《Striving For The Luxury Liner!! ~Get That Rich Isekai Life With A Ship Summoning Skill~》 Volume 1 - Prologue ¡°I woke up in a meadow!¡± I don¡¯t know what I am talking about. Why am I in a meadow? Why was I lying in a meadow? Where am I? It¡¯s a big mess. My cell phone is¡­ no, I don¡¯t have anything¡­ Why, you ask? As for myself¡­ I¡¯m Wataru Toyomi, 20 years old, a light otaku, likes anime and manga, medium build, average looking, a university student that you can find plenty out there. I can remember things about myself, and I¡¯m not suffering from amnesia. Let¡¯s see if I can trace back as far as I can. Yesterday, I had a drink with my college friends, you know? We ate and drank as much as we could at a pub¡­ and then went to karaoke and had a great time until early in the morning. After that¡­ then we split up¡­ and walked home¡­ and I fell into the sea. Yes, I was pleasantly walking along the seaside road and got tired and sat on the guardrail to rest¡­ I staggered and fell into the sea! ¡°Why would I be in the meadow if I fell into the sea?¡± I don¡¯t remember crawling out of the sea by myself¡­ Did someone help me? ¡­Helped me and left me in the meadow? I don¡¯t get it¡­ I don¡¯t know what it means, but I can¡¯t stay here. I have to move. I don¡¯t even know which direction to go, but if I keep walking, I¡¯ll find a road, right? Hmm? I heard rustling sounds, so I checked and saw a rabbit coming out of the bushes¡­ Why does a rabbit have a horn on its head? ¡°Whoa.¡± As I was escaping from reality, the rabbit jumped at me. I couldn¡¯t avoid it, and the horn grazed my arm. As I was scared of the pain and bleeding, the rabbit with a horn jumped at me again. Not knowing what to do, I started to run away. I ran to my limit and fell down on the grass. Had I escaped? I wanted to think it was a dream, but I was running out of breath, and my arm, cut by the horn and bleeding, was telling me that it was real. ¡°Haha, maybe this is a fantasy world. Rabbit with a horn often appears in novels, don¡¯t they? Could it be that I have gone crazy?¡± While confused, I recall a certain word¡­ ¡°Status.¡± A translucent screen appeared in front of me in response to the word status, which I said half-jokingly. ¡°Haha, there it is, the status screen.¡± Name: Wataru Toyomi Age: 20 Race: Human Occupation: Ship¡¯s captain Level 1 Physical Strength: 100 Magic Power: 8 Strength: 12 Intelligence: 22 Dexterity: 18 Luck: 15 Skills: Language Comprehension (Unique) Ship Summoning Level 1 (Unique) Language Comprehension (Unique) Ship Summoning Level 1 (Unique) Looking at the status screen in front of me, I felt a desire to escape reality but also an indescribable sense of excitement, perhaps due to my otaku nature. ¡°Hmm?¡± There is a blinking beep in the lower right corner of the screen. Is it a¡­ message? I tried to touch it, but my finger slipped through the screen. ¡°In this case, if I look at the light novel and think strongly¡­ open¡­ Whoa, light novel is really amazing.¡± The message that opened was¡­ ¡°Nice to meet you, Wataru Toyomi-kun. You have fallen between worlds and wandered into this world. Unfortunately, I cannot return you to your original world. I can¡¯t interfere too much, but I know how difficult it is, so I¡¯ve given you two things: language comprehension and ship summoning. Language comprehension is a skill that allows you to read and write all languages. As for the ship summoning, I chose it because you seem to have fallen from the sea, and your name sounds like it. I cannot interfere in any way from now on, so please enjoy this world. PS. There have been several people who have wandered into this world, and some have been badly hurt in their search for useful knowledge. It is better to keep your otherworldliness to yourself.¡± ¡°Is this really another world? And I can¡¯t go back? It seems like something like that, so it was chosen because it seems suitable, huh¡­?¡± ¡­.. ¡°Even though this is a meadow, summon the ship¡­¡± This was the moment I understood that I had wandered into another world. Volume 1 - CH 1 Chapter 1 ¨C Status Checks and Cheats? After reading the message, I check the status again, feeling somewhat unconvinced. Name: Wataru Toyomi Age: 20 Race: Human Occupation: Ship¡¯s captain Level 1 Physical Strength: 100 Magic Power: 8 Strength: 12 Intelligence: 22 Dexterity: 18 Luck: 15 Skills: Language Comprehension (Unique) Ship Summoning Level 1 (Unique) ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about ships, so why is my occupation ship¡¯s captain? Is it because I got the ship summoning skill? And this status is not strong, right? Magic power 8 means I have¡­ magic power, which means I can use magic, but I wonder if I can use magic with only 8.¡± It hurts to come to another world and not be able to use magic. I have a little bit of magic power, so it doesn¡¯t sound like I¡¯ll never be able to use magic, and I¡¯ll be happy if I can manage it. ¡°I read the message, and it didn¡¯t say anything about giving me a cheat. There are some monster-like creatures, and I don¡¯t know if I can get to the place where there are people with this status.¡± I checked the status, mumbling, and mumbling, and gradually became more and more anxious. ¡°There¡¯s no problem; I have a skill! It says something about (unique), and unique is supposed to be a great skill, right?¡± While muttering this, I look at the skill. Language Comprehension means I can understand all words and letters. ¡°I guess Language Comprehension is exactly what it says. But it says ¡°all of them,¡± which seems to be a unique skill. I can¡¯t fight with it, though.¡± If I can understand all words and letters, I could make a lot of money if there are any letters that haven¡¯t been deciphered. Well, that is, if I can get to a safe place. ¡°No problem, the next step is to summon the ship. Though, I¡¯m in a meadow.¡± I pushed aside my fears that I would be stuck with a skill I couldn¡¯t fight with and focused my gaze on the ship summoning. Ship Summoning Level 1 You can summon a purchased ship. You can keep the purchased ship in the best condition and control it at will. You can purchase a new ship from the purchase screen. Basic Rowboat (wooden). The number of people is limited to 2. Special Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection. ¡°I know it, this ship summoning! I knew that summoning a boat in a meadow wasn¡¯t very likely! But it was the only way! I wanted to believe in it!¡± To explain a skill that I had thought was thinly disguised in the corner of my mind. With my slightest expectation shattered, I kneeled on the ground and slumped down. Five minutes later¡­ Whew, I generally didn¡¯t understand the meaning of the meadow when I fell into the sea. At least if it had been the sea, I might have been able to use the wooden rowboat¡­ but to begin with, a ship captain in a boat floating on a pond¡­ hah, I can¡¯t help but stay here like this, although I¡¯m not convinced, if I don¡¯t do something about it, I could seriously die. I managed to gather up my shattered feelings and tried summoning a boat. ¡°I can somehow understand how to summon a ship, probably because of my skills. I wonder if I can summon a ship even though I¡¯m not on the water¡­ I¡¯ll just have to give it a try. Ship summoning!¡± I don¡¯t really need to say it out loud, but I just try to be cool, sticking my right arm out in front of me and chanting ¡°Ship Summoning¡± as if it were an incantation. At the same time as the word, a light like a magic circle appears on the ground, and a rowboat is summoned from within the magic circle¡­ I look at the rowboat that has fallen diagonally to the ground with a clatter and checks its status, feeling a helpless emptiness at the gap between the coolness of the magic circle of light and the rowboat that has come out. ¡°Hmm? My magic power is still 8. Doesn¡¯t summoning a boat consume magic power? Is it because it is unique? Or is it because I can¡¯t use the ship summoning with 8 magic power, so they made it without magic power consumption? ¡­It seems like it could be either. Oh well, now let¡¯s check out the rowboat. I wonder if it could move on the ground with ease¡­¡± As I examined the rowboat with my wish in mind, I found it to be an ordinary wooden rowboat with nothing special about it. I had a slight, really slight hope. There was no such thing as rowing the oars and then going forward on the ground or floating through the air. ¡°Whew, I know it¡¯s a rowboat, but these oars are saving grace! It¡¯s made of wood, but it¡¯s big and long, and with it, I think I can manage even a rabbit with a horn. Can I just leave the oar and repatriate the main body of the boat? Hmm, no. If I repatriate the body, the oar will be repatriated together with it.¡± If I could leave the oar alone, I would have been able to proceed with peace of mind. ¡°I want to get to a safe place before nightfall, so I¡¯ll just take the oars and go on. From there, I can try repatriation and re-summoning.¡± At any rate, I take the oars and go on. I¡¯d like to get to the road somehow. I don¡¯t have any drinking water, so if I can find a river or something, I can get drinking water, and the rowboat can be of great use. I have a feeling a river would be better than a road. I walked for about an hour, frightened by the noise. I think I should take a break and try to repatriate and re-summon around here. ¡°Yeah, even though I am far away from the (wooden) rowboat, I can somehow tell where the boat is, and I can summon it. I¡¯m glad to know that I was able to resummon the boat without any problems. Come to think of it; I think there¡¯s more to the ship summoning. Let¡¯s check it out.¡± Special features? Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection¡­ Huh? This is awesome, right? ¡°Could this be a cheat? Is this a cheat?¡± I look at the features of the status ship summoning, unsinkable, indestructible, and boarding rejection and check it. Unsinkable, indestructible, cannot be sunk, cannot be broken. Yeah, unsinkable and indestructible are the best features for a ship¡­ I think it would be a pretty good cheat if the same features were attached to ships that can be bought on the purchase screen. Boarding Rejection. Nothing is allowed on board without the captain¡¯s permission. In case the permission is cancelled, the person will be thrown out of the ship. If anyone tries to kill or injure anyone on board, they will be ejected from the ship. Does the ¡°boarding rejection¡± feature mean that people just can¡¯t come on board? If the part about not letting anything in is not only for people but also for monsters, that would be a cheat. Next time I hear a noise, I should try to avoid it and test the effect of the boarding rejection. If a demon appears, I should summon a boat and check the effect of the boarding rejection and also if I can attack with oars from the top of the boat later. A rabbit with a horn, or should I just use a horned rabbit now? If it is a horned rabbit, I think I can beat it with just oars, and if not, I will run away. After a while, I heard a rustling sound. I immediately summoned a boat and took a position on the rowboat. I suppressed my desire to run away and prepared for the attack while holding the oar, but the horned rabbit jumped on me. ¡°Ughhh!¡± I was so frightened that I made a strange noise, but the rabbit was repelled by something like an invisible wall. The invisible wall¡­ seems to have some kind of barrier. ¡°It seems that monsters can also be rejected to board the ship; maybe this is a cheat! But it is scary because the ship is so small, and the distance between the barrier and myself is so close.¡± The horned rabbit has repeatedly hit the barrier and has been bounced off. If it looks like it¡¯s not going to work, why don¡¯t you just give up? In the first place, rabbits are herbivores, aren¡¯t they? So why do they attack people? After watching the barrier repel the horned rabbit several times, I began feeling more at ease. Let¡¯s try attacking with the oar. The horned rabbit is hitting the barrier with its body. I matched the timing 3¡­2¡­1¡­ ¡°Now!¡± When I slam the oar into the horned rabbit, the rabbit bounces off and rolls on the grass. I slowly approach the rabbit and poke it with the oar. It did not react at all. ¡°Did I beat it? ¡­It seems that I have defeated it. Whew, I never thought a rabbit could be so ferocious. This world must be quite dangerous¡­¡± At least I managed to defeat it. There are still many things I need to check, but I may be able to manage them. First, let¡¯s deal with the horned rabbit. I don¡¯t know if it is edible or not, but it is too good to throw it away now that I don¡¯t have anything. I think animals have to be drained of blood. I don¡¯t have a knife¡­ What should I do? After much deliberation, I smashed the horns of the horned rabbit with an oar and stuck the horns into its neck and both ankles. It was not vigorous, but the blood flowed out, so at least I should be able to drain it. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that draining blood while the heart is still beating is a good idea, but I can¡¯t capture it alive. I¡¯m thirsty. I¡¯m going to die if I don¡¯t find a river.¡± With no water, I guess I¡¯ll just have to keep going. Volume 1 - CH 2 Chapter 2 ¨C Town And Adventurer¡¯s Guild ¡°It¡¯s a road!¡± After walking for two hours and winning five battles with horned rabbits, I managed to reach the road. ¡°This is a road, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s not paved, but there are traces of wheels, monsters, skills, and magic. It looks like the kind of medieval Europe that is common in fantasy worlds. I¡¯m curious to see what kind of world it is, but first, I have to decide which way to go.¡± ¡­Which way should I go on this road? Right or left¡­? I hope both are close to a human settlement, but there¡¯s no point in worrying about it¡­ I feel like most of the footprints of people and horses are heading right, so let¡¯s go right. I was thirsty, but the six horned rabbits I had killed were heavy. I couldn¡¯t carry them, so I tied them up with long vines and carried them. It was getting dark and took me several hours of walking, suffering from thirst and impatience. Then, finally, I saw something that looked like a city wall. It looked like a magnificent city surrounded by a large wall. With relief, I get in line, probably waiting to enter. On the way there, I thought about how to enter the city without being recognized as an otherworldly person. Looking at the gates, I see that most people show what looks like identification, and in rare cases, some people hand over what looks like coins. I had neither ID nor coins, and all I had was a six-horned rabbit. Looking around, I saw that people were dressed very differently. No one is wearing a white T-shirt and jeans¡­ It¡¯s kind of hard because it¡¯s so wrong in so many ways¡­ I thought that I could go with the bandit attack or the amnesia template, but I don¡¯t know what to do. Amnesia in loose clothing¡­ is too suspicious. Attacked by bandits and had luggage stolen¡­ which might be unusual, but the fact that my jeans were not stolen is going to be suspicious¡­ I came out of the village and was attacked by monsters, threw out my luggage and ran away¡­ this sounds the best. Monsters, goblins, or wolves are the orthodox ones, but are there goblins? To gather information, I asked a peddler in line in front of me. ¡°Excuse me; you are a merchant, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, what can I do for you, young man?¡± He responded in a surprisingly friendly manner. When I thought about it, it was my first conversation in another world¡­ My first conversation was with an old man. That reminds me, there was no template of rescuing a carriage that was being attacked by monsters. There was no such a tempestuous situation at all. I don¡¯t have the ability to help, though¡­ Oops, it¡¯s a conversation with a merchant; I must gather information. ¡°Actually, I was attacked by a monster on my way out of the village. I managed to escape while throwing away my luggage, but now I only have the six horned rabbits I had hunted earlier. Can I go inside with this?¡± ¡°That¡¯s tough luck, were you attacked by goblins or something?¡± Goblins¡­ They are there, after all¡­ ¡°Yes, that¡¯s how I got to the city for the first time, all by myself. I don¡¯t know how to get into the city, so I was hoping you could help me out.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t have an ID, you can go in for five coppers after you touch the crystal and prove you are not a criminal, with a temporary ID for three days. You can register with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild while you¡¯re there, and they¡¯ll probably let you in if you give one of those horned rabbits to them.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°You will have a hard time from now on, but good luck, young man.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± I think I can manage; about ten more people will be entering the gate. I¡¯m glad I have the horned rabbits. ¡°Next.¡± It¡¯s my turn. I¡¯m very nervous. ¡°Do you have your ID?¡± ¡°Um, I was attacked by a monster on the way here, and I lost all my belongings.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯m sorry to hear that. Here are the rules. Touch this appraisal crystal.¡± When I touched the crystal, it glowed blue. Is that okay? ¡°¡­Alright, there¡¯s no criminal record. Can you pay the five coppers?¡± ¡°I have no coins because I lost my luggage. I was told this horned rabbit would do fine. Can I enter with it?¡± ¡°Yes, the blood has been drained, the horns are broken, but there are few scratches, and it is probably worth five coppers. You may enter. Welcome to the Western City.¡± ¡°Thank you, sir; I would like to register with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Can you tell me where I can find it?¡± ¡°Yes, continue straight down the main street, and you will see a large building on the left. It¡¯s marked with a sword and shield.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± It¡¯s called the Western City. I guess it¡¯s a city on the western side of this country. What¡¯s the name of this country anyway? I guess I managed it. It was a hard mission for me, a coward¡­ but I still have to register as an adventurer, don¡¯t I? Walking down the bustling main street. There are many different stores, many different races. Those are cat ears, aren¡¯t they? It piqued my curiosity, but I didn¡¯t have time to look around. I need to register as an adventurer and find a place to rest. Is this the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, or will they discover my skills when I register? With two unique skills, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll look notorious if they find out, but there¡¯s nothing I can do about it, so I guess I¡¯ll just have to take it as it comes. When I enter, there are five beautiful guild staff Onee-sans and one tough-looking old man sitting at the counter. Naturally, there is no one in front of the old man, and there is a line at the counter for the Onee-sans. Well, if I could afford it, I would like to wait in line to be accepted by the beautiful Onee-sans, but today, I¡¯m almost at my limit. It seems like there might be a scenario in which a tough-looking old man is actually a guild master, but to be honest, I don¡¯t really care. I want to get this over with and take a rest, so I go to the old man¡¯s counter. ¡°Excuse me, can I register as an adventurer here?¡± ¡°Yes, you can.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Touch the appraisal crystal. The registration fee is one silver coin.¡± Can I manage one silver coin with five horned rabbits? The gatekeeper said that one horned rabbit is worth more than five copper coins. So if it was worth at least 25 copper coins or 1 silver coin for 10 copper coins, I could manage¡­ can I get it? ¡°Well, I lost all my luggage before I reached the city, and I only have five horned rabbits. Can I get by with this?¡± ¡°Not enough, but we can lend you the one silver coin for the registration fee. You have one month to pay it back, and if you fail to do so, you will be forced to clean the sewers and do other jobs that people don¡¯t like to do until the repayment is completed.¡± How many copper coins are in one silver coin? Since 10 copper coins did not equal 1 silver coin, perhaps 100 copper coins equal 1 silver coin. But what if it was 1,000 copper coins or something like that¡­? Can I ask that without sounding suspicious? ¡°How many horned rabbits does it take to earn one silver coin?¡± ¡°Unless they are torn to pieces, each rabbit costs at least five coppers, so if you bring twenty rabbits, you should be able to make one silver coin.¡± ¡°By the way, are there any good places to hunt horned rabbits?¡± ¡°The breeding grounds are in the meadow in front of the forest in the southwestern direction from the south gate of this Western city. But don¡¯t go too close to the forest because goblins will come out.¡± 100 copper coins for 1 silver coin or¡­ 20 horned rabbits in 1 month. That sounds fine to me. Even if it costs money to live, it seems to be manageable. ¡°Please lend me a silver coin, and I¡¯ll sign up.¡± ¡°Okay, touch the crystal.¡± ¡­When I touched the crystal, it glowed, and a card came out from the table below. ¡°Here you go¡­ this is the F-rank adventurer¡¯s card. If there are parts of the card that you want to hide, such as skills or magic, you can do so by tracing them while thinking of concealment. There are many adventurers who hide their cards. Some only show their skills to trusted friends, while others display the skills they want to show off.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you very much.¡± I¡¯ll hide it before I forget. Name: Wataru Toyomi Age: 20 Race: Human Occupation: Ship¡¯s captain Level 2 Physical Strength: 120 Magic Power: 10 Strength: 14 Intelligence: 24 Dexterity: 20 Luck: 15 Skills: Language Comprehension (Unique) Ship Summoning Level 1 (Unique) Whoa, my level is up. I didn¡¯t get any message. Did I miss it? My stats are up 20 in physical strength, and everything else is up 2 except for luck. I wonder if they go up on average. Too bad luck doesn¡¯t go up. I wonder if I should hide it for now¡­ What about my last name or something? I¡¯ll hide it just in case, or if I hide the rest of my skills, it won¡¯t be a problem. Name: Wataru Age: 20 Race: Human Occupation: Ship¡¯s Captain Level 2 Physical Strength: 120 Magic Power: 10 Strength: 14 Intelligence: 24 Dexterity: 20 Luck: 15 I feel much better now. I¡¯ve got my ID, and it¡¯s kind of a relief. ¡°Can you read? If so, read this booklet carefully. It contains the basic rules of being an adventurer. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Yes, and I would like to sell my horned rabbit for cash. Can I do it here?¡± ¡°Take it to the purchase counter in the back.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± That was the end of the registration process, right? It was convenient because he didn¡¯t ask me about my skills or anything, but is it normal to just be handed a booklet and told to read it? I feel like I¡¯ve been cut out of the process¡­ Well, if there¡¯s something I don¡¯t understand, I can just come back and ask again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, can you buy these?¡± ¡°Aiyo, five horned rabbits, the blood was drained properly. The wounds on the necks are a little rough¡­1 rabbit is worth 7 coppers, so I¡¯ll give you 35 coppers for all of them.¡± ¡°That will be fine.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Oh, could you tell me where I can find a cheap place to stay?¡± ¡°Hmm? If you don¡¯t fancy a private room, I recommend the guild-owned inn next door. The rooms are big, and people sleep in the same room, but it costs only 10 coppers per night.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll have a look.¡± Sleeping in a large room¡­ can¡¯t be helped while I have 1 silver coin debt¡­ I¡¯ll work hard to earn money and at least be able to stay in a private room. Is this it? ¡°Excuse me. I¡¯d like to stay here, is that okay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s 10 coppers per night, plus 5 coppers for food.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to stay overnight only today. Here are 10 coppers.¡± ¡°You can sleep in any of the available spaces in the big room on the second floor. The well is in the back of the building, so you can use it as you like.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll use the well first.¡± I could use the well. I was thirsty, but I didn¡¯t really know what to do. I washed my face, drank plenty of water, and went to bed for the night. I have a lot to think about, but I can¡¯t take it anymore¡­ Good night. Debt: 1 silver coin. Balance: 25 copper coins. Volume 1 - CH 3 Chapter 3 ¨C Rabbit Hunting and Future Prospects It¡¯s morning, huh¡­? I look around and see no one¡­ I guess I slept too well. I slept soundly, even though it was in a large room with a bunch of people sleeping together, an environment in which it was usually difficult to sleep. Suddenly lost in another world, I managed to get through the first day. I need to make a proper plan for what I¡¯m going to do now. Oh no, I¡¯m so hungry I can¡¯t think straight. I haven¡¯t eaten for a whole day. Let¡¯s go out to eat. ¡°Good morning.¡± I greeted the landlady, who replied, ¡°It¡¯s already noon.¡± I must have slept too much. I washed my face and rinsed my mouth out in the well. ¡°Landlady-san, can I use the toilet¡­?¡± ¡°Oh, there¡¯s one right there.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Japanese style potty, I¡¯m not good at it. The thing to wipe is this leaf; not good at it. Let¡¯s get back on track and do my best. I bought two grilled rabbit skewers and a loaf of bread at a stall I saw along the main street for three copper coins. I guessed it was about 100 yen per copper coin. The grilled rabbit skewers, my first meal in another world, were hearty and tasty, but I was a little disappointed that they were only salted. Spices may be expensive. Also, the bread is hard. My plan for today is to buy the minimum necessary tools and earn enough money to stay for the night. After earning money, I will leave early and spend the night making plans for the future. When I was in Japan, I never thought that just having a definite place to stay would make me feel so much better. It is important to have a place to go back to, even if it is just to sleep in a small bed. Walking down the main street, I found a tool shop and approached the shopkeeper, thinking about what I needed. ¡°Excuse me, I need a bag to hold my catch, a knife to dismantle it, a water bottle, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a towel, and a bag to hold them in, but since I don¡¯t have enough money, can I buy them all for the lowest possible price of 22 copper coins?¡± ¡°Twenty-two coppers? That¡¯s a little tight, you know. I¡¯ll just list the cheapest ones, and you can choose what you want to buy.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s see, a bag, 5 coppers; a dismantling knife, 7 coppers; a water bottle, 5 coppers; a toothbrush, 2 coppers; toothpaste (salt), 1 coppers; and a towel, 5 coppers.¡± ¡°Hmm, 25 coppers in all¡­ I¡¯ll give up the towels. Please give me the rest for 20 coppers.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Also, do you have a bag to put all this stuff in for two coppers?¡± ¡°Hmm? This bag is fine for two coppers.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take that too.¡± Balance 0¡­ I need 15 copper coins for tonight¡¯s lodging and dinner. I need to hunt at least three horned rabbits for a minimum of five coppers each. The most common place to find horned rabbits is outside the south gate of this Western city, in the southwestern direction, just before the forest. Shall I go there right away? Oh, let¡¯s fill the water bottles at the inn first. When I left the south gate, I only needed to show my guild card to get through, so I walked to the southwest. After walking for about 30 minutes, I saw a forest¡­ Is this the right place to go? As soon as I arrived, the bushes swayed, and a horned rabbit appeared. I immediately summoned a boat, a rowboat¡­ it¡¯s too much trouble. Let¡¯s just use the boat. I take up position on the boat and slam the oar into the horned rabbit, which is body slamming into the barrier. It¡¯s easy; I feel like cheating, but there is no time to spare, so let¡¯s just keep on hunting. Oh, I bought a cheap dismantling knife, too, and I have to make sure I drain the blood out of it. It¡¯s a simple job: Two hours later¡­ I got, ahem, nine horned rabbits. Thanks to the breeding grounds alone, I hunted more in a short time than yesterday; they attacked me once but in multiples, but thanks to the boarding rejection, I was able to take them out one by one with no problem. It¡¯s looking good, and as planned, I¡¯ll return early today to make plans for the future. I returned to the guild and headed for the purchasing counter. ¡°I want to sell nine horned rabbits, please.¡± ¡°Aiyo, they have been drained of their blood properly. Each rabbit is clean and has only a few scratches, so I¡¯ll take them for eight coppers, or 72 coppers in all.¡± Oh, the purchase price goes up by one copper coin per rabbit. Nice job, dismantling knife. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll take it.¡± Let¡¯s buy the towels I couldn¡¯t afford during the day and head back to the inn. ¡°Welcome back. Would you like to stay over again today?¡± ¡°Yes, I would like to stay again today, please. Also, I would like to order dinner today.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a total of 15 coppers. Dinner can be served anytime between the sixth and eighth bells.¡± ¡°Bells?¡± ¡°Oya, in the Western city, they ring bells every two hours from 8:00 in the morning to 8:00 in the evening. Didn¡¯t you notice?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t notice. I was sound asleep last night. Here are 15 coppers.¡± ¡°Give this board to the dining hall whenever you come in, and you will be served a meal.¡± When I returned to the big room, there were only two people in the room, probably because it was still early. Corner get! I was slightly excited to have gotten one of the only four corner parts in this large room. Now let¡¯s get worked up and make plans for the future. ¡­What shall I do? Let¡¯s list the things I need to do and the things I¡¯m concerned about. Pay off one silver coin of debt. Read the Adventurer¡¯s Guild booklet. Ask many questions at the guild. Check the purchase screen for skill ship summoning. Summon skill ships, and try out different things outside. I need new underwear and clothes. If there is a library, research this country and surrounding countries. Find out about races. Find out the value of money. Bathe in a well. Find out if I can stay in a private inn. Hmmm¡­ I guess that¡¯s about it. Let¡¯s get on with what I can do now. The first thing I can do is the booklet. It¡¯s thin and quick to read. Well, to summarize¡­ The Adventurers Guild does not belong to a country. They do not participate in wars. They are divided into F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS ranks. You can receive requests up to one rank higher than your own rank. If you complete the requests, you can get up to rank C, but there is a test to get up to rank B or higher. There is a mandatory request for C rank and above in case of emergency. There is an appointment request for high ranks. If you don¡¯t accept requests for a certain period, your guild card will expire. The guild card will expire if you don¡¯t receive requests for a certain period. F: 1 month, E: 3 months, D: 6 months, C: 1 year It¡¯s almost the same organization as the templates. But what should I do? I¡¯m not good at fighting and don¡¯t want to force myself to raise my rank. It would be enough if I could raise my rank to about D rank, where there are no mandatory requests. Next is the purchasing screen for the ship summoning¡­ I¡¯m kind of looking forward to it. I open up my status, and whoops, my level is up again! I¡¯m now level 3. I¡¯m up 20 in physical strength and 2 in everything else except luck. Will it continue like this? Never mind, let¡¯s check the purchase screen. Rubber Boat: 50 copper coins~ Swan Boat: 30 silver coins~ Motorboat: 40 silver coins~ Fishing Boat: 4 gold coins~ Cruisers: 20 gold coins~ Ferry / Cargo Ship: 100 platinum coins~ Luxury Cruise Ship: 500 platinum coins~ Is this what I can buy? I see crazy prices along the way¡­ platinum coins? How many are those? Copper coin = 100 yen, silver coin = I¡¯m pretty sure up to 10,000 yen. If the fishing boat is 4 gold coins, then perhaps gold coins = 1,000,000 yen, then platinum coins = 100,000,000 yen? Copper coin = 100 yen Silver coin = 10,000 yen Gold coin = 1,000,000 yen Platinum coin = 100,000,000 yen So, there is no doubt about it. Then¡­ Rubber boat: 50 copper coins = 5,000 yen Swan boat: 30 silver coins = 300,000 yen Motorboats: 40 silver coins = 400,000 yen Fishing boat: 4 gold coins = 4 million yen Cruisers: 20 gold coins = 20 million yen Ferry/Cargo Ship: 100 platinum coins = 10 billion yen Luxury Cruise Ship: 5oo platinum coins = 50 billion yen If I earn 50 billion yen, I can buy a luxury cruise ship¡­ that doesn¡¯t sound very realistic at all. Currently, my goal is to pay off my debt of 10,000 yen or silver coin. A luxury cruise ship, huh¡­? How can I reach it? Rubber boat: 50 copper coins. I should buy this one as soon as possible. The flat bottom is great. It¡¯s hard for a rowboat on the ground because it¡¯s slanted. The question is whether to buy a reasonably priced rubber boat that can hold two people or a large 4 passenger, which is worth about 9 silver coins. Affordable rubber boats are readily available and have flat bottoms. But they are only as big as a rowboat and are narrow¡­ It will be a while before I can afford to buy a four-seater rubber boat, but it will give me more room to expand my length and width. I feel that it is just a waste of time to buy a four-seater when I don¡¯t even have anyone to share the boat with at the moment. In conclusion, after paying off my 1 silver coin debt, I¡¯m going to buy a nice rubber boat. Next, a swan boat¡­ I don¡¯t need one. I do want a motor boat¡­ with a motor at some point, though. I haven¡¯t even floated a boat on the water yet, so I¡¯m putting that on hold. I looked at the purchase screen and thought, they don¡¯t sell military boats or anything like that. Can¡¯t they be loaded with weapons or something? Luxury cruise ships, what kind of ships are they? At any rate, the most expensive one here¡­ has 2700 rooms, a swimming pool, tennis court, casino, ice skating rink, movie theater, lots of restaurants, etc¡­ There is a lot of information that I don¡¯t know where I should look at. If I could buy this luxury cruise ship, what would the stores be like? Would the shopkeepers, products, and¡­ movie theaters be able to show movies properly? I wonder a lot of things. I lie down and think about a lot of things. But, come to think of it, who was the person who gave me the message? He wrote that he had developed skills, so maybe he is a god. Since there are other worlds, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if there was a god, would it? Ding-dong, ding-dong. Hmm? That sounded like a bell. It¡¯s a pretty loud sound, and since it¡¯s the sixth bell, it means I can have a meal. I¡¯m hungry, so let¡¯s go to the diner right away. ¡°Is this the right place to hand in this board?¡± ¡°Oh, is this your first time? Since there is only one menu, you can pick up your meal there after you hand over the board. When you¡¯re done eating, take it over there.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I took my meal and sat down. Two large loaves of bread and a big stew with lots of vegetables. The bread is hard, but it is manageable if it is dipped in the¡­ stew. The stew is full of vegetables and is very filling, and the meat is probably horned rabbit¡¯s meat? It is tasty but monotonous and somewhat unsatisfying. But it is an inn for beginner adventurers, and the food is plentiful, so it seems like they are doing a pretty good job. ¡°Thank you for the food.¡± I returned the dishes, and now¡­ I want to take a bath. I found the landlady and asked her about it. ¡°Landlady-san, do you have a place where I can take a bath?¡± ¡°Hahaha, only nobles and rich people can take such a bath. Are you from a good family?¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯m from the countryside. I thought people in the city took baths.¡± ¡°Oh, really? Well, wiping yourself with water is the best you can do at this inn. If you are in a private inn, you can ask for warm water, and they will bring it to you.¡± ¡°A private inn? How much does it cost?¡± ¡°It varies a lot, but I¡¯d say about 30 coppers per night. Some of the nicer ones charge 40 to 50 coppers.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you very much. I¡¯ll aim for the 30-copper inn first.¡± ¡°Ahaha, good luck. But don¡¯t push yourself too hard. This is an inn for newcomers, but there are also a lot of newcomers who can¡¯t make it back. Don¡¯t be hasty and do your best.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± I guess being an adventurer is a life-threatening job, after all. ¡­I¡¯m not suited for it for sure, but I have to be an adventurer, for now, so I¡¯m going to be cautious. I wipe myself with a towel wet from the well, brush my teeth and return to my room. It¡¯s only about 7:00 p.m., right? Let¡¯s summarize what I learned today and make a plan for tomorrow. Pay off one silver coin of debt. Read the Adventurer¡¯s Guild booklet. Ask many questions at the guild. Check the purchase screen for skill ship summoning. Summon skill ships, and try out different things outside. I need new underwear and clothes. If there is a library, research this country and surrounding countries. Find out about races. Find out the value of money. Bathe in a well. Find out if I can stay in a private inn. Tomorrow I¡¯ll go out in the morning and then try to summon a boat and hunt for more horned rabbits. I want to pay off my debt tomorrow, or at least get a change of underwear. I fall asleep as I think about the grueling task¡­ Good night. Debt: 1 silver coin. Balance: 52 copper coins. Volume 1 - CH 4 Chapter 4 ¨C Ship Summoning Power and Reference Room It¡¯s morning, huh¡­? The people around seem to still be sleeping. It seems I went to bed too early and woke up in the still dim light. Well, there are many things I want to do, so let¡¯s get moving. I need to wash my face at the well, brush my teeth, and fill my water bottle with water. When I packed my bags and went outside, it was getting a little brighter. As expected, there are no food stalls open yet. What should I do for breakfast? ¡­I want to try the ship summoning, so I¡¯ll just have to hold out until noon. I went out of the south gate and headed for the breeding ground of the horned rabbit. This is a good place to go. ¡°Ship Summoning.¡± As usual, there was a rowboat leaning with a clattering sound. Well, let¡¯s try it¡­ What should I try? Hmm, let¡¯s try the boarding rejection. I throw a stone in the area where I usually stand. ¡°Here it is.¡± Whoa, it bounced back¡­ I can¡¯t see it, but it¡¯s as expected; there¡¯s some kind of barrier. If things can also be rejected for boarding, that¡¯s quite a cheat, isn¡¯t it? Perhaps, but even if it were attacked with a weapon, it would repel that weapon¡­ What about magic? I can¡¯t even try it right now, but I¡¯ll have to remember to check it out eventually. How much of the area is covered by the barrier? Let¡¯s check the range while throwing stones close to it. Horizontally, the barrier is stretched along the edge of the boat. Vertically, the barrier seems to extend to a height of about 2 meters. ¡°Gasyaa!¡± ¡°Whoa!¡± Horned Rabbit, huh¡­? I had completely forgotten that there were monsters in the area. Let¡¯s be careful not to forget to be on guard. I quickly get into the boat, give it a smack with the oar, and even drain its blood. It¡¯s strange that I don¡¯t have any worries or conflicts when I¡¯m killing a living creature after all these times. I¡¯m a little worried about myself. I can¡¯t seem to figure it out, so I continue my experiments with caution. What I do know now is that there is a kind of barrier around the ship that repels monsters and stones. Whether people and magic will be repelled, too, remains to be seen, but people will most likely be repelled. If it can repel magic, too, that would be quite a cheat. What about the strength of the barrier or something like that? The description only said that nothing could get in. It¡¯s also conspicuous to test it©`what should I do? I continued the experiment, even though I was occasionally attacked by horned rabbits. I threw a large stone at it as hard as I could, but it didn¡¯t even move. I also threw a stone at the main body of the boat, but it didn¡¯t get a scratch even though it was made of wood. It seemed that the place where the stone repelled was not aligned, so I checked it out and found that the boat was slanted, so the barrier seemed to be slanted as well. Also, when I threw a stone with permission to board the boat, it passed through the place where it was always repelled. When I threw the same stone again, it was repelled. There¡¯s no offensive method, but it¡¯s pretty cheat-like in terms of defense. I should think of some other way to make an attack besides hitting with oars. Hmm? The oars are indestructible, too, right? Let¡¯s try slamming the oar as hard as possible against a nearby rock. ¡°Ouch!¡± There is a dull sound and a numbing impact on my arm at the same time. Of course, if I hit something hard, there would naturally be a shock. Even if the oar is indestructible, my arm is not. I have to be careful. After the numbness subsided, I checked the oar and found there was not even a scratch on it. If it¡¯s indestructible, I can do some reckless things. I can¡¯t think of what kind of recklessness, but I don¡¯t want to do anything reckless that might hurt me. I looked at the oar carefully and found that it was pretty dirty too. Maybe I should wash it when I get back¡­. dirt? That¡¯s the blood of a horned rabbit, isn¡¯t it? Is it yesterday¡¯s blood that¡¯s completely dry? It seems repatriation won¡¯t clean it up. From ¡°Ship Repatriation¡±¡­ to ¡°Ship Summoning¡±¡­ It¡¯s still dirty. It¡¯s most likely just gone back in and left as is. I know it says about keeping the ship I bought in the best possible condition, but can¡¯t it do something about the dirt? I strongly remind myself to get on the ship and keep it in the best condition¡­ ¡°Oooh, the dirt is going away!¡± I have to think; it¡¯s not going to get clean on its own. ¡°Huh?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but think. If it goes straight back in and comes straight out, what happens if I repatriate the boat with the cargo on it? I put some stones on the boat and used ¡°Ship Repatriation¡± and ¡°Ship Summoning¡±¡­ ¡°There it is! The stone is still there!¡± A great discovery. This is a great discovery! It means I can use it like an item box. Until now, I had to unload all my stuff when repatriating, but from now on, I can repatriate it as is. I don¡¯t even have to carry my luggage! Oh, if I summon the ship in town, it will definitely stand out. I guess I have to carry the luggage I use in town and the prey I exchange for cash¡­ Well, since I don¡¯t have to carry the luggage while hunting, it will be a lot easier, and I can think of other uses. I can¡¯t think of anything else to try. I¡¯ll try it then when I come up with an idea. I¡¯ve hunted 6 horned rabbits so far¡­ I¡¯d like to have 14 more. Well, I can move around without luggage, and if I try hard, I should be able to find a group of them. Then it should be manageable. It took quite a while, and it was well past noon, but I managed to hunt a total of 20 horned rabbits. I hurried back to town, bought two grilled skewers and a loaf of bread from a food stall for three coppers, and headed for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild while chomping down on the food. It was well past lunchtime, and I had exercised a lot, so the skewers tasted good. I arrived at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild with a sense of satisfaction and handed over 20 horned rabbits at the purchasing counter. ¡°Oh, good job, 20 rabbits, huh¡­? All neatly processed. I¡¯ll buy them for 8 copper coins each, for a total of 1 silver coin and 60 copper coins. Is that acceptable?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± So now, I have 1 silver and 109 coppers in total. I can pay back my debt¡­ Is it okay if I pay it back at the reception counter? I go to the reception counter, but I don¡¯t see that tough-looking old man. There are few adventurers, and I can line up at the counter with the pretty Onee-san without a care in the world! I quickly move to the just-empty counter. ¡°Excuse me. I would like to repay the one silver coin I borrowed when I registered.¡± Wow, she¡¯s beautiful¡­ Are those ears? Isn¡¯t she a beastman? I don¡¯t think those ears are dog ears; I think they are more like fox ears. She has big breasts, too¡­ maybe D-cups? ¡­My heart is pounding; I push down my inner thoughts and talk to her as politely as I can. Very well, please present your guild card.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Ara? You¡¯ve never taken any requests, have you?¡± ¡°Yes? Ah, I¡¯ve been hunting horned rabbits most of the time, so I haven¡¯t taken any requests.¡± ¡°Horned rabbits? Even horned rabbits are subject to a request if there is a request for procurement. Have you checked it?¡± ¡°No, I asked what I should do with the horned rabbits I had when I registered and was told to take them to the purchasing counter¡­¡± ¡°It is not wrong, but there have been various requests. Please check the quest board frequently.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t take a request for a month, your card will expire, so be careful.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ Well, so it¡¯s not enough to just bring the monsters to the purchasing counter, huh?¡± ¡°Yes, you must complete the request.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Then, can I have the one silver coin, please?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°The debt of one silver coin on your guild card has been removed. Please confirm.¡± ¡°Was there a debt noted on the guild card?¡± ¡°Yes. Wasn¡¯t that explained to you when you registered?¡± ¡°I was just given a booklet and told to read it¡­¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± It was like she knew in an instant who the receptionist was. I knew that old man was sloppy. ¡°I apologize, sir. Can you please let me explain now?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve read the booklet, so if there are any notes that aren¡¯t in it, please let me know.¡± ¡°The debt was filled in earlier, but you can also deposit money on your guild card. Deposits and withdrawals can be made at large guilds, such as the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and the Merchants¡¯ Guild, but not at stalls or small private stores. Many people deposit large sums of money in guilds and carry enough for everyday use.¡± ¡°It¡¯s very convenient, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, it is. Also, many newcomers want to take on subjugation requests immediately, but there are small but safe requests in town, such as requests to collect medicinal herbs. Saving money while training and equipping yourself is the basis for becoming stronger safely. I heard you were hunting horned rabbits. Are you equipped?¡± ¡°No, I was hunting with my outfit as it is¡­¡± It¡¯s a bit of a shock. I¡¯m being looked at by a beautiful woman with pitying eyes¡­ This makes me a little nervous, and I¡¯m worried about myself. ¡°Where do you hunt, by the way?¡± ¡°Just outside the south gate, to the southwest, just before the forest.¡± ¡°It is indeed safe there to some extent if you can defeat the horned rabbits, but it is not absolutely certain. Goblins may come out of the forest, and wolves may appear when it gets dark. I¡¯d recommend having at least a minimum amount of gear.¡± I thought it was safe because it was a recommended place, but it was unexpectedly dangerous. That old man could have at least given me a word of warning¡­ ¡°Well, equipment is important. What should I look for to be ready to take on a goblin?¡± ¡°Goblins are not a big challenge for those newcomers who are just breaking through or those with strong skills. However, considering the fact that they attack in groups and are equipped with weapons and armor, they can be quite a challenge for newcomers. It is best to start out with a minimum of equipment and experience defeating them in a party.¡± ¡°I understand. I aim to get my equipment in order first. I also want to know a lot about magic, monsters, etc. Is there a library or something like that?¡± ¡°There is a beginner¡¯s set available at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild store, so check there. There is a library, but you will need to pay a deposit to enter. There is a reference room on the second floor of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, so you might want to check the documents there first. Good luck.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Well, that was pretty informative. After all, if you¡¯re an adventurer, you need equipment. I thought I¡¯d be okay with the ship summoning, but it¡¯s noticeable when you don¡¯t have even the bare minimum of equipment. I should probably buy some equipment as well; let¡¯s check out the beginner¡¯s set. As for the next step, I¡¯ll go to the store, look at the equipment, study it in the reference room, and then go shopping. ¡°Welcome.¡± This time it¡¯s a pretty girl¡­ Adventurers¡¯ Guild definitely puts a lot of emphasis on looks, though I¡¯m glad. ¡°Um, I¡¯d like to see the beginner¡¯s set. Do you have it?¡± ¡°Yes, we do. This is a beginner¡¯s set that includes leather armor, leather gloves, leather shin guards, a beginner¡¯s potion, a dismantling knife, and a cloth bag, all for the bargain price of one silver coin.¡± ¡°I feel like it¡¯s a really big discount. Are you sure?¡± ¡°Ufufufufu, it¡¯s really a great price. If you buy it normally, it will cost you 3 silver coins. But many newcomers are not well equipped and are seriously injured or killed. So the Adventurers¡¯ Guild gives subsidies, and you can get the minimum amount of equipment at a discount price. It¡¯s an up-front investment.¡± Oh, the Adventurers Guild is awesome and very helpful. But I have 109 copper coins¡­ If I bought them now, I wouldn¡¯t be able to stay at the inn, and I can¡¯t buy underwear. I guess I¡¯ll have to earn the shortfall tomorrow and come back to buy some more. ¡°Great, I¡¯m a little tight on money, so I¡¯ll earn some tomorrow and come back to buy some more.