"Is it over...? There was more damage than I expected."
I had subjugated the Sea Serpent.
Looking down from the sky, I could see that the pearl farm had been half destroyed.
The fishing village, however, had suffered minimal damage.
That was because I had set up a protective barrier around the village beforehand. As a result, the damage from the Storm Genesis God that Rest used was limited to little more than a gust of wind.
"Rest, are you alright?"
"My lord... is it over?"
The voices calling up from below belonged to Celestine Crocus and several villagers from the fishing village.
Rest descended and addressed them.
"Yes, it's over. I was able to take down the Sea Serpent."
"I see... that's a relief."
Celestine let out a sigh of relief.
Even though she was a magician in her own right, she had been hiding and standing by in a nearby forest, ready to leap in if the situation called for it. It was for the best that she hadn't needed to get involved in the fighting.
"Also... I'm sorry. About what happened to the farm."
Rest turned toward the villagers and bowed his head in apology.
"I'll cover all the damages. Please forgive me."
"No, no, my lord. You saved this village. There's nothing to apologize for."
The village representative waved both hands in a fluster.
The villagers were holding large wooden buckets. Inside them, along with seawater, were something else.
"The shellfish are all safe, just as you can see. The pearl farming hadn't really taken off yet anyway. We can get it back up and running right away."
When Rest had decided to use the pearl farm as bait, the villagers had already evacuated the shellfish from the area.
The facilities were half destroyed, but with enough money and time, they could be repaired.
"As for repair costs, perhaps selling the Sea Serpent would cover it," Celestine suggested, pointing toward the sea dragon's carcass floating on the water.
The Sea Serpent's belly had burst from the pressure of the air and split it clean in half... its corpse, dripping blood and entrails, bobbed lazily on the waves.
"The Sea Serpent is technically a lesser dragon, so its scales and meat—well, most of the blood has already washed away—but even what remains can fetch a high price. We should recover it and sell it to merchants."
"Yes, that sounds like a good plan."
Rest used magic to pull the Sea Serpent's remains closer, then flash-froze them with magic to prevent decay.
"That should do it."
"I'll arrange the purchase on our end. Is that acceptable?"
"Of course. I'm counting on you."
She really was hitting the spot every time.
Having Celestine around had been a tremendous help in all sorts of ways.
(Celestine is apparently one of my potential marriage candidates, but... if she were around to manage finances and such, it would be an enormous help...)
He did have Viola and Primula as well, but Rest was the heir to House Rosemary and, on top of that, the head of House Clover. The assets he needed to manage and the administrative work that came with them had ballooned considerably, so having someone capable like Celestine would truly make a difference.
(I suppose... using that as a reason for marriage feels a bit wrong, though...)
It was a political marriage, after all. Was there really any helping it?
As a Japanese person whose sensibilities hadn't fully adapted, Rest found it a rather vexing dilemma.
"Apparently, the Sea Serpent's blood and organs can be used as medicinal ingredients. About half of it washed away, though."
"It can't be helped, but what a waste. Well, it's not like I had the luxury of being picky about my methods... hmm?"
"Gaah!"
"Gaah! Gaah!"
"Oh..."
And then... drawn by the scent of blood, a pack of one-horned sharks came swimming toward the edge of the pearl farm from out at sea.
The one-horned sharks were blocked by the mound Rest had created to prevent the Sea Serpent from escaping, and they let out low, guttural cries.
"...Looks like we can at least recoup some of the losses."
He wasn't sure whether they could make up for the lost blood, but it seemed he'd be getting some delicious shark cuisine out of the deal.
Rest cast his magic and attacked the gathering one-horned sharks.