously swept over the very top of the Shark Beast's corpse—the neck, which was completely bare save for a few scraps of bloody skin.

His mind instinctively recalled the combat details he had just pried from the other adventurers.

Orisi subconsciously turned his head, his eyes uncontrollably flicking toward Xia Nan's right fist, where the wounds had already completely healed.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.

"We definitely won't be able to retrieve the head," Xia Nan explained, paying no mind to Orisi's stare. "According to the adventurers who cleaned up the battlefield, this Shark Beast's skull was reduced to little more than meat paste. It has no salvage value."

"Fortunately, the rest of its body is still quite well-preserved. We've only applied basic preservation treatments since bringing it back."

"I originally planned to bring it back to Barracuda Bay and find someone to dismantle it, but it seems that won't be necessary now."

A clear flash of hesitation crossed the young official's face—the very same man who had maintained a calm demeanor while surrounded by a mob of angry adventurers on the docks earlier.

He opened his mouth to say something, but in the next second, he swallowed the words back down.

He paused for a moment before speaking again. "If possible, could I ask you to let me examine this Shark Beast's corpse?"

Knowing that if a turning point were to happen, it would be decided by these next few exchanges.

Xia Nan stepped aside slightly and gestured for him to proceed.

Orisi slowly stepped forward.

He reached out with both hands toward the Shark Beast, not touching it directly, but letting them hover a few centimeters above its skin.

Magic particles in the air rapidly fluctuated, gathering under an invisible guidance toward the blonde official's palms and eyes.

Hum— The restless roar of magic power vanished in a flash.

The magic particles dissipated along with it.

Orisi stumbled back two steps.

His expression displayed a shock and astonishment he couldn't hold back, even if he had already anticipated the possibility.

"It's Sekolah's Shark Caller—"

Hearing an unfamiliar term suddenly come from the official's mouth caused Xia Nan to furrow his brow slightly.

Fortunately, the halfling Alton was right beside him. Sensing his teammate's confusion, he took the opportunity to give a brief explanation.

Much like a comprehensive ranking system used to denote a believer's status, class, and degree of devotion within a church, every deity on the Aifala Continent had a set of titles tailored specifically for their followers.

Taking the [Great Mother] and [Grain Goddess], Chauntea, as an example, her believers possessed numerous class titles from low to high, including "Intimate One," "Seed of Truth," and "Harvest Master."

And the "Shark Caller" Orisi mentioned was one of the titles for the believers of the [God of the Giant Sharks], Sekolah.

In the church's hierarchy, it ranked higher than "Blood-Seeking Hunter," yet lower than "Deep Sea Plunderer," putting it in the upper-middle tier.

But even so, to ordinary adventurers, it was a powerful entity they would never encounter on a normal day.

Moreover, judging by the circumstances of this Shark Beast's summoning to the Material Plane, there was a very high probability that it came from Sekolah's divine kingdom.

This added quite a bit of weight to its title.

To put it in easily understandable terms, even if two people both held the position of "Department Head," the prestige of one at a branch office was entirely different from that of one at core headquarters.

Hearing only Alton's brief explanation, Xia Nan might not have fully understood the differences involved or the true significance represented by this "Shark Caller."

But for Orisi, the impact brought by those few words was far from ordinary.

He was only responsible for executing orders and didn't know the full inside story.

But at this moment, those fragmented clues in his memory suddenly connected, vaguely leading to a hypothesis that made his heart race in turmoil.

"The sahuagin's Sacrificial Ritual," "'Algae Scale' Dodd advancing to the Transcendent Tier," "The Governor's Mansion's advance instructions..." Orisi didn't dare to think too deeply about it. He suppressed the chaotic thoughts, deciding to wait until he finished handling the island's affairs before considering them again.

His gaze subconsciously fell on the young, black-haired adventurer beside him—the one who had killed a "Shark Caller" head-on almost entirely by himself.

Harboring incredibly complex emotions, Orisi hesitated no longer. Out of respect, he dropped the useless pleasantries and asked directly, "May I ask how you originally intended to handle this Shark Beast's corpse?"

'Here it comes!'

Sensing the arrival of the turning point, Xia Nan replied as candidly as ever, "The core materials, including its weapon, I plan to entrust to a skilled blacksmith to craft and repair equipment."

"As for the remaining parts, I'll take them to the Adventurers' Association or a general store to exchange for gold coins."

Unsurprised, Orisi nodded seriously.

Then he replied quite sincerely, "I imagine you heard the specific details of the recovery regulations earlier."

"Under normal circumstances, if you wanted to bring this monster material back to Barracuda Bay, you would need to pay an extra tax."

"But—" A bitter smile appeared on his face. "As you know, I am only acting on orders. There are many things I don't have the final say on."

"Sometimes, even if I want to help, the higher-ups are watching. If they investigate later, intervening might actually lead to an even more negative outcome. There isn't much I can do."

At this point, Orisi paused for a moment before continuing.

"You can take this corpse and its weapon back to Barracuda Bay yourself. I'll pretend I didn't see it."

"However, since you already planned to sell the excess materials for money—when the time comes, perhaps you could trade the leftover materials to the Governor's Mansion after you finish crafting your equipment? You don't need to worry about the price; we will pay market price at the very least, and the specifics can be negotiated."

Hearing this, Xia Nan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The fundamental reason he opposed the Governor's Mansion's recovery regulations was that they intended to forcefully confiscate the rare materials he planned to use for forging equipment.

Now that he had Orisi's help, this problem was easily resolved.

As for the remaining monster materials the official had mentioned—

Honestly speaking, his original plan had been to take them to a reliable shop and exchange them for gold coins anyway.

If the Governor's Mansion could truly purchase them at market price, it was actually a good thing for Xia Nan.

It would save him the massive amount of time he would have spent shopping around and comparing prices from store to store.

A direct exchange settled everything.

"Then—here's to a pleasant cooperation?"

"Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Xia Nan!"

The two shook hands.

Once Xia Nan nodded in agreement, Orisi also visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Framed against the massive corpse of the Shark Caller behind them, he had truly felt a great deal of pressure facing this seemingly young adventurer whose strength so far exceeded expectations.

Suddenly remembering something, and wanting to offer another favor to invest in this future connection, Orisi spoke up, "I mean no offense, but may I ask which craftsman you plan to hand the materials over to, Mr. Xia Nan?"

"If you don't have a suitable choice, I actually have a few good candidates in mind. They are all master craftsmen with exquisite skills who have worked with my family for many years."

Pearl Spun Yarn, which had crafted his [Abyssal Current] armor, was ultimately just a tailor shop with a specific area of expertise. If Xia Nan wanted to craft other types of equipment, he really did need some recommendations.

Sensing the goodwill Orisi was proactively showing, he raised an eyebrow and replied, "Oh? Then I really will have to trouble you."

"Shall we chat more on the way back?"