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± ¡°Huh? You have clothes and underwear at the guild store, too, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, they sell quite well. There are battles, and sometimes you go into the forest. Clothes get torn and dirty, so they are quite popular. The clothes are used, but the underwear is brand new.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to buy one, so I¡¯ll take a look.¡± The clothes are used, I guess the new ones must be expensive¡­ I heard that in the past, some Japanese used to wear their clothes until they were torn to shreds and used them as rags at the end, and considering the atmosphere of this world, cloth seems to be very precious. The pants are¡­ trunks-like, and the elastic part seems to be tied with a string. It¡¯s a pretty decent deal, and for 5 copper coins, I can get change for one rabbit. I¡¯ve got one I¡¯m wearing now, so I¡¯ll only need two. The clothes are a cotton top and bottom. It¡¯s not cool, but it looks good enough if I put some equipment on top. The price is 10 copper coins for the top and bottom. It¡¯s pretty cheap, but maybe that¡¯s because it¡¯s used? ¡°The clothes are cheap, too. I¡¯ll take two sets of underwear and two sets of cotton top and bottom.¡± ¡°We buy a lot of cheap used clothes for adventurers, so they don¡¯t require much effort. The total will be 30 copper coins.¡± ¡°Thank you very much for the discount. I will come back tomorrow.¡± ¡°I will be waiting for you.¡± Next is¡­ the reference room. I¡¯ve already done my shopping, so I can check it out at my leisure. Is this the place? ¡°Excuse me; I¡¯d like to look at some documents.¡± ¡°Hmm? Ah, you are free to look at them, but please take good care of them. Do not take them out of the room with you.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± There are quite a lot of documents here. The ones I want to read are¡­ information on monsters around Western City, a guide to the Kingdom of Latina, an introduction to daily life magic, the characteristics of races, and calculations even adventurers can do, I guess? It¡¯s not too thick, so I think I can read it all today. £ª£ª£ª Phew, that¡¯s all of it¡­ I finished reading it pretty quickly. Let me summarize the useful information. Information on the monsters around the Western city. It seems that there are no strong monsters around the Western city. In the meadow, there are only horned rabbits and occasionally wolves, and wolves are not very aggressive, probably because there are many horned rabbits and they are well fed. In the southwestern forest, there are slimes, goblins, orcs, poison spiders, and some kind of common monsters. It is a tough place for beginners, but a medium-sized party can easily get around, and it seems to be a good training ground for beginner adventurers. There were other mines where strong monsters appeared, but that¡¯s nothing to do with me, right? Also, it said there were no dungeons around the Western city. There are dungeons in other places and a labyrinth city. Latina Kingdom Guide. This country is called the Kingdom of Latina. There are nobles such as king, duke, marquis, count, viscount, baron, quasi-baron, knight, and quasi-knight, and the titles with ¡°quasi¡± are limited to one generation. The royal capital is located in the center of the country, and each count is responsible for a city in the east, west, south, north, and south. Incidentally, the Western city seems to be the central city in the western part of the country, where the Western Count resides, since it is a big city. Dukes and marquises have fiefdoms near the capital and hold important positions in the country. The lords of the east, west, south, north, and west are of marquis level, and under each of them are counts, viscounts, barons, quasi-barons, knights, and quasi-knights, who rule the country. The nobles who do not have a fiefdom are called nobles in vestments, and they receive a pension from the government to live on. I would like to visit the east and south of the country. In particular, I would like to go to the south as my next destination. There seem to be many dungeons in the east, and the labyrinth city with the largest dungeon is the Eastern city. The word ¡°labyrinth city¡± makes me feel romantic and longing, but I¡¯m afraid to actually dive into the dungeon¡­ I¡¯ll think about it when I¡¯m capable enough. The main city in the south of the kingdom is a trading city facing the sea, where trade is thriving. A large river flows from the northeast of the kingdom to the Southern city, passing through the royal capital; and it is said to be a logistics hub and is also called a water transportation city. I don¡¯t know what I can do, but I think this is the perfect place for me in terms of my abilities. Introduction to daily life magic¡­ This is a magic that most people can use, as long as they can recognize and activate the magic. The way to use it is to collect magic power at your fingertips and draw a simplified magic circle for daily life magic. The four types of daily life magic listed in the book are fire, water, wind, and light, and they are said to only cause very small phenomena, but they are useful, and everyone can use them. Incidentally, mages are the true elite, requiring a lot of magic power, knowledge of complex magic circles, and dexterity to draw them accurately. The characteristics of the race. They were just like templates. Human race. Average in strength, magic, etc. Elf. Good looking, good at spirit magic and archery, have lots of magic power, and live in the forest. There are also dark elves. Dwarves. Short and strong, dexterous, skilled in blacksmithing and craftsmanship, and fond of drinking. Beastman. There are two types of beastman: those who look like animals and those who look normal and have only a tail and an ear. Demon tribe. They used to be enemies, but now they have a delicate relationship. They are friendly in some ways, but in other ways, they are radical and hostile. They are physically strong and good at magic. Minorities. Fairies and dragon man has been confirmed to exist, but there is not much interaction with them. Calculations that can be made by adventurers. The value of coins has been confirmed, copper, silver, gold, and platinum coins, going up for every 100 coins. That¡¯s about it. I¡¯ll come back to check if there¡¯s anything else I need to know. ¡°Thank you very much. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡± I returned to the inn for a meal and a bath. ¡°Welcome. Are you staying over again today? Will you have a meal as well?¡± ¡°Yes, both, please.¡± ¡°That will be 15 copper coins.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll have my meal right away.¡± The meal was again bread and stew. It seems that the vegetables in the stew are only slightly different. It might be hard if it¡¯s like this every day. I packed a meal I was not accustomed to and took a quick bath at the well. Bathing feels good, and the new underwear and clothes are not bad. It¡¯s fun to see my life getting a little better little by little. I want to wash my clothes, but there is nowhere to hang them, so I ask the landlady. ¡°Landlady-san, I want to wash my clothes, but is there a place to hang them?¡± ¡°Yes, there is. It is behind the door by the well. Be careful not to mix with other people¡¯s clothes. Tie this tag around it, and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I thanked the landlady and moved on to the laundry. I washed my clothes in cold water¡­ It must have been a blessing to live with a washing machine. Whew, laundry is done. Hopefully, it will be dry by tomorrow morning, but who knows? Well, I guess I won¡¯t know until I try. It¡¯s getting late, so I¡¯m going to go back to my room, make plans for tomorrow, and sleep. Pay off the one silver coin of debt. Read the Adventurers¡¯ Guild booklet. Ask many questions at the guild. Check the purchase screen for skill ship summoning. Summon skill ships and try out different things outside. I need new underwear and clothes. Find out about races. Find out the value of money. Bathe in the well. Find out if I can stay in a private inn. I think I have most of what I need to know. After that, I wonder if there is anything else¡­ Oh, I need to check on skills; I¡¯ll stop by the reference room tomorrow. I should also check the status. Oh, my level has gone up by 2 levels. My physical strength has increased a lot, too. Come to think of it, I¡¯ve been moving around all day, but I don¡¯t feel too tired. As for strength, I don¡¯t know because I only dealt with horned rabbits. And tomorrow morning, I¡¯ll hunt horned rabbits¡­ at least, how many should I hunt? I have 64 copper coins left, so the beginner adventurer set is 100 copper coins, 3 copper coins for lunch, and lodging and dinner will cost me 15 copper coins, which comes to 118 copper coins. That¡¯s at least 118 copper coins. I am 54 copper coins short. One horned rabbit costs 8 copper coins, so I need at least 7 rabbits, or at least 10 rabbits if I can afford them, or 30 rabbits if I hold out until the evening. Well, I made a lot of progress today. I feel like I did my best, and I think I will have a good night¡¯s sleep. Good night. Balance: 64 copper coins Volume 1 - CH 5 Chapter 5 ¨C Magic Power and Next Goals Morning, huh¡­? I wake up refreshed. It seems that some of the adventurers around me are starting to get up, so it seems like a perfect time to get up. I head to the well, take in the laundry, get ready, and leave the inn. Oh, I see that the food stalls are already open. Since I¡¯m here, I might as well buy some breakfast and go hunting. If I get up around this time of day, there will be fewer people and more food stalls. It might be convenient. Early bird gets the worm, right? I bought breakfast and set out for the southwestern meadow. Come to think of it; I would like to practice daily life magic. Most people can use it if they can perceive magic, right? I try to find a feeling in my body that I¡¯ve never felt before. ¡­I¡¯m not totally sure. Maybe it¡¯s impossible to do while walking. I kept trying until I reached the meadow without giving up, but I couldn¡¯t perceive any magic power. Maybe I should ask at the guild. But it seems like everyone else can use it, too, and I¡¯ll look bad if I ask. I¡¯ll practice slowly before going to bed today, and if it doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ll ask at the guild. Now that I¡¯ve arrived at the meadow let¡¯s just focus on the hunt. I¡¯m getting used to hunting. I had captured two horned rabbits and was draining their blood when a party of adventurers walked up to me. ¡°Good morning.¡± I was nervous, but I greeted them. ¡°Good morning. Are you hunting horned rabbits?¡± ¡°Yes, are you all going to the forest?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, but you¡¯re not equipped for anything, are you? You¡¯ll die if you underestimate a horned rabbit, you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking of buying a beginner¡¯s set today, but I¡¯m a little short on money, hahaha¡­¡± I try to cover it up with a smile. But, as the Onee-san at the reception desk said, it seems impossible to be without any equipment. ¡°Well, it looks like you can hunt horned rabbits without any difficulty, but if you get hurt or see goblins, you should escape immediately. We¡¯re outside the city; you never know what might be out there.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡± ¡°Well then, take care.¡± It was the first time I had a conversation with adventurers. They were friendly and seemed to be concerned about me. But they seemed to be very strong. Since the people who go to that forest are mostly new graduates to mid-career, those people are probably also new graduates to mid-career¡­ I don¡¯t think I can make it as an adventurer. Well, I don¡¯t have any money right now, and there is nothing else I can do, so I¡¯ll just hunt horned rabbits. I found a horned rabbit, summoned a ship, hit it, drained its blood, sent back the ship, and repeated it endlessly and mindlessly. ¡°I¡¯m hungry. How many rabbits am I hunting now?¡± When it was well past noon, I got bored and counted the horned rabbits. ¡­34 rabbits¡­ I reached my goal. Surprisingly, I achieved my goal quickly. But I couldn¡¯t find anyone else hunting horned rabbits. I think it is quite profitable, but I wonder why there is no one else. I should check with the guild. Oh¡­ 34 rabbits don¡¯t fit in the bag. What should I do? I carried the bag and tied the rabbits together with grass vines growing in the meadow. It was awkward, but I managed to hold it. It is embarrassing, so let¡¯s go to the guild as soon as possible. ¡°Excuse me; I would like to sell 34 horned rabbits, please.¡± I managed to get to the guild, being laughed at by people on the street. I was so embarrassed that I went straight to the purchasing counter without checking the quest board. ¡°Oh, wow, that¡¯s a lot of them. We¡¯re glad you brought in so many horned rabbits.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t horned rabbits popular? I¡¯m making quite a lot of money, after all.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The newcomers are usually in a party, so the efficiency will inevitably drop if the number of people increases. Also, if you use a sword or a spear, it will have a big scratch on it, and the purchase price will be at the lowest price of five copper coins, which is another reason why they are not popular. On the other hand, your way of killing them is bludgeoning them to death. Since there are no wounds other than blood drainage, the price is a little higher, so I think that¡¯s why you make quite a bit of money.¡± ¡°Indeed, I beat them with a wooden stick. Are the parties consisting of newcomers usually hunting goblins?¡± ¡°Goblins are easy to spot, and all you have to do is bring the right ear and the magic stone. They are more popular than horned rabbits because they are more numerous and less time-consuming.¡± ¡°I see. Well, I¡¯m a solo hunter, and I don¡¯t think I can handle goblins, so I¡¯ll be earning money with horned rabbits for a while. So please take care of me.¡± ¡°Hahaha, I appreciate that. Okay, 34 rabbits for 8 coppers each, that will be 2 silver coins and 72 coppers in total.¡± ¡°Please do.¡± After the purchase, my balance is 336 copper coins, which is enough to buy a beginner¡¯s set. Let¡¯s go buy it right away. £ª£ª£ª ¡°Welcome. Do you want to take the beginner¡¯s set?¡± ¡°Yes, a beginner¡¯s set, please.¡± Oh, it¡¯s the cute shopkeeper from yesterday. I¡¯m a little glad she remembers me. ¡°Would you like to equip it here?¡± ¡°Yes, please. Here is one silver coin.¡± It is a little difficult to move when I put it on, but I am happy to feel like a proper adventurer. ¡°It suits you¡­ How about a weapon?¡± Weapons? I hadn¡¯t thought about it. I usually just carry a dismantling knife; should I at least have a sword? But I can¡¯t use a sword. ¡°I¡¯m currently using a cudgel of sorts as my weapon of choice.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve made a good choice. I only asked you because you didn¡¯t seem to have a weapon, so I hope none of that bothers you.¡± ¡°Is the cudgel a good choice?¡± ¡°Yes, it allows you to take your distance, and you can inflict damage by striking and thrusting. Many newcomers choose swords, but swords are surprisingly difficult to use.¡± ¡°Swords are cool, aren¡¯t they?¡± Swords and cudgel¡­ I would choose a sword, too, if I could afford it. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why they are so popular.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Now that I¡¯ve got my equipment, the next step is¡­ I¡¯m hungry, but I¡¯ll hold off until dinner at the inn. I was planning to look up skills, right? So let¡¯s go to the reference room. ¡°Do you mind if I take a look at the documents?¡± ¡°You were here yesterday, weren¡¯t you? The points to keep in mind remain the same, so please do.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Well, it looks like the only book about skills is¡­ Basics of Skills. Let¡¯s read it quickly. ¡­So there are skills that you are born with and those that you acquire through training afterward, huh? It seems that the skills that you are born with are easier to level up. It seems that only about 1 in 10 people are born with the skills, and only a few get the useful skills. In order to get the necessary skills, for example, swordsmanship, you can get it by practicing swordsmanship. When you get a swordsmanship skill, you get an extra ability in regards to swordsmanship, and the higher the skill level, the bigger the extra. Would I get any skills from using an oar? Like an oar skill? Could it be a cudgel skill or a spear skill? It seems there are a lot of things that are unknown about unique skills. They say that people who have them are rare and that unique skill holders hide the fact that they have them, so there is extremely little information about them. Unique skills are powerful. On the other hand, there are some unique skills whose usage is unknown, and they are all mixed up. Some unique skills have levels, and some do not, and many of them have special conditions for leveling up, so it is not uncommon to end one¡¯s life without finding a way to raise them. Hmm¡­ two unique skills seem to stand out quite a bit. Language comprehension has no levels, and I know how to use it. For ship summoning, I know how to use it. Since I haven¡¯t leveled up, I don¡¯t know the requirements for leveling up yet, but I haven¡¯t used it enough, so I guess I¡¯ll hold off. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± I thanked the clerk and left the reference room. Today¡¯s schedule is now well ripe, so let¡¯s go back to the inn and think about things. £ª£ª£ª ¡°I¡¯d like to stay another night, please. Dinner included.¡± ¡°Okay. That¡¯ll be 15 coppers.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Whew, I¡¯ve come to feel at home in this room, even though it¡¯s a big room. There¡¯s still time before dinner. Let¡¯s practice some daily life magic. I try to relax and take a zazen-like sitting position. Breathing slowly, I try to explore the power I¡¯ve never felt before in my body. Hmm, I¡¯m not sure. Is this the right way to do it? Maybe I¡¯ll ask at the guild tomorrow. They might think it¡¯s suspicious, but it¡¯s hard to spend pointless time. I¡¯ve got my equipment ready, and I want to take on some requests tomorrow, so I¡¯ll just ask. Even if they get a little suspicious, I can just run away when push comes to shove. But I should at least think of an excuse. I ate dinner, wiped myself off at the well, washed my clothes, and returned to my room. I wonder what I will do from now on. First of all, I want to take requests, so I will check the guild¡¯s quest board first thing in the morning, and while I¡¯m at it, I¡¯ll ask briefly about magic power¡­ If they suspect anything, I¡¯ll withdraw immediately. Other than that¡­ my balance is 226 copper coins, or at least I got the bare minimum I need, right? Then I guess I could either move to a private inn or buy a rubber boat with the ship summoning. I could buy a cheap rubber boat and move to a private inn, but I¡¯d want a slightly nicer boat anyway. A nice rubber boat could do what I¡¯m thinking. Besides, considering all the fighting and floating on the water, I want this big fishing rubber boat. The price is a little high (2 silver coins and 40 copper coins), but it is cheap compared to other big rubber boats. I want two of these. One is for fighting, and the other is to have a small wooden hut made to match the boat, which can be installed on the big fishing rubber boat to create a simple resting place that can be called upon at any time. Since I am an adventurer, there will be times when I will be camping out, and I want to get this done as soon as possible. A wooden hut to match the boat¡¯s outer frame shouldn¡¯t cost that much¡­ maybe. Well, plans for a wooden hut boat will have to wait a bit. It would be more efficient to find a store that can build it for me while I save up the funds. I am almost certain that I will buy myself two big fishing rubber boats. Now I can either save and hang on in this big room until I can build a wooden hut boat, or I can move to a private room and take it easy and save money¡­ I¡¯ve made up my mind; I¡¯ll stick with the big room! If I move to a private room, I¡¯ll just go back to sleep; it¡¯s a different world I¡¯m not used to. I should get what I think I need as soon as possible. I¡¯d like to take on a request tomorrow, check my status and go to sleep already. Name: Wataru Toyomi Age: 20 Occupation: Ship¡¯s Captain Level 6 Physical Strength: 200 Magic Power: 18 Strength: 22 Intelligence: 32 Dexterity: 28 Luck: 15 Skills: Language Comprehension (Unique) Ship Summoning Level 1 (Unique) I¡¯ve killed 34 rabbits, but my level has only increased by 1. Maybe it¡¯s harder to get in experience-wise when I¡¯m only hunting horned rabbits. ¡­I think I¡¯ll go to sleep now. Good night. Balance: 2 silvers, 21 coppers. Volume 1 - CH 6 Chapter 6 ¨C Daily Life Magic and Carpenter-san Morning¡­ I was looking for my first request at the guild today. I take in the laundry, get ready, and head to the guild. Let¡¯s see, I¡¯m F-rank, so I can take requests up to F and one rank higher, E. I look at the quest board marked F. Cleaning weeds, helping people move, looking for cats¡­ hmm, the horned rabbits¡¯ hunt seems more efficient. As for the E-rank quest board¡­ goblin-related stuff is impossible, and hmm, there are a lot of requests for subjugation at E-rank. Oh, there was a request for horned rabbits, requesting 5 horned rabbits in good condition, with few wounds and properly drained of blood, for 10 copper coins each, up to 8 rabbits. This request sounds good. It¡¯s something I always do, and it¡¯s not likely to go wrong. I peel off the quest and go to the reception counter. Oh, it¡¯s the fox-eared Nee-san. ¡°Good morning; I would like this one, please.¡± ¡°Good morning; I see you¡¯ve managed to get your equipment in order.¡± ¡°Yes, I managed to get it all together.¡± ¡°Fufu, you look like a proper adventurer, don¡¯t you? By the way, this will be your first request, won¡¯t it? This one may be a little difficult, but are you okay with that?¡± ¡°Difficult?¡± ¡°The rabbit must be in good condition, so it must have minimal wounds and must have been properly drained of blood. It is a request that requires more than just defeating them down, you know.¡± ¡°¡­I am always told by the people at the purchasing counter that I have been handled them properly, and I get paid 8 copper coins for each rabbit, but isn¡¯t that enough?¡± If it requires a higher-quality horned rabbit than that one, yes, it would be difficult. I need to improve my technique and the quality of my tools. ¡°Ara, I think it will be alright since purchasing one horned rabbit for eight copper coins is highly valued. Then, I will approve this request, so please give me your guild card.¡± ¡°Here you go, please. Oh, and there¡¯s something else I need to know.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I want to use daily life magic but don¡¯t know how to sense magic power properly. Is there somewhere I can learn?¡± ¡°Daily life magic? You were supposed to learn it when you were a child, but you couldn¡¯t do it then?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t learn it when I was a child because of circumstances. It is a little too late now, but it seems useful, and I would like to learn it if I can.¡± Actually, I was in a world without magic until a few days ago. ¡°I apologize for that. Yes¡­ magic perception is usually done by passing magic through the body and having it flow through the body. I think the doctors in the medical office can do it. Why don¡¯t you ask them?¡± ¡°The doctors in the medical office? Okay, I will ask them. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°No problem. Good luck with your first request.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± The fox-eared Onee-san is so kind. I know it¡¯s just a duty, but I¡¯d be all over it if I had her support me. Oops, let¡¯s stop by the medical office before taking the request. It would be nice if I could learn to sense magic power. ¡°Excuse me.¡± ¡°Can I help you?¡± Wow, the doctor is a beautiful woman in a white coat. And¡­ she wears glasses. For a moment, it looked like a cosplay, but the enthusiasm for the recruitment of staff for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is unbelievable. There might be a department that scouts for beautiful women. ¡°Hmm? Is this what you¡¯re interested in? It¡¯s a magic tool to help you with your poor eyesight. Is there something wrong with it, anyway?¡± ¡°Oh, no, I, uh¡­ I missed a class on daily life magic when I was a kid. I asked the receptionist if I could learn daily life magic, and she told me to talk to the doctor in the medical office. Can you help me?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s what you want. That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll pass the magic through you for about five minutes and see if you can learn to sense it. The fee for the examination is 10 coppers.¡± ¡°Yes, please, here¡¯s 10 coppers.¡± ¡°Now stretch out your hands, close your eyes, and relax. I will now channel my magic power into you, and you will feel it and look for a similar power within yourself.¡± I am holding hands with a beautiful female doctor; I¡¯m very nervous. ¡­Oh no, I need to concentrate on sensing the magic. ¡°Can you feel the magic power passing through your body?¡± ¡°Yes, I feel a warm, gentle force from your hand.¡± ¡°Your magic power must be on the side of that feeling. So look for it carefully.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I close my eyes and concentrate. I feel warm magic flowing through my body like the flow of my blood. It seems that my magic is flowing on this side of the current. Calm down and explore¡­.. this is¡­? ¡°I feel a very thin magic flow near your magic. Is this my own magic?¡± ¡°Hmm, I can¡¯t say for sure, but I wonder if you might have a little magic power?¡± How does she know? I guess because I said it feels thin. ¡°I believe my magic power was 18.¡± ¡°The amount of magic I¡¯m pouring out is more than your total magic power, so it¡¯s only natural that it feels thinner with that amount of magic power.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I use daily life magic with 18 magic power?¡± ¡°No, you can use daily life magic. Remember the sensation of your own magic flowing through your body. If you can gather that magic power at your fingertips, then you should be able to memorize the magic circle from the book of daily life magic that is in the reference room.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t do it, you can come back again. Well, I can only channel the magic power, though.¡± ¡°Haha, I will come back if I can¡¯t do it. Then, I will be leaving.¡± I was offered a tempting proposal. If you told me that, I¡¯d be tempted to come to you every day to get my magic flowing without training. ¡­As expected, that¡¯s a dangerous thought. Too bad, but let¡¯s be serious. Yes, I still manage to understand the flow of magic power. At any rate, I¡¯m hunting for horned rabbits while paying attention to the flow of magic power. Oh, let¡¯s buy breakfast at a food stall. By the time I reach the southwest forest, I¡¯m trying to gather the flow of magic power at my fingertips, but it¡¯s not going so well. I can move it around a little, but it soon returns to its original flow. I should calm down and practice when I get back to the inn. Well, routine work as usual. Finding a horned rabbit, summoning a ship, beating it, draining its blood, and sending the ship back. I¡¯m making a lot of money, so it shouldn¡¯t be wrong¡­ But is this really how it¡¯s supposed to be? Is it really okay to come to another world and live like this? But, you know¡­ I didn¡¯t get the templates like bandits attacking horse-drawn carriages. An adventurer at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild bullying newcomers. There is no sign of them at all. Thinking about it calmly, it is a relief because I can¡¯t deal with such situations when I come across them, but¡­ I¡¯m starting to feel like I¡¯m just going to have to go along with it. Now let¡¯s hunt horned rabbits mindlessly. The right thing to do is to find a horned rabbit, summon a ship, hit it, drain its blood, and send back the ship. How many rabbits have I hunted¡­ 22, huh? Should I try a little harder? ¡°Okay, that¡¯s 25 rabbits¡­ Hmm? I see people coming out of the woods ¡­5 people, huh? Are they adventurers? ¡­They look strangely small. ¡­Those are goblins, aren¡¯t they? What should I do¡­? I think I can win because of the boarding rejection¡­ Okay, let¡¯s go home. I don¡¯t want to overdo it, and I don¡¯t want to stand out in a weird way. I think I should have challenged the goblins, but what was the right thing to do? ¡­I reach the south gate while worrying. In the meantime, I reported to the gatekeeper that five goblins had appeared in the meadow. The next stop is the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. It was still a little past noon, so the counter was empty. I don¡¯t see the fox-eared Nee-san¡­ She may have been working until morning. I was a little disappointed, but I went to the counter of a human woman because it was empty. She is also a beautiful woman. As expected of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. ¡°Could you please confirm my request?¡± ¡°Yes, I need your guild card.¡± ¡°Yes, before that, I was hunting horned rabbits in the meadow in front of the southwest forest, but five goblins came out to the meadow, so I came back. Do I need to report to the guild in such a case? In any case, I have reported it to the gatekeeper at the south gate.¡± ¡°Goblins? Thank you for your report. If you find a monster that has not been defeated, we would appreciate it if you would report it to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡± ¡°I understand. Here is my guild card.¡± ¡°Delivery of horned rabbits, with a minimum of five rabbits, right? I will confirm it.¡± ¡°I can deliver up to eight rabbits, can¡¯t I? So please take care of this as well.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ I have verified that all eight rabbits are of sufficient quality. The request has been fulfilled. This is your reward, 80 copper coins. Congratulations on accomplishing your first request.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± The request was successfully completed, huh? I was a little nervous about the request, even though it was the same thing as usual. Let¡¯s take the remaining 17 horned rabbits to the purchasing counter. ¡°Please buy them. I have 17 horned rabbits.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here early today.¡± ¡°Hahaha, I ran away when the goblins came out.¡± ¡°Oh, safety first. I think it¡¯s a good decision.¡± ¡°The quality is good; you¡¯re doing a good job, eight coppers per rabbit, making a total of 1 silver and 36 coppers. Is that acceptable?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± Hmm, it¡¯s still too early to go back to the inn¡­ I could go out through the gate and buy one of those big fishing rubber boats in an inconspicuous place and try summoning it. If it looks ok as per the measurements, I can find a carpenter and discuss the hut with him. The south gate is kind of awkward, so I¡¯ll go out through the east gate and walk along the city wall. This is about where it should be. I open the screen and select the big fishing rubber boat on the purchase screen¡­ There¡¯s a color selection, too. I think I¡¯ll go with dark green, which is less noticeable in the meadow. ¡­Huh? How do I pay for it? A coin slot appeared on the purchasing screen, asking me to insert coins. The skill is a mystery. I put in 2 silver coins and 40 copper coins and pressed the purchase button¡­ Is that it? Oh, a big fishing rubber boat is on the skill screen of ship summoning. Ship Summoning Level 1 You can summon a purchased boat. Can keep the purchased boat in the best condition only and can control it at will. Can purchase a new boat from the purchase screen. Initial Rowboat (wooden): Maximum capacity of 2 people. Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection. Purchase: Big Fishing Rubber Boat (dark green): Maximum capacity of 4-5 people. Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection. Let¡¯s summon the boat. When I summon the boat¡­ I can choose which boat I want to summon. A magic circle appears, and a big fishing rubber boat is summoned. Yeah, the boat¡¯s flat bottom is quite an advantage on the ground. And it¡¯s pretty big. But the outside and inside are quite different in size. Ah, but¡­ it¡¯s nice to lie down. The big room at the inn has a wooden bed and blankets. Compared to that, the bottom of the rubber boat feels pretty good. I can sleep well enough with a blanket here. I wish I had the hut as soon as possible. The oar bar seems to be made of aluminum. The tip seems to be plastic. It¡¯s indestructible, but I wonder how its offensive power compares to wooden oars. Let¡¯s check the size of the boat¡­ dimensions are as per the purchase screen. The problem is that the part where the oar fits is a protrusion. Can I manage a hut to put on top if I get the dimensions right? Hmm, it¡¯s hard to explain the hut. If I use a string to explain the protruding part, can I explain it properly? Thinking about how to explain it, I return to the city and go to the inn. ¡°Welcome, you¡¯re early today. Would you like to stay the night?¡± ¡°Yes, one night and dinner.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s 15 coppers.¡± The inn¡¯s landlady seemed to know many people, so I asked her if she knew any carpenters. ¡°Here are the 15 coppers. I¡¯m sorry to interrupt, but do you know any carpenters?¡± ¡°A carpenter? Yes, do you want to build a house?¡± ¡°Ahaha, no way, actually, I need something like a small hut, and I¡¯d like to know how much it will cost.¡± ¡°Hmm? Well, that¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t really understand, but I¡¯ll draw you a map so you can check it out.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll drop off my luggage and go there right away.¡± I¡¯m glad the landlady knows where it is. I knew I could rely on someone with strong ties to the local community. After dropping off my luggage, I looked at the map the landlady gave me and searched for the carpenter¡¯s workshop. ¡°Is this it? Excuse me.¡± ¡°What is it? Are you a customer?¡± ¡°Uh, well, I have something I want you to make, but I don¡¯t have much money, so I came to ask you how much it would cost.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. If you are a potential customer, that¡¯s fine. Go ahead.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how to describe it, but¡­ I want a small box-shaped hut¡­ 300 long, 140 wide, and 180 high. I don¡¯t need the floor, but the bottom part is to be tied down, so I would like to have holes drilled at equal intervals, and then there are four protrusions at the markings on this string, so it would be helpful if you could recess this area inward only.¡± ¡°You make strange things, like not needing the floor or tying it down.¡± ¡°Can you do that? Also, I would like the door to be a sliding door.¡± ¡°What is it used for? Well, whatever, what kind of material do you want to use?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to go to the extreme and say that it¡¯s good as long as that rains don¡¯t leak and it doesn¡¯t fall down, so the cheaper it is, the better.¡± ¡°Hmm, there is a wrecked covered wagon there to be disposed of. If we use that material, it¡¯ll be a lot cheaper. It won¡¯t look as good, though.¡± ¡°The appearance won¡¯t be a problem at this point, but how much is the lowest price you can offer?¡± I have a feeling I can get it very cheaply¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ for now; we¡¯ll build a wooden frame according to the dimensions using scrap wood from a horse-drawn carriage, brace everything except the floor, and board up the ceiling. Then, on the four sides, we can dismantle the tops of the carriage and put them on the wooden frame. The entrance and exit would be made with a single brace on one side, and the leather would be rolled up to allow entry and exit.¡± ¡°If it can withstand the wind and rain, that¡¯s good enough for me. How much would you charge?¡± ¡°If you¡¯ll let an apprentice do it, it¡¯ll only cost you some nails and a silver coin.¡± I have no choice but to buy it. ¡°Please do. How long will it take?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have an apprentice do it¡­ 3 days should be enough.¡± ¡°Is it possible to have it delivered to the road behind the inn next to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild around six o¡¯clock in the evening when it is finished? Of course, I will pay for the delivery.¡± ¡°Oh, it doesn¡¯t weigh much, so I¡¯ll carry it for ten copper coins.¡± ¡°Thank you. Ten coppers and a silver coin.¡± ¡°Oh, thank you for your patronage.¡± I was going to ask for an estimate and think about it, but the price was so low that I ordered it immediately. Nevertheless, I feel like I made the best purchase possible. My first order was successful, and things are going somewhat well. My schedule is perfectly ripe, and it¡¯s time to head back to the inn. £ª£ª£ª ¡°Ah, landlady-san, thank you for introducing me to the carpenter. It was so cheap that I ordered it immediately.¡± ¡°I see; well, that¡¯s great, isn¡¯t it?¡± The landlady looks like she doesn¡¯t know better. I guess she is kind enough to go along with me. ¡°Well, it seems that they will complete and deliver it in three days. I¡¯ll move it as soon as it arrives, so please let me put it on the back road behind the inn for a little while.¡± ¡°On the back road? ¡­It¡¯ll be fine if you can get it out of the way by early morning the next day.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Negotiations were made. I had made a deal to bring it to the inn before asking the landlady, so if she said no, I would have had to go back to the carpenter¡¯s place. Whew, that¡¯s a relief. Now I have some time before dinner to think about what I¡¯m going to do¡­ and what I will need once the hut is finished. First of all, I need a boat for the hut. Plus, I¡¯ll need a rope to tie the hut. Then I need a blanket for the hut and a lantern¡­ A lantern, huh? I don¡¯t think I will need it if I can use the light from the daily life magic. I guess it depends on the progress of daily life magic. After dinner, I will have to get serious about training in daily life magic. Speaking of which, what should I do about the (wooden) rowboat? A rubber boat for fighting and a rubber boat for the hut are more than enough for everyday use, so it might be a good idea to buy some crates and put them on the rowboat (wooden) for storage. I think it would be useful as I will be getting more stuff. While I was thinking, the bell rang. I guess I¡¯ll have to eat dinner and train for the daily life magic. £ª£ª£ª After finishing my meal, I returns to my room and explores my magic powers in a comfortable position. The magic power is now recognizable. Now, if I can gather this magic power to my fingertips, I should be able to use it soon because the magic circle of life magic is easy. I repeatedly failed in my attempts to gather magic power at my fingertips. The amount of magic power that can be gathered at the fingertips is increasing, but it feels like there is a lot of waste. I¡¯d like to be able to move magic power smoothly and without consciousness. I¡¯ll make it a habit to train for magic power before going to bed. I¡¯m getting sleepy, I want to take requests from the guild tomorrow, so I¡¯ll check my status and go to bed. My level hasn¡¯t gone up¡­ how much experience do I need to get? It may have increased. Well, I guess I¡¯ll make money hunting horned rabbits until I get what I need and move to a private inn. Good night. Balance: 62 copper coins. Volume 1 - CH 7 Chapter 7 ¨C Horned Rabbit Hunt and the Hut Completion It¡¯s morning¡­ and I¡¯m getting ready, taking in the laundry, and leaving for the guild. I¡¯m getting used to this activity. I look at the quest board, but hunting horned rabbits are still the most efficient. I can deliver ten horned rabbits of good quality. Since I came to this other world, I¡¯ve only fought horned rabbits. But, I¡¯m afraid of goblins and so on, plus I can make a living even with horned rabbits¡­ I take the request form to the reception counter while thinking that. ¡°Good morning; this request, please.¡± It¡¯s a beautiful human Onee-san; there doesn¡¯t seem to be any fox-eared Onee-san here. Is she absent? ¡°Good morning; I see you have a request for delivery of 10 horned rabbits. If the quality is the same as yesterday, there is no problem, so please do your best. Also, please be assured that the goblin that came out of the southwest forest that you reported yesterday has been subjugated.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I will do my best.¡± Wow, that was dangerous. I completely forgot about the goblins. I accepted the request as normal, but if the goblins hadn¡¯t been subjugated, I would have been in trouble. £ª£ª£ª I buy breakfast for 3 coppers at a food stall and go to the southwest meadow. I need money for the hut boat and equipment, so I¡¯ll make good money until the evening. As usual, a horned rabbit appeared, and I tried to summon a boat. Oops, that¡¯s right, I can now summon a rubber boat! I get subtly excited. The oars are made of aluminum too, and I forgot I was going to check what the attack power would be. Let¡¯s try it out by hunting horned rabbits with the rubber boat for a while. While summoning the rubber boat, I repeat the usual process of finding the horned rabbit, summoning the boat, beating it, draining its blood, and repatriating the boat. Hmm¡­ looking back on today¡¯s battle while draining the blood from the horned rabbits. The rubber boat is quite easy to fight with just because it is not slanted, though the soft bottom of the boat is a bit worrisome. The oars are also made of aluminum with plastic tips, but they are light enough to use against the horned rabbits. However, I feel that I am getting used to the other world recently and am letting my guard down. I forgot all about goblins as well as rubber boats. If I am careless, I might make an unexpected mistake, and I should be careful once again. Flat footholds are wonderful. I hunted horned rabbits while reaffirming the advantages of the rubber boat. However, although I hunted quite a lot of horned rabbits, I don¡¯t feel that the number of horned rabbits in the hunting ground has decreased. Are they increasing differently from ordinary rabbits because they are monsters? I wonder, but I continue hunting well into the evening. I worked pretty hard and must have hunted quite a few. Let¡¯s count them: ¡­47 rabbits. Oh, a new record! Ah, I can¡¯t fit them in the bag. I completely forgot about it. I¡¯ll have to go back and tie them up with vines again, won¡¯t I? But it¡¯s pretty embarrassing to carry a whole horned rabbit back home, isn¡¯t it? Yes, the bag should have come with the beginner¡¯s set for adventurers. As one would expect from a beginner¡¯s set, they have an assortment of items that are beginner-friendly. Come to think of it, I left out the potion in the set, too. Maybe I should wear it. £ª£ª£ª When I return to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild after safely stuffing the horned rabbits into the bag, there is a line at the reception counter, probably because it is evening. Oh, there is also the fox-eared Onee-san, but there is a queue. When I searched for an empty counter¡­ there was one with the scary-looking old man. Naturally, the counter of the scary-looking old man is empty. ¡­I wondered whether I should queue up with the fox-eared Onee-san, but my eyes met the old man¡¯s, so I reluctantly went to his place. ¡°Please confirm my request.¡± ¡°Oh, give me your guild card.¡± I knew having a beautiful lady at the counter would be very effective. I didn¡¯t expect that coming home tired and just talking to a scary-looking old man could lower my spirits so much. No wonder there is a line at the counter for the beautiful ladies. Next time, I¡¯ll be sure to line up at the counter of the beautiful ladies. ¡°Here are the ten horned rabbits as requested.¡± ¡°Oh, the quality is fine, too. Ten rabbits for one silver coin.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Now, let¡¯s take the rest of the horned rabbits to the purchasing counter. ¡°Hello, I¡¯d like to sell the horned rabbits, 37 of them.¡± ¡°Oh, thank you for hunting so many for us every time.¡± ¡°Are they in such high demand?¡± ¡°Your horned rabbits are sold at a different place. Other adventurers also hunt horned rabbits, but they are processed into soup or skewers. The rabbits you bring are for roasting whole. They are cheap, good-looking, and tasty.¡± ¡°A whole roasted rabbit? It sounds delicious.¡± Above all, I was attracted by the primitive sound of ¡°roasted rabbit.¡± ¡°Oh, the whole roasted horned rabbit is very popular. But they are still horned rabbits, you know. The price of the rabbit cannot be raised too much, resulting in a shortage of the product.¡± ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know that. I¡¯ll try the whole roasted horned rabbit next time.¡± At this rate, I will be able to afford it, and moreover, since I am defeating them myself, it will be cheaper if I bring them in and have someone cook them for me. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s delicious. And you know, I have been selling a lot of high-quality horned rabbits wholesale lately, so I think the number of requests for horned rabbits will increase on the quest board. Until now, the requests we have sent out have been soaked in salt, and we haven¡¯t received any more requests.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll check the request list carefully.¡± ¡°Oh, please do. The price for 37 rabbits, all of them high quality, will be eight copper coins per rabbit, and the total will be two silver coins and 96 copper coins. Is that acceptable?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± A whole roasted horned rabbit. I earned enough today. Shall I go back to the inn? No, let¡¯s look for supplies for the hut. I think the guild store might have some, and if I can find any good ones, I¡¯ll get them quickly. ¡°Welcome; what can I help you with?¡± The usual cute shopkeeper greeted me. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a rope, a blanket, and a lantern. And if you have wooden boxes, I¡¯d like three of them, please.¡± ¡°Yes, the rope is five coppers, the blanket is ten coppers, the lantern is 15 coppers, and the wooden boxes are three coppers each.¡± ¡°I will take them.¡± As expected of an adventurer¡¯s guild store. It seems to have most of the things you would need for an adventure. ¡°That makes a total of 39 coppers.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I should put the things I don¡¯t need in a wooden box and put them on the wooden rowboat. I go around to the back of the inn, make sure it is empty, and summon the rowboat. I immediately put the things I won¡¯t use in the wooden box and quickly repatriate the boat. It¡¯s pretty convenient, except for the fact that I have to hide it from the public. Okay, let¡¯s go back to the inn and have dinner. ¡°Excuse me; I¡¯ll stay for one night with dinner.¡± ¡°Yes, 15 coppers. You can have dinner now.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll have it right away.¡± I ate dinner, washed my body, and returned to my room. Ah, tomorrow, the hut will arrive at six bells in the evening. I¡¯ve bought everything I need besides the boat, and if I buy another rubber boat when I go hunting tomorrow, I¡¯ll be all ready to go. I still have 401 copper coins left. Even if I buy a rubber boat, I will still have 160 copper coins left. Shall I move to a private inn? I thought it would take more time, but the horned rabbits are worth more money than I thought. There are going to be more requests from now on, so it might be a good idea to move to a private inn. I have to pick up the hut and so on until tomorrow, so I¡¯ll stay at this inn and maybe after that. If I hunt 30 horned rabbits, it will be at least 240 copper coins. That would be about 24,000 yen, which is more expensive than a part-time job in Japan. But you never know what will happen in the other world¡­ I want to have enough money, and I will stay at this inn until I have saved up 20 silver coins, and then I will move on. There is no good thing about getting carried away. I will probably make enough money to get by even if I move to a new inn, but I may get hurt or need money suddenly. So preparation and affordability are important. Now that the plan is set, let¡¯s train in daily life magic until I get drowsy. I repeat the process of gathering magic power in my fingertips and putting it back in. I think I can use daily life magic if I take my time in a calm place, but I¡¯m not there yet. At the very least, I need to be able to collect magic power without being aware of it. Otherwise, it won¡¯t be useful outdoors. I¡¯m getting sleepy. I think I¡¯ll check my status and go to bed¡­ Name: Wataru Toyomi Age: 20 Race: Human Occupation: Ship¡¯s Captain Level 7 Physical Strength: 220 Magic Power: 20 Strength: 24 Intelligence: 34 Dexterity: 30 Luck: 15 Skills: Language Comprehension (Unique) Ship Summoning Level 1 (Unique) My level is up¡­ It¡¯s like in a certain famous game where you¡¯re killing slimes around a castle. Oh well, let¡¯s go to sleep. Good night. Balance: 401 copper coins £ª£ª£ª I wake up with a snap. I¡¯ve completely acquired the habit of going to bed early and getting up early. I miss the days of spending the night out and lazily sleeping in until noon. I felt a little sentimental, but I got ready as usual, took in the laundry, and headed for the guild. I looked at the quest board and found two requests for the delivery of horned rabbits. I only needed to deliver ten rabbits for both of them, so if I could deliver 20 rabbits in total, I would be able to accomplish the request with a little time to spare. ¡­I wonder if it is okay to accept two requests at the same time? Let¡¯s just ask around. Oh, there¡¯s the fox-eared Onee-san there. It¡¯s been quite a while since I¡¯ve seen her. ¡°Good morning. Can I accept two requests at the same time?¡± ¡°Good morning. You can take on as many requests as you want, as long as it¡¯s not too unreasonable.¡± The fox-eared Onee-san is as kind and helpful as ever. She is wonderful. ¡°Then, I would like to take these two requests.¡± ¡°Yes, I have accepted your request. Good luck.¡± ¡°Yes, I will do my best.