The Supermarket System

Chapter 46: 46. Keith’s siblings

"Aren’t you sleeping, young master?"

Kai turned his head and smiled at Keyla, Keith’s younger sister, who was about the same age as Kai.

The girl was sitting next to Kai, who hadn’t been able to fall back asleep since waking up at four in the morning.

The sky was still quite dark; the sun hadn’t yet begun to rise. Meanwhile, Kai was sitting on the front porch, gazing out at the open ocean ahead.

The coconut trees stood tall and proud, and clusters of coconuts were already visible on several of them.

"I’m still thinking about how to get to the ocean and catch a kraken. I can sense two kraken, and we can’t risk borrowing your precious boats," said Kai, surprising Keyla.

"Wait a minute, there are two kraken?" asked the girl.

Kai chuckled and nodded, then turned his gaze back out to the ocean.

They were about four hundred meters away from where Kai stood. The two krakens were seen swimming freely, feeding on the fish in the ocean.

The black shadow that was supposed to be following Kai showed no sign of movement at all.

In fact, Kai had imagined that the figure would provoke the krakens into a rampage.

"I can only sense two; I hope there really are only two—we don’t want any more than that. But by the way, Kraken are edible, you know. Have you ever eaten one?" Kai asked.

Keyla, who heard the question, stared at Kai with a strange look, as if he’d just said the weirdest thing in the world.

"Well, I mean... in my whole life, this is the first time I’ve seen a Kraken in person, because we always thought they were just a myth. I heard this sea monster is an S-rank, so it’s hard to defeat," said Keyla.

Hearing that, Kai fell silent, lost in his thoughts once more.

He also knew that the Kraken was S-rank, which meant it was extremely powerful.

As far as he knew, the Kraken had the ability to extend its tentacles and use them to attack its enemies.

Kai couldn’t defeat it unless he was in the ocean. His detection magic couldn’t pinpoint the Kraken’s weakness this time. Furthermore, the information from his detection magic indicated that the Kraken actually grew stronger when part or all of its body was out of the water.

Seawater is very heavy—not light like freshwater. It contains salt and exerts strong water pressure. How could Kai survive in the ocean if he could dive, when the only thing he’d ever done was snorkel?

Well, even so, Kai could swim well in a pool.

As far as Kai could remember from his childhood on Earth, the orphanage where he lived was close to both a river and the ocean. It was just a one-hour walk down the hill. Swimming in the river and the ocean was a common activity for the children in the area around his orphanage.

Since he’s still technically a child—especially with his tiny frame—will he still be able to do it?

[You can check the Magic Tower shop; you never know, you might find something useful.]

That’s true—Kai might be able to find magical tools or special potions to help him.

Suddenly, just as Kai began to think seriously, he felt someone kiss his cheek.

When he turned his head, he saw Keyla looking shy at that moment.

"Why did you kiss me?" Kai asked.

"Uh, sorry... I just wanted to thank you for hiring my older brother, Keith. If my brother were still with the Duke, he probably still wouldn’t be able to come home here. We also didn’t have the money to go to Arslan. Because for the people of Verdez, to enter the city of Arslan, we have to pay about five small bronze coins per person. Not to mention the cost of renting a horse-drawn carriage. That’s why I’m so grateful... Oh! I’ll make you a special dish I learned from my mom; I’m sure you’ll like it. Wait here; I’ll cook for you."

The girl went back inside the house, while Kai kept smiling until she was out of sight.

Keyla was a kind and innocent girl. Kai could even tell clearly that she liked him. But Kai didn’t want to get his hopes up—after all, he couldn’t—or maybe not yet—fall for anyone.

Even though he felt uncomfortable around Keith’s younger sister, he had to put the incident behind him—for both of their sakes.

Because even though Kai’s standing in his family wasn’t particularly strong, he was still a noble.

And nobles must not be touched casually by commoners.

Kai might not mind being kissed on the cheek, but other nobles could use that to bring down both Kai and Keith’s family.

Kai took advantage of a good opportunity when no one was with him to check out the magic tower shop.

He was lucky because he started looking in the magic potions section. It turned out there were pearl candies. They were round and shiny like pearls, and they allowed the eater to breathe underwater.

The white pearl candies were for fresh water, and the blue ones were for saltwater. Of course, the blue ones were more expensive than the white ones.

The blue ones cost ten large silver coins per piece, while the white ones cost ten large silver coins for three pieces.

It was stated there that after consuming the candy, Kai’s skin would be protected from damage, and he could breathe underwater for about three hours.

After three hours, the time runs out, and he must immediately get out of the ocean or take another candy to extend the time.

It’s said that you’re only allowed to consume three pearl candies a day. That means there’s only nine hours to spend in the ocean.

But Kai thinks that’s enough for him.

The second problem is... how to defeat the kraken?

Since the monster’s body is the size of a cruise ship—enormous—a simple dagger throw won’t do.

Should Kai learn to throw a spear? Or...

"Uh, I’ll take a look at the magic items section first," he muttered, before checking his system screen. His index finger scrolled through the vast selection of magic items.

Until one magical item caught his eye.

"A mithril pistol? What’s this?" Kai muttered. Then he looked at the item’s information.

The pistol was made of a very strong and rare material called mithril. It didn’t require bullets, because projectiles would fire automatically—powerful projectiles made of mithril as well—simply by channeling magical energy into it.

Its only drawback was that it required a user with at least red-colored magical energy to be safe.

This meant the magical energy consumed by the bullets was enormous. If used by someone with low magical energy, they might quickly pass out.

In fact, creatures other than Kai regenerated magical energy more slowly. It took at least three days to fully recover after it was completely depleted.

After buying the mithril pistol and three blue pearl candies, Kai put them away, then returned inside the house to find Keith.

***

"How about it, young master?" Keith asked, as he and Kai were already at the beach that morning, around eight o’clock.

As Keith had said, part of the beach there had white sand, while another part had unique pink sand.

Kai also remembered that in one region of his home country on Earth, there was a pink beach as well. However, Kai had never been to that famous place.

Seeing the beach with its pink sand, the crashing waves, and the coconut trees made Kai feel nostalgic for Earth. At the same time, he regretted not just going on vacation there.

"I still see two krakens, but even though I can swim with the blue pearl candy, I still need something to lure the kraken closer. It’s hard for me to swim out there. But here’s more bad news: right beneath that kraken, there’s an oyster with a black pearl. If we lure the Kraken over here, I’ll still have to swim out there again," said Kai, who was already dressed in swimwear that Keith found very strange.

"I’ve talked to my father; he’s willing to lend us his boat to get us close to the Kraken. Then you can swim from there and get closer. I think just your presence alone will be enough to lure the Kraken, considering you have such powerful magical energy. High-level monsters will see you as a threat to them, so they’ll naturally attack you."

Kai nodded after hearing Keith’s words. But after he saw the boat Keith was referring to, Kai felt it wasn’t in very good condition.

No wonder—it hadn’t been touched in months because it couldn’t sail.

"Can you operate it, Keith?" asked Kai.

Keith shook his head. "My younger brother will take you there, if you don’t mind. Since he can cast wind magic, he can use it to propel the boat so it moves faster. So, you’re okay with Kyle taking you, right?" Keith asked.

Kai nodded, "Sure, I don’t mind. He can only take me halfway, though, because it would be dangerous to go any further."

Keith then turned to his younger brother, Kyle, who had just arrived.

Unlike Keith, who was tall and somewhat thin, Keith’s younger brother looked more muscular than Keith.

"I’m ready to take you, young master."

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