The Shepherd Alone on the Hill is a Genius Wizard

If one wants others to keep their promises, one should keep one's own—that was the rule of the golden rule.

Meisa, who had been listening to the conversation, gave a small cough and said:

"I agree. Besides, as Turan said, the merfolk becoming stronger creates a hole in the gods' control, doesn't it? I think that's actually beneficial for us."

With the opinion at two to one, Solif flopped down on the water with an "Oh well."

He must have become accustomed to it from practicing, as his technique of solidifying water like a bed was excellent.

"I don't know, I'm sure you'll handle it well."

"There's not too much to worry about. After we hunt the giant sea serpent, we'll be able to prevent them from oppressing humans with their newly acquired power."

According to the merman king, they would be incomparably weaker than in their prime, but if they managed to catch a creature capable of causing such natural phenomena, they would certainly gain tremendous power.

Perhaps they could all surpass the realm of top-tier nobles and approach the level of great house heads.

"Besides, gaining the ability to transform into the giant sea serpent won't be such a tremendous threat. After all, only one of them will survive to become king."

When he mentioned the merfolk custom they had heard about recently, Solif and Meisa immediately turned their gaze toward the merfolk royalty playing among themselves in the distance.

There, a young royal had just poured sand on Rowena's head and was being hit while letting out a squeak.

"That's right... that's why I find it so strange every time I see them."

"What?"

"They'll kill each other after the succession to the throne, right? How can they get along so well?"

"If it were me, I wouldn't even dare to stand next to them."

As Meisa, who was stretched out on the water, chimed in, Turan looked at the merfolk for a moment and said as if making an excuse:

"Well, that... I suppose their moral concepts are different from humans."

In fact, Turan himself didn't quite understand it either.

How could siblings who would eventually have to kill each other maintain such a harmonious appearance?

If he had been one of the merfolk royalty, he would have tried everything to eliminate his siblings.

Conversely, if he had determined he couldn't be the final victor, he would have fled the kingdom from the start.

Yet they clearly saw the differences in strength and talent among themselves, but still treated each other as siblings and got along well.

When he said this, the two people stared at him.

"Why?"

"No, I just wouldn't have thought about killing everyone first."

"Sometimes I feel your sensibilities are a bit strange."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, truly."

Meisa and Solif nodded simultaneously.

==

After training, Turan's group, tired of fish, caught an animal and prepared a meal using various spices and grain flour they had brought from Miguel Island.

After filling his stomach sufficiently, Turan spoke to Meisa, who had taken just one bite and was smacking her lips:

"Let's go supplement your meal."

"Okay."

Meisa glanced at Solif and nodded.

Though they had done this many times after living together for quite a while, she showed a reluctance to reveal this feeding activity to Solif.

Almost like being embarrassed about going to the bathroom.

"Bring some water when you come back."

Knowing this, Solif also deliberately acted as if it were nothing, but sometimes this actually made the atmosphere even stranger.

After the feeding was finished in a somewhat secluded forest, Turan voiced a thought he had been having recently as he watched Meisa putting back on the magical items she had taken off.

"After this hunt is over, we might need Solif's help too."

"For what?"

"This. As you get stronger, it might become difficult for me alone to knock you unconscious."

It hadn't mattered when she was thin and weak, but as Meisa became healthier, it was becoming more difficult for Turan to knock her out.

Of course, with equal magical power, Turan was stronger in terms of physical strength due to his build.

But the problem was that Meisa had top-tier magical power even among upper nobles, while Turan had lower-tier magical power among upper nobles.

Moreover, if they didn't reach their limit after absorbing the giant sea serpent's magic, the one more likely to become stronger was Meisa.

When absorbing the magic of a much stronger being, the one who already has greater power has higher efficiency.

"Even now it's like this, so by then, we might need one person to hold your legs while the other knocks you out."

The place where Meisa had just instinctively struggled was in a state as if the ground had been torn up.

Hearing this, Meisa made a small groan.

"That seems a bit..."

"Really?"

"Yes. If it comes to that, I'd rather try starving a bit. Or find another method."

The other method was what they had recently surmised—raising her self-esteem by helping people.

If they hadn't suddenly needed to hunt the giant sea serpent, they had planned to drift across the Northern Sea, fulfilling this by rescuing merchant ships in crisis and such.

Now it had become difficult because there were few ships, either merchant or pirate, moving around due to the storm.

"Then we'll look for that method first when the time comes."

"Okay."

Thus, the two of them had already prepared what to do after the hunt.

In other words, this was also a pledge to ensure that none of them would die during the hunt.

==

As days passed with alternating training and rest, the island's weather became increasingly severe.

Strengthening winds, pouring raindrops, and occasional thunderstorms.

The island's animals, noticing the abnormal climate, seemed to move in herds, and soon even the fish in the sea began showing abnormal symptoms, jumping out of the water with splashes.

Accordingly, the once relatively cheerful atmosphere also became tense.

This was because they realized that a big battle was approaching, and perhaps one of them might really die.

Finally, when the fateful day arrived, a terribly intense storm covered the island.

"At this rate, we can barely hear each other's voices!"

"From now on, communicate with hand signals unless it's urgent!"

Of course, Turan and Meisa could transmit their voices using wind magic, and Solif could create letters with illusion magic to show.

But in a situation where every drop of magic used for battle was precious, they couldn't waste magic on such spells, so they had created and learned several simple hand signals.

[Can you see?]

[Yes, I can.] Enjoy exclusive content from My Virtual Library Empire

[How about now?]

[I can't see well from there. Did you mean 'up'?]

While checking how far the hand signals could be recognized, they saw Rowena approaching from afar, walking irritably on the muddy ground.

As she approached, she shouted:

"Father will be here soon! The location is as planned, the eastern shore!"

"Got it!"

After relaying this to the other two, Turan stroked Bize, who was sitting at his side, to reassure her, and moved his steps.

The merfolk royalty had already gathered at the destination.

"Finally... come..."

"About... time..."

Due to the severe storm, none of their voices could be properly heard.

The king's eldest son, Makun, who could transform into an octopus, approached and said in a low voice:

"About five minutes left."

"Got it."

"The plan remains unchanged?"

"One thing needs to be modified."

"What?"

"The barrier seems useless after all."

The day before, Turan had installed a barrier on the eastern shore, pouring in most of his barrier bloodline's magic.

It was a measure taken in hopes of providing even a little help in battle, but now it seemed to have been completely scattered by the storm.

This would never happen with an ordinary storm, but it seemed to be the effect of the giant sea serpent's fusion with the storm spirit, imbuing it with magical power.

Hearing this, the king's eldest son clicked his tongue.

"Then it can't be helped. I wasn't planning to rely on such things anyway. Anything else?"

"No. And it seems to be coming sooner than five minutes. It's coming right now."

"What? I see... everyone prepare for battle!"

At Makun's shout, the forms of the merfolk royalty began to change one by one.

Except for the few who could operate on land, including Rowena, all entered the sea, and the sea turtle let Turan's group climb onto its back.

In that state, Turan took a deep breath as he watched the torrent of power approaching from afar.

"It's coming..."

A presence presumed to be the merman king, stronger than what he had seen before, and a huge entity following behind it could be sensed.

A giant serpent that seemed to be made of wind, with its insides constantly swirling.

The giant sea serpent was coming.