¡± Wow, I¡¯m so easy. I¡¯m so motivated just by being asked to do my best by a beautiful fox-eared Onee-san. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild is rolling over on me, isn¡¯t it? I buy breakfast for three coppers and am off to hunt rabbits! By the time I reach the southwestern hunting grounds, I feel a little more relaxed. Well, my plan for today is to buy a rubber boat first. Next, I¡¯ll hunt at least 20 horned rabbits, and then I¡¯ll leave so that I can return to my inn in the evening since my hut will be delivered at the six bells. That¡¯s pretty simple. Let¡¯s buy the rubber boat first. On the purchase screen, I select ¡°Big Fishing Rubber Boat.¡± I pay two silver coins and 40 copper coins and go to the boat summoner screen. Summon Boat Level 1 You can summon a purchased boat. You can keep the purchased boat in the best condition and control it at your will. You can purchase a new ship from the purchase screen. Basic Rowboat (wooden): Maximum number of passengers: 2 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection. Purchased: Big Fishing Rubber Boat (dark green): Maximum number of passengers: 4-5 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection. Purchased: Big Fishing Rubber Boat (blue): Maximum number of passengers: 4-5 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection. Yes, there is an increase. Still, I summoned it just to check. Of course, there is no difference except for the color. Now that I¡¯m satisfied, it¡¯s time to hunt for the horned rabbit. It¡¯s time for my routine work. Find a horned rabbit, summon the boat, hit it, drain its blood, and send back the boat. These days I can do this without thinking. I hunted 38 horned rabbits in a short time, taking breaks here and there. I had some business to attend to in the evening, so it was time to get back to the guild. When I returned to the guild, there was still a long queue at the counter of the beautiful lady. Let¡¯s get in line at the counter of the beautiful lady today. ¡­The scary-looking old man is looking at me. ¡­He is looking at me with a strong gaze. ¡­I give up and head for the old man¡¯s counter with heavy steps. ¡°Please confirm my request. Here¡¯s my guild card and 20 horned rabbits.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± I wonder how the other adventurers in line at the beautiful lady¡¯s counter are escaping from this scary-looking old man? Is it because my level is not high enough? If I can become stronger, will I be able to escape from this scary-looking old man? ¡°Oh, 20 high-quality horned rabbits, that¡¯s right, in exchange for two requests, you get two silver coins.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± With a heavy mood, I went to the purchasing counter. I was not so tired, but just by talking to the scary-looking old man, I felt like I was getting exhausted. ¡°I have 18 horned rabbits; please buy them all.¡± ¡°Aiyo, did you get more requests?¡± ¡°Yes, there were two requests, and I delivered 20 rabbits as requested.¡± ¡°I see. I think there will be more.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, because more stores are coming to buy horned rabbits. In order to make sure they get them, the number of stores requesting them is likely to increase.¡± ¡°Ahaha, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± It seems that there is a wave in the market for horned rabbits. I can not miss this big wave, can I? Let¡¯s go for it, and become a horned rabbit master! ¡°All 18 rabbits are of high quality. Eight copper coins per rabbit make a total of 1 silver coin and 44 copper coins. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± It¡¯s almost time for the sixth bell to ring. Let¡¯s go back to the inn. ¡°Landlady-san, I¡¯d like to stay one night with dinner.¡± ¡°Yes, fifteen coppers.¡± ¡°Yes, and I think the hut will be delivered to the back of the inn, so I¡¯ll leave it there for a while.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, of course. If you move by tomorrow morning, that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Yes, I will have it moved by morning.¡± While I was talking with the landlady, a carpenter brought in the hut. ¡°Is that it? It¡¯s kind of a shabby hut.¡± ¡°Hahaha. It¡¯s a cheap one, after all.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The landlady was easily convinced. Yes, it can¡¯t be expensive with that ragged look. ¡°Carpenter-san, can you carry it to the back of the inn?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The carpenter and his crew lightly carried the hut to the back of the inn. Either the hut is light, or the carpenter and his crew are strong¡­ or maybe both. That hut is very limited in terms of materials, after all. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯m getting a fee for transporting it, too. Well, come back if you need anything else.¡± After parting with the carpenter, I quickly checked out the hut. It looks shabby, but the leather is solid. What about the inside? ¡­The woodwork is solid, and it doesn¡¯t creak when I put a lot of pressure on it. It¡¯s good enough. No, it¡¯s more than good enough for a silver coin. It would stand out if I moved it right now, so I¡¯ll move it before I go to bed. Well, let¡¯s eat dinner and wash my body. After washing myself, I practice daily life magic. I¡¯ve made some progress in gathering magic power at my fingertips, but I¡¯m not there yet. It seems that I still need to practice it continuously every day. Oops, it¡¯s time to move the hut. I go to the back of the inn and summon a rubber boat next to the hut after making sure no one is around. Let¡¯s see; I can put one person on the boat, I guess? I put the hut on top of the rubber boat, then went around to the other side and put the hut on top of the other boat. That was pretty easy. Hmm, it would be too noisy to work here now, so let¡¯s repatriate the boat and work in the meadow tomorrow. Okay, all done for today. I think I¡¯ll go back to my room, check my status, and go to bed. ¡­My level hasn¡¯t gone up. The level of ship summoning hasn¡¯t gone up either. I summon ships quite often, but maybe there are other conditions. Good night. Balance: 487 copper coins Volume 1 - CH 8 Chapter 8 ¨C Lots of Horned Rabbit Requests and Hut Ship Completion and Rank Up It¡¯s morning¡­ and it¡¯s time for another day of hard work! As usual, I get ready, do the laundry, and head to the guild. I looked at the quest board and saw that there were eight requests for the procurement of horned rabbits. I had heard that there would be more requests, but there were suddenly so many more. I see that there is also a request to deliver 20 rabbits. If I total up the eight requests, it would be 110 horned rabbits¡­ It¡¯s impossible for me to do it at the same time. The request period is three days, but there is a possibility that goblins might appear and it might rain. Rain, huh? Come to think of it; it hasn¡¯t rained since I came to this other world. It rains in this other world, too, doesn¡¯t it? As expected, it rains, right? I am too embarrassed to ask people. I can¡¯t decide how much I should take the request; let¡¯s ask the fox-eared Onee-san. ¡°Good morning. There are a lot of requests for horned rabbits on the board, but I can¡¯t decide how much I can hunt. Can I just go hunt some horned rabbits and then accept the request and deliver the goods?¡± ¡°Good morning. Yes, you can. It is a request for delivery, so if you have the requested item, we can accept it and deliver it on the spot. However, if someone else receives the request first, we will not accept it.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand. Even if there are no more requests, I can still sell them at the purchasing counter, right? I will only accept one request for now, and here¡¯s my guild card.¡± ¡°Yes, I have accepted it. We are always buying horned rabbits, and the cooks are so pleased that they can now wholesale horned rabbits in good condition that they are sending out requests for them. It seems that there will never be a shortage of requests, so please take care and do your best.¡± ¡°Yes, I will do my best.¡± Every morning the lady at the adventurer¡¯s guild put all their effort into supporting me¡­ So let¡¯s do my best for today, too. I bought breakfast for three coppers and set off for the hunting grounds. Upon arrival, I have to finish the hut-boat before I can start hunting. First, let¡¯s summon a rowboat, and then, since it¡¯s too much trouble, let¡¯s make it a warehouse boat. Once again, I summon the warehouse boat and take out the cargo. Do the boat repatriation and summon the hut boat. Pass a rope through the hole in the wood of the foundation and tie it to the rubber boat. Install lanterns and blankets to complete the project. The space is a little larger than a capsule hotel. The ceiling is high, and the floor is soft enough for a rest. It looks more comfortable than sleeping with others in a big room. I wonder if they sell a stove? If I could boil water, I could make a pot of tea, which would be fun. ¡°Whoa.¡± I flipped open the leather door and tried to go outside, but a horned rabbit slammed its body into me. It¡¯s a problem that I can¡¯t check outside at all. At any rate, I hit the horned rabbit with the oar. It was a big surprise; I had to be very careful when I got out of the hut boat. After repatriating the hut boat, it was time for the routine work. Spotting the horned rabbit, summoning the boat, beating it, draining its blood, and repatriating the boat. There are a lot of requests, so I have to do my best. I take a break in between and continue to hunt the horned rabbits while being satisfied with the quality of the hut boat. It will be sunset soon¡­ And I got 54 horned rabbits; let¡¯s go back after hunting one more. I easily killed one rabbit, so I decided to go back. It is getting dark. Did I work a little too hard today? I¡¯d better go back to the guild and check the request list before I deliver the goods. When I return to the guild, there¡¯s the scary-looking old man watching me. I move to the quest board without looking at him. Don¡¯t lose, I thought to myself. Good, the request list is still there. It remains, or rather, it hasn¡¯t decreased¡­ It¡¯s really not popular; I pick up the request list for 55 rabbits¡­ I go to the counter of the scary-looking old man who is looking at me all the time¡­ I lost. ¡°I would like to submit the request I received this morning and these additional requests for 55 rabbits. Oh, and here¡¯s my guild card.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve got a lot. Okay, just give me a minute.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± In the morning, the beautiful guild lady gets me excited, and in the evening, the scary-looking old man gets me down. No matter how you look at it, the scary-looking old man is a distraction. ¡°Oh, thanks for waiting. Fifty-five rabbits, high quality for sure, it is five silver coins, 50 copper coins, and with this request, your rank will be upgraded to E rank.¡± ¡°Rank up? I haven¡¯t been an adventurer that long.¡± ¡°F rank is an apprentice, and if you do multiple requests a day, you¡¯ll be up in no time. Now is the real work, so you¡¯d better brace yourself.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± I wish I had been processed by the beautiful lady at the reception counter instead of the scary-looking old man. I should stop by the store and ask if they have any stoves or cups. ¡°Welcome.¡± ¡°Um, do you have tools for boiling water in the field and tableware for outdoor use?¡¡Also, tea leaves and tools for making tea, if you have them.¡± ¡°Yes, we do. The stove here is 20 coppers. If the magic power runs out, you will have to replace the magic stone. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Replace the magic stone?¡± ¡°Most adventurers replace them by killing the goblins and get the magic stones themselves, but you can also buy them for five copper coins each.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never killed a goblin before, so can I please have one magic stone as well?¡± I still don¡¯t think I can fight goblins. What if I have to keep buying magic stones to replace them? ¡°There is also a small iron pot, a wooden cup, and a set of wooden plates for ten coppers.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± ¡°There are black tea and green tea leaves, too. Both will cost five coppers. Also, cups with a tea strainer attached to the mouth of the cups are very popular and convenient, and they cost five coppers each.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have both cups and tea leaves, please.¡± ¡°Very well. The total will be 50 coppers.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Yes, I feel better; I can get back the tension that was lowered by the scary-looking old man with the cute shopkeeper¡­ Well, I can¡¯t do that; I shouldn¡¯t buy things every day. I went back to the inn and paid 15 coppers and ate my usual stew and bread. What is this diet like when I come to the other world? Two skewers and bread in the morning, stew and bread at night. It helps that the stew is full of vegetables and looks good for the body, but the downside is that it doesn¡¯t taste much different. I guess I¡¯ll have to hold off on the delicious meals until I have 20 silver coins saved up. Well, wiping myself with water, doing laundry, and practicing daily life magic. Well, have I gotten much faster at collecting magic power at my fingertips? I¡¯ll finally try out the magic tomorrow when draining the rabbit blood. Let¡¯s do a status check and go to bed. I haven¡¯t raised anything today¡­ Good night. Balance: 969 copper coins. Volume 1 - CH 9 Chapter 9 ¨C First Magic, New Inn, and Whole Roasted Horned Rabbit It¡¯s morning¡­ I get ready, take in the laundry, and head to the guild. I check the request list on the quest board and see¡­ Yes, there are a lot of requests to deliver horned rabbits. I pick up one request and head to the reception counter. Today, it was the beautiful human Onee-san. I feel like this is the most enjoyable time of the day. ¡°Good morning; I¡¯d like to take this request, please.¡± ¡°Yes, can I have your guild card, please?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You have been ranked up. Congratulations. Your request has been accepted. Good luck.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I will do my best.¡± I was told, ¡°Congratulations on your rank up.¡± Compared to the scary-looking old man, the response was totally different. The scary-looking old man didn¡¯t even congratulate me. I want to be able to enjoy more conversation with the receptionist, but I can¡¯t find a topic. Just that smile and good luck would be enough to get me excited, but the longer I have a good time, the better. Unfortunately, the happiness at just reporting the completion of a request is being crushed by the scary-looking old man. Let¡¯s find something to talk about next time. I bought breakfast for three coppers and headed to the hunting ground, thinking of something to talk about. ¡­I couldn¡¯t come up with anything. I was afraid to talk about my skills and even more so about the other world. The only other topic I can talk about is the horned rabbit. But, you know, what can I talk about with the receptionist¡¯s Onee-san and the horned rabbits? The ecology of the horned rabbit? How to beat the horned rabbits? Two people happily discuss horned rabbits at the guild¡¯s reception counter in the early morning. What kind of miracle would make it happen? I¡¯m getting kind of sad. Let¡¯s do my best to hunt horned rabbits. If I hunt many rabbits when there is no scary-looking old man, the beautiful lady at the reception counter might praise me; I felt inspired. At any rate, I summoned a hut boat and put the stove, tea, and tableware I bought yesterday. I might also want a small table and a small cupboard; I find something I want every day. After sending back the hut boat, it was time for the routine work. Find a horned rabbit, summon the boat, beat it, drain its blood, and send the boat back, but today is a little different; the routine is disrupted! Small changes in routine are stimulating and delightful, aren¡¯t they? Today, during the draining of blood, I will try my first attempt at daily life magic. For the first try, let¡¯s try the easy-to-understand fire life magic. The magic can be activated by drawing a magic circle using the magic power collected at your fingertips. Simplified daily life magic is a very simple magic circle. Fire magic can be activated by drawing a triangle in a circle. Even a child can draw a magic circle and will not fail. Let¡¯s give it a try. Gather magic power at my fingertips and carefully draw a magic circle¡­ ¡°Pop!¡± A small sound is heard, and for a moment, a fire appears. It¡¯s activated! It¡¯s hard to call it a success, but it was definitely activated. Fire magic is a magic that will keep burning for about a minute if it is not extinguished, so it was a failure that it went out in an instant. But the magic worked. Just like that, my tension skyrocketed. I would have liked to try it again right away, but I decided to use the magic only when it was time to drain the blood, so I hurried to find the next horned rabbit. I find a horned rabbit, beat it to death, and try magic while draining its blood. Daily life magic consumes little magic power, and fire, water, and wind can be used with only one magic power consumption. On the other hand, light requires three magic power consumptions. Fire: Triangular magic circle in a circle, makes a small fire appear for about 1 minute, one magic power consumption. Wind: Square magic circle in a circle, makes a light wind blow for 1 minute, one magic power consumption. Water: Circle within a circle, produces a glass of water, one magic power consumption. Light: Pentagram magic circle within circle, illuminates the surroundings with a ball of light for about 1 hour, three magic power consumption. A fire spark sets a dead branch on fire, and the wind makes the fire bigger and boils the water put out by the daily life magic. That is well done. I hunt horned rabbits and practice magic, and when I get tired, I take a rest with a cup of tea in the hut boat. ¡°Ah, what a fulfilling experience!¡± I enjoy myself so much that I repeat hunting and practicing magic enthusiastically. After working a little harder and a little longer, I achieved the highest record of 70 horned rabbits! It was getting dark, so I hurried back to the city and entered the guild, hoping that the scary-looking old man would not be there. ¡­I was heartbroken by the stares I got from the scary-looking old man. Damn it, why is he there? I took the request list for 70 rabbits from the quest board and eventually went to the scary-looking old man. ¡°Here is the request list for 70 rabbits, as well as the 70 horned rabbits and my guild card.¡± ¡°Oh, wait a minute.¡± After I finish this, I¡¯ll ask the carpenter if I can order a small table and a small cupboard. ¡°Oh, thanks for the wait. Seventy high-quality horned rabbits will accomplish what you asked for, and that¡¯s seven silver coins.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± Seven silver coins, that¡¯s about 70,000 Japanese yen. I wonder why the request for horned rabbits is not popular when you can earn that much even if you have a job. Maybe people would start doing it if they knew. Today I left around 5:00 a.m., and it¡¯s about 7:00 p.m. Now I¡¯ve worked for 14 hours. I didn¡¯t even notice it because I had so many interesting things to try out today¡­ Huh?¡¡Maybe this is the effect of the level-up? My physical strength has almost doubled, and I feel less tired, so I may have been pleasantly active for 14 hours¡­ £ª£ª£ª ¡°Hello.¡± Feeling the effects of the level-up, I arrived at the carpenter¡¯s workshop with light steps. ¡°Oh, is the last hut still in good working order?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s working great. I wanted a small table and a small cupboard to put in the shed. Sorry to drop by so late.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about it. If you don¡¯t mind, I have an apprentice piece for you. Take a look.¡± If it¡¯s an apprentice¡¯s work, it¡¯s going to be cheap, and that¡¯s more than welcome. Besides, a shabby hut boat wouldn¡¯t look good with fancy furniture. I gladly check out the furniture the apprentice has made. ¡°¡­I like this little one; I want that one for the cupboard; how much do you want for it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an apprentice¡¯s practice piece. I¡¯ll give you 30 coppers for the whole set.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll buy it. Thank you very much.¡± Thirty coppers would be an instant decision. ¡°Do you want me to carry it for you?¡± ¡°No, I can carry this much by myself. Thank you very much.¡± I made a good purchase. With a relieved look on my face, I moved to a secluded place, summoned a hut boat, and put the furniture into the hut. I¡¯ll have to wait until tomorrow, when I go out to the meadow, to put it in its proper place. I return to the inn, eat dinner as usual, do laundry, and practice daily life magic. It¡¯s time to do a status check and go to bed. Whoa, my level went up to 8. All my hard work today wasn¡¯t in vain. I¡¯m going to have a good dream today. Good night. £ª£ª£ª In the morning, I did my usual routine and headed to the guild. It¡¯s nice and easy when the workplace is next door. I have to walk to the meadow from there, though. I check the quest board, take one of the request forms for the horned rabbit again today, and head for the beautiful human Onee-san. ¡°Good morning. I¡¯ll take this, please.¡± ¡°Good morning. Can I have your guild card, please?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Your request has been accepted. Take care, and good luck.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Well, there¡¯s nothing to talk about. On the contrary, we talked about almost the same things as yesterday, except for the rank-up thing. I bought breakfast for three coppers and headed for the meadow, feeling a little down. I arrived at the meadow. First, let¡¯s set up the small table and the small cupboard I bought yesterday. I summon the hut boat, set up the table, and put away the dishes in the cupboard. As the hut becomes more usable, my slightly depressed mood improves. It¡¯s time for routine work. Spot a horned rabbit, summon a boat, beat it up, drain its blood, and practice daily life magic, repatriating the boat. Let¡¯s hunt around for the horned rabbit! ¡­The day ends without any disturbance. Today, I hunted 50 rabbits¡­ This is going well, but I wonder if it¡¯s okay to have such a peaceful life after falling into a different world. I think there¡¯s more happening in a light novel or something. ¡­..Well, I think it¡¯s time to go home. As I enter the guild, I get a look from the scary-looking old man¡­ I give up on a lot of things already and head for the scary-looking old man¡¯s counter. ¡°Here are 50 horned rabbits, the request form, and my guild card.¡± ¡°Oh, wait a minute.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Yes, I will have 20 silver coins when today¡¯s request fee is paid. I can move into a private inn. Shall I ask the scary-looking old man for a recommendation? No, I want to say goodbye to the landlady, so I¡¯ll stay at my usual inn for the rest of the day. Tomorrow morning, I¡¯ll ask the beautiful lady at the guild for a recommendation. It¡¯ll give us something to talk about and also kill two birds with one stone, right? ¡°Thanks for waiting. Fifty high-quality horned rabbits and the request is done. Here¡¯s your reward, five silver coins.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡± I had saved up 20 silver coins. I should go back to the inn and thank the landlady. ¡°Landlady-san, I¡¯d like to stay overnight, with dinner included.¡± ¡°Yes, fifteen coppers.¡± ¡°Yes, and, Landlady-san, I have saved up enough money now that I have risen in rank, so I am thinking of changing my inn tomorrow. Thank you for your hospitality.¡± ¡°Yes. You worked hard every day, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fine, but don¡¯t waste your money and don¡¯t come back to this inn. Take care of yourself.¡± The landlady patted me on the back and encouraged me. It¡¯s an inn next to the adventurer¡¯s guild, and I¡¯m sure she¡¯s seen off many newbies like me. And probably a few of them have come back after running out of money. Her words are filled with real feelings. ¡°Haha, I¡¯ll try my best somehow.¡± I bow my head and part ways with the landlady. Well, this is my last night at this inn. That doesn¡¯t change what I have to do. I¡¯ll eat as usual, wipe myself, do laundry, and practice my daily life magic. I¡¯m looking forward to a private room inn tomorrow¡­ I¡¯ve done everything I need to do, check my status and go to bed. My level was¡­ It just went up yesterday and hasn¡¯t gone up as expected. Well, good night. £ª£ª£ª It¡¯s morning. This is probably the last time I will wake up in this room¡­ I take in the laundry, get ready, thank the landlady, and leave for the guild. I select one of the requests to deliver a horned rabbit from the quest board and head to the counter. It¡¯s the fox-eared Onee-san today. It feels like it¡¯s been a while. ¡°Good morning. I want to take this request, please.¡± ¡°Good morning. May I have your guild card, please?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Your request has been accepted. Take care.¡± Up to this point, it¡¯s just the usual flow of things. But today is different. There is a topic that I couldn¡¯t find until now. ¡°Yes. Well, I¡¯m thinking of changing the inn today, and I was wondering if you could tell me where I could stay in a private room with good food.¡± ¡°An inn? ¡­Well, if you are looking for an inn with good food, the Bear Inn is a popular choice. The price is 40 copper coins per night. Would you like me to draw you a map?¡± Forty copper coins per night¡­ That will be four times more than what I have been paying so far. Including meals, it will be about 50 to 60 copper coins per day. Sixty copper coins are equivalent to six horned rabbits. I think it is a little extravagant, but if I can earn enough money at the current rate, I can save up money, and it should be fine. I¡¯m also interested in a good meal, so let¡¯s go there. ¡°Yes, I¡¯d like to go to the Bear Inn for now. Can I have the map, please?¡± ¡°I understand. Please wait a moment.¡± I received the map from the fox-eared Onee-san and left the counter. We didn¡¯t end up talking that much. But if the food is good, we can talk a little more about the inn. I¡¯ll just have to wait and see. Next, I usually go hunting for horned rabbits in the meadow, but I heard it was very popular, so I might as well reserve the inn first. Well, it might be too early in the morning, but let¡¯s go to the inn and then go hunting. Checking the map that the fox-eared Onee-san had prepared for me, I walked through the western part of the city. Let¡¯s see, it should be somewhere around here¡­ oh, the sign also says bear inn, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s this inn. ¡°Excuse me; I¡¯d like to stay at the inn. Can I get a room now?¡± I enter the inn and ask the woman at the counter. I wonder if that¡¯s bear ears? So maybe that is why it is called a bear inn. ¡°Welcome. We can get you a room even now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s glad to hear. I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s so early in the morning. I wanted to go hunting after I decided on a place to stay.¡± ¡°No problem, it¡¯s only 40 coppers per night, and if you stay ten days or more, breakfast is free. We also provide hot water and laundry services for five coppers each, so please let us know if you would like to use them.¡± Oh, so if you move up in rank in the inn, you can ask for hot water and laundry? However, if I ask for both, it will cost me one night at the inn next to the adventurer¡¯s guild¡­ Well, I¡¯ll do my own laundry and just ask for hot water. ¡°Then I ask for ten days with hot water. That would be four silver coins and 50 copper coins in total, right? Also, I came to this inn because I heard the food was good.¡± My life has stabilized enough to be able to stay at a decent inn. It would be okay to be extravagant, at least for tonight. ¡°Yes, I will take the four silver and fifty copper coins. Also, it was a whole roasted horned rabbit, wasn¡¯t it? I¡¯ve been getting wholesale from the guild a lot lately, so I¡¯ve been submitting requests. However, I don¡¯t know if they will be able to fulfill the request for this inn, so I can¡¯t say with certainty that I will be able to offer it to you.¡± Did the bear inn also submit a request? I didn¡¯t know that because I never checked the client¡¯s name. But that¡¯s a good thing. ¡°I¡¯m the one who has been hunting horned rabbits lately. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll bring a horned rabbit to you, so is it possible to have it made for me?¡± If bringing my own rabbit is not a problem, the possibility of being able to eat it is very high. I feel that the flow is coming to me. ¡°Ara, so the customer is the one who wholesales the horned rabbits. Until now, it¡¯s been hard to get requests accepted, so everyone is happy. Thank you.¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s because you all give me requests that I am able to make money. Thank you very much.¡± A funny conversation ensues. It¡¯s like a businessman in a business manga. ¡°So, can you cook the whole roasted horned rabbit?¡± ¡°Of course, if you can bring the rabbit, we can serve it. We would like to have some other rabbits wholesale if you can afford it.¡± ¡°Yes, unless something unforeseen happens, I think I can bring back the horned rabbits; would five be enough?¡± ¡°Yes, that would be very helpful.¡± Alright, I guess I can eat the whole roasted horned rabbit with this. Somehow it developed into a small talk from there, but I could hear something about the demand for horned rabbits, and I also found out that this woman was the inn¡¯s landlady and that she had bear ears, so it was a good time. £ª£ª£ª ¡°Well, I¡¯m off to hunt.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, and be careful.¡± I waved to the landlady and left the inn. The room was clean, and I heard the food was good, so I was looking forward to it. Besides, the daily cost of living would be only 45 copper coins plus the cost of dinner. In addition, it would be great if they could make lunch for me. I¡¯ll check with them at night. I arrived at the meadow with a lot of things on my mind. Since it was late when I left today, and I wanted to go home early and eat a whole roasted horned rabbit, I would return to the inn after I had hunted thirty-five rabbits. Well, the routine work begins as usual. ¡­Now I have thirty-five rabbits. I¡¯ll go home early and get a whole roasted horned rabbit! I¡¯m having so much fun that the time has flown by. I quickly packed my stuff and headed back to the guild at a quick pace. I received three silver coins at the reception desk of the guild and returned to the inn with five horned rabbits without lowering the tension of the receptionist. ¡°Here are five horned rabbits, Landlady-san!¡± I proudly held up the horned rabbits and handed them to the landlady. ¡°Thank you very much. It¡¯s 40 copper coins. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine. So, when can I eat it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a dish that takes a while to cook, so could you give me two hours?¡± Ohh, two hours from now¡­ Well, it definitely tastes better when you¡¯re hungry. Let¡¯s get ready between now and then and taste the whole roasted horned rabbit at its best. ¡°Two hours from now. I understand. And can I have some hot water to wash off my sweat?¡± ¡°Yes, I will bring it to your room. Also, I would like to offer you a free dinner today.¡± ¡°Oh, no. That¡¯s not necessary.¡± ¡°No, no, we will have it from tomorrow, and it is our thanks for supplying us with high-quality horned rabbits wholesale.¡± Free dinner! That sounds good. ¡°Well, I will take the offer then.¡± I thanked the landlady and went back to my room. I felt at home in this private room. It¡¯s nice not to have to worry about being seen. ¡°I brought you some hot water.¡± I was so careless that I was surprised. ¡°Y-yes, thank you.¡± Somehow I managed to keep my composure and received the hot water. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had hot water¡­ and I¡¯d love to take a bath. If I could buy a luxury liner, it would have a bath, right? Well¡­ if I have enough money to buy a luxury liner, I can make as many baths as I want. I¡¯ll wipe myself off and practice my daily life magic until dinner. It¡¯s nice to have a private room so I can practice until the magic is ready to be activated. ¡°The meal is ready. Please come to the dining room.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Finally, it was time for the whole roasted horned rabbit; I was looking forward to it so much. I prepared quickly, went to the inn¡¯s dining room, and took a seat. ¡°Here it is, the whole roasted horned rabbit.¡± Oh, it¡¯s roasted. The horned rabbit, which I always fight with, is roasted with its horns pointed out. It looks delicious; it looks so delicious. What is that smell, too, garlic? Basil? The aroma of what seems to be various herbs, combined with the smell of the meat cooking, makes me want to bite into it. The bear-eared cook cuts the meat right in front of me. The cook also has bear ears! But I can¡¯t help it because I¡¯m already thinking about the whole roasted meat. When the knife is inserted, there is a crisp sound, and juices pour out at the same time. It seems that the belly was stuffed with herbs, so the delicious smell of the meat is even more overwhelming. I can¡¯t wait to eat it. I devoured it, devoured it. Crispy roasted skin, juices, the meat is light, but I can eat as much as I want with the herbs and salty juices. I devoured one rabbit and two pieces of bread. I must have hunted such delicious horned rabbits every day. I was getting more and more motivated. ¡°Thank you for the food, Landlady-san. It was very delicious.¡± ¡°I am glad you liked it. My husband is also pleased that you enjoyed it so much.¡± ¡°By any chance, the cook who was cutting up the rabbit was your husband?¡± ¡°Yes, he is my husband.¡± ¡°Please tell him it was very delicious. Thank you for the food.¡± Did I eat a little too much? I returned to my room with a pleasant feeling of satiety. I¡¯m going to check my status and go to bed. Good night. Balance: 2008 copper coins Volume 1 - CH 10 Chapter 10 ¨C A Month in Another World and God¡¯s Complaints Morning, huh¡­? It¡¯s been almost a month since I arrived in the other world. My level has improved a little, and I have saved up some money. At this rate, I think I¡¯ll be able to survive in another world. Name: Wataru Toyomi Age: 20 Race: Human Occupation: Ship¡¯s captain Level 13 Physical Strength: 340 Magic Power: 32 Strength: 36 Intelligence: 46 Dexterity: 42 Luck: 15 Skills: Language Comprehension (Unique) Ship Summoning Level 1 (Unique) Balance: 1 gold coin, 32 silver coins, 60 copper coins My savings is over one gold coin, which is about 1,000,000 Japanese yen. That¡¯s a little amazing, isn¡¯t it? Alright, I¡¯ll do my best to hunt horned rabbits again today. I had breakfast at the inn, picked up my lunch box, and left for the guild. I took one of the request forms for the horned rabbit and went to the reception counter¡­ I have done it so many times that I seem to have the air of a veteran. ¡°Good morning. I would like to take this request.¡± ¡°Good morning. Um, may I ask you something?¡± What is it? It feels like this is the first time I¡¯ve ever been talked to by the fox-eared Onee-san¡­ and I¡¯m getting nervous. Is it perhaps an invitation to go on a date? ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± I replied, trying to look nonchalant despite my pounding heart. ¡°You come here every day to do requests, don¡¯t you? Unless there is a reason, I think it would be better for you to take a break¡­ Being an adventurer is a difficult job and they¡¯re working really hard for their job, and most of them take a break after one job is done. Of course, if you want to take a request, I will be happy to accept it¡­¡± That¡¯s right; it can¡¯t be a date. ¡­But is she worried about me? Just the thought of that alone is enough to blow away any fatigue I might be feeling! Calm down; I mustn¡¯t lose the kindness of the beautiful fox-eared Onee-san. ¡°I haven¡¯t rested for a while. I came to the guild somehow, without any particular reason, and I was hunting horned rabbits in some way. Should I take a break?¡± ¡°It depends on each person, but you seem to be working too much, so if you don¡¯t have any particular reason, I think it¡¯s okay to take a break.¡± That¡¯s true too. There don¡¯t seem to be any labor laws in this world, and I should consider taking my vacations. Now that I have some money to spare, taking a little time off should be okay. ¡°Well, since I have no particular reason, I¡¯ll take the day off today. I appreciate your concern. And thanks for the advice.¡± ¡°No, I apologize for going too far.¡± ¡°No, no, I appreciate it very much. Thank you very much.¡± Have I done it without any trouble? I was so worried about the beautiful fox-eared Onee-san that I almost got carried away and did something incomprehensible, but I didn¡¯t behave in a problematic way, did I? I thanked the fox-eared Onee-san firmly and left the guild. Thinking about it calmly, I¡¯ve been hunting every day since I came to this other world. It¡¯s a big city, but I didn¡¯t even do any sightseeing. Now that I have a day off let¡¯s take a look around the city. I calmly look around. Where should I go? ¡­I should have asked if there were any good places to go before I left the guild. It¡¯s a tragic mistake. Well, it¡¯s better to enjoy the moment than to dwell on the mistake. ¡­Huh? Is that guy a dwarf? Whoa, there¡¯s the dog-eared beastman, as well. It¡¯s been a month since I¡¯ve been in this city, and somehow I feel like I¡¯m seeing this city properly for the first time. I guess I didn¡¯t have enough time; let¡¯s make sure to enjoy today. A city of another world, full of strange things I¡¯ve never seen before. People and things are literally from another world. It is interesting to see both things that I have no idea how to use and things that are also found in Japan. Kitchen knives have the same shape in this world. A pot is still a pot, and there are things like frying pans. It is somehow interesting to see the same things in different worlds. As I wandered around the city, I came upon a large plaza. Among the large buildings, there is a large and majestic building. It looked like a church. Religion, I wondered, what kind of gods are there in the other world? Speaking of which, there was a person who gave me a message and a skill, right? I remember that, and it said that I couldn¡¯t do anything too much about it. I thought maybe it was a god who gave me the message. I wonder if I could reach him if I prayed at the church and thanked him? I went to what looked like a church and asked. ¡°This is a church, isn¡¯t it? Can a regular person come in? I was wondering if I could just pray as a non-scholar?¡± ¡°Yes, you may come in. When you go in, you will see many people praying, so just do the same, and you will be fine.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Should I do the same? It seems appropriate¡­ is that right? Well, that¡¯s what the church member said. Everything is fine, right? Once I got myself together and entered the church, I felt a change in the atmosphere. It¡¯s a world with magic power, so it¡¯s not surprising that there is divine power as well. Inside the church, believers are praying in front of the statue of a god, kneeling down on both knees with their hands folded in front of their faces. I guess I should imitate them. I get down on both knees, fold my hands in front of my face, and close my eyes. Is it god who gave me the skills and the message? Thanks to you, I can manage to live in the other world. Thank you. ¡°You are welcome.¡± As I was praying, I suddenly heard a voice. I was surprised and opened my eyes to see a glowing, gorgeous room¡­ ¡°Nice to meet you, Wataru Toyomi-kun.¡± I turned toward where I heard the voice and saw a mischievous-looking boy sitting on a glittering throne. He is sure to be handsome in the future; I envy him. ¡°Um, nice to meet you. Where is this place?¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯d call this the divine realm in your country, huh?¡± [T/n: He said it Shinkai with Éñ½ç, which means Divine Realm here.] Deep sea¡­? No, it¡¯s not. In that case, it¡¯s the divine realm, isn¡¯t it? So then, is this boy a god? [T/n: Then Wataru thought it was Shinkai with É which means Deep Sea or something like that.] ¡°Well, once again, thank you for giving me the skills.¡± ¡°You are unfazed; weren¡¯t you surprised?¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised, and I¡¯m scared. But in a Japanese story, when you pray in church, there is a possibility that you will be called by god, so I thought that there is such a possibility, so that¡¯s why I might be a little calm.¡± ¡°Ah, your world culture is interesting, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Do you know it?¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s the association between the gods.¡± ¡°Oh, I see¡­ Is it possible that when I go back, the time hasn¡¯t moved forward?¡± ¡°Correct!¡± I know, it¡¯s just like in the templates, but god is amazing. ¡°I was surprised because I thought it would be a blank, empty room when I was called.¡± ¡°Yeah, I thought I¡¯d go with a plain white room, but I went with this one because it¡¯s my taste. It looks great, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, but you are god, aren¡¯t you? Aren¡¯t you great?¡± ¡°Yes, I am great because I am the creator god. I created this world. But there is a difference between being great and looking great.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ I mean, you are the creator god, aren¡¯t you? So, why did you call me here? I thought you said in your message that you couldn¡¯t do much about my situation.¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, I have a question for you. Hey, how is your life in the other world? Well, in my opinion, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any such thing.¡± When I asked the question, the Creator God started denying my life. ¡°Um, what¡¯s wrong with it?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it, you ask? You¡¯re just hunting horned rabbits. You do not have any adventures. You¡¯re completely buried in it.¡± ¡°But you said in your message that you prefer to keep a low profile, didn¡¯t you?¡± There must have been something scary, almost threatening, written in that message. ¡°That¡¯s right, and I got some complaints about it. It was not interesting to watch. It¡¯s troublesome, isn¡¯t it? I mean, how could I, a creator god, complain about that?¡± The creator god, with his mouth agape, complained. I would like to say that it is impossible for me to be called to the divine realm and be dissed for leading a serious life. I can¡¯t say it, though. ¡°Um¡­ I don¡¯t understand. Am I being watched?¡± ¡°Yes, because you are from another world. They tend to behave in unpredictable ways, and there are a lot of gods who look forward to it, you know?¡± ¡°No, there are a lot of them? It is embarrassing to be watched¡­¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s alright. We never watch you in the bathroom or in your bedroom.¡± I wouldn¡¯t say that¡¯s okay. ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it if you wouldn¡¯t look at it if you could.¡± ¡°Yeah, quite a few gods and goddesses have stopped watching because your behavior is so boring. Like the god of entertainment, he said your behavior makes him nauseous.¡± ¡°I was just living a normal life, and you said it made him nauseous¡­¡± Don¡¯t gods support people who live serious lives? Is this world okay for him to be nauseous just because he¡¯s an entertainment god or something? ¡°The god of war and the god of magic says that you become like this because your unique skill set sucks. Isn¡¯t that awful?¡± Now I can see that ship summoning is fun. But at the beginning of the fall, I somewhat agree with the opinion of the god of war and the god of magic, which are gods with disturbing names. ¡°I fell into a place where there are no rivers or oceans, and I honestly don¡¯t see how I can summon a ship there. It was written that it was because my name sounded like it or something.¡± ¡°I thought it was a perfect fit. It¡¯s a great skill. If there are no oceans or rivers, why not go where there are? The boarding rejection is amazing; it can easily repel even a dragon breath, you know? Only a god can break through it. And yet, you run away from even goblins and refuse to fight. That¡¯s why the god of war and the god of magic call it a shitty skill.¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t know that boarding rejection was that powerful either¡­¡± ¡°Even if you don¡¯t know, at least try with the goblins. It¡¯s a unique skill, you know. And since you¡¯re not going to notice for the rest of your life, let me tell you, you don¡¯t have to wait until you summon a boat to get on it; just get on the glowing magic circle, and you¡¯ll be right on it.¡± ¡°Oh, there¡¯s a trick to that¡­¡± ¡°When the magic circle appears, you can even stand on the water¡¯s surface and be protected. And while the ship is being repatriated, the cargo on the ship is also frozen in time, so you can use it to your advantage.¡± What is that? It¡¯s a ship¡¯s version of an item box. That¡¯s very convenient. Oh¡­ ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t even looked at the purchase screen of the ship yet, have you? Now that you have some money saved up, don¡¯t you want to buy something? There are plenty of nice ships out there, aren¡¯t there? You can raise the level of ship summoning by buying ships.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a place to use it, and even a rubber boat would be conspicuous, but a motorboat is a bit¡­ and the level of ship summoning goes up if I buy a ship, huh?¡± ¡°Such a thing can be done as long as the level of ship summoning goes up. It¡¯s a skill I gave you. You¡¯re too cautious.¡± ¡°Um, but I got a message that it¡¯s better to be inconspicuous.¡± ¡°There are limits, aren¡¯t there? It is true that in the past, when I gave unique skills to the people who fell, there was a problem because they became heroes, saints, demon kings, kings, and so on, and they all went wild. So I gave you a slightly weakened unique skill and a message.¡± Hero? Demon King? There are too many things to get into; I can¡¯t keep up with them¡­ ¡°But you know, most people, somewhere along the line, give out their knowledge or show their power and influence the world a little bit, even though it¡¯s halted. And they use their power to satisfy their greed while keeping a low profile. And you are what? How can you be satisfied with summoning a hut boat? So you should try harder.¡± I know what you mean, but I feel like you are being unreasonably angry. ¡°I have greed, too. I¡¯ve only been in this world for about a month. I could have been very active in the future.¡± ¡°Most of the gods¡¯ opinions are that you will either spend the rest of your life in a leisurely manner or you will end your life by just defeating a goblin or even an orc. If that happens, the unique skills I gave you will not work. And then they will say that the unique skills I gave you were not good enough or that the message was unnecessary, and that¡¯s the leverage.¡± By leverage¡­ Do you mean what you do to people¡¯s lives? ¡°Um, okay, I understand. I¡¯ll do my best. You taught me that even dragons can¡¯t get in, so I¡¯ll fight the monsters a little more too.¡± ¡°Hah, you really should do your hardest. You¡¯re just like a loner, aren¡¯t you? You should try to build a better relationship with people.¡± ¡°I at least have someone to talk to, you know.¡± ¡°All you do is talk. Do you even know their names?¡± ¡°This is just the beginning, just the beginning.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really asking you.¡± God is asking me seriously. ¡­Regardless of the content, it¡¯s kind of great to be asked by god, isn¡¯t it? ¡°If I don¡¯t provide you with a little more guidance, I¡¯ll be concerned in your case. Don¡¯t you miss the taste of your hometown? You can eat at the restaurants on the ship for a small fee. On a luxury cruise ship, there are many first-class restaurants from all over the world.¡± ¡°That means I can eat rice, then?¡± ¡°Yes, you can¡¯t watch TV or use the Internet, but you can watch DVDs, movies, and even new releases. ¡­Of course, other than that, you can use the stores and facilities that are open. God gave you unique skills; they¡¯re incredible, you know.¡± I¡¯ve been told things that motivate me tremendously. With a luxury cruise ship, I could get back to a pretty civilized life! Good food and movies¡­ I can¡¯t believe how incredibly exciting it would be. ¡°I¡¯m motivated. I¡¯ll do my best from now on!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the most powerful reply I¡¯ve ever heard. I believe in you, so good luck. Bye.¡± Hmm? Have I returned? But I never thought the gods were watching me. I got quite a bit of useful information, so I guess I¡¯ll do my best to please the creator god a little more from now on. As I was leaving the church, the people who were praying were handing money to the priest. I wondered if it was an offering. I was given some useful information, so I was inspired and decided to give one silver coin. Now that I have gotten a lot of unexpected information, I think I¡¯ll go back to the inn and think about things today. Balance: 1 gold coin, 31 silver coins, 60 copper coins Volume 1 - CH 11 Chapter 11 ¨C Adventurer Party and Future Plans I cut out of sightseeing in the city early and returned to the inn to think about the future. ¡°Welcome back. You are home early today.¡± The landlady is a little surprised at my unusual return time. I can tell by the way she looks at me that I¡¯ve been working too hard. Well, god has given me a blast, and I have to do my best while thinking about the rest of the day off. ¡°I¡¯m home. I decided to take a little time off today. So I¡¯ll be relaxing in my room.¡± ¡°Ara, you¡¯re taking a day off? Please take a good rest. What about your dinner?¡± ¡°Uh, around six bells, please.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± I left the landlady and went back to my room. Now, I told the creator god that I would do my best, and if I didn¡¯t take it seriously, I might be punished by heaven or something. First, let¡¯s sort out the information I was given. I can get on top of the magic circle of the ship summoning. When I get on top of the magic circle, I can move to any desired position on the ship. This is very convenient. The level of ship summoning will increase with the purchase of a ship. It is said that when the level of ship summoning increases, it also manages conspicuousness, which is somehow worrisome. While the ship is being repatriated, the cargo on the ship is also stopped in time. The power of the boarding rejection can easily repel even the dragon breath. It was totally a cheat I was getting. So that¡¯s why the god was angry since I was running away from the goblins. I can use the stores and facilities opened on the ship by ship summoning, but not the internet and TV. I can eat Japanese food, watch anime on DVD, and movies at the cinema. That¡¯s the most important information. I need to check the stores and facilities on ferries and luxury cruise ships. That¡¯s all. Considering this information, I would like to reach the luxury liner. In order to get to the luxury liner, I need to make a lot of money. The only way I can think of to do that is to become an adventurer who makes a lot of money or to become a very successful merchant. Oh, there¡¯s also the way to advertise my abilities to the government and ask them to fund me. If I could market it well, I could buy a luxury cruise ship in no time, but there would be many risks involved, such as ties, assassinations, and all sorts of other dangers, so I dismissed the idea. A ship that will never sink seems like a straight line to war. So what about adventurers or merchants? As long as I have the ship out in the open, I¡¯m almost invincible on the defensive. But while traveling on land, I¡¯m like a paper with almost no offensive power. The only thing I can use to attack at the moment is with the oars. I feel that not having the power to defeat monsters is quite a problem for an adventurer. Maybe I should recruit adventurers with high attack power as my companions and let them do all the attacking. The problem is that I don¡¯t have a good eye for people. Hopefully, it works out, but I¡¯m too worried about my ability to be taken advantage of if I¡¯m not good enough and they find out. The problem would be solved if I had a slave like at the template¡­ If I¡¯m going to buy a slave, I¡¯d rather buy a beautiful and sexy Onee-san and pamper her immensely than buy a burly battle slave. In the first place, do slaves exist? Let¡¯s find out how much they cost. How about becoming a merchant? I¡¯m more suited to be a merchant in terms of ability. It¡¯s more like a trade than opening a store, but a ship that never sinks is an advantage, and if I can find a profitable route back and forth between countries, I can make money with no risk for a long time. The problem is the funds to buy a ship. I can buy a motorboat, but I need at least a fishing boat when it comes to trade. I would like to go to the southern city eventually. I don¡¯t know if I can immediately head to the southern city and make some money. At the very least, I need to be able to travel and reach my destination. I¡¯ll save up enough money to buy a fishing boat while hunting horned rabbits here, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll have enough money in three or four months, but I¡¯m sure damnation will fall on me before then. First, I need to gather information. Let¡¯s find out about adventurers, the southern city, and slaves. It¡¯s not enough to just hunt horned rabbits; I¡¯ll have to go into the forest as well. Oh, and I also need to find out about the southwestern forest. ¡°Ding, dong.¡± The six bells rang. Let¡¯s go to the dining hall. There must be at least a party of adventurers at the dining hall, so let¡¯s go talk to them. When I went to the dining hall, I found, as I expected, a group of adventurers eating. I thought I heard that they were mainly taking requests to take down goblins and wanted to challenge orcs. Although we only exchange greetings occasionally, acquaintances are acquaintances. Let¡¯s talk to them. ¡°Good evening. May I join you for dinner?¡± ¡°Hmm? I don¡¯t mind, but it¡¯s unusual. You always eat alone.¡± ¡°Ahaha, I¡¯ve wanted to know more about the southwest forest, so I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions. I know it¡¯s a little late, but my name is Wataru, and it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Oh, now that you mention it, I haven¡¯t told you my name yet. I¡¯m Aldo, the leader, and these two are the swordsmen Crate, and Gaius, the one with the spear is Sismondo, and the one with the bow is Orso. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you too.¡± The waiter came in, and I asked for today¡¯s recommendation and ale for the adventurers. ¡°Sorry, was that about the southwest woods? You know, we¡¯ve just graduated, and we don¡¯t have much to tell you, do we?¡± Even though they¡¯ve just graduated, they¡¯re still very muscular and powerful from my point of view. What is it like to be a first-class adventurer? The people in the adventurers¡¯ guild all look so strong that I can¡¯t tell the difference. ¡°I would be happy to hear about how to defeat goblins and how to escape from danger.¡± ¡°Are you going into the forest? I don¡¯t recommend going into the forest alone.¡± ¡°I would like to go into the forest, or rather, I would like to go on a journey at some point. If I can¡¯t defeat the goblins or at least escape, I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll be able to do anything.¡± ¡°Ah, traveling. If so, it is better to form a party. You can¡¯t travel without a night watchman. I would suggest that you hire an escort.¡± Night watch, huh? I hadn¡¯t thought of that. I was thinking of staying in the hut boat, but it would be conspicuous when traveling alone. ¡°Hmm, I guess I need a party. I¡¯m still trying to decide whether I want to be an adventurer or a merchant. It would be a nuisance to form a party in such a state. There is nothing better than to have a little bit of skill, so I want to enter the forest.¡± ¡°I see. Then it¡¯s hard to form a proper party. I think it¡¯s best to have a temporary party and gain some experience. The goblins are manageable if you have enough people, and you can learn how to run away from them; going into the forest alone is like throwing your life away unless you have very strong skills.¡± ¡°I guess so. Well, I¡¯m going to choose a weapon, train with it, and join a temporary party then.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t even selected a weapon yet?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m thinking of a spear, but I¡¯m also thinking about a light knife.¡± In my case, I think it would be best to use a knife before summoning the ship and then use a spear once the ship is summoned, but I can¡¯t explain it to them. ¡°Well, you can try it at the guild¡¯s training grounds. So, I have a question for you, too, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure. What is it?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been hunting horned rabbits all day, haven¡¯t you? You don¡¯t seem to be hurting for money, but do you make a profit?¡± Have they finally taken an interest regarding the horned rabbits? Well, I¡¯m going to leave the western city sooner or later, so there is no need to keep it a secret. It would be a good opportunity for us to get to know each other, so I¡¯ll tell them. ¡°Since I don¡¯t know how much money you all make, it¡¯s hard for me to make a judgment. But I think I can save enough money and make a good living.¡± ¡°I see, we¡¯re unstable, but I¡¯d say about eighty coppers a person. I¡¯m sorry, but may I ask how much the horned rabbits are paid?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine. It depends on how long you hunt, but I hunted from morning to evening and got 50 rabbits, making a total of 5 silver coins.¡± ¡°Hey, hey, you¡¯re making more than all of us in the party. How can you make so much money on horned rabbits?¡± ¡°If you hunt neatly and bleed them properly, each rabbit costs ten copper coins. If you beat them with a club, you can beat them cleanly, so all you have to do is to get more of them.¡± Aldo-san and the others were surprised. Well, it¡¯s a way of earning money, and I can¡¯t imagine what it would be like to just go hunting on the side of an adventure. ¡°Is it really possible to make that much money? Can we try it too?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a big town, and I haven¡¯t been able to digest all the requests for horned rabbits at all. I think the people who are waiting for the horned rabbits will be pleased. But you can¡¯t get stronger by continuing to hunt horned rabbits. Since you hunt individually, you may lose the coordination you have been improving, you know? I don¡¯t think you will be able to defeat the goblins even if you continue to hunt horned rabbits.¡± The level will go up, but for Aldo-san, who has graduated from the beginner level, it will be almost a margin of error. ¡°Well, it is true that hunting horned rabbits is not enough to develop one¡¯s ability.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s good enough to make a living in the city, but it won¡¯t help you build up your skills and become highly ranked.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s all about balance, isn¡¯t it? We want to be well equipped and go deep into the forest, you know. I¡¯ll talk it over with the party, thanks.¡± ¡°No, it is my pleasure. Thank you very much.¡± After paying the 35 copper coins for dinner and ale, I returned to my room. I wonder if Aldo-san and the others will come to the horned rabbit hunting ground? It will be harder to use the ship summons, but I need to be able to fight a little without using it, so it is just right. After all, does it seem reckless to enter the forest alone? If I had the ship summoning, I would be fine, but I can¡¯t use it if I¡¯m going to be part of a temporary party, so I¡¯ll have to train for combat. Without the ship summoning, I will need a spear. I also think I¡¯ll need a knife and a bow when I¡¯m out of spear range, even when using scouting and ship summoning. I can¡¯t do everything perfectly, so I¡¯ll ask the adventurer¡¯s guild if they can teach me the basics. I¡¯ll hunt from morning until about 2:00 and then train at the adventurer¡¯s guild. If I can join a temporary party, I¡¯ll join it and gain some experience. I can¡¯t do anything fancy right away, but since I¡¯m training and going to the forest, god will understand for a while¡­ right? So while I train, I¡¯ll find out about the southern city, about the slaves, and stuff like that. Okay, now that I have the general idea, let¡¯s practice daily life magic and go to bed. Balance: 1 gold coin, 31 silver coins, 25 copper coins. Volume 1 - CH 12 Chapter 12 ¨C Weapon Selection, Training, and First Time in the Forest It¡¯s morning¡­ After eating breakfast and receiving my lunch, the landlady approached me. ¡°Are you going to hunt horned rabbits today? If you could, I¡¯d like you to bring me five horned rabbits wholesale.¡± ¡°Yes, I will go hunting, and I will bring them back on my way back.¡± Since the first time I stayed at this inn and wholesaled horned rabbits, I have been asked for them directly by chance. They buy them for the same price as the guild¡¯s commission, and they give me a free side dish, so I feel like I¡¯m getting something out of it. I chose one more request for the horned rabbit at the guild today and went to the reception counter of the guild¡¯s beautiful fox-eared Onee-san. ¡°Good morning; I would like this request. Oh, thank you for yesterday. I was able to relax and realized that I didn¡¯t know much about this city at all. I¡¯ve decided to take a proper day off and go sightseeing again.¡± ¡°Good morning. I am glad to hear that. There are some fun places and unusual things to see in this city, so please enjoy yourself. Yes, your request is accepted.¡± I wish I could say, ¡°Please show me around the western city¡­¡± here, but it¡¯s impossible. It takes a lot of guts to talk to someone who¡¯s kind of too beautiful. Let¡¯s go hunting. Yes, Aldo-san and his party might be coming to the hunting ground today. Well, I might as well just buy a club at the guild store. ¡°Welcome. Can I help you?¡± I was greeted by the usual cute shopkeeper. It was the same old customer/shopkeeper thing with no progress. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a long, inexpensive club that doesn¡¯t weigh too much¡­¡± ¡°In that case, we have these two clubs. They are thirty copper coins each but differ in weight and length.¡± ¡°Can I hold them?¡± ¡°Yes, you may. If you wish to swing them, please come to the training area.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± When I hold it, the longer one feels more like the oar. This way, I don¡¯t have to swing it. ¡°This longer one, please, and here are the thirty coppers.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± After paying the money, I took the club and headed out to hunt. After arriving at the southwestern meadow, I looked for the horned rabbit. I feel nervous when I think of hunting without the ship summoning. The horned rabbit I found jumped on me. Even though I was inside the barrier, I had hunted hundreds of horned rabbits before, so I could somehow understand their movements. I match my club to the rabbit and hit it. Huh? It missed. The rabbit dodges in a hurry. Again, I hit the rabbit with the club, and¡­ it went well. Whew, I was nervous. I had only swung my oar in time for the rabbit to hit the barrier. I can¡¯t use my weapon very well, even if I know most of its movements. So I have to think about avoiding them. Just one more action is a lot of work. After hunting for a while, Aldo-san and the others arrived. They all had clubs, so I guessed they were hunting horned rabbits. ¡°Good morning.¡± ¡°Good morning. We talked about it and decided that we wouldn¡¯t know what to do until we tried it. So we came here to give it a try. Excuse us for disturbing you.¡± ¡°Hahaha. It¡¯s not my land, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Wataru is the pioneer of this hunting ground, so I thought it would be appropriate.¡± ¡°Do adventurers have a territory?¡± In my case, there was no one who acted as the main axis of this place, so I was monopolizing it on my own, but perhaps I was bothering someone? ¡°No, not particularly. But you taught us how to hunt, and we¡¯re even in the same place. It¡¯s just a courtesy.¡± Good. It seems I¡¯m not bothering anyone with my behavior. ¡°Okay, good luck.¡± They¡¯re really here. I¡¯m glad I bought the club. It sucks that I can¡¯t take a break on the hut boat, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be in plenty of situations like this in the future, so I¡¯ll have to get used to it. I continued hunting, avoiding the location of Aldo-san and the others. It was about 3 o¡¯clock. The number of rabbits I hunted was..33. I¡¯ll go back after hunting two more. I easily found two horned rabbits, so I quickly defeated them. Now I have 35 rabbits. When I return, I should call out to Aldo-san and the others. ¡°Thank you for your hard work. I am going back now. How are you doing?¡± I called out to Aldo-san and the others who had just gathered and were taking a break. ¡°It was difficult to find the right amount of force not to smash them, but I managed to get 15 of them. The other members also hunted more than ten rabbits. But anyway, you¡¯re back earlier than usual. Did we cause you any trouble?¡± ¡°No, no, I hunted 35 horned rabbits, and there is no trouble in this wide meadow. As I said yesterday, I am going to finish early from now on and have the guild members train me with weapons. Thirty-five rabbits are enough for me.¡± ¡°Thirty-five rabbits? That¡¯s amazing. We¡¯ll hunt until the evening. See you at the inn.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll see you later.¡± I went to the inn first to get five horned rabbits wholesale and then headed for the guild. The scary-looking old man is not there. Is it only during the busy evening hours? I¡¯m the only one I¡¯ve seen using his services, so it doesn¡¯t seem to make sense¡­ Huh? If so, then from now on, I can have my completion report done by the pretty lady! I immediately head to the counter of the beautiful fox-eared Onee-san. ¡°Please confirm my request for 30 rabbits.¡± ¡°Yes, you are early today, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I¡¯ve been thinking about doing some weapons training for a while today, starting around 3:00. Can you introduce me to an instructor at the guild?¡± ¡°We do have instructors. We have a retired adventurer as an instructor, so it¡¯s ten copper coins for an hour. But it¡¯s regrettable. Everyone was happy with the delivery of so many horned rabbits¡­¡± Oof, I made the fox-eared Onee-san disappointed. I¡¯m a guilty man too¡­ Let¡¯s not do this because it¡¯s going to be in vain. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I think it will be alright. Aldo-san and the others were hunting horned rabbits today.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, I told them about the horned rabbit hunt yesterday, and they said they would give it a try. So, depending on the frequency, I think the supply will increase.¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s very helpful. Yes, all the requests have been fulfilled. Here are three silver coins.¡± Yes, there is a difference between being handed a reward by a scary-looking old man and being handed a reward by a fox-eared Onee-san. ¡°So, speaking of the instructor, I would like to learn the basics of knife, spear, bow, and scouting. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Do you really want to learn that much?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m good at, and after I learn the basics, I¡¯ll decide which ones I want to focus on.¡± ¡°Very well. Will you start today?¡± ¡°Yes, I will prepare my weapon, so can I start from the fourth bell? Starting tomorrow, I would like to train for two hours every day, starting at the fourth bell.¡± ¡°Do you want to concentrate on the same subject? Or do you want us to do them separately?¡± ¡°The same subject, please.¡± ¡°All right. Today we have a spear instructor, so please come to the training hall at the fourth bell. That will be 20 coppers.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± Now that I have found an instructor, let¡¯s go to the store and buy some weapons. Knife, spear, and bow¡­ did I overdo it a little? ¡°Welcome. Is there anything wrong with the club?¡± ¡°No, I am quite satisfied with the club. From today, the guild is teaching me the basics of knife, spear, bow, and scouting, so I need a beginner¡¯s weapon. And is there anything else I need for scouting?¡± ¡°For beginners, yes. We will provide you with the most orthodox one, so please choose the one that fits your hand. I am not sure about the tools for scouting. I am sorry.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s okay; I¡¯ll consult with the instructor. Then let me check the weapons.¡± I took one of the weapons in my hand one by one. As a beginner, I don¡¯t really know about them, so I just pick the one I have a vague feeling about. I chose the one I thought was the right one. ¡°A knife for 20 coppers, a spear for 50 coppers, a bow for 30 coppers, and ten arrows for ten coppers, making a total of one silver coin and ten copper coins.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°We look forward to seeing you again.¡± I¡¯ve got the weapons without any problems. It¡¯s almost time for the fourth bell, and I head to the training hall. ¡­When the fourth bell rang, a man with a spear entered, and I checked to see if he was the instructor. ¡°Excuse me; I signed up for a spear training course at the fourth bell. Are you the instructor?¡± ¡°Yes, my name is Aias, the instructor. I assume you are fine with the basics of the spear, right?¡± ¡°Yes, my name is Wataru. I look forward to working with you.¡± The training began. I learned the basics, from how to hold the spear, to basic thrusting, swinging, and footwork, with rests in between. ¡°Okay, I guess we¡¯re done. Repetition is important. You must practice every day.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡± It¡¯s pretty hard¡­ but maybe I¡¯ll try to do it before I ask for the hot water at the inn? After the training was over, I returned to the inn and went to the dining hall, where Aldo-san approached me. ¡°Yo, Wataru. Would you like to join us for dinner?¡± ¡°Yes, I will join you then. How was the horned rabbit?¡± ¡°Oh, I hunted twenty-eight rabbits, though the one that I failed to control my strength ended up only worth five coppers. The best was Sismondo, who used a spear with 35 rabbits. Everyone is happy because their reward has tripled. It¡¯s thanks to you.¡± ¡°No, no. So will you continue to hunt horned rabbits in the future? The guild seems to be happy that you are taking requests for horned rabbits.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s the plan. But I am certainly worried about the decline in cooperation and ability, as Wataru said. So until our equipment is ready, we plan to alternate going to the forest as well as hunting the horned rabbits. How did your training go, Wataru?¡± ¡°The training was just the basics, but it went well. From now on, I will sign up for two hours of training every day from the fourth bell.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t take it every day; you should take a break once in a while.¡± Oh, that¡¯s right. I always forget to take a break and push myself too hard. I¡¯ll try not to forget to take a proper break. ¡°That¡¯s right. Rest is important too, so I¡¯ll take a moderate break.¡± We continued eating, talking about the horned rabbits and the southwestern forest. The more I hear about them, the less I want to fight goblins and such. ¡°Thank you for the meal. See you later.¡± ¡°Oh, see you later.¡± I finished eating, so I parted from Aldo-san, who was still drinking. Now, after taking an after-dinner break, I¡¯m going to train in swinging and daily life magic. It¡¯s going to be harder and harder every time I learn more. Balance: 1 gold coin, 33 silver coins, 45 copper coins £ª£ª£ª It had been a month since I met God and two months since I fell into the other world. I repeatedly trained and hunted horned rabbits and went sightseeing in the city on my days off. While going sightseeing, I prayed at the church and reported that I would go to the forest after training and would go to the southern city after getting accustomed to the forest. Since I was not called to the divine realm, well, I don¡¯t think he was angry. I haven¡¯t been able to find out any more information about the southern continent than what I have found in books. I desperately need a merchant acquaintance. I had some information about slaves. Aldo-san and his party said they wanted slaves, so I asked them about it. It seems that Aldo-san and his party didn¡¯t know much about the details, but they said that rich people or adventurers with a certain degree of ability buy slaves. The reason I had not seen any slaves in this city was that the area of activity was different from that of the rich, and the land does not require adventurers of high rank, so it seems that adventurers with slaves do not come to this city. I finished the knife training in two sessions¡­ And it seems it¡¯s not suitable for me. With knives, the distance to the target would be so close that it would freak me out. I was told that I should extend my spear and bow, which are more distant from the target. The other courses are going well. They don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m talented, but they also don¡¯t tell me to stop, so I practice diligently every day. I have learned how to draw the bow and have managed to hit the target. I have never hit the horned rabbit, though. The instructor came to the hunting ground of the horned rabbit to teach me how to search for the rabbit. I also train the spear by swinging it and hitting it with the instructor. I wonder if everything is going well. Since I fight only horned rabbits, my level only went up by two, but my funds surpassed two gold coins. Name: Toyomi Wataru Age: 20 Race: Human Occupation: Ship¡¯s captain Level 15 Physical Strength: 380 Magic Power: 36 Strength: 40 Intelligence: 50 Dexterity: 46 Luck: 15 Skills: Language Comprehension (Unique) Ship Summoning Level 1 (Unique) Balance: 2 gold coins, 13 silver coins, 85 copper coins My status hasn¡¯t changed that much, but I¡¯d like to believe that my training has made me a little stronger. And today, I finally went to the forest. I started to meet Aldo-san and his party frequently at the hunting ground of the horned hare. When I told them that I was thinking of looking for a temporary party, they said they could not take me every time, but they would take me once in a while. ¡°Good morning. Are you ready?¡± Aldo-san and his party came out. ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t think I forgot anything. I¡¯m a little nervous, though¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha, relax. We are not going deep into the forest. There are slimes and goblins at most, and then you have us as well. You¡¯ve practiced enough. You¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± But I¡¯m still nervous. Goblins, I think I can beat them, but I don¡¯t like the gross look of them. ¡°Words alone won¡¯t take the edge off, will it? Well, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll calm down after one fight. So let¡¯s get going.¡± Finally, I¡¯m in the forest. Let¡¯s go for it. Volume 1 - CH 13 Chapter 13 ¨C Goblins, Slimes, Tame Skills, and Preparing for the Travel We arrived at the forest. I had always seen it from the hunting ground of the horned rabbit, but the thought of going inside made it look somewhat eerie. I wondered if it would be alright¡­ ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go into the forest. Wataru will be in the middle of us for now. If any goblins appear, we¡¯ll leave one behind so you can try to fight it.¡± ¡°I-I understand.¡± ¡°Relax. If there is only one goblin, it is more difficult to fight with a fast rabbit. You will be fine, Wataru.¡± Crack. ¡°Hyii¡± I was startled by the sound of a branch being stepped on¡­ It¡¯s so embarrassing. ¡°¡­Well, let¡¯s move on.¡± They just let it slide. Everyone is so kind¡­ It¡¯s so hard to walk in an unmanaged forest. There are roots sticking out in places, holes, stones, and many obstacles. As we were walking along, we heard voices and the sound of rustling bushes in front of us. ¡°Goblins. I¡¯ll reduce their number to one for now, so Wataru, stay calm and hold your spear at the ready.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± When the goblins spotted us, they charged at us while shouting¡­ Aldo-san¡¯s party easily defeated the goblins. It was so easy that I won¡¯t be of any help to them. ¡°Go, Wataru!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I thrust with my spear, and the spear easily pierced the goblin¡¯s face¡­ It¡¯s grotesque. ¡°Easy, right?¡± ¡°Yes, one seems to be manageable. But are goblins always like that? They make a lot of noise, and they just charge right into you without a second thought, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Well, they are usually like that. But be on your guard. When there is a goblin leader, you have to use your head a little bit. You know, ambush and all that. But enough talking, let¡¯s go get the magic stone and the right ear.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± It¡¯s gross, but I cut around the goblin¡¯s heart and took out a small stone. The next step is to cut off the right ear. I¡¯m not very good at this, even though I killed it myself. ¡°What are you going to do with the rest of the body?¡± ¡°You can leave it in this forest. There are slimes, and the miasma is thin. They will be digested before they turn into zombies or skeletons.¡± ¡°Is the miasma so low in this forest? Would we have to burn them if we were elsewhere?¡± ¡°Oh, yes. So this forest is for beginners to intermediate. If it¡¯s a thicker area, you have to dig a hole and bury it or burn it. Alright, let¡¯s move on.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Oh, slime. Have you ever seen slime before, Wataru?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen one before. It¡¯s so cute.¡± The shape is like a rice cake, blue in color, and it¡¯s wriggling. It moves slowly, stretching its body and moving back and forth. The way it moves is cute; I want to touch it and stroke it around. ¡°Is it cute?¡± ¡°It¡¯s cute. Is it okay if I touch it?¡± ¡°If you touch it for too long, you will be taken inside and melted, okay?¡± ¡°So it¡¯s okay if I touch it a little? Wow, it¡¯s so plump! When you stroke it, it¡¯s slippery. I¡¯ll take this child with me. Can I keep him?¡± ¡°Calm down. Do you have taming skills? If you don¡¯t, even though they are slimes, they are still monsters. You can¡¯t let it into town.¡± ¡°How do I get the taming skills?¡± ¡°As I said, calm down. It¡¯s not that easy to get the skill.¡± ¡°Mochimochifuo©`©`¡± ¡°What is this fellow? What is this slime doing?¡± ¡°Mochimochioo©`©`¡± ¡°¡­Have you calmed down?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m a little distracted.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a little, though. Let¡¯s get going.¡± I was stunned, but I loved the feeling; if I had been alone, I might not have been able to come back. ¡°Well, slimes are not that dangerous, and they clean the forest, so unless you have a good reason, you should not hunt them. I¡¯ve also heard that some slimes are poisonous, big, or use magic.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to see them.¡± There are so many slimes. It¡¯s a mochi mochi paradise. I want to plunge into it. ¡°Oh, goblins are coming. You¡¯d better brace yourself.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± While enduring the temptation of slime, we hunt goblins one after another. Aldo-san¡¯s party was well coordinated, with swords, spears, and bows all functioning properly. I study the battles in the forest, observing Aldo-san and his party as much as possible. ¡°It¡¯s getting dark; we should get back.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I was nervous, but one goblin was no problem. If I have the ship summoning, I can handle any number of them. But I would like to have a slime, a taming skill. Can I get it if I can befriend animals and monsters? Let¡¯s check in the reference room. We return to the guild and receive the subjugation reward. I told them that it was more than enough for them to take me with them, but they gave me 50 copper coins, saying that it¡¯s basically split up among everyone. I should thank Aldo-san and the others for all the trouble and for dragging them down. ¡°Now, let¡¯s go back to the inn and eat dinner. Wataru will eat with us, right?¡± ¡°Yes. I will join you.¡± After returning to the inn, we put our luggage in our rooms and gathered in the dining hall. ¡°Well then, here¡¯s to another safe return today and to Wataru¡¯s first goblin defeat!¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Cheers.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Phew, this after-work drink is irresistible, isn¡¯t it? Wataru, how was it today?¡± ¡°Yes, it was good. I was able to defeat the goblins, but I learned that it¡¯s impossible to get unscathed if they come at you in a group. If I were to go on a trip, I would either train more or hire an escort.¡± ¡°Yes, even goblins can be troublesome when they are in large numbers. Well, we will take you with us once in a while, so you can try different things.¡± ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it, but I wouldn¡¯t want to cause you that much trouble.¡± ¡°Hahaha, don¡¯t worry about that. We have been getting paid more since you told us about the horned rabbit. We decided to buy a higher grade of equipment than we had originally planned to buy. Still, it seems we could buy it a lot faster than we originally planned. Everyone appreciates it, so don¡¯t worry so much about taking you to the forest.¡± I knew that horned rabbits were efficient. Well, that¡¯s because it¡¯s a big city in the west. If it were a small village, there would be too much meat for me to hunt alone. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll take your word for it.¡± ¡°Oh, take it easy, take it easy.¡± I returned to my room after a pleasant meal and a drink. Even though I drank alcohol, did I overspend 30 copper coins? I¡¯ve had enough to drink, so I¡¯m going to skip today¡¯s practice. I¡¯ll just check my status and go to bed. ¡­My level has gone up by one. The experience gained from goblins seems to be better than from horned rabbits. Speaking of which, I wonder what is the level of Aldo-san and his party? I¡¯ll ask them when I get a chance. Good night. £ª£ª£ª It¡¯s morning. Shall I hunt horned rabbits again today? No, let¡¯s go to the reference room and check our taming skills first. I¡¯ll find a way to tame a slime. After eating breakfast, I took my lunch and headed for the guild¡¯s reference room. ¡°Good morning. I¡¯ve come to take a look at the documents.¡± ¡°Good morning. Try not to make a mess.¡± Well, which book is it in? Tamer¡¯s book is¡­ not. I hope it¡¯s in the skills encyclopedia over here¡­ ¡­It doesn¡¯t have any requirements for learning to be a tamer. It seems that people who have animals and stuff can learn it comparatively easily, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be absolute, and you need a base to have animals. At the moment, there is no animal I want to keep other than slime. But I don¡¯t want to give up on slime. I¡¯ll have to ask the tamer for more information or find a better book. In the meantime, I¡¯ll ask the guild¡¯s instructor if there are any tamers. ¡°Good morning. This request, please.¡± ¡°Yes, I have accepted it.¡± It¡¯s the beautiful fox-eared Onee-san; she¡¯s as beautiful as ever. But I don¡¯t even know her name yet. I¡¯m kind of embarrassed to ask her now. ¡°Um, is there a guild instructor who can teach me about tame?¡± ¡°Tame, is it¡­? I apologize. We can¡¯t introduce you to someone who can teach you the tame skill because the conditions for learning it have not yet been determined.¡± The conditions for learning the skill have not been determined? I was a little shocked, although it was not listed in the skill dictionary, and it was to be expected. I guess I¡¯ll just have to make it on my own. I¡¯m not going to give up on the slime. ¡°Is that so? Thank you very much. Well, I¡¯ll do my best for my work then.¡± ¡°Have a good day.¡± For the first time ever, the beautiful fox-eared Onee-san said goodbye to me. I was so happy that it surprised me. I wonder if I should ask her name? It would not be very pleasant to talk to the next adventurer who went back to work¡­ if things were not going well. Let¡¯s work hard. £ª£ª£ª After earning three silver coins from hunting horned rabbits and completing my training, I return to the inn to eat. But I can¡¯t continue living like this forever, can I? What should I do from now on? Yes, let¡¯s have closure. One month from today, I will leave for the southern city. So let¡¯s prepare for the trip and how to get to the southern city while hunting horned rabbits and training. If I am going to travel, I will need food. Fortunately, I heard that if I load the food on the ship, the time will not pass during the repatriation, so I¡¯ll tell the landlady to make two daily lunches and store one in the storage ship. After that, if I stock up on some food stall skewers and fruit, I should be fine. As long as I prepare properly, I will not starve. After setting the one-month limit, I went to the forest with Aldo-san and his party, hunting horned rabbits, training, and replenishing my food supply every day. In the latter half of the month, I went to the forest alone a few times. If I used the ship summoning, I could handle any number of goblins, and I could gain skills in spears and bows by defeating goblins coming toward the boat with spears and bows. Real-world experience is important. I stroked and hugged the slime for the taming skill. I tried to give the goblins I killed, but I still couldn¡¯t get the tame skill¡­ I asked the beautiful fox-ear Onee-san from the guild how to get to the southern city. According to her, the common way is to head to the royal capital and follow the road south from the capital or take a boat down the river that passes by the royal capital. The river seems to be an important route connecting the royal capital and the southern city, and many boats are said to come and go. I thought about summoning a boat to go down the river but decided against it because it would be too conspicuous to go down by boat alone. However, there is also a river between the western city and the royal capital, and it is said that this river also flows to the southern city. This river has a difference in elevation, and its width is narrow in some places, and there have been plans to improve it, but they always end in failure. This river is more discreet and will allow you to reach the southern city, so I plan to go down this river. I heard that it takes four days from the royal capital to the southern city by boat, but I think I can get there in 10 days even if I have to take a boat down the river, which is not well maintained. What made me happy was that the beautiful fox-eared Onee-san thanked me for my help. Thanks to me, the number of adventurers who hunt horned rabbits increased, and the number of requests for horned rabbits began to increase. Since the rabbit hunt was unexpectedly profitable, new adventurers were able to gain experience, and a virtuous cycle was created in which new adventurers, equipped with slightly better equipment, took on the goblins, and the number of wounded decreased. I asked if there were any escort requests to the southern city, which I failed to do, and was told that I had to be at least an E-ranked party or D-ranked if solo to get an escort request. I asked how many more requests I would need to receive to move up to D rank and was told that I would need to complete at least 30 goblin subjugation requests. I have only taken about five goblin-subjugation requests with Aldo-san and the others. I asked if there was any way for me to go on the road alone, and they told me that I could accompany the merchants on the condition that I cooperate with them in case of an emergency, although I would not be paid for my services. I would also have to pay for my own meals. I would accompany the merchant team to the riverside town and go down the river from there. I had gained four levels and skills. I will be able to make it to the southern city. Finally, tomorrow is the departure for the southern city. Aldo-san and the others are buying dinner for me tonight, so let¡¯s go hunting for horned rabbits and have two whole roasted rabbits cooked for us. Name: Wataru Toyomi Age: 20 Race: Human Occupation: Ship¡¯s captain Level 20 Physical Strength: 480 Magic Power: 46 Strength: 50 Intelligence: 60 Dexterity: 56 Luck: 15 Skills: Language Comprehension (Unique) Ship Summoning Level 1 (Unique) Spearmanship level 1 Archery level 1 Balance: 3 gold coins, 63 silver coins, 85 copper coins Volume 1 - CH 14 Chapter 14 ¨C Quiet Talk: The Depression of the Creator God and the Dissatisfaction of the Gods ¡°Yeah? ¡°Is everything alright?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been a while since we had a visitor in this world. Oh, his name is Wataru Toyomi. He got drunk and fell into the sea and came to this world, didn¡¯t he? Whether it¡¯s good luck or bad luck, let¡¯s give him a ship summoning since his name sounds like it too, and also language comprehension. I hope he can entertain us.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t give him too much power. We had a lot of trouble at the time of the Demon King.¡± ¡°I understand. The ship summoning is invincible from a defensive point of view when you are on the ship, but I have made it so that he cannot summon any ships that have offensive power. I¡¯ve also sent him a message, so it won¡¯t be a problem.¡± ¡°I hope it will have a positive impact on this world.¡± ¡°Yes, I hope it will be fun. We haven¡¯t had a visitor in a long time, after all. Tell everyone about it.¡± ¡°Yes. But this person is falling into the meadow, right? Are you sure about the ship summoning?¡± ¡°Hmm? Haha¡­ well, I guess it¡¯s okay, right?¡± ¡°Hah, you didn¡¯t think anything of it, did you? I always tell you, don¡¯t act on an impulse; think a little before you act.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? I am the Creator God. Of course, I thought about it. Aren¡¯t you a billion years too early to be lecturing me, the Creator God?¡± ¡°I am the God of Light, remember?¡± ¡°Why are you looking at me like, ¡°What is this guy talking about¡± look, huh? The Creator God is greater than the God of Light. I am greater than you by far.¡± ¡°I have told all the other gods. They were bored, so they all gathered around.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t let it slide. Don¡¯t let the Creator God¡¯s words go unspoken.¡± ¡°Look, he ran into the horned rabbit¡­ He ran away, didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright; it¡¯s alright¡­ Look, he noticed his status.¡± ¡°Why did you give him ship summoning when he¡¯s on the meadow? I mean, what¡¯s that? I can¡¯t help but feel sorry for him.¡± ¡°Shut up. Ship summoning is a powerful skill, and it¡¯s an ordeal until he reaches the water¡¯s edge.¡± ¡°Well, it seems he has some tact to summon a ship on land. What do you think about that, God of War?¡± ¡°God of magic, huh? He¡¯s just trying out his skills for the time being. We cannot judge him yet.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°He¡¯s hunting rabbits again today; what a bore. God of entertainment, is he going to do anything interesting?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. He¡¯s serious and hard-working every day. It¡¯s the right thing to do, but as a god of entertainment, it makes me nauseous. If he didn¡¯t have all those skills and messages, he might have done something a little more interesting.¡± ¡°Right. He can¡¯t act fancy with those damn skills, can he? Maybe I should give him some skills. How about you, god of magic?¡± ¡°Ah, good idea. If the god of war and the god of magic give skills, it might make things a little more interesting. As a god of entertainment, I can give him some skills to make things more interesting. If things continue as they are, this child will end up hunting horned rabbits for the rest of his life. It would be a waste of a person from another world, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I agree. I pity him with such skills. Shall I give him all magic attributes and increased magic power?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re all in on it. Then I¡¯ll give him a divine spear and physical enhancement?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll go with probability fluctuation. Something interesting might happen.¡± ¡°Hey, god of war, god of magic, god of entertainment, don¡¯t talk nonsense. The ship summoning I gave him is enough. Ship summoning is not a useless skill, you know.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then why is this guy coming to this other world and being stuck in there? I¡¯ve never seen an otherworldly person so inconspicuous. It¡¯s probably because of his shitty skills and the message you sent him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The behavior of otherworldly people is usually much more interesting.¡± ¡°I agree. I can only think it¡¯s a poor choice of skills.¡± ¡°What a thing to say to the Creator God. Anyway, you shouldn¡¯t give him any skills. This child is best suited with ship summoning.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, do something about it. If you don¡¯t do something about it, it will be too boring.¡± ¡°Well, well, calm down. It is too much for you to give him skills as well. The Creator God will not leave things as they are, so please give him a little more time.¡± ¡°If the God of Light says so, I¡¯ll wait and see, but if he doesn¡¯t change, I¡¯ll give him skills.¡± ¡°Why do you listen to the God of Light and rebel against me? Are you in a rebellious phase? You¡¯re in a rebellious phase, huh?¡± ¡°Shut up. If you¡¯re going to do something, do it now!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe this attitude toward the Creator God. Well, I¡¯ll talk to him when he comes to church.¡± ¡°Will he come to church? This child hunts horned rabbits every day without taking a day off. I¡¯m getting tired of it, so I¡¯m going back. Let me know if there is any progress.¡± ¡°I guess we¡¯re going home, too. Don¡¯t keep us waiting too long.¡± ¡°Hey, God of Light. Why are they being so bossy? As the Creator God, should I give them a stern talking-to?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got to get him to come to church somehow, don¡¯t you? What will you do?¡± ¡°Are you ignoring me? Hey, don¡¯t get ahead of yourself.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wait and see how things go for a while, and if he doesn¡¯t show up, I¡¯ll give him an oracle. It¡¯s not good to mess with the lower world, so it would be great if he came by himself.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s have a conversation; it¡¯s important to catch up on words!¡± After a while¡­ ¡°¡­Creator god-sama. That child has come into the church. That¡¯s good; I didn¡¯t have to give an oracle. I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡± ¡°Ok, here we go at last.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°He hasn¡¯t changed much, has he? Should we give him the skill already?¡± ¡°Please calm down, god of war. After listening to the creator god, he has decided to do it. He will travel to the southern city after training, so he will probably change from there.¡± ¡°Maybe? Well, it can¡¯t be helped. As expected, he can¡¯t deal with emergencies with that skill set.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. If he had been given a more useful skill, he wouldn¡¯t have had to spend so much time and effort. The God of Light must have a hard time.¡± ¡°Yes, it is very hard. God of entertainment, can you help me too?¡± ¡°No, thank you. Instead, I think it would be better to educate the Creator God.¡± ¡°It is too late already.¡± Volume 1 - CH 15 Chapter 15 ¨C Quiet Talk: Wataru as Seen From the Perspective of the Town¡¯s People Wataru from the perspective of the scary-looking old man. I sit at the counter during the busy guild hours. It is my role to seize any foolish adventurers when they act violently. One day, an ordinary-looking man with an ordinary face came into the guild. He looked tired and was fed up with the line at the reception counter. He looked at my empty counter, looked at the other receptionists, and after some conflict, he came to my counter reluctantly. I registered him as an adventurer, and he left with a tired look on his face. After that, he started hunting horned rabbits and bringing them to me every day. When I gave him a harsh look and urged him to come here, he came reluctantly to my counter. His eyes are staring at the beautiful receptionists of the guild, but I would not let him do so. Since then, it has become my life¡¯s work to keep him away from the beautiful receptionists of the guild. He didn¡¯t show up today. As I thought that, one of the receptionists told me. She recommended that he take the day off. He hadn¡¯t taken a day off at all. After that, he started training and stopped coming to the guild counter during busy hours. I was pissed off when I saw him happily waiting in line at the counter for the beautiful receptionist at the guild, so I tried to sit at the counter during the time he was coming, but he dismissed me, saying he didn¡¯t need my help. He ran away, and I lost him. Wataru from the perspective of the fox-eared beautiful Onee-san. An ordinary young man started delivering horned rabbits to the guild. He¡¯s polite but keeps glancing at my ears as if he¡¯s curious about me. He is an unusual type of young man for an adventurer. Requests for horned rabbits tended to get brushed away, and there were fewer and fewer requests, but after the young man started delivering horned rabbits, the number of requests began to increase again. He seems to know little about the basics and often asks questions. Other adventurers are taking on requests to take down goblins and other monsters in order to quickly advance in rank, but he is only taking on requests for horned rabbits, so I asked him why. Goblins are scary, he replied. He really is an unusual type of young man. Other adventurers take it for granted that they have to show off their strength, and they hate more than anything to be thought of as cowards. I¡¯m a little curious to know how he was raised. Take care, I say, and have a good day. He replies happily, and it¡¯s a secret that I thought he was a little cute. For some reason, he seems to be fighting with the guildmaster in a way that I don¡¯t quite understand, and I often see that young man toddling to the guildmaster¡¯s counter. I wondered what he was doing there. It seemed to me that he was working too hard, so I suggested that he take a day off. The next day, he happily reported to me that he hadn¡¯t done any sightseeing before and that he had enjoyed his day off when he did. I was surprised that he hadn¡¯t even done any sightseeing. Then he asked me to introduce him to an instructor, saying he wanted to start training. When I expressed my disappointment at the decrease in the delivery of horned rabbits, he told me that other adventurers seemed to hunt horned rabbits when he talked to other adventurers. After that, the number of adventurers delivering horned rabbits increased. For some reason, the guildmaster wanted to sit at the counter at the time he came in, and when he dismissed him, saying that he didn¡¯t need him, the guy ran away. The smell of nonsense is in the air. Wataru from the perspective of Aldo and the others. I thought he was a strange guy who hunted horned rabbits every day, but one day he started talking to me. He seemed to be interested in the forest and wanted to know what kind of place it was. When I told him it was too dangerous to go there alone, he replied that he was unsure whether to be an adventurer or a merchant and that it was hard to form a party. He said he would start training tomorrow, and he was a serious guy. He seems more suited to be a merchant or a craftsman than an adventurer. When I asked him about the horned rabbit, he simply told me. He was making more money than our party by himself. I discussed it with the party, and we did as he taught us anyway, and our income easily tripled. He told us that it would not make us stronger and would slow down our coordination, so we tried to alternate between hunting goblins and hunting horned rabbits, but once we got used to hunting horned rabbits, the rewards were six times more than hunting goblins. The rewards are so different that goblin hunting is becoming pathetic. As Wataru said he was getting used to the training and wanted to find a temporary party to go to the forest, I told him I would take him to the forest, and he was happy to hear it. We¡¯re definitely benefiting from it more than he is, so it¡¯s only natural. He doesn¡¯t seem to understand the value of the horned rabbit¡¯s information at all. I¡¯m worried about him becoming a merchant, too. He was a little nervous, but he was swinging his spear properly and seemed to be able to defeat the goblins easily. However, I was a little surprised when he started saying that slime was cute and started shouting ¡°Mochi mochi fuoo¡± when he touched it. Wataru from the perspective of the guild¡¯s instructors He¡¯s neither good nor bad, but he seems he could be at the general level. Wataru from the perspective of the knife instructor He¡¯s not suited for it. It will be no good if you close your eyes when an enemy approaches you. Don¡¯t use a knife. Other adventurers¡¯ perspectives That guy hunts horned rabbits every day¡­ how does he not get bored? Landlady x2 He hunts diligently every day, and he¡¯s polite and well-behaved. Volume 2 - CH 1 Chapter 1 ¨C Departure And The First Time Boating On The Water Ahhh¡­ I don¡¯t feel so good. I drank too much yesterday because Aldo-san and the others asked for more ale. It helped that they gave me some travel tips, but wasn¡¯t there a section about not traveling with a hangover? Today is the day of departure, and there¡¯s no point in dawdling. Let¡¯s get ready and have breakfast! ¡°Ah, good morning. Thank you for all your help, Landlady-san.¡± When I left the room, the landlady was there, so I greeted her. I was a little sad to leave her because she had helped me a lot with my lunch box and the whole roasted horned rabbits. ¡°We are grateful to you for supplying us with a lot of rabbits. Please come again.¡± ¡°Yes, I will definitely come back to stay here again.¡± When I parted from the landlady and went into the dining hall, Aldo-san and the others called out to me. ¡°Good morning, Wataru. It¡¯s a beautiful day, so it¡¯s perfect for your departure.¡± ¡°Good morning, everyone. If I didn¡¯t have a hangover, it would be a great way to start my trip.¡± ¡°Haha, adventurers are like that, you know.¡± The source of my hangover is laughing at me. But since they are holding their heads after laughing, it seems that Aldo-san and the others are also hungover. After all that drinking, it can¡¯t be helped, can it? ¡°So, Aldo-san, didn¡¯t you have a day off today?¡± I thought he said he was going to drink a lot since he had the day off. ¡°Yes, we had a day off. But I thought I¡¯d see Wataru off to the gate.¡± ¡°Haha, thank you very much. But please only as far as the inn¡¯s entrance. Everyone¡¯s too pale, after all.¡± I¡¯m glad, but some of them are pale and about to vomit¡­ and I don¡¯t like it like being seen off by vomit. ¡°Sorry, I think we drank a little too much.¡± Aldo-san laughed bitterly and gave up obediently. I guess Aldo-san was secretly at his limit too. ¡°That¡¯s okay, I had a good time yesterday, and it was a treat.¡± The hungover group ate breakfast without energy; I also received my lunch box and left the inn. ¡°Well then, everyone, I¡¯ll see you again somewhere.¡± ¡°Okay, see you later.¡± I parted ways with everyone and headed for the east gate. Um, is that the merchant caravan? I head for the flag I¡¯d heard about and ask where Basilio-san is. ¡°Oh, you must be the adventurers we¡¯re working with; if it¡¯s Basilio-san, he¡¯s right in front of that wagon.¡± I thanked the uncle, who kindly told me and approached the wagon I was told about. Ah, it looks like him. ¡°You must be Basilion-san, right? My name is Wataru, and I will be accompanying you with your merchant caravan. I will accompany you to the riverside town, so I look forward to working with you.¡± ¡°Yes, if you need anything, just let me know, and I¡¯ll be happy to help you. Please follow us from the back of the merchant caravan.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I greeted Basilio-san, but there seemed to be no particular arrangement for us to work together. Well, it¡¯s not a full-fledged escort, just a companion. As I stood by in the rear of the merchant caravan as I had been told, the time for departure approached. ¡°Let¡¯s go, keep going, and don¡¯t be late!¡± With Basilio-san¡¯s order, the five covered wagons were surrounded by the escorting adventurers. The merchant caravan seemed to be small in size, and it was said that a large merchant caravan would have dozens of wagons in a row. I can¡¯t imagine dozens of wagons. I quietly walked at the back of the caravan. I heard that we would arrive at the riverside town at noon two days later. Not knowing what to expect, I prepared six meals of dried meat and dried fruits. It would be very conspicuous if I summoned a ship and took out a hot skewer or something from a storage boat. During the break, I talked to some adventurers who were also accompanying the merchant caravan, and they told me that with this number of people, goblins and other such creatures would not attack us. The only things to be afraid of in this kind of merchant caravan are bandits and strong monsters that don¡¯t usually appear. Although monsters rarely appear, bandits do appear quite often, so it is necessary to be careful. Speaking of which, if bandits appear, does that mean I have to fight against people? ¡­I wondered. I could defeat goblins without a problem, but can I fight people with a spear? ¡­I think it is a problem to be able to fight people calmly. But they are going to try to kill me, so I should be prepared not to hesitate if it comes to that. And I feel like I¡¯ve subtly raised the bandit flag by talking about this¡­ £ª£ª£ª We arrived at the riverside town without any problems; there was a village every other day, we didn¡¯t even camp out in the open, and I had a surplus of food. There didn¡¯t seem to be any bandit flags, so it was a peaceful picnic. I don¡¯t know what to do; I feel like it would be easier to just follow the merchants¡­ But I¡¯d like to try my ship summoning skill as soon as possible. I should probably split up here since it¡¯s definitely easier to try out the skill on the river where there are fewer people around. I walk down to the river and walk to a secluded spot. It is finally time to float the boat on the proper surface of the water, not on the ground. A glowing magic circle appears on the water¡¯s surface, and the boat appears. The boat floats on the surface of the water, as normal, but I am impressed by the boat floating on the water. After all, a boat feels strange unless it floats on the water. After repatriating the boat, the next thing I wanted to do was to stand on the glowing magic circle floating on the surface of the water, which I had wanted to try since God told me about it! Next, I tried the ¡°Ship summoning,¡± and then I boldly jumped onto the glowing magic circle floating on the surface of the water. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m standing. I¡¯m standing on the water.¡± The boat soon emerged, but even if only for a short time, I was definitely standing on top of the magic circle floating on the water¡¯s surface. I was more impressed than I thought I would be. ¡­I guess I should get going now instead of playing with it. But if people see the rubber boat, too, it¡¯s going to stand out. I should probably use the wooden boat I¡¯ve been using as a storage boat. I should reload my luggage. After reloading, I summoned the rowboat. ¡°Let¡¯s go sailing!¡± I said, trying to sound a little cool. A rowboat doesn¡¯t look cool, but that¡¯s okay. Let¡¯s try out the unsinkable effect I haven¡¯t been able to try out so far. I¡¯m a little excited to see what happens. I put my weight on one side of the wooden boat. Did the boat stop around the surface of the water? I put my foot on the edge of the boat and put all my weight on it. Even if I put more weight on the boat, the tilt of the boat did not change. And the water that splashed on the surface of the water was bounced off the boarding rejection. Yes, it¡¯s unsinkable. It is an indestructible boat, the edge of the boat does not go below the surface of the water, and water does not enter the boat due to the boarding rejection. Yeah, it¡¯s unsinkable. I don¡¯t even know what to do to make it sink. If I allow water to enter the boat, it seems dangerous, but after all, the edge of the boat does not go below the surface of the water, so it does not sink, right? I was convinced and relieved. If it doesn¡¯t sink, no matter how I do it, I¡¯m safe no matter what most things happen. If I secure myself to the boat with a rope, I¡¯ll probably be okay even if I fall over the falls. In the meantime, I should tie the rope to the boat so that I can tie it to my body as soon as the current gets too fast. Now that I have confirmed my concerns, it¡¯s time to get going. I lay out a blanket where I can sit, eat my lunch, and let the current take me slowly down the river. Boarding a wooden boat that moves slowly, eating lunch while looking at the scenery. It makes me happy. But I¡¯m getting tired of it. I don¡¯t even like boats to begin with, so I end up having too much time on my hands. I tried paddling with the oars, but it was hard. I think it won¡¯t make much difference if I switch to a rubber boat, or should I buy a motorboat? But I don¡¯t know how to handle a self-propelled boat. It¡¯s definitely better to buy a boat that fits there in the southern city. ¡­I¡¯ll just have to be patient. Since it can¡¯t be helped, I¡¯m going to practice daily life magic, spear, and bow. When I practice spear and bow, I can¡¯t get my center of gravity, and my body wobbles because the ship is swaying. Come to think of it; I think there is a manga about training on a ship. I have some free time, so I¡¯ll keep practicing. The sun was setting when I continued practicing steadily. If I tied myself with a rope, I would be able to go down the river even after dark, but it is not a hurried trip, and I should take a rest in the hut boat on the shore. I climbed to the ground and repatriated the boat. Phew, I feel dizzy from being on the small boat for so long. The small boat is quite bumpy, isn¡¯t it? Let¡¯s take a good rest today. Let¡¯s find a place where I won¡¯t be noticed. Well, this is a good place. It¡¯s behind the rocks, and the trees on the other side make it hard to be seen. I summoned a storage boat (now a rubber boat), built a campfire, and laid out some food. It¡¯s kind of camp-like and fun, but there are monsters out there. The sad part is that I can¡¯t let my guard down. But to be frank, I don¡¯t need a fire. I just wanted to make a bonfire with daily life magic, or I could turn off the bonfire and hunker down in the hut boat. Safety first. Oh, but let¡¯s look for slime first. Is there any? I found it quickly. It¡¯s a green slime. At first, I thought it was poisonous because of a certain game, but it seems that it is purple. Purple slime¡­ It¡¯s kind of cool. Anyway, I take the green slime back to the hut boat and fumble with it. If I give the slime dried meat, it takes it into its body and dissolves it. It would be fun to take the slime on a boat trip, but since I don¡¯t have the tame skill, it would be impossible to enter the town. If I had to throw away the slime every time I entered a town, my heart would break with sadness. I should be content just to let me touch it until I can get the tame skill. As I fumble with the green slime, I wonder if the creator god would be angry with me. I¡¯m not skipping around in my own way, but if the gods were expecting me to be as active as in the light novels¡­ it¡¯s been three months since I fell into the other world. It¡¯s a peaceful life with not a single disturbance¡­ there¡¯s no damnation or anything like that, right? I don¡¯t want there to be any disturbance, but if there is no disturbance, they¡¯re going to be pissed off¡­ It¡¯s kind of unreasonable. Maybe I¡¯m paranoid, and I should go to church again. If I go to church and they don¡¯t get mad at me, then I should be fine. I should let go of the slime and go to bed. Good night. Volume 2 - CH 2 Chapter 2 ¨C A Boring Boat Trip, a Piece of Advice, and the Southern City Morning, huh¡­? The hut boat is so comfortable. Feeling refreshed, I decided to have a meal and get going. Just as I thought it would be another leisurely river cruise, the scenery started to change. Rough rocks were peeking out of the water. The river became narrower, and the current gradually became faster. I felt like I was in danger. In a panic, I tied a rope to my body, secured it firmly to the boat, and tied my weapon to it. As long as I don¡¯t get thrown overboard, I should be fine. It would be dangerous if I hit my head or something, so I should cover myself with a blanket. ¡­It¡¯s creepy. I think I know how a pachinko ball feels. When it hits the rock, it doesn¡¯t make an impact, but the boat swaying up and down hits the rock and changes direction. The boat keeps turning like a leaf, undulating up and down, and my semicircular canals are severely damaged. After vomiting many times and producing nothing but gastric juice, I finally passed through the rapid current zone. There were no waterfalls, but I experienced many one-meter drops. I heard that the plan to maintain this river had been abandoned several times, but I was convinced it was steep enough. When I finally got the boat to shore and settled down, the boat and my blanket were covered in vomit. The boat can be cleaned with just my thought, but not the blanket. I tie a rope to the blanket and throw it into the river. This will clean it up. I use my daily life magic to produce water and rinse my mouth out. After settling in, I didn¡¯t have the energy to do anything, just drifted along until it got dark. After dark, I parked the boat on the shore, summoned a hut boat, and went to sleep. £ª£ª£ª I woke up to the sound of my stomach. I felt so hungry. Come to think of it, I threw up to the limit yesterday and went to sleep without eating anything. It is natural to be hungry. It¡¯s going to be another boat trip today, and if I have to vomit and there¡¯s nothing to vomit about, it¡¯s going to be even more painful, so let¡¯s just eat properly. After a good breakfast, I took a short rest before getting on the boat for a leisurely ride down the river. ¡°Ah, I thought the first day was going to be boring, but going down the river in a leisurely way is great. Yesterday was hell, though¡­¡± Leisurely down the river and walking through the shallows, the third day passed without incident. On the fourth day, I continued my leisurely river cruise, and when it got dark, I pulled the boat in close to the shore and looked for a place where I could be inconspicuous. ¡°Gyahahahaha!¡± I heard laughter. I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a light. ¡­What should I do? Should I go check on them unnoticed or go back to the river and continue¡­? The laughter was kind of vulgar. I guess the right thing to do would be to get in the boat and continue, but it could be bandits, and I should at least check them out. If it was bandits, I should stay awake and get as far away from them as possible down the river. I cautiously approach the light and peek out between the trees to see what¡¯s going on; there are about 20 men sitting around a fire, drinking. They are bandits, right? A group of bearded, bad-looking men. It¡¯s possible they could be adventurers, which is sad for me as a fellow adventurer. ¡­Okay, let¡¯s not sleep today and go down the river. I quietly get back on the river and get on the boat. After going down the river for a while, I found a bonfire. Is it one of those bandits? I check the situation while holding my breath. I see some girls. Ah¡­ what should I do? There is a possibility that they are female bandits, but if I leave them alone and those girls get hurt badly, I will have a hard time waking up from sleep. I¡¯ll just give them some advice from the boat. I slowly pull the boat toward the bonfire and call out. ¡°Good evening.¡± I called out to them, and they instantly pointed their weapons at me¡­ They look so strong; what¡¯s the need to warn them then? ¡°Who!¡± ¡°Ah, in case you¡¯re wondering, I¡¯m an adventurer. I won¡¯t come any closer, so I¡¯d appreciate it if you guys wouldn¡¯t come any closer either.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your business? If you make even the slightest suspicious move, I will cut you down.¡± ¡­They are definitely stronger than me, aren¡¯t they? I don¡¯t think they need any advice.¡¡But how about just saying ¡°nothing¡± and leaving in this situation? ¡­It can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯ll just tell them what I¡¯m going to tell them and get the hell out of here. ¡°Well, I thought I should give you a piece of advice. There are about 20 bad men drinking upstream in the woods, so you might want to leave while you still can.¡± ¡°Ara, that¡¯s good information. Can you tell me more about them?¡± Why is information about bandits good information? I¡¯m kind of scared¡­ ¡°I can only tell you that it took me about 20 minutes to get here by boat from the bad men¡¯s place and that they were sitting around a fire while drinking.¡± ¡°Marina, can I ask you to scout them?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯ll have to wait here until Marina gets back from her scouting.¡± Why would I do that? ¡°There are some bad men nearby, and I don¡¯t want to get involved, so I¡¯m going to stay away from them all night by boat. I don¡¯t want to get involved by staying here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you said that and I appreciate the advice, but there¡¯s a chance you¡¯re one of them and are trying to trap us. I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯m wrong, but you¡¯ll have to stay with us until the scouting is over.¡± How unreasonable of them; I might as well just ignore them and run away, but if I ran away, they would come after me, saying that I was one of the bandits! That would be a disaster. ¡°Hah, I understand. I¡¯m aware that I¡¯m suspicious, so I¡¯ll wait.¡± Well, I know I am very suspicious. I didn¡¯t think they would listen to my advice, but I¡¯m afraid that these guys are not the prey, but those bad guys are the prey. ¡°I¡¯m sorry; why are you here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but I don¡¯t trust you, and I don¡¯t want to pry into each other¡¯s affairs. I¡¯m just calling out to you because it would be bad for my sleep if I walked by and something happened to you.¡± ¡°Okay, fine.¡± I can¡¯t see them clearly by the campfire, but they are all incredibly beautiful. They are wearing adventurer-like equipment, but is it possible for a party of beautiful adventurers to exist in real life? I thought they only existed in fantasies in stories¡­ Come to think of it, I fell into a story-like world, didn¡¯t I? If so, it may be possible. I¡¯d like to be friends with them, but¡­ I feel that with such a beautiful adventurer¡¯s party, just getting to know them would get you into trouble. I¡¯m just a small fry, except in situations where I can use the ship summoning. Let¡¯s move on without getting involved. Oh, it looks like the scout has returned¡­ ¡°You were right.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s all right, I guess I¡¯ll be going now.¡± ¡°Wait, I¡¯d like you to accept our gratitude.¡± Gratitude, huh¡­? I¡¯m kind of afraid to approach them. Let¡¯s just decline. ¡°No, it seems like you guys would be fine with or without my advice. It would be awkward to accept gratitude and go on ahead quickly, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°I understand. Then, if we meet somewhere down the road, let me buy you a drink.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll look forward to it. Well, I¡¯ll see you later.¡± I headed down the river, slightly regretting that I had given up a chance to make friends with a party of beautiful adventurers. After five hours of dawdling down the river, the river merged with a large river. This is the river that connects the royal capital and the southern city. There will be more people, so when it gets light, I should get off the boat and walk along the road. ¡­The sky is starting to turn white, so it¡¯s time to get off the boat. It¡¯s a wooden rowboat, so it seems safe to stay on it, but I¡¯m afraid of being on a boat and not knowing the rules of this area. I pull the boat to the shore and walk along the road. After a while, many boats come and go. I checked the boats moving in the river one by one as I walked along. Hmm, no boats other than wooden boats are running at the moment. Self-propelled boats are sometimes running, so wooden motorboats might not be so conspicuous. A little after noon, I finally arrived at the southern city. I would go to the adventurer¡¯s guild and ask for a place to stay, then rest for the day. I was tired from all the walking. I showed my guild card at the gate and entered the city. ¡­It¡¯s a bustling town, isn¡¯t it? Oh, they are selling grilled fish at a stall; let¡¯s buy one and ask where the guild is. When I order some grilled fish and ask where the guild is, the guy at the stall is very kind and tells me where the guild is located. After all, you have to be nice to your customers, don¡¯t you? While eating the grilled fish, I headed for the guild I had been told about. I wonder if the receptionists at the adventurer¡¯s guild here are full of beautiful women, too. I was a little nervous. When I entered the adventurer¡¯s guild, there were not many people there. It seems that even in the southern city, there are not many people around this time of the day. Well, that¡¯s a good thing because it¡¯s harder to get tangled up with people that way. I went to an empty counter and asked a beautiful human lady to introduce me to an inn where I could have a good meal. I would have liked to talk with her a little longer, but I was too tired for today, so I¡¯ll try next time. ¡°Let¡¯s see, here it is, the Black-tailed Gulls Inn. Hello, do you have a room available?¡± ¡°Are you alone? Rooms are available, 50 coppers per night with breakfast and hot water. If you stay ten days or more, I will give you a discount of 5 coppers per night.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll take ten nights, so it will be four silver coins and 50 copper coins, right?¡± ¡°Aiyo, sure. The room will be on the second floor to the right.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The room has a view of the sea and is beautiful. It¡¯s a little expensive, but it¡¯s a satisfactory place to stay. If the food is good on top of that, it might be perfect. But the question is whether or not I will be able to make enough money to continue to stay at this kind of inn. My remaining balance is three gold coins, 59 silver coins, and 35 copper coins. It may run out soon, depending on how much I buy a ship and how much I get paid for my work. For now, I¡¯ve paid for ten days of lodging. In the meantime, let¡¯s do as much research as I can and make a plan. The first thing to do is¡­ Find out what jobs are available at the adventurer¡¯s guild. Go to the guild¡¯s reference room. Find out what kind of ships are docked at the port. Go to the merchant guild and find out about membership requirements and trade. Find out the value of self-propelled ships. Is this the best I can think of right now? I¡¯m too tired to think straight, so I¡¯m going to take a good rest today. Balance: 3 gold coins, 59 silver coins, 35 copper coins Volume 2 - CH 3 Chapter 3 ¨C Merchant Guild Membership and a Motorboat Ahh, I slept really well. I stayed up almost all night yesterday, and I must have slept well before the sun went down and into the morning. Let¡¯s go to the cafeteria for now. ¡°Good morning. Can I have breakfast? Also, I need to wash my face; where is the well?¡± ¡°Good morning. Breakfast is ready now. The well is just outside the back door there.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I quickly went to the restroom, washed my face, and had breakfast. Breakfast was sauteed fish, bread, and soup. Eating fish makes me want rice. Fish and bread¡­ it doesn¡¯t really go well together, but rice is the way to go. Thinking about rice, I headed for the guild. It¡¯s called a trading city, so I¡¯ll be happy if I can find some rice. Arriving at the guild, I check the quest board. There are quite a few requests that are typical of a trading city by the sea. There are requests to carry cargo, sort fish, and clean the port. So the requests change as the location changes. The low-ranked requests for defeating monsters at sea are the big crabs and dartfish that appear on the shore. There are requests for sea monsters, but I can¡¯t imagine what kind of monsters they are. Big crabs¡­ big crabs, huh? Can it be eaten? Hmm, not sure. Carrying cargo and sorting fish¡¯s rewards are low, and it seems that defeating goblins is a safe bet for my abilities. But the rewards for killing goblins are not so good either. I should go to the reference room for now. At the reception counter, I asked about the location of the reference room and moved on. The atmosphere of the reference room is the same as in the western city. I asked the librarian for permission and looked for books. The only thing I need is information on the monsters around the southern city. There are only goblins, orcs, and wolves on the land, and it is hard to hunt horned rabbits because of the lack of grassland. It seems that it is impossible to make big money with horned rabbits in the southern city. There are so many kinds of sea monsters that I can¡¯t seem to remember them. At any rate, I am afraid of sea dragons and so on. Big Crab is a big crab, as its name says, and I hear it tastes good. [T/n: At the first one, the author used katakana, and at the later, he used hiragana.] Dartfish is sharp-horned fish about 30 centimeters long, and they jump into boats in schools. The adventurer¡¯s role is to defend against the dartfish with a shield. Next time, I¡¯ll check out the ships in the harbor and then go to the merchant guild. £ª£ª£ª Hmm, most of the boats in the harbor are wooden, with sailboats, galleys, and rarely self-propelled boats. There are, surprisingly, some self-propelled boats, small boats that pass between the ships and the land. This would seem to make wooden motorboats less conspicuous. Let¡¯s go to the merchant guild and ask for more information. I asked about the location at the port and headed for the guild. The guild¡¯s atmosphere was different from that of the adventurer¡¯s guild. There were some peddlers dressed like me, but many of them were well-dressed. I look at the reception counter, and there is another beautiful fox-eared Onee-san here as well. I remember that I haven¡¯t asked the name of the beautiful fox-eared Onee-san in the western city after all¡­ But I feel nervous when I see the beautiful fox-eared Onee-san. I wonder if I like fox ears. ¡°Hello. I have a lot of questions I want to ask you. Is this okay at this counter?¡± ¡°Hello. This way is fine.¡± ¡°Thank you. First of all, I would like to know if it is possible to join a merchant guild even if I am a member of the adventurer¡¯s guild, and if so, what are the conditions for joining?¡± ¡°Yes, you can join the adventurer¡¯s guild and the merchant guild at the same time. The guild has ranks, just like the adventurer¡¯s guild, and you can register as a peddler at F-rank for an annual membership fee of 5 silver coins. To rank up, it is necessary to pay the annual membership fee for each rank and to have a track record worthy of that rank.¡± ¡°What are the benefits of moving up in rank?¡± ¡°The merit is that you will be given priority to receive large requests that come to the guild. You can get information gathered by the guild as soon as possible. Regarding matters related to the merchant guild, such as unloading locations and personnel introductions, higher ranks will be given priority. So everyone is aiming for at least one higher rank.¡± Well, I¡¯m interested in the information, but other than that, it doesn¡¯t seem to matter much to me right now. ¡°Thank you very much. I understand very well. I also have a certain chance of getting a ship, but what kind of work can I expect to do?¡± ¡°It depends on what kind of ship it is. It could be a small ship, a sailing ship, a galley, a magic ship, which ship?¡± A magic ship? Are those self-propelled boats called ¡°magic ships¡±? ¡°Um, it¡¯s a small boat magic ship. And if I can save up enough money, I can get a small magic ship, too.¡± ¡°Well, getting a magic ship is not easy, even if you want one. You must have good connections.¡± Haha, a good connection¡­ In my case, does that mean that my connection is God? That¡¯s a great message, in a way. Although I¡¯m being observed at leisure¡­ ¡°Yes, they are very helpful. So this is why I think being a merchant would make better use of the ship than being an adventurer.¡± ¡°Although it is a small magic ship, there are people who would like to acquire it, and I can act as an intermediary. We will also pay you an introduction fee.¡± Sell it? Can I sell a ship summoned by a ship summoning? ¡­It would be great if I could sell it, but if I sell that many boats, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be noticed. ¡°I¡¯d like to get one myself if possible; I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s only natural, so I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡± The fox-eared Onee-san smiled kindly. It¡¯s kind of soothing. ¡°I¡¯ll explain the work of a small boat¡¯s magic ship then. The work of a small boat magic ship is often to take people to the royal capital and other places. The rest depends on the ability of the boat, but if it can carry adventurers to the southeast island, the reward is very good.¡± ¡°Is the reward so good just for transporting people to the island?¡± ¡°Yes, the southeast island is inhabited by precious medicinal herbs and strong monsters. We can obtain valuable materials, but there are many shoals and rocks, and there are no passable routes except by small boats. On top of that, the tidal current is so fast and complicated that it is impossible to reach the island by ordinary small boat magic ships. At the moment, there are only four small boats that can reach the island.¡± ¡­Is it like a bonus stage if you can reach it? At any rate, if I can make money just by carrying adventurers, I would love to be the fifth ship. ¡°If I can reach the island, it seems I won¡¯t have to worry about work. Can you tell me how much you will be paid for the magic boat ride to the capital and how much you will be paid for the island if you do make it there?¡± ¡°The basic fare to the capital is three silver coins per person one way. The return trip is downhill and costs two silver coins per person. If you make it to the island, it is ten silver coins per person per day.¡± ¡°Ten silver coins per person per day? Can adventurers make a profit with that much money?¡± What is this bubble? Won¡¯t it burst? ¡°Since materials on the island are expensive, adventurers who are able to hunt down and gather them can make a good profit.¡± It doesn¡¯t seem to burst. ¡°If I can get a small magic ship, what kind of work can I do?¡± ¡°Most ships follow a safe path near land, carrying large quantities of goods for profit. Rarely there are those who go to the southern continent, which takes more than a month even for a magic ship. The route is so difficult that only one out of every 30 ships can make the round trip, but if you bring back pepper, you can make a huge profit, so there is no end to the number of people challenging the route.¡± Oh, so you can perform the classic fantasy of making big money from pepper? Long live the cheat. ¡°Are there any merchants who trade pepper on a magic ship?¡± ¡°I think the survival rate is certainly higher than that of ordinary ships, but I wouldn¡¯t take the risk of going out into the open sea with an expensive magic ship, where you can easily be attacked by powerful monsters such as sea dragons. Even a magic ship cannot escape from a sea dragon, and it will sink with a single blow.¡± With a magic ship, you can make money safely, but why would you go out to the open sea with the intention of losing everything? ¡°I see; the open sea is dangerous, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes. It is very dangerous.¡± The fox-eared Onee-san says with a serious expression on her face. I guess there must be a lot of casualties. ¡°I understand. And I can get a small magic boat tomorrow. Where should I dock it?¡± ¡°If you join the merchant guild, we can rent you a docking space for the size of a small boat for one silver coin a month.¡± Mercantile business seems to suit me better, so I should join the merchant guild. ¡°Then I would like to join the guild and get a docking space; here are the six silver coins.¡± ¡°I understand. Please give me your adventurer¡¯s guild card so that I can merge it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°The merging has been completed. Your docking space is number 115.¡± Now I¡¯ve heard everything I wanted to hear. ¡°Thank you for your patience. My name is Wataru. I look forward to working with you in the future.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s a matter of course, so please don¡¯t worry about it. My name is Camille. It¡¯s nice to meet you too.¡± I am glad I did my best to introduce myself. If I miss the first chance, I will not know when to introduce myself. Camille-san, huh? I¡¯ll be sure to remember that. I¡¯ll try to visit Camille-san as much as possible in the merchant guild. But I¡¯ll have to do it in a way that she doesn¡¯t get annoyed with me. Now that I¡¯ve accomplished most of my goals let¡¯s go back to the inn and buy a wooden motorboat. £ª£ª£ª ¡°Oya, welcome back. What do you want for dinner?¡± When I returned to the inn, the landlady welcomed me. I was looking forward to seeing what kind of food would be served. ¡°I¡¯m back. I¡¯d like to order in the cafeteria.¡± ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll be there from the sixth bell.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I returned to my room and immediately launched the ship-buying screen. It¡¯s pretty hard to decide which one to buy. There are some wooden motor boats that are kind of unfashionably expensive¡­ but let¡¯s rule them out and look for an affordable one. Hmm, it¡¯s difficult. I don¡¯t know anything about boats. The cheapest motorboats are not suitable for places with fast currents, and the best ones are very expensive. I think I can make money just by going back and forth to the capital, but I¡¯d rather have a boat that can go to the islands anyway. I think a Japanese-style boat would be better, but it is not made of wood and costs two gold coins. If it can go to the island, I can make a lot of money, so I will get the two gold coins back soon, but I¡¯m worried about the fact that it is not made of wood. I thought the creator god said that the level of ship summoning would go up pretty quickly if I bought a ship. He said that it doesn¡¯t matter what the level is, and if the level goes up when I buy this boat, then I don¡¯t have a problem with it¡­ What¡¯s the condition for the level to go up? If it goes up if I buy a boat, then I guess it¡¯s how many boats I bought or how much I spent. Hmm, I think I¡¯ll buy one. I¡¯ve been meticulous, but if I continue to go about my business as I have been, I¡¯ll be dead before I buy a luxury liner. If all hell breaks loose, I can just run away. As long as I can summon a ship on the surface of the water, I¡¯m not likely to get caught, so I might as well buy it. If I buy it and raise my level, I may not have to worry about it. Open the purchase screen, select a Japanese-style ship, and spend two gold coins. Ship Summoning Level 2 You can summon the ship you purchased. +1 (NEW) You can keep the purchased ship in the best condition and control it freely. Can purchase a new ship from the purchase screen. Mapping (NEW) Auto-maps the places you have been to. Ship Disguise (NEW) Change the look and feel of the boat without changing its performance. Basic Rowboat (Wooden): Maximum number of passengers: 2 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection. Purchased: Big fishing rubber boat (dark green): Maximum number of passengers: 4-5 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection. Purchased: Big Fishing Rubber Boat (blue): Maximum number of passengers: 4-5 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection. Purchased: Japanese-style boat: Maximum number of passengers: 12 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection. Oh, banzai for convenience. Ship Summoning is leveled up, and Ship Disguise is an ability I¡¯ve always wanted. I¡¯ll have to thank the creator god when I get to the church. Mapping would probably be just as it is. What¡¯s the +1? Like being able to summon one more ship? Let¡¯s try it outside after dinner. Balance: 1 gold coin, 53 silver coins, 35 copper coins Volume 2 - CH 4 Chapter 4 ¨C Japanese-style Boat Capabilities and Island Job Descriptions It¡¯s dinner before the effects of the ship summoning level up and the summoning of the newly purchased ship. I went to the cafeteria and asked for their recommendation. It was white fish soup and bread. I still want to eat rice, but it is definitely delicious. I should be satisfied now without being extravagant. After finishing dinner, I told the landlady I was going for a walk and left the inn. I can¡¯t be seen here. First of all, ¡°Summoning the Japanese-style boat¡±¡­ Oh, it feels like a boat when it has an outboard motor. Let¡¯s try out the ship disguise right away. A wooden ship, just a little bit old-fashioned ¡°Ship Disguise¡±¡­ Oh, it looks like a completely wooden Japanese-style ship. But the outboard motor is still there. Let¡¯s try ¡°Ship disguise¡± again so that the outboard motor becomes one with the ship¡­ It¡¯s perfect. Compared to other boats, it is a little bigger, and the outboard part is different, but not enough difference to make a fuss. Next, let¡¯s try to see if +1 is now able to summon another ship, as expected. I¡¯ll try summoning a warehouse ship next to a Japanese ship to see if I can summon another ship¡­ And I was able to summon it. It seems certain that +1 can make me summon another ship. Let¡¯s move the necessary luggage to the Japanese-style boat and return to the inn. Two blankets, a rope, some tea utensils, and some food in a wooden box to put in the Japanese-style boat. Then, if I can get to the island, I¡¯ll spend a long time waiting on the island. I¡¯d like to have a fire on the boat, so I¡¯ll buy an iron pot and put some ashes in it to use as a shichirin (a traditional Japanese charcoal brazier). I¡¯d also like a pot to put on top of it. Tomorrow I¡¯ll buy two iron pots, some charcoal, and some food before I go to the island. I¡¯ll have to dock tomorrow, so I¡¯ll have to carry my own weapons and stuff with me. Then I can go back and test the map¡¯s performance. Well, the map seems to show me only the area I¡¯ve passed through. The further I go, the more areas are displayed. It¡¯s like a game. After returning to the inn, I did some light training and wiped my body. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll take the Japanese-style boat to the docking place once and then try to go to the southeast island. It¡¯s going to take a while, and I¡¯ll have to get up early. £ª£ª£ª I wake up with a jolt. It¡¯s going to be a busy day, and I have to work hard. I have a good breakfast and talk to the landlady. ¡°Good morning, Landlady-san. I¡¯m going away for the night, and there¡¯s a chance I¡¯ll be gone quite late or won¡¯t be back, but if I come back in the middle of the night, is it okay if I come into the inn?¡± ¡°If you come back in the middle of the night, someone will be at the counter, so it¡¯s okay to come in. But please come in quietly because everyone around you is sleeping.¡± Is this a 24-hour operation? That¡¯s a normal thing in Japan, but in this world, it¡¯s pretty amazing. Thank goodness for that. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be quiet. Well, I¡¯m off.¡± First, I went outside the city to summon the Japanese-style boat and then headed for the docking station. If I could use the ship summoning generously, I wouldn¡¯t have to go through all this trouble. Well, it would be foolish to get my life in danger due to sparing the trouble. Let¡¯s not be lazy and do my best diligently. I moored at number 115 and headed for the morning market. I buy some vegetables and meat I see and head to the tool shop. At the tool shop, I buy two iron pots with lids and some charcoal, and one of the iron pots has a separate container of ashes. All in all, it cost me 75 copper coins, huh¡­? It¡¯s quite a bit. Next, I¡¯ll go to the merchant guild and ask them where the island is and how long it will take. Is Camille-san there? I enter the guild and look for Camille-san. Oh, there she is. ¡°Good morning, Camille-san. I got the magic boat, so I¡¯m going to head for the southeast island immediately. Can you tell me the exact location and how long it will take to get there?¡± ¡°Good morning. I see that you have already obtained it. Do you have a compass? If you go out through the gate on the ocean side and head southeast while keeping an eye on the compass, you should be able to reach the large island. That¡¯s pretty rough. I¡¯m a little afraid to go out to sea. ¡°The time depends on the boat, but it seems to take about eight hours. Please report back to me when you reach the island. Please be careful and take it easy.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be going.¡± I can get directions from the map, but I should probably buy a compass as well. If I was steering the boat without looking at the compass when I was taking someone on board, I might make them feel uneasy, so I bought one. I returned to the tool shop and bought a compass for one silver coin. Compasses are expensive, even though you can get them for 100 yen in Japan. After arriving at the Japanese-style boat, I put on the luggage I had bought. Well, let¡¯s get going. If I could go to the island, I would make a lot of money. I wonder what will happen. I leave from the south gate and run the Japanese-style boat to the southeast. Well, it¡¯s dangerous to leave the continent with a Japanese-style ship. It is unsinkable and indestructible, so it¡¯s okay. However, I don¡¯t know anything about ships at all, but thanks to my skills, I can just steer the ship without any problem. It¡¯s scary that I don¡¯t have the knowledge, isn¡¯t it? But it¡¯s pretty nice to go through the sea on a boat. The weather is nice, and as I make good progress, taking breaks in between, I see an island in the distance. ¡­Hey? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s been five hours yet¡­ Maybe the Japanese-style boat is faster than the magic boat. I maneuvered the boat with plenty of leeways, so if I give it my all, it¡¯s going to be quite noticeable. Oh, the magic ship coming here is carrying a number of adventurers. I still don¡¯t know which is faster, the Japanese-style boat or the magic boat. As I approached the island, I saw many reefs and whirlpools surrounding the island. If only I could get through here. I avoided the whirlpools and reefs and picked up speed when I felt like I was going to be pushed back. It was a bumpy ride, but I could easily get through it. I want to believe that I am not on the wrong island. I¡¯d heard it was difficult, so I¡¯m worried when it¡¯s this easy. After crossing the reefs and whirlpools, I pull in close to the shore. The island is like a sheer cliff, and I don¡¯t think I can land from here. Let¡¯s look for some place where I can land. As I sailed along the island, I came upon a sandy beach that curved back in an arc toward the land side. It is a beautiful beach. The clear emerald green sea. White sandy beach. It¡¯s a perfect resort though there are monsters. When I arrived at the beach, I saw a small boat anchored. Should I say hello? ¡­I¡¯m going to sneak into the business, after all. If I don¡¯t at least say hello, they¡¯ll say I have no common sense. As I approach the small boat to say hello, the person who was lying in the boat gets up, and I call out to him. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t look familiar. Are you an adventurer?¡± ¡°I¡¯m an adventurer, but since I got this boat, I joined the merchant guild as well. I asked if there were any good jobs, and I heard that I could earn money if I came to this island, so I gave it a try.¡± ¡°You must have got a good ship. If you can come to this island, you can certainly make a lot of money.¡± It¡¯s ten silver coins per person per day. If I carry a party of adventurers, I¡¯ll make a fortune. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it. I¡¯m Wataru. Pleased to meet you.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m Guido. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Are you also an adventurer, Guido-san?¡± ¡°I also joined the adventurer¡¯s guild and the merchant guild. Well, it would be nice to have more people in the guild. I look forward to working with you.¡± Hmm? Are you happy that there are more people in the guild? Even though the four-person monopoly will be broken. ¡°Since there will be more business rivals, you must not be too happy about it, right?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s certainly a problem if there are too many, but right now, only four boats can come to this island. I¡¯m the only one here now, but it¡¯s not unusual to have four boats here. Even when we finally get back to the southern city, we often come right back to this island. It¡¯s hard to take a vacation, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s hard not being able to take vacations.¡± It was a monopoly and a lot of money, but it was black. It¡¯s a judgmental situation. ¡°Yeah, well, four boats becoming five won¡¯t make that much difference, but it will give us a little bit of leeway. That¡¯s a big help.¡± ¡°Is there anything I need to watch out for in this job, or anything else I need?¡± ¡°Hmm, tools to pass the time and maybe some good food?¡± ¡°Is there really that much free time?¡± ¡°You never know when the adventurers will be back. Sometimes they are seriously injured and have to return in a hurry. That¡¯s why we have to stay by the ship for a few days during the request. It¡¯s gonna be a lot of free time.¡± Wow, profitable but boring. There¡¯s only so much you can do to pass the time on a boat the size of a small boat. I¡¯ll have to think of something, too, or I¡¯ll get sick to my stomach from boredom. ¡°It sounds like it¡¯s going to be pretty hard. I hear there are strong monsters on this island.¡± ¡°If monsters appear, just stay away from the land, and you won¡¯t have any problems. They don¡¯t come into the sea.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± The only problem is boredom¡­ It would be helpful to be able to escape from the monsters quickly, but what shall I do? What can I do in this place? Fishing or cooking?¡¡The best way to do that is to think about what dishes you can cook. Hmm, what to do¡­ Oh, right! ¡°Guido-san, are there slimes on this island?¡± ¡°Slime? Yes, there are.¡± ¡°Oh, yay. That¡¯s all right then.¡± If I can be with that fluffy slime all the time, I¡¯ll never have time to complain about boredom. That¡¯s great. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with slime?¡± ¡°No, I was just wondering what to do with my free time, but I like slime. So I thought I would play with the slime in my spare time and see if I could get some tame skills.¡± ¡°You like slime? What a strange guy. Well, there is plenty of free time. If you don¡¯t get away from the ship too much, you can do whatever you want.¡± Guido-san is also someone who doesn¡¯t understand the charm of slime? That¡¯s disappointing. When I get my taming skills, I¡¯ll evangelize the wonders of slime. ¡°Well then, I¡¯d better get back. I think I¡¯ll report to the merchant guild and get a job, so once again, thank you.¡± ¡°Oh, see you later.¡± I leave the island and return to the southern city. I¡¯m getting excited thinking about the big profits I¡¯m about to make. It looks like I¡¯ll be able to buy my next ship pretty soon. £ª£ª£ª Whew, I got home surprisingly early. I might be able to have dinner at the inn just in time. ¡°Oh, welcome back. I thought you were going to be late.¡± ¡°I finished my business earlier than I expected. Is dinner ready yet, Landlady-san?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not too late. Do you want some?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll take your recommendation.¡± I ate dinner, wiped myself off, and took a breather. I¡¯m glad I made it to the island, but it¡¯s tough not to take a vacation. But when I think about it, I feel like I¡¯ve been working ever since I came to the other world. If I can kill time on the island, I may be able to have a surprisingly fulfilling day. Guido-san seems to be a nice guy, and if he¡¯s not going to be my business rival, at least I won¡¯t have any trouble with the other three. Tomorrow, after going to the church, I will look for tools that will allow me to spend a comfortable time on the Japanese-style boat. Then I have to report to the merchant guild. I wonder what will be needed for the Japanese-style boat. I think I need at least a cushion since adventurers are going to be on board. ¡­I think I should buy six blankets instead of cushions and let them use them as they like, or that would be more convenient for various uses. It would be enough to buy six wooden boxes and use them as chairs and put blankets inside. The wooden boxes can be thrown away if they get in the way. Oh, I also need a wooden box for storing iron pots and food. I would add two more wooden boxes. And should I at least serve tea and food when the adventurers come back to the ship? I will be paid a lot of money for it, so I should at least do that. Then I¡¯ll need more plates and cups too. Other than that¡­ if I¡¯m going to be on the island for a few days, I¡¯ll need a spare pair of underwear and a couple of clothes for laundry. I¡¯ll transfer them to the Japanese-style boat. I also need to buy dried meat for the slime before I forget about it, so I guess that¡¯s what I¡¯ll need. Now that I have a new job, I¡¯m going to be a lot busier. Volume 2 - CH 5 Chapter 5 ¨C Shopping and Danger I wondered what I was going to do today¡­ Oh yeah, that¡¯s right. I was going to go to church and then go shopping, right? I also have to report to the merchant guild. It¡¯s going to be pretty busy. First, let¡¯s have breakfast and get moving. I heard that there are not enough boats to go to the southeast island, and if I go to the guild first, I might be suddenly assigned to a job. First, the church, then shopping, then the merchant guild. I ate breakfast and headed to the church. It¡¯s a little early for prayer, but I hope it¡¯s okay.¡¡Oh, there is a priest cleaning in front of the church. Let¡¯s ask him. ¡°Good morning. I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s so early in the morning, but is it okay if I pray?¡± ¡°Good morning. Yes, it¡¯s fine.¡± Thank God I didn¡¯t have to do it twice. I bowed to the priest, entered the church, got down on both knees in front of the statue of the creator god, and prayed. I report on what has happened recently, including my arrival in the southern city, the level of my ship summoning, and my new job. I didn¡¯t get called to the divine realm after I finished praying. I give the priest an offering of one silver coin and leave the church. The fact that I wasn¡¯t called means that, for now, they aren¡¯t dissatisfied with my behavior enough to call me to the divine realm, right? ¡­I don¡¯t know what the gods think, but let¡¯s assume that¡¯s the case. It¡¯s easier mentally that way. Next, I need to go shopping. I bought eight wooden boxes, a plate, a spoon, a cup, and six blankets at the tool shop for one silver and 60 copper coins. I want to get some food, too, but my luggage is getting too much. Shall I carry them to the Japanese-style ship first? It took two round trips to carry eight wooden boxes. I wanted to use the storage ship on the way, but I couldn¡¯t find an inconspicuous place. It¡¯s inconvenient that I can¡¯t summon a ship freely at a time like this. I lined up six wooden boxes on the Japanese-style boat as chairs and put blankets inside. In the remaining two, I put an iron pot, a blanket for myself, and dishes. I would buy bread, flour, and vegetables that would go well with the pot¡­ The meat might go bad if I don¡¯t use the ship summoning. Or I could buy more dried meat. That¡¯s it; there¡¯s no broth. Oh, there are dried mushrooms. Also¡­ what about bird bones? I wonder if those would go bad too. I¡¯ll go to the butcher and buy some dried meat and ask if they can share the bird bones. ¡°Bird bones? I don¡¯t mind since I will just throw them away, but what are you going to use them for?¡± ¡°Where I come from, we used to slow-cook the bird bones to get the broth. I don¡¯t have that bird here, but I want to see if I can make a similar soup.¡± ¡°You can take it if that¡¯s what you want. Let me know if you succeed, and I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± The butcher¡¯s uncle also seemed interested. Apparently, chicken broth is not available in the southern city. ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s an amateur attempt, so don¡¯t get your hopes up.¡± I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯ll be able to finish it, but I don¡¯t want to get his expectations too high, so I¡¯ll lower the bar. Well, I guess the uncle is only half joking. Now I¡¯ve bought almost everything I need, right? I spent one silver coin on vegetables and dried meat. But I was lucky to get the bird bones for free. I remember I had to wash and boil the bird bones. I vaguely remember seeing it in the golden legend*, but I can¡¯t remember. At any rate, I should cook them so that they don¡¯t rot. [T/n: Probably a Japanese TV show?] I returned to the boat, made charcoal, and filled the pot with water. The water comes to a boil¡­ and I put the washed bird bones into the pot. There are some pieces of meat floating in the water. Maybe I should boil them and then wash them? I discard the hot water, add water, and wash the chicken bones clean. Oh, I thought I was supposed to crush the bones to make it easier for the flavor to come out. And I think they also added leeks? I couldn¡¯t find leeks at the market, so I decided to make it without them this time. I filled the pot with clean water again, added the crushed bird bones, and put it over the coals. I remember that you are not supposed to bring the water to a boil. Slowly simmer it. No, I don¡¯t want to stew it here. I have to stew it on the island because I¡¯m also killing time on the island¡­ I put out the fire and put the pot and vegetables in the wooden box. Now, let¡¯s head to the merchant guild. I hope Camille-san is there. I arrived at the guild and looked around the reception counter. Oh, Camille-san is there. Let¡¯s report it right away. ¡°Hello, Camille-san. I made it to the island safely.¡± I reported to Camille-san with a big smile on my face. Was I showing a little too much joy? ¡°Well! Is that true, Wataru-san? No, excuse me, could you please come to the other room?¡± Huh? After being surprised, Camille-san¡¯s expression turned serious. ¡°Um, another room? I don¡¯t mind, but why?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you that in another room, too.¡± Did I do something wrong? I hope it won¡¯t be troublesome. When I look forward, I see Camille-san walking. She has a fox¡¯s tail, too. I want to stroke it. ¡°Wataru-san, did you tell anyone that you made it to the island?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t tell anyone. Oh, but I met Guido-san on the island, so he knows about it.¡± ¡°I see. If it¡¯s Guido-san, then it¡¯s all right.¡± What¡¯s all right? ¡°Um, did I do something wrong?¡± ¡°No, it would be very helpful if more boats could reach the island. However, many of the medicinal herbs and materials on the island are very valuable, and there are many people who want to take that route. And among them are people who don¡¯t hesitate to resort to illegal means.¡± ¡­To sum up what she just said, huh? Am I being targeted? ¡°Whoa, what should I do? Should I run away to another town or something?¡± That¡¯s serious trouble. Did I get carried away thinking I could make big money? If I weren¡¯t on the boat, I¡¯d be hunted down in no time. ¡°Going to another town is an option. However, as a merchant guild, we would really like those who can reach the island to be active in the southern city. Excuse me, but what about your combat skills, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯d say goblins are the best I can do.¡± If I could afford to use the ship summoning, it would be a different story. However, if someone suddenly kidnapped me in the city, I would not be able to handle it. ¡°I¡¯m extremely sorry, but would it be possible for you to give us Wataru-san¡¯s magic boat if we pay you the difference in price and a replacement magic boat from the merchant guild?¡± ¡°I understand that it would be safer to do so. But I am the only one who can handle that ship.¡± ¡°Does it even have user¡¯s rights? She must be a really nice boat. In that case, it is really dangerous unless you hire an escort or leave the city.¡± ¡°An escort¡­?¡± An escort means that there is always someone by my side, right? It would be quite a hassle to use the ship summoning as well. What to do? ¡­When I think about it, the fact that I will be targeted is very obvious because I will be able to make a lot of money. There must be a lot of people who want it. ¡°Um, what about the other four boats?¡± ¡°The other four? Three of them hired guards in the beginning, and after they had saved up enough money, they bought strong slaves to protect themselves. The other one is a high-ranked adventurer, so no one seems to have meddled with him. I guess that means I have to have a way to protect myself. Hmm, I can¡¯t afford to buy a luxury liner if I don¡¯t earn money. This job definitely pays well, so I should hold out and earn until I can hire an escort and buy the next ship. I¡¯m very interested in slaves, but I don¡¯t think I have the funds right now anyway. It seems like the shortest way to a luxury cruise ship is to have an escort protect me, earn money, buy a bigger ship, and try the pepper trade. ¡°Umm, I need to hire an escort to earn money, but how do I hire an escort?¡± First of all, I don¡¯t know from there. It¡¯s a long road ahead. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not easy to hire a reliable escort, but since you are the one who can reach the island, I¡¯m sure if you talk to the guild master, he will introduce you to a reliable escort.¡± ¡°May I ask?¡± A guild master¡¯s introduction, huh? That sounds like a good idea. It would be a lot better than searching for one myself. ¡°Yes, I will need a few minutes of your time.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± I know it¡¯s not an easy thing to do, but it¡¯s troublesome. Well, I just have to be patient until I can save up the money. Until then, I¡¯ll give up and work hard to earn money. After I buy a luxury cruise ship, I want to relax. While I was thinking, the door suddenly opened, and a cheerful old man entered. I guess this pattern is the appearance of the guild master. ¡°So you¡¯re Wataru; I see you¡¯ve got a nice boat.¡± ¡°Guildmaster, please wait. I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san.¡± Camille-san rushes in. I knew it was the guild master. ¡°I¡¯m Wataru. Please take good care of me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard about you. I¡¯ll find you a good escort. Would you prefer a girl?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a man myself, so I¡¯d prefer a woman, but since my life may be on the line, I¡¯d prefer someone competent.¡± ¡®Yes, because there is nothing you can do if you are dead.¡± ¡°For the time being. The guild is a great place to stay today for your safety. Tomorrow, you will take the island request and go to the island for a while, and we will provide you with an escort.¡± ¡°Excuse me for asking, but are the adventurers going to the island safe?¡± ¡°The adventurers who go to the island are restricted to those of high rank and trustworthiness, and we will not accept any underhanded requests. Moreover, if they find out, they will not be able to accept the lucrative requests on the island. Neither do I know how much they would be willing to pay to take on such a lucrative request.¡± I see. So there¡¯s no need to go to the trouble of picking a fight with the guild and crossing a dangerous bridge when the island exploration is profitable. ¡°I understand. I look forward to working with you.¡± ¡°Well, goodbye.¡± He just said what he wanted to say and left. He is a guild master; of course, he is busy. ¡°Let me show you to your room.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± Camille-san showed me to the room where I would be staying today. The situation was very different from what I had thought until this morning. ¡°Please use this room. Is there anything you need?¡± ¡°May I ask you something?¡± ¡°Yes, what can I do for you?¡± ¡°Are you going to find the adventurers who are going to the island now? Are they people you trust?¡± ¡°Yes, I think we will find them. Since it is irregular as to when the ship will return, those who wish to go to the island can apply to the adventurer¡¯s guild so that they can be contacted.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you very much. Also, what time do I have to leave tomorrow?¡± ¡°I apologize for not explaining it properly. The earlier you arrive on the island, the easier it is to move around, so it is normal to leave at 6:00 a.m. Please be ready according to that time.¡± ¡°I understand. Also, I¡¯m staying at the Black-tailed Gulls Inn. Could you please leave a message that I won¡¯t be back for a while?¡± I didn¡¯t tell them anything because I didn¡¯t expect this to happen out of the blue. ¡°Very well. Do you have any food on the island? It¡¯s an emergency, and we can provide it for you¡­¡± ¡°I have some food, but I¡¯m not sure if it will be enough.¡± ¡°I will prepare it and give it to you tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°I am sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°No, please call me if you need anything else.¡± Well, that¡¯s quite a mess. Tomorrow I¡¯ll be on an island, huh? I thought about the possibility of a sudden request, but I didn¡¯t think about the threat to my life. It can¡¯t be helped if this happens. If things get dangerous, I¡¯ll run away. Until then, I¡¯ll make as much money as I can. For now, I had nothing to do, so I practiced daily life magic¡­ Ah, what should I do for dinner? I want hot water, too. ¡°Wataru-san, I brought you some food. Would you like to eat it?¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I was wondering what to do with it, so it will be very helpful.¡± Oh, I haven¡¯t told her yet, but she brought it to me. As expected of Camille-san. ¡°Is there anything else you need?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to wipe myself up after dinner, so I¡¯d like to have some hot water.¡± ¡°Yes, of course. I will bring it to you when you finish your meal.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± In a sense, I was being served. It would be nice if my life weren¡¯t targeted. Volume 2 - CH 6 Chapter 6 ¨C Party of Beauties and Island Life Morning¡­ huh? Until yesterday morning, I thought I was going to have a nice, relaxing, rough time! I thought I was dreaming, but the next day I was in mortal danger¡­ You never know what life has to offer you. Well, I¡¯ve come to another world. It¡¯s too late for that. Okay, let¡¯s switch it up. It¡¯s no use being in the dark forever. The danger is not worth it if I don¡¯t make money, so I¡¯m going to make a lot of money. Well, I should just get ready and wait here, right? Knock, knock. ¡°Yes, come in.¡± ¡°Good morning. Wataru-san.¡± Oh, first thing in the morning, a beautiful fox-eared woman comes on the scene. I¡¯m so happy. ¡°Good morning. Camille-san.¡± ¡°I brought your breakfast. Here are your supplies for the island, enough for a week. You¡¯ll be leaving after breakfast. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine. How shall I pay for them?¡± ¡°The guild will pay for the food since the guild is involved in this.¡± Did they make a profit from this? ¡°Thank you.¡± After breakfast, Camille-san returned a short while later. ¡°The guild is supposed to assemble at Wataru-san¡¯s magic ship in order to keep a low profile, so we¡¯ll be leaving soon. Please rest assured that your safety to the magic ship has been secured.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡± I headed for the Japanese-style ship with Camille-san through the city as the morning sun began to rise. It was like a date. I was about to make a light remark when I looked in Camille-san¡¯s direction and saw her earnestly paying attention to the surroundings. ¡­Am I really in such a dangerous position? I was aware of the danger, but was I still naive? ¡°I see the adventurers are already here.¡± ¡°Good morning, everyone from Girasole. This is Wataru-san, the owner of the magic ship.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±Good morning.¡±¡±¡±¡± Six women greeted us all at once. It¡¯s kind of glamorous. ¡°Wataru-san, this is everyone from the A-rank party, Girasole.¡± ¡°Good morning. My name is Wataru. Nice to meet you.¡± I was surprised and confused when I saw the girls¡­ Huh? Is this a dream? There¡¯s the best party in front of me as if all my desires have been formed. Is it possible to have such a group of beautiful women? Am I really dreaming? ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, too. I am Alessia, the leader of Girasole. That¡¯s Dorothea, the sub-leader, and Carla is the one with the shield. The one with the bow is Marina, the magician is Ilma, and the priestess is Claretta.¡± Everyone being introduced is very beautiful. Long live the other world. ¡°Everyone, since more and more people are coming into the harbor, let¡¯s stop with the introductions and get on our way.¡± Oops, I completely forgot about the original purpose of the meeting. Yes, beautiful women are important, but first of all, it¡¯s my own life. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for all the trouble I¡¯ve caused you, Camille-san. Thank you so much.¡± ¡°No problem. As for the escort, I¡¯m sure it will be ready by the time you come back. Take care.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m off.¡± After saying goodbye to Camille-san, I permitted the members of Girasole to board the Japanese-style boat. ¡°There are blankets in the wooden box, so please feel free to use them. You may use the wooden box as a chair, too.¡± ¡°Alright, is there anything we need to be careful of?¡± ¡°As long as you are careful not to fall out, you can make yourself comfortable. Shall we go now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯re off.¡± Whew, I managed to leave normally. Looking at these girls, I want to get down on my knees and ask them to make me their servant. What is it with this group of beauties? I want to be friends with them, but they are so beautiful that it¡¯s starting to scare me. If I talk to them carelessly, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get beaten up by the fan club members or something. It¡¯s a different world, so they might actually kill me. I don¡¯t want to raise any more death flags. ¡°Hey, haven¡¯t you met us before? Your voice sounds kind of familiar.¡± ¡°Really? I don¡¯t remember anything.¡± With such a group of beauties, once you meet them, there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll forget them. ¡°Dorothea, do you also recognize his voice?¡± ¡°Maybe it is the same voice that told us about the bandits at the riverside.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that¡¯s the voice I heard then. Wataru-san, you warned the adventurers on the riverside about the bandits, didn¡¯t you? That was us.¡± ¡°Hmm? Ah, you mean the one that said there were about 20 bad guys upstream? It was dark, so I couldn¡¯t see your faces clearly, so I didn¡¯t know if you were from Girasole.¡± Were they the people from that time? I thought they were beautiful even by the light of the bonfire, but by the light of day, no words are enough to describe them¡­ They are very beautiful. ¡°As promised, I¡¯ll buy you a drink when we return from the island. Look forward to it.¡± It seems that I had raised a death flag without realizing it. I would love to have a drink with them, but if that were to happen, I would have more enemies. I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m going to have to decline. ¡°No, no, I¡¯m just giving you a warning. As I said at the time, with or without my warning, you guys would have been able to do whatever you wanted to do.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do. I said at that time that I would buy you a drink if we met somewhere. Since we met again, I¡¯ll buy you a drink. You¡¯ll have to accept it.¡± I didn¡¯t think we would meet so conveniently. And by the way, a group of this many beautiful women is just too unexpected. At any rate, I would have to confirm Girasole¡¯s reputation and popularity before I could approach them carelessly. First, I need to stall for time. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ now that it is known that this boat can go to the island, I have to hire an escort and all that. Please wait until things calm down and the timing is right.¡± ¡°Is that so? If you are busy, there is nothing I can do. Let¡¯s go out for dinner when things settle down.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to the opportunity then.¡± I was able to delay it for now. It¡¯s dangerous if I don¡¯t get introduced to a really strong escort. But they are all really beautiful, aren¡¯t they? The leader, Alessia-san, is a beautiful woman with shining blonde hair, white skin, and big breasts. She looks energetic and is like the sun. The sub-leader, Dorothea-san, is a dark brown-haired, brown-skinned beauty with large breasts. She has a calm atmosphere and seems to be the coordinator of the group. Marina-san has short black hair, pure white skin, and large breasts. Her unchanging facial expression and fair skin make her look like a fairy. Carla-san is, were those bear ears or something? She is a tall, beautiful woman with black hair and large breasts. Her expression is kind, and she is slender even though she is carrying a large shield. It¡¯s very mysterious. Ilma-san is a fox-eared, blonde-haired beauty with large breasts. She is a perfect example of the word ¡®bewitching.¡¯ She is full of mysterious charm. Claretta-san is a dog-eared, brown-haired beauty with large breasts. Is she what you would call a soft and fluffy type? She¡¯s got a smiley face and a healing effect. All of them are beautiful and have big breasts. It was a party of beauties full of my favorite features. I still think it¡¯s a dream; there¡¯s definitely a fan club, and if it¡¯s not too dangerous, I definitely want to join. £ª£ª£ª ¡­Oh, I can see the island now, so it¡¯s time for the sea area to start shaking. ¡°Everyone, please pay attention; the shaking is about to get worse.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± We made it safely through the difficulty and reached the beach. It doesn¡¯t feel like the boat has slowed down that much with adventurers on board. ¡°We have arrived safely. Everyone, if you would like to take a break before leaving, I can offer you a cup of tea.¡± ¡°Is that okay? Well, that would be a nice treat.¡± ¡°Please wait a moment.¡± Alessia, the party¡¯s leader, answered on behalf of the group. Let¡¯s get into the spirit and brew some tea. ¡°This magic boat is very fast and not too bumpy.¡± ¡°Is it? I¡¯m glad. Thank you.¡± The Japanese-style boat got a surprisingly high evaluation. If Girasole has permission to come to this island, of course, they have been on other small magic ships, and even if I subtract the flattery part, it seems that I can be confident. I boil water and prepare a pot of tea. As for the tea cakes¡­ I don¡¯t have any at the moment. I¡¯ll prepare some next time. ¡°Here you go.¡± I serve the tea to everyone. I can¡¯t say it¡¯s good, but since it¡¯s outdoors, everyone will have to put up with it. ¡°Thank you.¡± But I had always imagined adventurers to be tough guys. It would be great if people like Girasole were my escorts, but¡­ It will make me so nervous that I don¡¯t think I can handle it. ¡°Thank you for your hospitality. Well then, we will go into the forest. If everything goes well, we¡¯ll be back in five days. And you, too, be careful of the monsters and don¡¯t go too deep into the island.¡± ¡°Yes, I will be careful. Everyone be careful too.¡± I watch Girasole walk off into the forest. Whew, it¡¯s nice to be able to talk to a beautiful woman, but I¡¯m so nervous and tired. Well, there are three magic boats docked, so I should say hello. ¡°Hello, Guido-san. Do you mind if I say hello?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here; it¡¯s okay. This is Carlo. And this is Daniel.¡± ¡°Carlo-san, Daniel-san. My name is Wataru. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°¡±Nice to meet you, too.¡±¡± ¡°But you¡¯re lucky to get your first job with Girasole, Wataru.¡± Guido-san asked me in a teasing manner. ¡°Is Girasole famous after all? Everyone was so beautiful that the nervousness of my first job was replaced by the nervousness of being on a ship with beautiful women.¡± ¡°They are so famous. I also get nervous when I have Girasole on board.¡± I guess it makes everyone nervous, doesn¡¯t it? After all, they are so beautiful, aren¡¯t they? I think the possibility of the existence of Girasole¡¯s fan club has also increased. Oh well. For now, let¡¯s ask Guido-san and the others what I want to ask them. ¡°Um, I have a question I¡¯d like to ask you all.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Actually, when I reported that I had reached the island, I was perplexed because I was told that it would be dangerous if I didn¡¯t hire an escort and that the conversation had become very important. Have you all been in danger?¡± ¡°Did Wataru come to this island without knowing about the danger?¡± ¡°Yes, I had just arrived in the southern city, and since I had obtained a magic boat, I just took on the challenge because I heard it would be profitable.¡± ¡°Is that so? I¡¯ve been in danger, too, and I¡¯ve gotten myself into trouble. I know Carlo and Daniel did, too.¡± ¡°¡±That¡¯s right.¡±¡± ¡°So, Wataru, make sure you hire a good escort. Also, since there are troublesome requests, tell them that you only accept requests through the merchant guild. If you accept a request privately, they will try to trap you or mess with you.¡± ¡°They really target you, huh? I heard that the merchant guild will introduce me to an escort, so I¡¯ll make sure I hire one.¡± I had a little hope that the merchant guild might be exaggerating, but it looked like the danger was real. The stories of those with actual experience carry weight. ¡°You should do that. And if you have a merchant guild attached to you, make sure that all contracts and requests go through the merchant guild. Anyone who doesn¡¯t want to do that is trying to cheat you.¡± ¡°Okay, thank you very much.¡± ¡°Yes, good luck.¡± After parting with Guido-san and the others, I returned to my boat and organized my belongings. I see that the members of Girasole have properly folded the blankets and put them away in the wooden boxes. The food I got from the merchant guild is¡­ bread, dried meat, vegetables, and flour, huh? There is enough quantity. Thank you, Camille-san. Now that I have nothing else to do, I think I¡¯ll make the chicken soup. I put the pot on the charcoal fire and simmered the chicken broth over a non-boiling flame to remove the lye. How long should I cook it? I guess I¡¯ll just have to taste and experiment. I¡¯m bored, so I observe the sea with the pot by my side. What¡¯s that? Isn¡¯t that kelp? But I thought kelp grows in the cold sea. So I approach it with the Japanese-style boat and try to retrieve it with a spear. It looks like kelp. Let¡¯s ask Guido-san about it. ¡°Excuse me, Guido-san. Do you know if this seaweed is edible?¡± ¡°Hmm? Yes, you can eat that seaweed, but it doesn¡¯t taste good. Didn¡¯t you bring any food?¡± ¡°No, I have enough food. I used to eat something similar to this seaweed back home, so if this is edible too, I will try various things. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± I collected some kelp and laid it out on the beach. I think it should be dried, so let¡¯s turn it over and see how it goes. I¡¯ll train with weapons, watching the pots and pans. When the training is finished, let¡¯s look for slime. Volume 2 - CH 7 Chapter 7 ¨C Island Life and Two Escorts Whew, I guess that¡¯s enough training. The pot of chicken bones isn¡¯t boiling either¡­ Alright, I can¡¯t get too far from the ship. I heard that the monsters are strong, so let¡¯s look for slime carefully in a position where I can see the Japanese-style boat. ¡­Found it. It¡¯s a blue slime. I quickly pick it up and return to the Japanese-style boat. I put the squishy slime on the blanket and stroked it all around. Occasionally I give it some dried meat. I just love the slime. I lay out the dried meat from in front of the slime to my lap. The slime stretches and contorts its body, finding the dried meat and digesting it. Finally, after a few unsuccessful attempts, the slime gets on my lap and digests the last piece of dried meat. Even though I know that the slime is after the dried meat, I am moved by the fact that it has climbed onto my lap. I stroke it, praise the slime and give it more dried meat. I play with the slime until it gets dark while watching the pots and pans occasionally. I returned the slime after checking my status, a little disappointed that I still didn¡¯t have the tame skill. I wish I could easily get the tame skill. I retrieved the dried kelp and checked it. It¡¯s not fully dried yet, and I¡¯ll dry it again tomorrow. The chicken bone broth is¡­ kind of light. I¡¯ll cook it some more tomorrow. I wipe myself off and get ready for bed. Should I at least have a hand towel ready when everyone comes back? It would be nice if there were toweling cloth like in Japan, but just tearing a piece of cloth and soaking it in hot water should feel good. I pull the wooden box of the Japanese-style boat over to the edge and lay a blanket on the boat¡¯s floor. The monsters won¡¯t be able to get in, but can I sleep like this and notice when all the Girasole come back? It¡¯s impossible to stay awake all the time¡­ so let¡¯s just be aware so I can wake up when I hear someone¡¯s voice. Good night. £ª£ª£ª Morning. I thought it would be okay since it was the first day, but Girasole still didn¡¯t come back. ¡­I quickly get ready and put the pot on the charcoal fire. After laying the kelp on the beach, I make breakfast with dried meat and bread. Both dried meat and bread are quite tasty when roasted over a charcoal fire. After lunch, I rest a little and do some weapons training. After training, I taste the chicken bone broth. Hmmm, not much has changed. Can¡¯t it get any thicker? Well, let¡¯s try making vegetable soup with it. I put the soup into another pot and added salt. Yes, it tastes good with salt. Add dried meat, potatoes, cabbage, and onions. When the potatoes are cooked, I put them on a plate and have lunch. The vegetables and the dried meat gave it a delicious flavor. I will try adding dried kelp at night. After lunch, I talked with Guido-san and the others for a while and then went looking for slime. There is a blue slime and, somehow, a green slime at the place where I released the slime yesterday. I quickly hold them both up and return to the Japanese-style boat. Oh no. They¡¯re both so soft and plump today. I feed dried meat to the two slimes and enjoy their texture. The blue slime is more elastic than the green slime. The green slime is more firm. When I touch the two slimes together, I can feel the difference in texture. But I can¡¯t get rid of either of them. What should I do when I get the taming skill? I play with the slime until it gets dark, not getting tired of it. I check my status and, disappointed, release the slime into the forest. I check the kelp I laid out on the beach and find that it is completely dry. I quickly cut it into small pieces and put the kelp in a cup with water. After a while, I take a sip of the water with the kelp in it. Oh, it is kombu dashi. It is thin, but it definitely tastes like kombu dashi. I put the kombu dashi with the kelp into the vegetable soup and heated it up without boiling it. After warming deliberately, I take out the kombu, and the vegetable soup is ready. Vegetable soup and bread are served for dinner. Vegetable soup with kombu dashi is quite delicious. Perhaps it is because I haven¡¯t felt the tasty component of kombu for a long time, but I feel that the taste is somehow comforting. £ª£ª£ª Every day, I trained and played with slime. I spent my days doing nothing out of the ordinary, like seeing Guido-san and the others off when they returned. Today is the fifth day. I wonder when Girasole will be back? Well, they are scheduled to come back today, so let¡¯s prepare. I only have to make vegetable soup and prepare hand towels, though. I¡¯ll finish preparing the soup in the morning and have the hot water ready. After doing what I had to do, training and playing with slime, everyone from Girasole returned. ¡°Welcome back, everyone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m back. As expected, I¡¯m tired.¡± Alessia-san and the others who returned looked tired, indeed. They are also beautiful with a little bit of a cast of shadow. ¡°Shall I make you a cup of tea?¡± ¡°Then please, after we load the boat, okay?¡± ¡°I understand.¡± I put the wooden boxes in order and loaded the luggage into the empty space. ¡°It¡¯s amazing. I wasn¡¯t sure how much we would be able to load, so I brought more, but even with everything loaded, there was still plenty of room. But why is there slime?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t have a grasp of how much luggage can be loaded either. I like slime, you know. I had them playing with my boat in my spare time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay because we can bring a little more next time. But I¡¯ve never heard of anyone who likes slime. You are very strange.¡± I think slime is very popular in Japan, but I wonder if the fact that they are monsters is a problem. I can¡¯t understand why people avoid them, considering that they can dissolve you if you¡¯re not careful. But I like them. ¡°I¡¯ll prepare some tea. Oh, please wait a moment while I prepare your tea. And here is a hand towel for you to use.¡± ¡°Hand towel? What are you doing with this?¡± ¡°Oh, um, a hand towel is just a cloth dipped in hot water. It feels good to wipe your hands, face, neck, and so on.¡± I handed the hand towels to everyone from Girasole and made them a cup of tea. Everyone seems to like the hand towels. They wipe their hands and faces comfortably. If there are no hand towels, if you open a food and beverage store and offer hand towels, it will become famous¡­ If there is a hand towel, people will imitate it immediately. ¡°Here you go. Here is your tea.¡± ¡°Thank you. This hand towel feels so nice. I¡¯ve been taking a bath, but it¡¯s so refreshing to wipe with a warm cloth.¡± ¡°I am glad you liked it. I will prepare it again the next time there is a chance. And I can prepare lunch, would you like to eat? It¡¯s just vegetable soup and bread.¡± ¡°Is that okay? I¡¯d be happy to just have hot soup. Thank you very much.¡± Alessia-san and the others are smiling. Yes, they seem to be pleased. It¡¯s this kind of attention that makes me a capable man¡­ ¡°Here you go,¡± I said, handing out lunch to Alessia-san and the others. I¡¯m so proud of my work that I can¡¯t help but wonder what they think of it. I was nervous to see if they liked it or not. ¡°What is this? The ingredients are normal, but why does it taste like chicken? Also, it tastes like something I don¡¯t understand, but it¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Oh, it¡¯s a big hit. I was confident in my work, but it¡¯s still nice to be praised. On the surface, I suppressed a light smile, but inwardly I was gut-punching with all my might. Oh, Carla-san has finished eating and looks sad. How cute. ¡°Carla-san, would you like a refill?¡± ¡°Thank you, please.¡± Carla-san, your smile is so beautiful. After I gave Carla-san her second serving, everyone else had another one. It¡¯s nice when people ask for more of the food you made, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s a great feeling. ¡°Thank you very much for the meal. Wataru-san, it was very delicious.¡± Alessia-san praised me with a smile. A portable meal at an outdoor activity. Warm soup when returning from an exhausting day. If she was so pleased with the food, it must have been good. ¡°Thank you. Would you like to take a short break before heading back to the southern city? Or would you like to leave immediately?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to take a short break first, please.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll go free the slimes.¡± I go to the forest with the two slimes in my arms. After checking my status and confirming that I haven¡¯t grown any tame skills, I release the slime. Ugh, I want to take them home. I return to the Japanese-style boat, clean the dishes, and take a rest. While I was taking a break, the priestess, Claretta-san, called out to me. ¡°Wataru-san, the soup was very delicious. If it¡¯s not a secret, could you tell me the recipe?¡± I never thought I would be asked for the recipe. My soup is amazing. For a moment, I was tempted to say something about a secret recipe, but I was embarrassed, so I decided not to. ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but it takes quite a while to make that soup earlier, you know? I just made it in my spare time.¡± ¡°If you could tell me, I¡¯d be glad. If it takes a long time, I¡¯ll give it a try when I¡¯m free.¡± ¡°It¡¯s easy, just time-consuming. Let¡¯s see. First, you get chicken bones and boil them once. After boiling, take them out and wash them with water to remove any remaining meat, blood, and so forth. Can I go further?¡± ¡°Yes, but I had never thought of boiling the bones. Wataru-san, you are amazing.¡± ¡°Haha, it wasn¡¯t my own invention. I¡¯m sorry to say that I didn¡¯t think of it myself, but it¡¯s something I¡¯ve only heard about. So¡­ where were we?¡± ¡°Up to the part about removing the meat and blood from the chicken bones. If you can make this much broth even with what you¡¯ve heard, it¡¯s amazing.¡± Claretta-san complimented me. I was quite happy because I had confidence in the soup. ¡°Thank you very much. So, you crush the cleaned chicken bones so that the flavor comes out easily. Then simmer it for a long time without boiling it. That soup is simmered for about 10 hours.¡± ¡°Do you simmer it that long?¡± ¡°Yes, I heard that it is good to simmer not only the chicken bones but also vegetables to take away the smell. But I haven¡¯t found that vegetable yet. There is one more secret ingredient, but I think we are about to leave, so can we do it another time?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡± ¡°Alessia-san, are you ready to depart?¡± ¡°Yes, we are ready.¡± ¡°Then, we will depart.¡± Since it was past noon when we departed, we arrived back at the southern city safely, although it got dark on the way. ¡°Thank you for your hard work. We have arrived.¡± Whew, my first job was successfully completed. One by one, Alessia-san and the others thanked me for my hard work. I¡¯m a little happy. Boredom is no problem with slime, and I think this job is pretty good. ¡°Oh, Wataru-san. I¡¯ve been asked to escort you back to the merchant guild, so wait a minute.¡± ¡­I was in a good mood, but I forgot I was in a dangerous situation. Life on the island was so peaceful, after all. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you for your time.¡± I wonder if Camille-san asked Alessia-san and the others to do this for me. I appreciate it. After everyone had unloaded their luggage, we headed for the merchant guild. ¡°Everyone from Girasole, I appreciate all your help. Thank you.¡± ¡°This is no big deal. We will probably ask you to return to the island again, so be sure to let us know when you do. And when you get settled, I¡¯ll treat you to a meal, don¡¯t forget that.¡± I was dropped off at the merchant guild and parted with Alessia-san and the others¡­ Yeah, just talking to Alessia-san and the others, I could feel the killing intent in the gazes of the men around me. If I don¡¯t get introduced to an escort soon, it will be dangerous in a different way. ¡°Camille-san, the request has been completed.¡± ¡°Welcome back, Wataru-san; you have requested five days for six people, ten silver coins per person per day, so that¡¯s three gold coins. What will you do with the reward?¡± ¡°Please deposit all the money to my guild card.¡± Just taking a Japanese-style boat to the island and back and killing time for five days is three gold coins or 3 million yen. I wonder how much money the people of Girasole and the merchants who purchased the materials will make? If this much money can be moved in such a short time, it definitely makes you a target. The profit from the materials must be huge, too, right? ¡°Yes, the money has been deposited. Please go to the other room so I can call for your escort.¡± ¡°Yes, is it the room from before?¡± ¡°Yes, please wait a moment while I show you the way.¡± When I was shown to the room, I found the guild master, a middle-aged man, and a young man sitting there. ¡°Oh, Wataru. I see you are back safe and sound. These two are the escorts we have prepared for you. They are very skilled. This is Dino and this is Enrico.¡± The middle-aged, stern-looking man was Dino, and the one with the smiling face was Enrico. After being with Alessia-san and the others, there is a big difference between the austere uncle and the smiling Enrico¡­ ¡°Dino-san, Enrico-san, I look forward to working with you.¡± ¡°¡±Looking forward to working with you as well.¡±¡± ¡°Umm, the escort fee is five silver coins per person, including lodging and meals. So the total is ten silver coins. It¡¯s quite a lot of money, but I guarantee you that they are good at what they do. Well, you don¡¯t have to pay the escort fee when you are on the island, so you should go to the island as much as possible. And how do you want to pay the fee?¡± ¡°You can withdraw the money from my guild card.¡± Ten silver coins, that¡¯s 100,000 yen a day? That¡¯s a price that would scare the hell out of a college student, but maybe because I just earned 3 million yen, it¡¯s strangely acceptable. Maybe my sense of money is getting broken? ¡°I understand. Then, keep up the good work. Let¡¯s go, Camille.¡± ¡°Yes, excuse me.¡± I saw the guild master and Camille-san off and spoke to Dino-san and Enrico-san. ¡°I¡¯m going back to the Black-tailed Gulls Inn; how can I make the escort easier for you?¡± ¡°Well, it would be easier for us to escort you if we were in the same room, but that would not give you any peace of mind. It is also possible to escort you from the next room, so it would be safe to take the room next to yours.¡± It would be a bit stifling if we were in full view at all times, wouldn¡¯t it? ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll check it out when I get back to the inn.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It would be easier if the room next to mine were conveniently vacant. £ª£ª£ª ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°Oh, hey, you¡¯re back. I don¡¯t know what happened, but it looks like you had a hard time. I¡¯ve left your room exactly as you left it.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much. I¡¯d like these people to take the room next to mine.¡± ¡°Hmm? Wait a minute. Yes, it¡¯s available. How many nights are you staying?¡± ¡°I¡¯m taking tomorrow off, and then I¡¯m going to start work, so two nights.¡± Over dinner with Dino-san and Enrico-san, we discussed the escort arrangements: one day off and five days on the island, one of the escorts must be with me at all times, and I must not go out alone, etc. After the meeting, I return to my room. Well, life on the island is fine, and I¡¯m making good money. Let¡¯s work hard on the island for a while. Volume 2 - CH 8 Chapter 8 ¨C Haulage and Raft Ah, I slept well. A blanket on a Japanese-style boat is indeed too hard on my body, so I slept soundly in bed after a long time. What shall I do today? Oh, I can¡¯t use the hut-boat, and I need a bigger tent. Besides, thinking about it, if it had rained on the island, I think I would have been in trouble. Since I will be living on the island most of the time, I want something like a cottage on the water. I think I could get a big raft made out of sturdy wood, and if I could disassemble it and haul it away, I think I could make it work. The waves are calm in the island bay, and if I can float the raft and pitch a big, sturdy tent on top of it, I think I can have a pleasant island life. The better the environment on the island, the better my life will be. The other thing is that Alessia-san, the leader of Girasole, said she wasn¡¯t sure how much cargo I could carry. I should consult the merchant guild with the raft. I explained what I wanted to do today over breakfast with two of my escorts and headed for the merchant guild. £ª£ª£ª ¡°Good morning, Camille-san. I have something I¡¯d like to discuss with you.¡± Camille-san was at the reception counter, so I called out to her. ¡°Good morning. Wataru-san. I¡¯m fine if it¡¯s just a few minutes. I will show you to another room.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± She leaves the counter to other staff members and shows me around. I quite like the time being guided by this Camille-san. I can¡¯t get enough of her enchanting tail. It¡¯s a pity that we arrived at the room so soon. ¡°So, what can I do for you?¡± ¡°There are several things. Well, first of all, Alessia-san, the leader of Girasole, was not sure how much material could be loaded, so she brought more material, but even after loading it all, there was still room for more. So I want to see how much it can accommodate. ¡°Well, you really have a wonderful boat. The more materials you can transport, the more the merchant guild will be enriched, so please let us help you.¡± Camille-san is smiling and happy. Camille-san is the epitome of a merchant guild employee, isn¡¯t she? She is sensitive to the guild¡¯s interests. ¡°Thank you very much. And, you know, I think I¡¯ll be living on the island for a long time.¡± ¡°I see. There are only a few boats that can go to the island, so the requests are packed.¡± I knew there were a lot of requests for the island. That¡¯s what makes it profitable, and that¡¯s why people are coming. ¡°So, to make life better on the island, I need someone to build me a large, sturdy raft that I can disassemble. If I float it in the bay of the island and put a big tent on top, I think it will make life easier. So I would like you to introduce me to a boat builder who can build a large raft and a store that sells large tents.¡± ¡°Well, that would be wonderful if it works out. I can introduce you to a shipbuilder and a store that sells big tents. If you have time after this, I can show you around.¡± ¡°That would be very kind of you, but is that really okay for you to do that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. It is important for a merchant guild to know how much valuable materials can be transported, and it is only natural that we should provide favors to those who contribute to the merchant guild. Please wait a moment while I make the necessary arrangements.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± So, being able to go to the island is important to the merchant guild, too. Well, is it natural that people are targeting me? Camille-san was ready, so we headed to the Japanese-style boat first. A cart with a rattle and a lot of burlap sacks is following us. ¡°Excuse me, Camille-san, what¡¯s that cart in the back?¡± ¡°The jute bags on that cart are filled with soil, and we will determine how many bags can be loaded.¡± I see. So it acts like a weight. While talking with Camille-san, we arrived at the dock. After I gave permission to board the boat, an official from the merchant guild loaded the jute bags onto the Japanese-style boat. Even after all the jute bags were loaded, there was still room on the boat. ¡°Wataru-san, this magic ship is amazing. We have loaded three times as many jute bags as other magic boats can carry, but there is still room to spare. I am sorry, but we will bring additional jute bags, so please wait a moment.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Can it carry that much? Is it because of the different materials? Or does the unsinkability have something to do with it? It doesn¡¯t sink, so it should be able to withstand weight, right? While I was thinking, the cart came back and loaded more burlap sacks. ¡°Wataru-san¡¯s magic boat can carry about five times as much as other magic boats. That¡¯s amazing, Wataru-san. I¡¯ll tell the guild master about it. The reward will definitely go up.¡± ¡°Oh, an increase in reward, that makes me very happy.¡± I¡¯m looking forward to seeing how much it will increase. I may be getting even closer to the luxury liner. ¡°Then, let¡¯s go to the ship¡¯s builder next, shall we?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± £ª£ª£ª Ooh, I¡¯ve never seen a ship being built before. There are a lot of small people working there; I wonder if they are dwarves? ¡°Master builder, may I have a word with you?¡± ¡°What, you¡¯re the girl from the merchant guild, huh? What do you want?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m here to discuss Wataru-san¡¯s order.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Wataru. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m Donino. I will listen to you, so tell me what you want.¡± ¡°Yes, I need a big and strong raft. But I want it to be able to be disassembled and transported since it has to be towed by boat through difficult places. And when I reach my destination, I would also like you to devise a way for an amateur to assemble the raft properly.¡± ¡°Hmm, you want a raft that is large, strong, and can be assembled by an amateur. It will take some work to engage, but it won¡¯t be much of a problem. How big do you want it to be, though?¡± How big? I hadn¡¯t thought about the specific size. ¡°I want a big tent up there, so the bigger the better. Please make it the biggest that Donino-san can make without any difficulty.¡± ¡°I could make a big raft if I wanted to, but how about with that length of wood? You can pitch a big tent, and it won¡¯t take much time to process, so you can do it quickly and at a low cost.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all I need. How much would it cost?¡± ¡°Well, all it takes is a little work on the engagement, and I¡¯ll do it for 70 silver coins.¡± 700,000 yen¡­ About 700,000 yen for a raft? But it¡¯s Camille-san¡¯s introduction, so it¡¯s not like I¡¯m getting ripped off, so I¡¯ll just settle for it. ¡°Well then, please do. And if you can, could you take it to the dock, number 115? I¡¯ll pay for the delivery.¡± ¡°Oh, it will be ready by tomorrow evening, and it will cost you 20 coppers to bring it there. Then, after you buy the tent, bring it to me. I¡¯ll put some metal fittings on the tent to make it easier to pitch.¡± I appreciate his thoughtfulness. ¡°Here are 70 silver coins and 20 copper coins.¡± ¡°Next is the tent. There is a good tool shop. This way.¡± Camille-san guides me to the tool shop. I feel sorry that Camille-san¡¯s role is like that of a guide. But it¡¯s nice to have a local person around to make things run smoothly. We arrived at the tool shop and immediately approached the shopkeeper. ¡°Excuse me, can you show me the biggest tent you have?¡± ¡°The biggest tent? Yes, this is the biggest tent used by the merchants. It can accommodate ten people if you just want to sleep in it. The price is 20 silver coins.¡± ¡­Yes, it is big enough. And it looks like it could be pitched on top of a raft. With this much space, I can relax and enjoy my life on the island. ¡°Then, please give me that tent. And a small tent that can be pitched on a small boat, please.¡± ¡°Sure. The only type of tent that can be pitched on a small boat is this one, which currently costs one silver coin and 20 copper coins.¡± It is a normal small tent. There is nothing strange about it, and it should be fine. ¡°I¡¯ll take both of them; here are the 21 silver and 20 copper coins.¡± It was an easy decision. In a way, it¡¯s easier when there are only a few things to buy, because I don¡¯t have to think about everything. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Well, all that¡¯s left to do is to deliver the tents to the master builder, and that¡¯s it? Oh, I have to extend my vacation by one day until the raft is ready. I¡¯ll have to check with Dino-san and Enrico-san later to see if I can extend it as well. ¡°Thank you very much, Camille-san. Thanks to you, I got a good deal.¡± ¡°No, Wataru-san, do you still have some time left after this? I¡¯d like to talk to the merchant guild about the amount of cargo the boat will be carrying.¡± If we¡¯re talking about haulage volume, it must lead to a discussion about increasing rewards. It¡¯s important. ¡°I¡¯m fine, but, um, is it okay if I deliver the tent to Donino-san first?¡± ¡°Yes, of course, it¡¯s fine. Then, I will join you.¡± When I arrived at the merchant guild after delivering the tent, I was escorted to another room by Camille-san. ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to my boss, so please wait a moment.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Just in time, let¡¯s ask for an extension of the escort now. ¡°Dino-san, Enrico-san, I would like to extend my leave by one day until the raft is ready. Is that all right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. How about you, Enrico?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine too.¡± ¡°Then I would like an extension of one day for the escort.¡± As we were chatting in peace, Camille-san returned with the guild master. ¡°Wataru, I heard that you can carry five times more cargo than any other magic boat.¡± ¡°Yes, I was surprised too.¡± ¡°The other magic boats are not so different in the amount of cargo they can carry, but it¡¯s a problem that only one of them can carry so much for the same price. For now, I¡¯m going to increase Wataru¡¯s request fee by five times. We¡¯ll see how it goes and adjust the price accordingly.¡± ¡°Five times as much? I¡¯m happy to see the reward increase, but would anyone pay such a large amount of money?¡± Fifty silver coins per person per day¡­ That¡¯s 500,000 Japanese yen, right? ¡°What? The materials from that island are in short supply. If you bring a lot of it, it will sell for a high price, so there¡¯s no problem. Adventurers will make more money, and it is possible that many of their requests will be concentrated on you, Wataru.¡± ¡°Haha, as long as I get a reasonable amount of time off, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± If you calculate it as five days with Girasole, that¡¯s fifteen gold coins. How much money will adventurers and merchants make if they have to pay that much for the possibility of a flood of requests? I am quite curious. ¡°Excuse me, guild master. Why don¡¯t you ask Wataru-san about the saber tiger subspecies?¡± ¡°A subspecies of the saber tiger? Ah, that Southern Count-sama¡¯s request¡­ That is certainly the case. But the saber tiger subspecies is a tough one, and I don¡¯t know if we have a party that can hunt it cleanly.¡± ¡°I think everyone from Girasole will be fine. They were also with Wataru-san last time, so I don¡¯t think there will be any problems.¡± ¡°Hmm, I see. Hey Wataru, there is a subspecies of a saber tiger on that island. They are more than twice as big as the normal saber tigers, and their fur is by far the most beautiful and popular. So Southern Count-sama wanted to have them stuffed. But it was too heavy to transport. Wataru¡¯s magic boat might be able to carry it, so will you give it a try?¡± Is this the kind of selfishness of a big man? A stuffed animal, so aristocratic. Oh, he was a real aristocrat, though, wasn¡¯t he? ¡°I don¡¯t mind trying it out, but isn¡¯t it wrong to take the stuffed one out with the skin on?¡± ¡°Umm, I usually do so, but unfortunately, it¡¯s an amateur job. If I am going to deliver a stuffed animal to Southern Count-sama, I want it to be made by a skilled person in a proper facility.¡± If it is a half-baked stuffed animal, it would be a disgrace. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll give it a try, but there¡¯s no penalty for failure, right?¡± ¡°Of course not. Camille, go talk to Girasole right away.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± The conversation went on and on. It would be a good selling point if I could bring a big catch out of the island, and if I succeeded, I would be very happy. ¡°Oh, the raft will be ready tomorrow, so if you can, please schedule the departure for the day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll ask for the day after tomorrow. May I ask you to come to the merchant guild tomorrow night to confirm?¡± ¡°Yes, that will be fine. Thank you for everything you did for me today. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡± I bought lunch at a food stall and returned to the inn. Stocking up on food at the market would be better tomorrow to avoid going bad. Then there¡¯s nothing to do. I should train and rest in my room. £ª£ª£ª The next morning, after lazing around and before checking the raft, let¡¯s go buy some food. I head to the market with two of my escorts and buy some food. I still have some flour left, so I need bread, chicken bones, dried meat, some vegetables; and what else do I need? Hmm, oh, I found some green onions. I must have cooked these with the chicken bones. This will improve the quality of the chicken bone broth again. Yeah, it was a good buy. Oh, I wonder if the raft is ready by now? I went to the dock and found that it had not arrived yet. I load the ingredients into the Japanese-style boat and prepare the chicken bones. Now let¡¯s go to Donino-san¡¯s place. ¡°Hello. Donino-san, is the raft ready? And I noticed that I also needed a rope and an anchor. Can I buy them here?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, Wataru. The raft is ready. When the young man is free, they¡¯ll bring it, so wait for them. We have anchors and ropes. For that raft, an anchor for one silver coin and a rope for 50 coppers will be enough.¡± ¡°Yes, please, here¡¯s one silver and fifty coppers.¡± ¡°Oh, sure. The anchor and rope will be carried with the raft. Also, the rafts are to be completed by connecting the same numbered parts.¡± That¡¯s a very thoughtful and helpful design. If that¡¯s the case, even I should be able to accomplish it with no problem. ¡°I understand. Thank you very much.¡± Now all that¡¯s left is the merchant guild. Have they decided on the request? ¡°Good evening, Camille-san. I¡¯m here to confirm the request.¡± ¡°Good evening. Everyone from Girasole is going to accept the request, so it is scheduled to leave tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. Is that alright with you?¡± ¡°No problem. I just need to be at the dock at 6:00 a.m., right?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± The preparations are complete, and the job has been decided. Then let¡¯s get a good night¡¯s rest at the inn in preparation for tomorrow. Volume 2 - CH 9 Chapter 9 ¨C Tent Rafts and Saber Tiger In the morning, I wake up fully awake. My body has completely adapted to the morning lifestyle since I came to this world, and since I have to leave at 6:00 a.m., I¡¯m going to get ready early. I prepare, eat breakfast, and head to the dock with my two escorts. It¡¯s a little early, so it looks like Alessia-san and the others haven¡¯t arrived yet. I float the raft that was delivered to me out to sea and tie it to the Japanese-style boat. Yeah, it¡¯s pretty big¡­ Can it be towed? If not, I guess I can carry it in several pieces. I load the anchor and rope onto the boat. I fill in the request form for Dino-san and Enrico-san¡¯s escort with the number of days and my signature. If this is submitted to the guild, the money will be deducted from my account. After a while, the members of Girasole arrived. It¡¯s early in the morning, but they¡¯re a beautiful group of women, fully equipped and looking sharp. I felt out of place around them. ¡°Good morning, everyone. Nice to see you again.¡± ¡°¡±Good morning.¡±¡± Alessia-san and the others greet me cheerfully. They are beautiful, strong, and polite. I can understand why they are so likable. ¡°We can leave anytime, so please let me know when you¡¯re ready. Also, we¡¯ll be towing the wood by boat, so we may arrive a little late.¡± ¡°A little bit won¡¯t be a problem. We¡¯re ready to go, so let¡¯s leave now.¡± I knew they wouldn¡¯t be mad at me, but they accepted carrying the wood as normal. ¡°Understood. Well then, everyone gets on the boat. We¡¯re departing.¡± I waved to Dino-san and Enrico-san, and we departed. Yes, the boat was fast enough, even with the raft in tow. After steering the boat for a while, Alessia-san spoke to me. ¡°I heard that Wataru-san¡¯s magic boat carries five times as much as other magic boats. That¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°I was also interested in it, so I asked the merchant guild to check it out. Then they told me that the haul was five times as much, and the conversation went on to ask everyone from Girasole for a subspecies of the saber-tiger. I¡¯m sorry since you just got back from the island.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. The island request is a great way to earn money, and this time they are willing to buy the saber tiger subspecies for a special extra fee. Everyone is very excited. By the way, what are you going to use that wood for?¡± ¡°That one? It¡¯s an experiment, so I don¡¯t know if it will work. I¡¯m thinking of using that wood to build a raft in the bay and pitch a big tent. It¡¯s a bit depressing to be in a magic boat all the time.¡± ¡°Ara, it would be wonderful if it works.¡± Alessia-san complimented me with interest. It¡¯s going to be a tent, but it¡¯s going to be like a cottage on the water. If it works out, it will be wonderful. ¡°Yes, if it works out, you can all use it. It will be difficult to stay on the island all the time.¡± ¡°Can we use it, too? It would be very helpful, but won¡¯t it be a nuisance?¡± ¡°It¡¯s totally fine. I want to relax during the daytime, so that is why I am building the raft. The magic boat is big enough to sleep on, so if you get tired, you can use it as much as you want. Well, that is if it works out.¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s true. But I would really like you to make it a success.¡± ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± It seems I gave them a lot of expectations, and it would be awkward if I failed. I¡¯m getting a little nervous. ¡°Um, Wataru-san, may I ask you something too?¡± ¡°Yes, Claretta-san, what is it?¡± ¡°I immediately tried the chicken bone soup that Wataru-san taught me. The soup turned out better than usual, but somehow the flavor lacked depth. Would you mind sharing the rest of your secret recipe?¡± Come to think of it; the soup-making process was interrupted halfway through. ¡°You were right. Sorry for the delay. I didn¡¯t have it last time, but I heard that you should cook the green part of this green onion together. I think it is the kelp that adds depth to the flavor.¡± ¡°You mean the green onions and these dried board-like things?¡± ¡°Yes, it was used as an important flavor enhancer in my hometown. I just discovered it on the southeast island, and it seems to have been effective. So, if you put this kelp in water and leave it in the water, it will give the water a depth of flavor. You can also put it in hot water, but be careful because I heard that if it boils, it gives a bitter taste to the flavor. I will share it with you, so please try it.¡± I would be quite happy if kombu dashi spread in this world and the number of dishes I like increases. ¡°Are you sure? Isn¡¯t it precious?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s seaweed that grows in the sea. It grows quite well in the bay, so it¡¯s not a problem at all. It¡¯s easy to take seaweed and dry it on the beach.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± Claretta-san thanked me happily. If I can increase my likability to a beautiful woman with something I can get for free, I¡¯m pretty lucky, aren¡¯t I? But now it¡¯s hard for me to do the opposite because I¡¯m afraid of Alessia-san and her fans, even though I¡¯ve earned their liking. While we were chatting leisurely, we reached a difficult point. ¡°We are going to go into the difficult part. If it gets dangerous, I will detach the wood immediately, so don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± After explaining the situation to Alethea and the others, we proceeded cautiously. We were in a hurry when the wood was about to be pulled into the whirlpool, but we managed to carry the wood safely to the island. ¡°Thank you very much for the hard work. We managed to arrive safely. Would you like to take a break while I make you a cup of tea?¡± ¡°Thank you. Thanks for the tea.¡± Alessia-san agreed, so I brewed a pot of tea and took a break. ¡°It¡¯s delicious. Thank you, Wataru-san. We¡¯re planning to stay for five days this time, but if we can hunt the saber tiger subspecies, I¡¯ll bring them in first, so if the tent is ready, can we take a rest?¡± Setting up the tent, huh¡­? It¡¯s not going to take that long, and as long as there are no accidents, it won¡¯t be a problem. ¡°Yes, it will be fine. Well, I wouldn¡¯t like it if I had failed, so don¡¯t get your hopes up there.¡± ¡°Fufu, I¡¯m looking forward to it. Well then, we are going now.¡± When I said, ¡°Don¡¯t get your hopes up,¡± she replied, ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± What?¡¡Was she trying to catch up with me in conversation? Or did she just put some light pressure on me? Oh well. I look over at Girasole and check around. ¡­I see that Guido-san and the others are not here today. It¡¯s a little sad. Before I set up the raft, I should prepare the chicken bone soup. Put the chicken bones and leeks in a pot and simmer them over the charcoal fire. Now, let¡¯s assemble the raft. Alessia-san said she¡¯s looking forward to it, right? It is simple and yet sad, but it gets me motivated. I remove the wood from the Japanese-style boat and assemble it, matching the numbered parts. It¡¯s like a big puzzle. It is too easy because it is numbered. But when I was in Japan, I certainly couldn¡¯t lift such a big piece of wood. The effect of the level-up is amazing, isn¡¯t it? My strength and stamina are way different. I managed to assemble the raft before nightfall, threaded a rope through the hole in the raft, and secured it firmly in place. I tied an anchor to the thick rope, dropped it into the sea, and the raft was complete. It¡¯s getting dark, so I¡¯ll leave the tent for tomorrow. Returning to the Japanese-style boat, I take the lye out of the pot and roast some bread and dried meat over the charcoal fire. It was a bit of a simple meal, but I was tired, so that was enough for today. Let¡¯s have dinner and go to bed. Oh, I¡¯d better soak the kelp in water for tomorrow. £ª£ª£ª I went to bed early and woke up before dawn. I packed up, put the pot back on the fire, and ate the same simple breakfast that I had prepared last night. The sun had risen, so it was time to pitch the tent. First, I put down a tarp-like piece of monster leather over the entire raft to prevent water from coming up to the raft. I drilled holes in the metal fittings and fixed the tent to the fittings with ropes¡­ It¡¯s big, so the framework is strong, and the raft and the tent are secured well. I can¡¯t say for sure without trying it, but the atmosphere seems like it would be a success. There is space outside the tent, so if I put a table and chairs, it could be an open terrace on the sea. Next time, I¡¯ll buy one. Stylish island life. Elegant tea on an open terrace on the sea¡­ The building is a tent, but it might just barely be elegant? I put the Japanese-style boat next to the raft and unloaded the luggage to be used in the tent. Can I put a pot with a charcoal fire in the tent? It¡¯s hot, so should I leave it outside the tent? I also want to be able to secure the pots. I¡¯ll put a blanket inside the tent and put the dishes on it. I¡¯ll put some food in the boat just in case. The tent is ready, and the chicken bone soup looks good. Let¡¯s make vegetable soup in a pot. After preparing the vegetables, I put the kelp water and dried meat in the pot and put it on the charcoal fire. Now that the preparations are done, let¡¯s train and play with the slime. I have a big space from today, so I can play with them as much as I want. After finishing the training and having a quick lunch, I go looking for the slime. I quickly find a blue slime and secure it. Is there another one? ¡­Unfortunately, I don¡¯t see any. I wanted to secure a couple of slimes and play around in the tent, but I guess I should give up¡­ and go back to the tent. Yeah, it¡¯s still easier to act when it¡¯s wider. I played with slimes as much as I wanted in the spacious tent. I feel safer than in the southern city. While I was lazing around in the tent with the slime in my arms, I heard the sound of a boat. Whoa, that magic boat must be Guido-san. I waved to him, and he waved back. After dropping the adventurers off on the beach, he turned around and pulled his boat up to the tent. ¡°Oh, Wataru. What¡¯s this? How did you manage to transport it?¡± Guido-san seems very interested in this tent raft. He is a little excited. ¡°I had it made in the Southern City, disassembled it, and brought it here. I¡¯m very proud of it.¡± Donino-san is the one who actually made it, though. ¡°I see. But I¡¯m amazed you managed to get over the difficult part with it. May I take a look inside?¡± Guido-san is checking out the raft with great interest. It¡¯s more appealing than I thought it would be. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just a regular tent inside, though.¡± After I gave him permission, Guido-san hurriedly entered the tent. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s spacious enough. It¡¯s definitely more comfortable than waiting in a magic boat. Wataru, can you introduce me to the shipbuilder who built it? I¡¯ll bring the rest of it up to the difficult part, and you can help me get over the difficult part. I want this one too.¡± No, I just wanted to brag, but I didn¡¯t realize the conversation would suddenly progress to the point of buying it. It must have been really painful for him to be waiting on the magic boat. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine, but I just made it, and it hasn¡¯t even been a day. There might be some unexpected flaws, so can we wait and see how it goes for a while?¡± ¡°Really? It looks sturdy from the looks of it, but¡­ well, if it¡¯s safe until Wataru returns this time, introduce it to me.¡± ¡°I understand. What about the others?¡± ¡°I think Carlo and Daniel will want it. I don¡¯t know about Barnabas; he will go into the forest soon.¡± ¡°Well, if all goes well, the bay will be lined with tents.¡± ¡°Yes, this space will be comfortable and spacious. It seems like it will keep you warm in winter. Thank you, Wataru.¡± ¡°No, no, we haven¡¯t succeeded yet, so please give me credit if it works out.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering about you for a while now, Guido-san. What do you think if we take a big ship to the difficult place and then use a magic boat that can pass through the difficult spot to go back and forth between the ship and the island, we can carry more people and more cargo?¡± I don¡¯t think the current way is very efficient, no matter how you look at it. ¡°I heard that guilds have done it in the past. But this island is full of strong monsters, and low-ranked adventurers just die. Even if they were seriously injured, there was no way to leave the other adventurers behind and return to the Southern City, and the island¡¯s monsters seemed to gather as the number of adventurers increased, so it ended in failure.¡± ¡°I see; there are a lot of things that can go wrong. If it works out, I thought we could make the raft bigger and maybe build a wooden house.¡± I think a tent is not a bad idea, but it would be safer to have a solid dwelling. ¡°Hmm, the bay is calm this time of year, but storms do come in on rare occasions. A raft and tent like this one can be taken down quickly, and it wouldn¡¯t hurt to lose it, but if you spend too much money on it, you¡¯ll have a hard time when you lose it. I think it¡¯s better to keep it about this size and add only what is necessary.¡± ¡°A storm is coming, huh? Then we¡¯ll just keep it the way it is for a while and see how it goes.¡± Storms are dangerous, aren¡¯t they? It is true that a tent can be taken down immediately, so it is easier to deal with emergencies. I think it¡¯s better not to be too greedy. Guido-san returned to his magic boat, so I played with the slime again and ate a meal. I check the tame skill, but I still can¡¯t get it. Is it okay as it is now? £ª£ª£ª On the third day, while I was still doing my daily training and playing with the slime, Daniel-san and, a little later, Carlo-san came to the island. Both of them wanted to see this tent raft and asked me to introduce them to the shipbuilder. As I told Guido-san, I asked them to keep an eye on it until the last day of the trip. But they wanted it soon, so they made me promise to order it first when I returned to the Southern City if the raft was safe until I left. If they want it so badly, that makes me happy. When Guido-san and the others returned to their magic boat and were preparing dinner, Alessia-san and the others returned after hunting a subspecies of saber tigers. I boiled some water and hurried to pick them up. ¡°Welcome back. Are you hurt?¡± ¡°We¡¯re back; everyone¡¯s fine.¡± Behind Alessia-san¡¯s smiling face, there was a big monster¡­ As expected, Alessia-san and the others are very strong. ¡°Amazing, isn¡¯t it? Is this a subspecies of the saber tiger? ¡­It¡¯s cool. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll carry it. Please relax in the tent for now.¡± ¡°Fufu, thank you.¡± I loaded the saber tiger subspecies with Alessia-san and the others and headed for the tent. After carrying the saber tiger subspecies to the terrace for the time being, I lead everyone into the tent. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s quite spacious. And it doesn¡¯t shake too much.¡± Alessia-san spins around with her arms outstretched. This is a beautiful woman¡¯s childish gesture¡­ ¡°I stayed here yesterday, and so far, it¡¯s very cozy. Here you go, a hand towel and a cup of tea.¡± I quickly prepared hand towels and tea with the hot water I had prepared and handed them out to everyone. I was like such a capable man. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°What about dinner?¡± ¡°Thank you. I¡¯d like to have it, but first, I¡¯d like to wipe myself off. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Oh, yes. You are free to use this hot water. I will go to the boat, so please call me when you are done.¡± I was in a panic because of the suddenness of the situation. I was so full of guilty feelings that I couldn¡¯t help but nod at Ilma-san, who said, ¡°Ufufufu, do you want to see?¡± If a bewitching fox-eared, big-breasted beauty said such a thing to me, I would get a nosebleed just from that. It¡¯s dangerous. I managed to keep my composure and moved away from the tent with the Japanese-style boat. From the tent, I could hear the joyful voices; why didn¡¯t God give me the power of clairvoyance rather than a ship summoning? If I could see God again, could I ask him for clairvoyant skills? I¡¯ll ask him seriously when I pray at the church. Maybe he will make it come true. ¡°Thank you for waiting, Wataru-san.¡± I was seriously thinking about how to acquire the clairvoyant skill, but Dorothea-san¡¯s voice calling me brought me back to my senses. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m coming back.¡± When I returned to the tent, I found that everyone had removed their equipment, wiped themselves clean, and were relaxed and at ease. ¡°Dinner is the same as last time. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yes, I enjoyed that soup so much; I would be happy to have it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll prepare it for you.¡± ¡°I will help you.¡± Claretta-san offered to help me, and I asked her to toast the bread over the fire. In the meantime, I prepared the dishes and poured the soup. When I finished preparing the soup, I said, ¡°Here you go,¡± and she said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat together, Wataru-san.¡± I wondered if I should eat with them, but since I was going to the trouble, I agreed to join them. It was too good an event to pass up, dining with a group of relaxed and beautiful women. ¡°The soup is delicious after all. I am amazed at how much depth of flavor this kelp brings to the soup.¡± It seems that Claretta-san has come to appreciate the beauty of kelp. It made me happy. Dashi is the heart of the Japanese people. ¡­Although I don¡¯t have such a delicate sense of taste. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s really delicious.¡± Everyone eats it with relish. Again, Carla-san is sad when she finishes eating, so I pour her another serving. Carla-san is cute as she happily says thank you. Even though she is tall and beautiful with a great style, Carla-san is kind of cute, isn¡¯t she? I feel healed when I look at her. She seems to generate positive energy. ¡°Thank you for the food.¡± After finishing the food, I served them dried fruits and tea and asked them to relax. Oh, Dorothea-san is rubbing the slime. I forgot all about slime. Eh? Wait a minute. Was that slime in the tent when Girasole was changing clothes? Slime is cute. Yes, it¡¯s cute, but somehow I can¡¯t forgive it. But it¡¯s cute. My thoughts are confused. The brown-skinned beauty playing with the slime is a sight to behold. Thank you very much. ¡°Wataru-san, this tent is nice too. Until now, we couldn¡¯t rest because it was too cramped back on the magic boat, so we had to camp on the island. But here, we can rest in comfort. Are you sure you don¡¯t mind if we use it?¡± Alessia-san complimented the tent. To be honest, I¡¯m more pleased with this than being praised by Guido-san and the others. ¡°Yes, you are free to use it as you please.¡± Alessia-san and the others will probably only use it for a day or so, and it is not that hard to sleep in the Japanese-style boat when I sleep. Then it would be better to give priority to customers. ¡°Thank you very much. I will use it occasionally.¡± ¡°Yes, anytime you want. Oh, Alessia-san, what are your plans for tomorrow? The schedule was for five days, but the request is finished, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, we can take a good rest. We could go into the forest for two more days, but we also hunted a subspecies of saber tigers¡­ so maybe we should go back while things are still a little better? What do you girls think?¡± The party meeting has started. Shall I wash the dishes? ¡°Since it is the Southern Count¡¯s request, we decided to return as soon as possible. We can leave tomorrow morning if you don¡¯t mind.¡± That¡¯s right. If it¡¯s a request from a high-ranking person, it¡¯s better to take care of it as soon as possible. It will be troublesome if he gets offended. ¡°I understand. Then, I¡¯m going back to the boat for departure tomorrow. Oh, Dorothea-san, can you hand me the slime?¡± ¡°Slime is surprisingly cute.¡± Dorothea-san found the slime attractive. I¡¯d like to keep on spreading it around at this rate. ¡°I¡¯m glad there are people who understand. Well then, good night, everyone.¡± After exchanging goodnight greetings with Alessia-san and the others, I left the tent. Well, I¡¯m going to return the slime to the forest and go to bed¡­ Oh, and since we¡¯re going back tomorrow, I should talk to Guido-san and the others. I pull up to the small boat where the three of them are and call out to them. ¡°Everyone, I will be back in the morning. What do you want me to do about the tents and rafts?¡± ¡°Oh, order them. What about you guys?¡± ¡°¡±Please.¡±¡± ¡°I understand. Well, I¡¯ll let Donino-san know, and you can check on it when you get back.¡± ¡°Oh, thanks.¡± The tent rafts are very popular, aren¡¯t they? Will it make Donino-san very happy? Well, I think he would be pleased because of the profit. £ª£ª£ª Morning. I need to get ready and go to¡­ hmm, Alessia-san and the others seem to be still sleeping, so it¡¯s not a good idea to get close to them. I should wait until they wake up. After a while, Marina-san came out of the tent, and I called out to her. ¡°Marina-san, good morning.¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. I¡¯m going to wake up the others, so please wait for a while.¡± ¡°Take your time; it¡¯s alright.¡± If one of them wakes up, we can avoid the situation where everyone oversleeps. That alone is quite comforting. ¡°Thank you.¡± Marina-san woke everyone up, and soon everyone was awake, so we decided to have breakfast. Well, it¡¯s just a quick vegetable soup and bread left over from yesterday, but Alessia-san and the others are happy with it, so I¡¯m a little glad. After a simple breakfast, we moved the saber-tiger subspecies to the Japanese-style boat, and we all boarded the Japanese-style boat. ¡°Then we are off.¡± £ª£ª£ª I safely made it through the difficult part of the route and returned to the Southern City. At this point, I made a painful mistake. The contrast between gold and black, shining in the sunlight¡­ a subspecies of saber tigers, glinting and shimmering, entered the Southern City majestically¡­ too conspicuous, I thought. As a result, the port was in an uproar. We should have at least covered it with a cloth¡­ I am really dumb. Volume 2 - CH 10 Chapter 10 ¨C Merchants and Raids ¡°We should have at least covered it with a cloth¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I agree. We were so careless.¡± We went through the busy harbor and stayed at the dock. We did it; we made a grand entrance into the port, showing off our big game¡­ It was a flashy decision. I¡¯m afraid of my own stupidity, thinking that I don¡¯t want to be conspicuous with this. ¡°Do you know what to do now, Alessia-san?¡± I ask Alessia, trying not to look at the crowd of onlookers. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that we¡¯ve caused such a commotion. The staff of the merchant guild will be here soon. Let¡¯s ask them to arrange for someone to come and take it away.¡± ¡°I understand. Oh, is that them?¡± A man in the uniform of the merchant guild comes running toward us. When I saw him looking quite flustered, I felt kind of¡­ sorry. ¡°Yes, you are right. I¡¯ll ask him to arrange it for us.¡± After a while, the guildmaster and Camille-san arrived with a cart. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary for the guildmaster to come too.¡± ¡°He loves to show off, so he won¡¯t miss an event like this.¡± Dorothea-san answered my murmur. Does he like to be flashy¡­? ¡°Oh, it¡¯s definitely a variant of the saber tiger. Good job, everyone.¡± ¡°Welcome back, Wataru-san and everyone from Girasole. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe.¡± ¡°Sorry, Camille-san, we caused a big commotion.¡± ¡°Haha, well, it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Camille-san flushed it away with a bitter smile. I apologize for all the trouble that was taken to make me inconspicuous. ¡°What are you talking about? With the appearance of such a flashy variant of the saber tiger, the Southern Count would have been delighted.¡± The guildmaster looks pleased and happy. He completely forgot about my situation. ¡°We are talking about the fact that Wataru-san has become conspicuous, Guildmaster.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. Hmm¡­ well, good luck. Now, let¡¯s load up quickly and go to the merchant guild. Wataru and Girasole, follow me.¡± The guildmaster¡¯s appropriate encouragement irritated me. Well, I¡¯m only going to stand out more and more if I stay here. Let¡¯s get moving. We all head for the merchant guild. ¡°Wataru can go report the completion of the request for now. In the meantime, I¡¯ll call for an escort. Girasole will assess the situation, so head to the warehouse in the back.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you very much for your help, everyone from Girasole.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Hey Wataru-san, this time we left the island early, so we want to go back next time. I¡¯d like to ask Wataru-san for assistance, so can we arrange a meeting?¡± Is this a request for a personal request? I¡¯m happy to receive a request from a group of beautiful women, but it¡¯s hard to get close to them and get killed by the people around me. ¡°Well, I have something I want to order, and I can do it after three days. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re fine. Okay, I¡¯ll apply to the guild and ask you to start on the morning of the third day.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I got the next job, too. It is very popular. I said goodbye to Alessia-san and the others and headed for the reception counter. ¡°I have confirmed the completion of the request. The reward is 50 silver coins per person per day, for six people for four days, so that¡¯s 12 gold coins.¡± ¡°Please give me two gold coins in cash and the rest in my account.¡± Twelve million for four days, that¡¯s a huge amount of money, isn¡¯t it? ¡°I understand.¡± Ah, there are Dino-san and Enrico-san. After meeting up with my two escorts, we left the merchant guild. First, we went to see the shipbuilder, Donnino-san. ¡°Hello, Donnino-san.¡± ¡°Wataru, how was the raft?¡± The question came quickly. Donnino-san was also concerned about the raft. ¡°It was perfect. I¡¯d like you to make four more rafts for me. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Four more rafts? Why do you need so many?¡± ¡°I need one raft, and Guido-san, Carlo-san, and Daniel-san want the other three rafts. They want to get them as soon as possible, so they asked me to order them in advance.¡± ¡°Oh, they can go to the southeast island, too. They must really like it that they made you order them in advance. What are you going to do with the extra one, Wataru?¡± ¡°Yes, I was thinking of making a place to put my luggage and other things I collected. I plan to pitch two tents, so I¡¯ll bring them when I buy them. Oh, and a rope for the anchor, please.¡± ¡°Oh, okay. I¡¯ll get it ready.¡± ¡°Also, could you please make a large wooden tub? I need a sturdy one because it will hold water and people inside. Also, it will hold baked stones, so please make an enclosure around the edge, so they don¡¯t touch the stones directly. I would like the size to be 150 x 80 with a height of about 80. Can you do that? Also, I¡¯d like a hole for drainage, please.¡± ¡°A bath? It¡¯s a strange shape, but I can do it. I can do it for two gold coins for the raft and the bath. I¡¯ll have it ready by the evening of the next day. I¡¯ll charge you 20 copper coins for the two pieces.¡± ¡°Please do so. Here are two gold coins and 20 copper coins. I look forward to it.¡± ¡°Oh, leave it to me.¡± I guess I wasted a little money, didn¡¯t I? But I wanted to take a bath with a view on the sea. I couldn¡¯t resist the thought of being able to make a bath out of the burned stones since I would have been able to boil a bath with them. I¡¯ve already ordered it, so I¡¯ll just say it¡¯s what Japanese people do. After leaving Donnino-san¡¯s place, we headed next to the tool shop where we had bought the tent. ¡°Excuse me. I need two tents, not really tents, but more like a tent without the flooring. I want one half the size of the tent I bought last time that can sleep ten people. Also, I think three other people are coming to buy the tent I bought last time. Do you have any in stock?¡± ¡°Yes, we do. The tents are two for nine silver coins each. The big tents are very popular, so we have plenty in stock.¡± Then Guido-san and the others will be able to get the tents soon. ¡°Also, I would like two wooden tables and eight chairs, please. I would like these taken to the docking station, number 115 if that¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Which table and chairs would you like?¡± ¡°This one, please.¡± It¡¯s for outside use, and I¡¯d rather have a simple one than a fancy one. ¡°Two tables for two silver coins and eight chairs for eighty copper coins. We will cover the cost of transportation, so the total with the tent will be 28 silver coins and 40 copper coins.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Then, here are the 28 silver coins and 40 copper coins. Oh, and I would like three of these lanterns.¡± ¡°Each one costs 60 copper coins, so that makes 180 copper coins.¡± ¡°Here are two silver coins. Please bring the lanterns to the front of the ship as well.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Well, I guess that¡¯s all the shopping done. After apologizing to the two escorts for making them wait, I headed to the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s inn. ¡°Hello, Landlady-san; I¡¯d like to stay three nights, and here are two silver coins.¡± ¡°Yes, the change will be 50 copper coins.¡± I receive my change and return to my room to rest. I feel at home when I am alone. While I was relaxing, the landlady came to tell me that there was a guest. I wondered who the guest was. I went to the dining room with my two escorts and found an unknown merchant waiting for me. ¡°Nice to meet you, Wataru-sama. My name is Zabo, and I am a merchant. Pleased to meet you.¡± ¡°Yes, um, my name is Wataru. How can I help you?¡± I can¡¯t think of anything in particular that I want to buy, though¡­ ¡°Yes, I heard that Wataru-sama has a wonderful magic boat, and I¡¯m here to ask if you could sign an exclusive contract with us.¡± Ah, so the merchant found out my identity right away because I was conspicuous at the time I arrived at the port. That¡¯s troublesome. ¡°No, sir, I have no intention of signing a contract with anyone. I¡¯m going to take all my business through the merchant guild. I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m going to have to ask you to leave.¡± It was a long story from there. Even though I had firmly refused him, he would not leave, even after I repeatedly asked him to leave, saying that he could not offer me such a good deal or that he would be happy to provide me with other conditions. As a merchant, it might not be good for business if he had to leave when asked to do so, but even so, I thought he was being too persistent. When I returned to my room, I was so tired that he finally left, and the next customer came right away. It was about the saber tiger subspecies, which is very popular, damn it. At any rate, I listened to what they had to say and reiterated over and over that I would not sign a contract and would only accept requests through the merchant guild. There was no time to relax after dinner because of the guests. After all, it¡¯s not a good thing to stand out without an objective, is it? Mostly, I¡¯m amazed at my own dullness in not thinking it¡¯s tasteless, even though the glistening saber-tiger subspecies was right in front of me the whole time. The more I think about it, the more pathetic I feel. Let¡¯s go to bed and talk to Camille-san early tomorrow morning. £ª£ª£ª The following day, before the merchants barge in, I go to the merchant guild for advice. ¡°Good morning, Camille-san. I need to ask you a few questions.¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. I don¡¯t mind. If so, I will show you to another room.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Camille-san¡¯s smile is a relief. Why is it that all the merchants who came barging in were all merchants with greedy looks on their faces? If someone like Camille-san had come to the business meeting, I would have felt a little soothed. ¡°Wataru-san, could it be that the merchants came storming up to you?¡± As expected of Camille-san, she seemed to have an idea of what we were about to discuss. I was probably a fool for thinking that the commotion was just a little too conspicuous. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I told them repeatedly that I only accept requests through the merchant guilds and that they should leave, but they wouldn¡¯t leave, and I was at a loss as to what to do.¡± ¡°I see, because the matter of the saber tiger subspecies has made you stand out. But not talking to the merchant at all is also a bad idea. You can get into trouble by trying to meet them by any means, so even if you refuse to meet them, at least meet with the merchants to some extent.¡± I hope they will give me a break by any means necessary. I don¡¯t like it, but it seems dangerous if I don¡¯t put up with it to some extent. ¡°I understand that it is dangerous if I don¡¯t meet with them. But most of the merchants who come to see me won¡¯t give up, so it¡¯s very difficult for me.¡± If they would just talk to me for a while and leave, I wouldn¡¯t have a problem with it. ¡°Well, they are merchants, so when they have a lucrative offer in front of them, they won¡¯t give up easily. If they are persistent, tell them to talk to the merchant guild. And after talking to the merchants for a bit, I think it would be better to accept the request for the southern island and take refuge there.¡± Running away is the best way to go, huh? Yeah, that seems like the safest thing to do. ¡°I understand. I will meet with the merchants and discuss it as much as possible. Thank you very much, Camille-san.¡± ¡°I apologize. Thank you very much. I will also arrange for Wataru-san to be escorted from the shadows when you are in the southern city for the time being. The merchant guild will do its best to deal with criminal acts, etc., so please hang in there until things settle down.¡± I feel like a VIP. ¡°Yes, thank you very much. I¡¯ll be on the island the day after tomorrow, so hopefully, things will settle down a bit by then.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be easy in four or five days, but as long as you deal with it properly, it will settle down, so please do your best.¡± ¡°Yes, I will do my best.¡± After thanking Camille-san, I gave up and returned to the inn. It was hard that the merchants were already waiting for me at the inn, but I put my mind to it and spent most of the time dealing with them, except for meal times. Some of them were threatening or outright threatening, so I reported them to the merchant guild. The evening before departure, I bought food and checked and loaded the raft, bath, chairs, and table. I managed to get the bath on the boat, so I packed the chairs and table into the bath, and the chairs that didn¡¯t fit were strapped to the raft. After managing to pack up, I was on my way back to the inn when I was suddenly attacked. ¡­Dino-san and Enrico-san are both very strong. Dino-san remained reluctant, while Enrico-san kept his smiling face and beat up the attacker. When we interrogated them as to why they attacked us, I learned how scary Enrico-san was. Enrico-san broke their bones without hesitation, without losing any of his smiling faces¡­ In front of the thugs groaning in pain as Enrico-san broke their bones, I knew they were discarded pawns. They seem to know nothing. Is it strange that I felt sympathy for the thug when saying that with a smiling face? ¡°Thank you very much. What should we do about these people?¡± ¡°I think the merchant guild has been notified, and they will be coming to pick them up soon. After that, I think they will be handed over to the guards.¡± ¡°I understand. But finally, I was attacked. Dino-san, Enrico-san, please continue to take care of me.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After that, someone came from the merchant guild, so I left the rest to them and returned to the inn. I was terrified that I would be attacked. It¡¯s a good thing I¡¯m leaving for the island tomorrow. I hope I can calm down while I¡¯m on the island, but it seems impossible. Thinking about it makes me feel depressed, so I¡¯ll just go to bed. £ª£ª£ª In the morning, I get ready and go to the dining hall with two of my escorts. As expected, I feel heavy because I didn¡¯t sleep well. I finished my breakfast lazily and headed for the dock. ¡°How long do you think this invitation will last?¡± ¡°In the case of Guido and the others, the fuss died down once the merchants approached them¡­ but in the case of Wataru, because of that spectacular arrival at the port, the boat¡¯s performance became well known. It¡¯s hard to predict.¡± ¡°Dino is right. The merchants won¡¯t give up for long, and it will probably be a long process.¡± ¡°Is it going to be prolonged¡­?¡± A simple mistake made all the commotion. It is not worth it if I don¡¯t at least make some money. It¡¯s safer on the island, so I¡¯ll stay there as long as possible. I arrived at the dock, signed the request forms for the two escorts, and waited for Alessia-san and the others. Oh, it looks like they¡¯re here. ¡°Good morning, Girasole!¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Sorry, we will be a little late again because of some luggage.¡± ¡°Fufu, you have a lot this time. I wonder if we can also benefit from it?¡± Benefit¡­ if the bath was a success and Alessia-san and the others took a bath¡­ huh? I feel like I¡¯m the one who¡¯s going to benefit the most from the bath, like Alessia-san and the others after their bath. I really want it to succeed. ¡°I think it¡¯s a good thing, but I don¡¯t know if everyone will like it. But if you like it, I think you¡¯ll be addicted to it.¡± ¡°Fufu, I¡¯m looking forward to it. Well, let¡¯s get going.¡± Alessia-san, you seem to be expecting a lot. Well, the bath will live up to your expectations. After separating from the two escorts, we departed. ¡°Wataru-san, the chicken bone soup with leeks and kelp broth, turned out delicious. The kelp broth is amazing.¡± Claretta-san smiles and reports the success of the soup. It¡¯s soothing, isn¡¯t it? ¡°I¡¯m glad it turned out so well. I¡¯ll dry the kelp this time, too, so please take some with you if you need it.¡± ¡°Really, thank you very much. But it would be a shame to just take it, so I¡¯d like to pay you some¡­¡± Do you mean selling the kelp? ¡°I just pull out the seaweed and dry it, so unless it is a business, I don¡¯t feel comfortable taking money from you for something that is a hobby.¡± ¡°Hmm, I see¡­ what should I do?¡± ¡°Then, please treat me to a meal that Claretta-san made next time. That will be more than enough compensation.¡± ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s what you want?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s more than enough.¡± A dish made by a beautiful, soft, and fluffy big-breasted woman is sufficient? It can¡¯t be that. I even want to pay extra for it. After chatting for a while, we pass through the difficult passages and arrive at the island. I pull the boat up to the tent raft and drop everyone off. ¡°Thank you for your hard work. I¡¯ll make you a cup of tea now, so please take a break.¡± ¡°Thank you for your hard work too. I will put our luggage in the tent. It¡¯s very helpful for me because until now; it was too small to carry even the bare minimum of what I needed.¡± Alessia-san and the others were smiling as they carried their luggage. I didn¡¯t know tents had such a side effect¡­ Well, it¡¯s good that they¡¯ve become more convenient, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Yes, feel free to use them.¡± If the tents make the adventurers feel good, life on the island seems to be fine. The water was boiling, so I made a pot of tea. ¡°Tea is ready, everyone.¡± ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san. So, we¡¯ll be back in two nights, and we¡¯d like to have a rest. Is that really okay?¡± ¡°Yes, every day is fine with me. If you get tired, you can come back anytime. And, I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll like it or not, but we¡¯ll have more facilities to look forward to.¡± ¡°Ara, thank you very much. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing the new facility, and I¡¯ll be sure to come back in two days. Thanks for the tea. We¡¯ll be going to the island now.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± I send Alessia-san and the others to the island and put the chicken soup on the charcoal fire. Now, let¡¯s get another raft up. It¡¯s the second time I¡¯ve done it, so I should be able to do it a little quicker this time. £ª£ª£ª Assemble the raft and anchor it a short distance away from the tent raft. Yeah, that saved a lot of time. There is still time, and I should manage to finish setting up the tent rafts. ¡­The sun went down soon after I finished setting up the two tent rafts. I¡¯ll have to set up the baths tomorrow. Back at the tent raft, I put the table in the space in front of the tent. There are many people, so it¡¯s better to keep the tables attached to each other. I arranged the chairs and put the lanterns on the table to complete the installation. An open terrace on the sea. Stylish, isn¡¯t it?¡¡Though it¡¯s too dark to see. Let¡¯s have dinner and go to bed. Tomorrow I¡¯m planning to take a bath after a long time, and I¡¯m looking forward to it. Volume 2 - CH 11 Chapter 11 ¨C Bath and Karaage Unlike yesterday, I woke up refreshed. Just being able to sleep peacefully makes a big difference. Besides, just the thought of taking a bath today is enough to motivate me. I quickly finish breakfast and start setting up the bathtub. I carried the bathtub into the tent and set it up. The tent has a tarp-like monster leather covering the entire raft to prevent water from getting in, but for this raft, I should only put it over the area where I will rinse the body. Now the water should flow into the ocean on its own. Hang a lantern in the center of the tent, put a basket for changing clothes, and prepare a pot, charcoal, and firewood for burning stones outside the tent. This completes the bathroom. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying this, but it looks pretty good. I¡¯ll take a bath in the evening, and after training, I¡¯ll go looking for stones and slime for the burning stones. I pick up a lot of round stones, about the size of two fists, and return to the bath raft with blue slime and green slime. Wash the stones I picked up with a water well to remove any dirt. I¡¯m kind of enjoying this situation where the preparations are progressing so steadily. My current situation is probably the same as camping. ¡­Huh? I have tons of supplies and a lot of tools because of the ship summoning¡­ Maybe it¡¯s a warmer environment than camping. ¡­Yeah, that¡¯s why it¡¯s fun, right? Yep, that¡¯s fine then. Let¡¯s enjoy what I have now. Put the charcoal in a big pot of ashes and build a fire, and when it¡¯s hot enough, add more wood and put the stones in an iron basket net on top of the intense flame. More and more wood is added to make the stones hotter and hotter. Whew, next, I guess I¡¯ll fill the bathtub with water using the daily life magic. It is quite laborious to fill the bathtub with water. After repeatedly filling the bathtub with water, the bathtub finally has enough water. Next, it¡¯s time to put in the burning stone. With iron tongs, I carefully pick up the burned stone and throw it into the bath. A loud noise and steam rise. I think it is going quite well. I put in the burning stone while checking the temperature. Is this about right? I gently put my hand in the bath. Oh, the water is nice. The bath is successfully heated¡­ but I feel that the efficiency is not so good. I think it would be faster to put the burning stone in a pot and boil the water, leaving the burning stone as an auxiliary. Next time, let¡¯s try burning the stones while boiling the water and then try to make a bath. This is a subject for the future, but for now, let¡¯s enjoy a bath after a long time. I took a hot bath and soaked myself in hot water while making an ¡°Aaah¡± sound like an old man. The tent is open, and I can see the sunset-tinted sea in front of me. It is a blissful moment. After taking a long hot bath, I wash my body. It is definitely more refreshing than wiping with hot water. I soak in hot water again and go up after enjoying the bath after a long time. Well, the bath feels good, but if I put on my clothes right away, the water will cling to them. I want a jinbei or yukata. After draining the water and putting out the fire, I returned to the tent raft. There is a pleasant sense of fulfillment in the success of the bath. Now, let¡¯s have a leisurely dinner and play with slime. There was plenty of room to play with the slime in the spacious tent raft. I enjoy my time with the slime as much as I can, chasing after it, pulling it around, feeding it dried meat, and so on. ¡­Well, I played with slime a lot, but I didn¡¯t get the tame skill. Can¡¯t I just keep playing with them? But I can¡¯t think of any other way. Anyway, I should try to get to know them better. It¡¯s time to send the slime back to the forest and go to bed. I¡¯ve had a lot of fun, and my body is refreshed from the bath, so I think I¡¯ll have a good dream. £ª£ª£ª Waking up refreshed. Maybe it¡¯s just my imagination, but my body feels light. Maybe it¡¯s the effect of taking a bath? I eat breakfast, do some training, and then make vegetable soup. Alessia-san and the others are scheduled to come back today, so I should prepare dinner and bathe early. I wash the bathtub and boil water in a pot while burning stones. After preparing dinner, I went looking for slime¡­ When I reached the beach, I found a green slime and a blue slime quickly, so I quickly took them back to my tent. I feel like I¡¯m getting used to finding and securing slimes. Rather than taming skills, I feel like if I had skills like slime detection, I¡¯d be able to get them soon. While I¡¯m having fun feeding them dried meat and rubbing them, I hear a voice calling me. It seems that Alessia-san and the others have returned. ¡°Welcome back. Are you hurt?¡± ¡°I¡¯m back, Wataru-san. Everyone is fine, with no injuries. Oh, yes, this is a souvenir. It¡¯s delicious bird meat.¡± They handed me a piece of bird wrapped in a leaf. It looks like the meat has been cut up into pieces. I¡¯m glad they didn¡¯t give it to me as a whole bird because I wouldn¡¯t have been able to handle it. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± After receiving the gifts, I bring Alessia-san and the others on board the Japanese-style boat, return to the tent raft, and offer them hand towels and tea. ¡°The hand towels are very comfortable, aren¡¯t they?¡± After everyone had settled down with a cup of tea, I was about to talk about the bath when Alessia-san spoke up with a sense of satisfaction. I guess she beat me to it. ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯d like to wipe myself off.¡± ¡°Oh, please wait a minute, Alessia-san. Can you try the bath before wiping yourself off?¡± ¡°A bath? Do you mean the bath that people say is in the mansions of aristocrats and wealthy merchants?¡± Even Alessia-san¡¯s level is not familiar with baths. So would that mean that Alessia-san and the others are having their first experience with baths? That¡¯s interesting. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I made a bath for everyone.¡± I might be looking a little proud. Oh no, getting carried away is never a good thing. Let¡¯s calm down. ¡°Really? Can you really take a bath in a place like this?¡± ¡°Yes, I did my best, after all. Let me show you, and you can check it out.¡± I lead everyone to the Japanese-style boat, head for the bath raft, and guide them into the bath. Oh, everyone seems surprised. It was worth it. ¡°Let me explain. The bathtub is now half full of water. To this, we will add the boiling water that is being heated outside the tent. After you fill it with boiling water, please put the water in a pot with daily life magic and boil it for the next person who enters.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s interesting.¡± ¡°Then stir the water to check the temperature. When it is lukewarm, put the stones you are burning in this enclosure. When you put some in, and it reaches the temperature you like, it¡¯s ready. Is everything clear so far?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine. But it¡¯s really a bath. I thought you were joking.¡± ¡°Haha, it¡¯s a real bath. If it gets too hot, use the daily life magic water to cool it down. Also, before you go in, you have to rinse your body with warm water and clean it before getting into the bath. Once you are warmed up, wash your body, and then get into the hot water again. Be careful not to stay in the bath for too long, or you will become dizzy. Well, I guess it goes like this.¡± I explained everything in a simple manner. There is nothing difficult, so it should be fine. ¡°Yes, I understand. Who¡¯s going to go first? Just barely two people, considering the size of the place, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a little afraid, so I¡¯ll go in after you.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± Is there a pattern of being afraid of the bath? That¡¯s a little unexpected. ¡°Then Carla and Claretta will be last. If there is no one else who wishes to go, then Dorothea and I will go in, followed by Ilma and Marina, okay?¡± Everyone nodded in agreement. The order was decided easily. ¡°Oh, and please note that if you don¡¯t bring a change of clothes with you to the bath, you¡¯ll have to put your dirty clothes on again.¡± It kind of reminded me of the emptiness of forgetting my underwear at the pool. It shouldn¡¯t be that big a deal, but it makes me kind of sad. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the tent and pick up our change of clothes.¡± Alessia-san instructs me with an air of excitement. Maybe Alessia-san is a curious type of person. We all returned to the tent raft and sent Alessia-san and Dorothea-san back to the bath raft again. ¡°If you need anything else, just call me.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going to take a bath then.¡± Alessia-san is excited to go to the bath. Dorothea-san followed her quietly. They make a good duo, don¡¯t they? We boarded the Japanese-style boat and returned to the tent raft. Now, what should I cook with the bird I got for dinner? I guess karaage is the way to go. I also have potatoes, so I¡¯ll make French fries. I rub the bird meat with salt, garlic, and ginger. Next to the bird, I cut the potatoes into sticks and soaked them in water. I can hear the sounds of fun and comfort from the bath raft. I wonder what kind of scene is spreading inside that tent. ¡®¡±Wataru-san, does taking a bath really feel that good?¡± Carla-san asked me timidly. She said she was scared earlier, and I guess she is anxious. ¡°Well, you may like it or not, but for me, not taking a bath would be a great loss in my life. Are you afraid of taking a bath, Carla-san?¡± ¡°Somewhat anxious¡­¡± Her bear ears are twitching and are very cute. Adventurers who are anxious about baths¡­ isn¡¯t that kind of problem? ¡°I see¡­ four people take a bath before Carla-san. After you hear their impressions, I think you can decide whether or not to go in. In the extreme, you won¡¯t die even if you don¡¯t take a bath, so I think you should just take it easy and give it a try. I think it¡¯s okay if you just want to give it a try.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll think about it after I hear it.¡± ¡°Yes, please do that.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, we are out!¡± I heard Alessia-san¡¯s voice calling from the bath raft. ¡°Then, I will go to pick you up. Marina-san, Ilma-san, we are leaving.¡± ¡°¡±Yeess.¡±¡± I brought Marina-san and Ilma-san and went to pick up Alessia-san and Dorothea-san on the Japanese-style boat. Wow, I didn¡¯t recognize them clearly because they were wearing protective gear or heavy clothes until now, but I can understand them better when they are thinly dressed after taking a hot bath. ¡­Alessia-san is an F-cup, and Dorothea is an E-cup, I guess? The rich parts of the sexy big-breasted beauties in hot water are swaying with the vibration of the boat. They are so plump. This alone is worth the price of the bath. Thank you, God. ¡°Wataru-san, a bath feels so good. It makes me feel warm and refreshed, and I feel like it takes away all the fatigue from my body. Right, Dorothea?¡± ¡°Yes, it felt so good, and I feel like it warmed me from the inside out. Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re pleased.¡± Her smile is dazzling, and it looks like the two of them liked it. If they can have a bath as many times as they want, that means I¡¯ll be able to see this scene over and over again. I¡¯m really looking forward to it. ¡°Ufufu, it feels so good, huh? We must look forward to it, Marina.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Ilma-san, Marina-san, please check the temperature of the hot water first. If you need anything else, just let me know.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After seeing Ilma-san and Marina-san off into the tent, I returned to the tent raft with Alessia-san and Dorothea-san. As I was preparing the food again, I heard happy voices coming from inside the tent. In response to Carla-san and Claretta-san¡¯s questions, Alessia-san and Dorothea-san told them how pleasant it was to have fun. From the tone of their voices, it sounds like they like it a lot, and both Carla-san and Claretta-san will be relieved. I continue to prepare the food while listening to their voices happily frolicking in the tent. It makes me so happy. ¡°Wataru-san, we are done.¡± While I was cooking, I heard Ilma-san¡¯s voice. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be coming to pick you up now. Shall we go, Carla-san and Claretta-san?¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Carla-san is giving off an air of a soldier heading for the battlefield. She didn¡¯t have to be so serious. Claretta-san seems to have calmed down after listening to the conversation and is looking forward to the experience. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting. How was your bath?¡± I came out of the tent and called Ilma-san and Marina-san, who were waiting for us. ¡°Ufufu, it was great.¡± This is dangerous. She is usually a big-breasted beauty with a mysterious charm, but now that she¡¯s finished with the bath, her charm has increased even more. Her sexiness has gone over the limit. Marina-san¡¯s usual calm atmosphere is a little broken down, and her cozy atmosphere is very attractive. Ilma-san is an F-cup and Marina-san is a D-cup. I can¡¯t get enough of their breasts that tap and sway with every beat of their movement. Ilma-san¡¯s atmosphere that draws people in is especially dangerous. It makes me want to forget everything and jump on her. ¡°I-I¡¯m happy if you like it, too. So, what are you going to do, Carla-san and Claretta-san?¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll take a bath.¡± ¡°I will take a bath too. I¡¯m beginning to look forward to it now that I¡¯ve heard you talk about it.¡± It seems that Carla-san and Claretta-san have also decided to take a bath. Now everyone¡¯s appearance after taking a bath is complete. ¡°Then, I¡¯m going back. Please call me if you need anything.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± They both seemed to like the bath and thanked me happily. Then Ilma-san noticed the gazes gathered on her breasts, and smiling bewitchingly at me, she crossed her arms in front of her and lifted up her ample part of them. Thank you for the feast. Back at the tent raft, the four of them were happily talking about the bath. I wiped the potatoes dry in the water. All that¡¯s left to do now is to coat the bird meat in flour and fry it. After the two people who are currently taking a bath get out, I¡¯ll fry the bird and potatoes. But Carla-san and Claretta-san have been in the bath for quite a long time; I wonder if they¡¯ll be okay? ¡°Wataru-san, we¡¯re done.¡± I heard Claretta-san¡¯s voice, as I felt a little uneasy. Apparently, I wasn¡¯t oversensitive. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going to pick you up now.¡± I went to the bath raft with the Japanese-style boat and found a beautiful woman with big breasts. ¡­How many times have I said this line? It just confirmed once again that all members of Girasole are big-breasted beauties. I thought they were both the calm type in terms of mood, but now they are loose and look like they could melt. And Carla-san is an F-cup, and Claretta-san has at least a G-cup. Every time she walked around in a relaxed manner, she looked like she was going to be pulled or maybe even bounced? ¡°Carla-san, Claretta-san, how was your bath?¡± ¡°¡±It was great.¡±¡± Both of them answered with their best smiles. I felt embarrassed. ¡°I see. I¡¯m going to clean up the fire before returning, so please wait a little while.¡± After telling them to wait a bit, I put the lid on the pot with the charcoal and wood in it. Now all I have to do is put out the lanterns, and it will be perfect. For a moment, I had a feeling that I could sell the leftover water from the bath Alessia-san and the others took for a high price¡­ I feel like if I do that, I¡¯ll never be a human being again. A little disappointed, I brought the two of them back to the tent raft with the Japanese-style boat. The two of them were very excited during the boat ride and told me repeatedly that it was great. Back at the tent raft, Carla-san and Claretta-san joined the four people in the tent and enjoyed themselves. I want to join them too. ¡­Let¡¯s just cook. I put oil in a pan and fry the bird and potatoes. Besides that, heat up some vegetable soup and bread, and dinner is ready. ¡°The food is ready, everyone. Let¡¯s eat at the table on the terrace today.¡± It¡¯s too bad we can¡¯t see the view after the sun goes down, but it would be a nice atmosphere if we lighted the lanterns and laid out the food. Karaage, French fries, vegetable soup, and bread. It wasn¡¯t fancy, but it turned out to be quite a luxurious dinner. ¡°Wow, that looks delicious. And sorry I didn¡¯t help you.¡± Claretta-san complimented me when she saw the food. ¡°It¡¯s not something you should worry about, Claretta-san. It¡¯s what I like to do. Well then, let¡¯s eat before it gets cold.¡± With an ¡°Itadakimasu¡± (Thank you for the food), everyone started eating at once. The karaage and french fries seem to be very popular. I¡¯ll have some too. ¡­Oh, this karaage is delicious. Alessia-san said it was a delicious bird and looked like she was right. The meat was firm, and juices overflowed as I bit into it. The garlic and ginger flavors that have been thoroughly rubbed into the meat increase the appetite. ¡°It¡¯s delicious, Wataru-san. Both the bird meat and the potatoes are very tasty. What is this dish called?¡± Claretta-san was even more enthusiastic than when I taught her how to make the soup. Apparently, she really liked the food. ¡°Claretta-san, please calm down. Carla-san, we don¡¯t have any more meat, but we do have more potatoes and soup.¡± The power of fried food is tremendous. Everyone is eating at a faster pace than usual. Carla-san has already had another serving of french fries, vegetable soup, and bread. That refill alone is enough for a normal person¡¯s meal, Carla-san. ¡°Yes, it was delicious. A delicious meal and a hot bath. The sleeping quarters are a little cramped, but it¡¯s probably more comfortable than living in the city.¡± ¡°Ufufu, yes. I especially like this meat. Can you make it again, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad Dorothea-san and Ilma liked it. The bird dish is called karaage. I made this dish with the gifts you gave me, so if you prepare the ingredients, I will make it again.¡± ¡°Yes, we will definitely hunt them down. I¡¯ll have to ask Marina to do her best.¡± Dorothea-san speaks with a serious expression on her face. I heard that Marina-san hunts the birds with a bow. I¡¯ll support Marina-san, too. This bird is quite tasty. The lively meal is over, and we savor a leisurely cup of tea. ¡­The slimes are being rubbed by Dorothea-san and now Marina-san as well. Maybe the number of slime lovers will increase. It¡¯s a very good thing. However, it¡¯s time to go to bed. I¡¯m going to collect the slimes from the two who are playing with them in order to return them to the forest. All I have to do now is go to bed¡­ I¡¯ve seen the exciting Alessia-san and the others today¡­ I wonder if I¡¯ll have a good dream or if I¡¯ll have an agonizingly erotic dream. £ª£ª£ª In the morning, I make a charcoal fire and boil water while also heating up some soup next to me. Alessia-san and the others wake up, so I put breakfast on the table, and we all eat together. The conversation during the meal is dominated by karaage and the bath. The topic of the bath was especially highly rated, with many happy comments, such as how well they slept and how their bodies felt lighter and more refreshed after the exhaustion. I guess they liked the bath so much that they asked me to prepare a bath for them, as they would return as soon as they hunted a big game earlier today. There was no way I was going to pass up the chance to see a big-breasted beauty after a hot bath, so I readily agreed. I sent Alessia-san and the others back to the forest and washed the bath to meet their request. Next, it¡¯s time for training. I haven¡¯t been fighting lately, and since being a merchant seems to be my main focus, I feel the meaning of training is waning, but I¡¯ve learned it all, so I¡¯ll continue training as much as possible. While I was training with a renewed spirit, Guido-san¡¯s magic boat came driving by. Come to think of it; no one had come for four days. Usually, someone comes back soon, but this is unusual. ¡°Wataru, we¡¯ve all brought rafts with us. Give us a hand.¡± When I asked him about the details, he told me that Guido-san, Carlo-san, and Daniel-san had worked together to bring the raft to the island. I now understood why they had not been on the island for the past few days. They had turned down work in favor of the raft. I thought the merchant guild would be in trouble if they were doing that. ¡°I have no problem helping out, but one of us needs to stay here in case the people from Girasole come back. What should we do?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll stay here, and you go, Wataru. When Girasole comes back, I will go and call you, so you don¡¯t have to worry. Carlo and Daniel will be waiting for you in that direction, so please help us.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± I went in the direction Guido-san pointed with the Japanese-style boat and found Carlo-san and Daniel-san waiting on the other side of the difficult passage. Yes, even from a distance, I could see that they had a lot of luggage. All three of them are really fired up to make their life on the island better. At any rate, I¡¯ll go over the difficult spot and join the two of them too. £ª£ª£ª ¡°Wataru, you came. I¡¯m sorry, but I need you to carry the raft. Hmm? What about Guido?¡± ¡°I have him watching over the adventurers who are in the forest in case they come back.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, that¡¯s right. Sorry to bother you while you¡¯re working.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s only for a little while, so it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll be back when we get past the difficult spots, so please come with me, Daniel-san.¡± ¡°Oh, okay.¡± I received the raft from Daniel-san, and we crossed the difficult spot. After crossing the difficult spot, I give the raft to Daniel-san and return to Carlo-san¡¯s place. Repeat this process to carry all the rafts. When all the materials of the rafts had crossed the difficult spots, I towed Guido-san¡¯s raft back to the bay. ¡°Oh, Wataru, thank you. Carlo, Daniel, let¡¯s get the raft together quickly before dark.¡± ¡°¡±Alright.¡±¡± ¡°Do you need any help?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re just grateful to have had you bring things up to here. Thanks.¡± It seems that my help was unnecessary. But, when Guido and the others¡¯ rafts were completed, there would be five tent rafts floating in the bay, including my two rafts. It would be interesting to see a small village on the water after some time. While watching Guido-san and the others assemble the rafts, I look for slime. Today I found two blue slimes. After rubbing the slime, I fill the bath with only half full of water. Guido-san and the others are working hard. I should offer them a cup of cold tea. Around sunset, Alessia-san and the others came back carrying a big deer. It is called a ¡°giant deer,¡± and although it is only B-rank in strength, it is rare, and its antlers have medicinal properties, so they are highly prized. This time it was a whole deer, so they didn¡¯t know whether it would be stuffed or used as medicine. They also gave me two of yesterday¡¯s birds as souvenirs. I guess this means they want me to make karaage from these two birds, right? As usual, I gave them tea and hand towels. Today, they are going to take a bath alone, and they have a fierce battle to decide the order of the bath. After putting the giant deer on the tent next to the bath raft, I filled the bath with boiling water and burned stones to boil the water. Shall I pick them up when they¡¯re ready? ¡°Your bath is ready. Who is the first?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me; let¡¯s go.¡± Dorothea-san cheerfully announced. Her smile is dazzling. ¡°Understood.¡± After dropping Dorothea-san off, I prepared dinner. I feel it will be much easier now that Claretta-san has offered to help me. ¡°I¡¯d like you to peel the potatoes and cut them into sticks, please, Claretta-san. Also, Alessia-san seems to be in a bad mood, is something wrong?¡± ¡°Yes, well¡­ fufu. Alessia is just sulking because she was last in line for the bath. Please don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Is it okay for her to sulk over her turn to take a bath¡­ even though she is the leader? ¡°Wataru-san, there is a raft at Guido-san and the others¡¯ place, but are they going to pitch their tents as well?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s late today, so I think they will pitch their tents tomorrow.¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to get easier and easier to live on this island, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, maybe we can set up a small village. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯m finished.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m on my way. Who¡¯s next?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Carla-san raises her hand with a smiling face. This is not a school¡­ Well, she¡¯s cute, so it¡¯s okay. ¡°Carla-san, huh? I¡¯m glad you like the bath. Shall we go?¡± I sent Carla-san to the bath raft and returned to the tent raft with Dorothea-san, a brown-breasted beauty, after taking a hot bath. I¡¯m so glad I came to another world where I could see a big-breasted beauty after taking a bath up close. After Carla-san, Marina was next. Ilma-san, Claretta-san, and Alessia-san followed in that order. All of them were beautiful, had big breasts, and were hot after taking a hot bath. After Alessia-san left the bath, I cooked dinner. It was the same menu as yesterday, but everyone enjoyed it. Karaage is very popular, isn¡¯t it? Balance: 0 gold coins, 21 silver coins, 70 copper coins. Guild account balance: 12 gold coins, 70 silver coins. Volume 2 - CH 12 Chapter 12 ¨C Trial And Verdict Morning. I prepare breakfast for everyone, clean the bath, and put the giant deer in the adjacent tent onto the Japanese-style boat and cover it with a cloth. If I cover it with a cloth, there should be no commotion this time when we arrive at the port. Well, it may be a little late for that, but it¡¯s better than not doing anything at all. ¡°Ah, good morning, everyone.¡± ¡°Good morning.¡± I greeted Alessia-san and the others as they came out of their tents. ¡°It¡¯s just a simple one, but breakfast is ready.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, thank you so much for your hospitality.¡± Alessia-san thanked me with a happy smile. Basically, my job is to take them to and from the ship, so this kind of service has never been offered to them before, and they are very appreciative of it. ¡°No, no, don¡¯t worry about it. Let¡¯s eat.¡± But I would feel bad if I didn¡¯t at least prepare a meal for them when I was being paid 15 gold coins. Since this is like getting rich quickly, I should at least give a little back to them. After breakfast, we depart for the southern city. £ª£ª£ª ¡°Phew, we arrived safe and sound. Thank you all for your hard work.¡± We arrived at the southern city smoothly, and I called out to Alessia-san and the others. ¡°Thank you for your hard work, Wataru-san. I¡¯ll escort you back to the merchant guild.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Sorry for the trouble, but I appreciate your help.¡± I know it¡¯s a lot of work every time, but my life is on the line, so I¡¯ll take their word for it and have them escort me back to the guild. Well, it should be a pleasure to walk with Girasole, a group of beautiful women, but the men¡¯s murderous stares at me are not the stares of trying to get my Japanese-style boat, but the stares of not liking the men walking with Girasole¡­ I think the number of enemies is increasing. I can¡¯t wait to join my two escorts. ¡°Thank you for the escort, everyone.¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s okay Wataru-san. We¡¯ll probably ask you for another island request, so I look forward to working with you again.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After parting with Alessia-san and the others, I went into the merchant guild and went through the formalities. ¡°I would like you to call my escorts and confirm the completion of my request.¡± ¡°Understood. ¡­The request has been completed. The reward is 15 gold coins.¡± ¡°Please give me three gold coins in cash and the rest to my account.¡± As I was reporting the completion of the request, Camille-san approached me. She has a kind of troubled expression on her face. Is it a troublesome matter? I have a bit of a bad feeling about this. ¡°Wataru-san, the guildmaster is waiting for you. Could you please come this way?¡± ¡°The guildmaster? ¡­I don¡¯t mind¡­ but two of my escorts will be coming here.¡± ¡°When they arrive, I¡¯ll arrange for them to take them to your room.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The guild master¡¯s room, huh¡­? This pattern is either complimentary or troublesome, according to the template. From the expression on Camille-san¡¯s face, I think it¡¯s definite trouble. I headed to the guildmaster¡¯s room, guided by Camille-san. ¡°You¡¯re here, Wataru. This is something troublesome, so listen to me carefully.¡± As soon as I entered the room, I knew it would be a problem before I even had time to get nervous. The guildmaster was emotionless, though. ¡°Can I proceed?¡± There¡¯s already been a lot of trouble with the requests and the attacks. And this again? I know it¡¯s expected, but I don¡¯t like it. I really want to go home. ¡°Listen to me. Do you know a merchant named Zabo?¡± ¡°Zabo? Hmm, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ve ever heard of him or not¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± I¡¯ve met so many merchants in a row that I don¡¯t remember any of them. ¡°Well, you don¡¯t know, huh? But Zabo said that Wataru¡¯s magic boat was a stolen heirloom from his family. So he is demanding Wataru¡¯s arrest and the return of the magic boat.¡± ¡°Huh? It doesn¡¯t make sense to me. I don¡¯t remember anything about it, and I think he must be mistaken.¡± ¡°As I thought, you have no recollection of this. I knew it was a false accusation because Zabo is a small scoundrel with a bad reputation.¡± Well, you mean that an infamous scoundrel has been targeting my Japanese-style boat? ¡°If you know it¡¯s a false accusation, then why don¡¯t we just leave it alone?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the way it works. The fact is, Zabo has a nobleman behind him. The nobleman said that the magic boat belonged to Zabo¡¯s family and that the nobleman had ridden on it before. It would be troublesome if the nobleman were to appear, and we need to get the results of the trial properly.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that? Can a nobleman seize a magic boat just because he says he¡¯s been on one too? Is this country safe?¡± It¡¯s not funny that the noble is a bully. ¡°There is no such thing. There are stupid nobles, but there are also decent nobles. However, as long as nobles are out there, we have to investigate and deal with them properly. We can¡¯t just ignore it and be done with it.¡± ¡°Hah, it¡¯s really troublesome¡­ I want to go home.¡± I fell into another world and had to go through a trial. I¡¯m going to cry. ¡°I¡¯ve brought two of your escorts here.¡± As I was lamenting the unreasonableness of the world, Camille-san came into the room with two of my escorts. ¡°Um, Dino-san and Enrico-san, it looks like I¡¯ve gotten myself into trouble again, so please take care of me.¡± Dino-san smiled bitterly, and Enrico-san nodded with a smiling face. I explained what had happened so far, and it turned out that I had met Zabo. ¡°Ah, that first person who barged into the inn and was so noisy about the contract that he wouldn¡¯t leave, that was Zabo. Eh? He came to me and asked me to sign a contract, and then he said that the magic boat was a stolen family heirloom? Does that go through?¡± ¡°Well, the nobleman came out and testified. Wataru must also respond and convince the other party. If you lose, you¡¯ll be caught.¡± The guildmaster said something unpleasant. Does that mean I¡¯m one step away from being a criminal? ¡°But the other party is trying to take my magic boat with the nobles behind it, right? Won¡¯t they admit it no matter what I say?¡± ¡°Yes, there is a good chance of that. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to have a higher-ranked nobleman attend the trial this time.¡± ¡°A higher-ranked nobleman is going to attend to a mere low-ranked adventurer and merchant?¡± ¡°Normally, that would not have happened. But Zabo¡¯s backer was a baron, and with his help, he was able to do as he pleased. But when it came to this southern city, there were nobles above the baron, so he couldn¡¯t use his power, and his store would not do well. Therefore, I have asked Southern Count-sama to clean up Zabo and the baron together since they seem to have been too hasty and involved in shady business.¡± He wants to take this opportunity to clean up the trash of society. ¡°I see, so I am the bait. What should I do?¡± ¡°What you want to do is up to you, Wataru.¡± ¡°Eh? Should there be something I can do about it?¡± What is that kind of behavior where you just stir things up and then back off when the big fire breaks out? Merchants put trust first, right? ¡°It¡¯s obvious. Since it was Wataru who was sued, there was no reason for the merchant guild to join in.¡± ¡°I have a guild card from the merchant guild. You should at least protect me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same with Zabo, too. He¡¯s a B-rank. Wataru is F-rank, so by that logic, I have to protect Zabo.¡± ¡°Hah, that¡¯s troublesome. If I expose the contradictions of the opponent, will Southern Count-sama be able to judge them properly?¡± If he says I have to bribe him, I have to prepare a golden manjuu. [T/n: Golden Manjuu = money given in a box disguised as candy = bribe.] ¡°Umu, he is the one who rules the trade city. You can never be sure, but I think there¡¯s no way he¡¯s going to take the side of the stupid scoundrels.¡± It seems I don¡¯t have to bribe him. It seems that Southern Count-sama wants to get rid of the baron, and all I have to do is prove that the Japanese-style boat is my ship. Then I guess I can manage. ¡°Hmm¡­ I understand. So when and where do I have to prove it?¡± ¡°Umu, as soon as Southern Count-sama has some free time, we¡¯ll go to the castle. That said, I don¡¯t know when it will start, but I¡¯ve reported Wataru¡¯s return, and we¡¯ll hear back from him soon enough.¡± ¡°Huh? Why is it so random? This is a trial in the presence of Southern Count-sama, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Zabo and the baron demanded that Wataru be detained immediately because they feared that you might escape. If you are detained, you will be quickly killed in jail, so I asked Southern Count-sama to spare you some time.¡± What a scary system. If I go to jail, I will be killed in an instant, huh? ¡°This would never happen under normal circumstances. This time, he asked for my help to punish the incompetent baron, so he agreed to my request.¡± I see. In short, I have to bear Southern Count-sama¡¯s expectations as well. That¡¯s an annoying story. ¡°Hah, I understand. I will do something about it.¡± ¡°Both Zabo and the baron seem to be in a hurry now that they know that Southern Count-sama will be attending the trial. The shadow I had attached to you also reported that there was a gang of thieves who were after you. But, it seems that they gave up the attack because of Girasole¡¯s presence.¡± It seems that Southern Count-sama¡¯s unscheduled action has made them want to kill me. ¡°Guildmaster. Southern Count-sama has asked you to come to the castle in two hours.¡± Someone who looked like a secretary came to deliver the message from Southern Count-sama. We¡¯ve only got two hours left, and there¡¯s hardly any time to prepare. It¡¯s like leaving a matter to chance. ¡°I understand. That¡¯s what he said, Wataru. Prepare as much as you can.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Hah, I never thought I¡¯d have to go through a trial¡­ It¡¯s really not a good thing to be conspicuous. If push comes to shove, I¡¯ll summon a ship and hole up on the ship. In the meantime, the best way to prove my innocence would be to rely on the ship summoning ability. I¡¯ll talk to the guildmaster first. £ª£ª£ª When I said I needed my magic boat to prove my innocence, the guildmaster told his subordinates, and they agreed to carry it for me. Without permission to board the ship, they can¡¯t touch it, so I have to give them an excuse for bringing it. We unloaded the luggage on the boat and headed for the castle. I arrived at the castle with the guildmaster a little before the appointed time and was shown to a large room. The soldiers at the castle were checking out the Japanese-style boat, so I secretly gave them permission to board the boat again. Boarding permission is a hassle at a time like this, isn¡¯t it? Well, it¡¯s a good thing that the security is so thorough, so I¡¯ll allow a little hassle. We were taken to a place surrounded by a fence and told to kneel down and wait. The Japanese-style boat is placed in the middle of the room. I wondered if the judge would sit at the big desk on the other side of the fence. The guildmaster sits in a distant place in the rear. The atmosphere seems similar to that of a Japanese court. Well, I have only seen a courtroom in a TV drama or something, though. After kneeling and waiting for a while, more than ten knights entered and lined up by the wall. After them, Zabo and a fat old man come in. I wonder if that old man is the baron? Next, the back door opened, and three men in fine-looking clothes entered. Zabo and the baron kneeled down, so I guessed that Southern Count-sama was among the three men. As I knelt down and looked around, I saw that only one man was sitting on a chair, and the other two were standing on either side of him. The one in the middle must be Southern Count-sama. He seems to be a serious-looking man whose expression never changes. The man to the left of Southern Count-sama began to speak. ¡°We will now discuss the theft of the magic boat that the merchant Zabo has filed a lawsuit against. Furthermore, since Southern Count-sama is in attendance, disrespect will not be tolerated.¡± The trial was about to begin. ¡°Wataru. Do you have any objection to Zabo¡¯s complaint?¡± ¡°Yes, I did not steal this magic boat. I paid the proper price for it.¡± ¡°That is a lie, Your Honor. That magic boat is my family¡¯s heirloom. Baron Benvenuto here has been on board this boat, and it is a very important magic boat for us.¡± With a sad expression on his face, Zabo appealed to the judge. Should I also show my emotions like that? ¡°Baron Benvenuto. Are you sure what Zabo said is correct?¡± ¡°Yes, it must be the magic boat I boarded.¡± ¡°Wataru, do you have any objections?¡± ¡°Yes. Even if I explain it in words, it would be a dead-end argument, so I would like him to be deliberate using the magic boat. Is that acceptable?¡± ¡°Umu, no problem.¡± Oh, for the first time, Southern Count-sama spoke. It¡¯s already a hassle, so I can just put it in the climax, can¡¯t I? ¡°Thank you very much. Then, Zabo-san, please activate that magic boat.¡± ¡°Huh? What are you asking suddenly?¡± Zabo gave me a hateful look. This attitude after getting me into trouble. I was really pissed off. ¡°You know, if that magic boat was your family heirloom, then, of course, you know how to activate it, don¡¯t you? So, please activate it and prove it to all of us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a simple matter.¡± Zabo approached the Japanese-style boat with full confidence. The guildmaster told me that there are several patterns of magic boats, but the ones that do not have the owner¡¯s authority can be activated to some extent easily. The Japanese-style boat is not actually a magic boat, though. Hah, I want to go home now; I¡¯m embarrassed to be a part of such a silly farce. If it were a thrilling development with deductions and evidence, there would still be some tension, but just activating a magic boat, how is that a trial? Furthermore, this is a trial in the presence of the very important Southern Count-sama. And since the key is pulled out of the lock, the Japanese-style boat will never move. It even makes me feel empty. ¡­Zabo, do your best. But how long do we have to wait? ¡°Enough. I find that Zabo¡¯s claim is false.¡± ¡°W-wait a minute, Your Honor. This is something he must have done. I am certain that this magic boat belongs to me.¡± Zabo did not give up. Now he said that I had sabotaged it. ¡°Can a magic boat be so easily made?¡± I asked the judge. ¡°A magic ship is a piece of technology that has not yet been fully understood. If you could craft one, you would be paid a high salary.¡± The judge replies somewhat dismissively. He probably wants to get out of here as soon as possible. ¡°T-then, that man must have destroyed the magic boat.¡± ¡°Do you want me to activate the magic boat?¡± ¡°Umu, go ahead and activate the magic boat.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Zabo looked at me with a pleading expression. No, indeed, it¡¯s impossible not to activate it out of pity in this situation. The proof ended with the engine running smoothly in front of everyone¡¯s eyes. ¡°It is decided that Zabo¡¯s claim is false. Zabo, Baron Benvenuto, you will not get off lightly if you try to take away the magic boat from the people with a false accusation, so be prepared for that.¡± ¡°N-no, I was only deceived by Zabo.¡± Baron Benvenuto wiped the sweat off his face and began to make excuses. ¡°Before this trial, we have already checked the previous accusations made by Zabo and Baron Benvenuto. We will review them at a later date, so don¡¯t make any unsightly excuses.¡± The judge silenced the baron¡¯s excuses with an all-clear blow. Finally, the farce is over. £ª£ª£ª It is already dark when we leave the castle. The guildmaster said he would accompany us to the docking station, so let¡¯s put the Japanese-style boat back and get some sleep. ¡°Guildmaster, how can Zabo and the baron get by with a trial like that?¡± On the way to the docking station, I asked him what was bothering me. ¡°This trial alone exposed so much hideous behavior in front of Southern Count-sama. Besides, Zabo will be charged of using the trial for personal use, and the baron will probably experience embarrassment in the noble society. On top of that, there is the re-investigation of all the previous appeals. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s much we can do about that now.¡± He had done so many things that even the nobility had caught up with him to the point where he couldn¡¯t escape anymore. ¡°I see. Well, I don¡¯t want to get involved again, so that helps. But they won all this time with such a random claim, didn¡¯t they? How did they keep winning?¡± ¡°Normally, a trial of that magnitude would be tried in a simple trial court. They are all below the rank of barons. He may have been using his status as a shield to do whatever he wanted, but now that Southern Count-sama is in attendance. The court¡¯s status has been raised, and the judges are no lower than the baron. I guess fabrications, threats, bribes, and everything else didn¡¯t work, and that¡¯s why they¡¯re in that mess.¡± For Zabo and his colleagues, it seems it means that the unplanned has piled up, and they can no longer cope. Well, it¡¯s a nice feeling. I hope this makes things a little more peaceful. Balance: 3 gold coins, 21 silver coins, 70 copper coins. Guild Account Balance: 24 gold coins, 40 silver coins. Volume 2 - CH 13 Chapter 13 ¨C Six Months Later and Holy Slime Six months have passed since the silly trial ended. Life in the southern city has often been troublesome, and instead, life on the island has been peaceful. Rather than going to the island for work, I live a peaceful life on the island and feel like I¡¯m going to the southern city to do a job I don¡¯t like. I was hoping that after the trial, I would be able to relax a bit, but I couldn¡¯t. It seems that being able to take an entire monster off the island is quite beneficial. Furthermore, up until now, only selected, high-value items were brought back from the island, but now, rare items of slightly lower value and parts of monsters that had previously been given up can be brought back, making both the merchant guild and adventurer guilds very happy. Therefore, invitations, bribes, threats, and raids occur frequently. Dino-san and Enrico-san are always there to repel the attackers. Recently, the sight of Enrico-san breaking the bones of the attackers with a smiling face is more frightening. Perhaps it is the influence of living in Japan that makes me feel sympathy for the attackers, even though I know it is a wrong impression, despite the fact that Enrico-san and Dino-san are protecting me. Japan is very peaceful, after all. The most dangerous of the various types of interference is the honey trap. Even though I know this, I still end up following them around. Dino-san and Enrico-san saved me several times when I was in danger. I managed to restrain myself since Enrico-san gave me a murderous smile even though he kept his smiling face. As for monsters, I only hunt goblins just before my adventurer¡¯s card expires, so I haven¡¯t raised my level at all. I recently learned that as one¡¯s level increases, one¡¯s physical body is strengthened, and one¡¯s lifespan is extended. There is a legend that a hero who reached level 700 lived for 1,000 years. I want to extend my life a little, so I¡¯m thinking of doing my best to defeat monsters. I feel more rested when I am on the island, so I almost always accept work. Not only Girasole but other A-ranked parties and B-ranked parties got along well with the requests. They all like the bath and fried food quite a bit, and some of the parties bring a keg of ale when they come to the island for requests. Guido-san has also added another raft and is building a bath. Besides, I heard that Guido-san has also built a bath in his house. Barnabas-san, who also has a magic boat that can come to the island, has also built one raft, so there are seven rafts floating in the bay. The adventurers also returned to the tent raft for a rest after being in the forest for so long. They often return to the tent to take a bath, which is the best thing to do. Some of the strongest among them take a day off and open the tent rafts during the day, soaking in the baths and drinking ale. It¡¯s like a vacation; it costs about three gold coins per night, but apparently, it¡¯s a small price to pay for a high-ranked adventurer. The tent rafts are occupied by adventurers more and more days, so Guido-san and I are talking about buying another raft to make a tent raft for housing. Well, I have saved up a lot of money since I am almost always taking on work like that. Balance: 3 gold coins, 81 silver coins, 90 copper coins, guild card balance: 4 platinum coins, 68 gold coins, 80 silver coins. In Japanese yen, that¡¯s about 470 million yen, which is a lot of money. But to buy a luxury cruise ship, it would cost at least 500 platinum coins or 50 billion Japanese yen. It is a price that makes me crazy when I think about it calmly. Since I currently earn 75 million yen a month or 900 million yen a year, it would take me about 56 years to buy a luxury liner. I think it is amazing that I can buy a luxury cruise ship in 56 years, but I feel that the creation god will be angry if I make him wait too long. Since I can¡¯t help it, I will buy a cruiser and try my hand at pepper, where I only need to bring back pepper, and it will be 20 times more profitable than before. The one I¡¯m aiming for now is a premium boat called the Ya*aha Ex*lt 45. I don¡¯t know much about boats, and super yachts are too expensive. I feel that a Japanese manufacturer provides me with a safe feeling, and besides, the interior looks cool, so I decided on this boat. Other boats can be bought for 40 to 80 gold coins, but this Ya*aha Ex*lt 45 costs as much as one platinum and 37 gold coins, which is a lot of money. But since I plan on a round trip voyage that takes two months, I decided to buy it even if it is expensive. I¡¯ve got two guards with me now, so I¡¯ll take the opportunity to act alone for a while and see if I can make the purchase. Tomorrow I¡¯ll be on the island with Alessia-san and the others. After I finish this job, I¡¯ll talk to the guildmaster and prepare for the pepper trade. £ª£ª£ª ¡°Good morning, everyone.¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. Nice to see you again today.¡± As usual, I met up with Alessia-san and the others at the dock, exchanged greetings, and prepared for the boat¡¯s departure. ¡°Then, we are ready to depart.¡± After loading the luggage and making sure everyone was on board, the boat was ready to go. ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯ll ask you for a bath this time as well, okay?¡± ¡°Haha, I understand. I¡¯ll make sure everything is ready, so please let me know later when you¡¯ll be back. However, Alessia-san, you have become a bath lover, haven¡¯t you?¡± Even as the one who made the bath, it made me very proud. I did a good job, didn¡¯t I? ¡°Yes, I love it. We also want to build a bath in our base, but it is difficult because we live in an inn.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re in Girasole¡¯s class, you could at least afford a base, couldn¡¯t you?¡± Don¡¯t they make a surprising amount of money? ¡°We have the money to buy a base, but as adventurers, we still want to travel as well. Then it would be a waste to buy a base.¡± Maybe it¡¯s because they¡¯re adventurers, or perhaps it¡¯s just natural for a competent adventurer to want to go to different places. ¡°If you want to travel, it would be a waste to buy a base. As for me, I¡¯m planning to try the pepper trade next time, too. It¡¯s a little exciting to go to different places, isn¡¯t it?¡± Well, in my case, God¡¯s pressure is the main reason. If possible, I¡¯d rather just relax at my base and travel occasionally. ¡°The pepper trade? I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s a dangerous trade, and the route is so tough that only one out of every 30 ships can make it round-trip. You¡¯re not going on this magic boat, are you?¡± This Japanese-style boat is a nice boat, but it would be hard to stay on this boat for a month, wouldn¡¯t it? ¡°Of course not this boat. Thanks to this magic boat, I saved up enough money to buy a small magic ship. In where I got this magic boat, I found a good small magic ship, so I think I can manage.¡± ¡°But no matter how good the performance of the magic ship is, if you go out to the open sea and are attacked by large monsters from the sea, you won¡¯t be able to escape, and you¡¯ll be sunk.¡± Alessia-san told me worriedly. If I didn¡¯t know the capabilities of the ship I was going to buy, I would certainly be worried. But I am a little glad that she is concerned. ¡°Alessia-san, you are familiar with the open sea, aren¡¯t you? But both this little boat and the small magic ship I¡¯m going to buy have secrets. That¡¯s why I believe I will be successful in the pepper trade.¡± ¡°Since we are adventurers too, we have done some research on other continents we would like to visit. But a secret, huh? I¡¯m curious. Can you tell us?¡± ¡°Haha, it¡¯s a secret, so I can¡¯t tell you.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t? We would like to visit another continent at some point, so can we ask you to do so?¡± ¡°Yes, you are welcome. I will have honed my skills by then; you can count on it.¡± If we really decide to go together¡­ it will be a very happy boat trip. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll do well. But are you planning to go alone?¡± ¡°I intend to. I can¡¯t have my two current escorts accompany me on the pepper trade. I thought about buying a slave, but I don¡¯t want to be with a man for two months on a small ship, and even a woman would have to be strong, so it¡¯s not easy.¡± ¡°But you should do your best to find someone to protect you. I hear that the southern continent is much less safe, and I don¡¯t know if you can find a good escort right away over there. I think it would be better to look for them here anyway. If it¡¯s a slave, there is no need to worry about betrayal.¡± It¡¯s a voyage that deals with large sums of money, so betrayal is certainly something to be afraid of. ¡°There is no doubt that I am weak, and I will consult with the guildmaster.¡± I still need an escort, don¡¯t I? But I can¡¯t bear the thought of buying a male slave, and I¡¯ll do my best to find a strong, big-breasted, beautiful slave. But if it were a manga or a light novel, there would be such a thing as a fateful encounter, but why isn¡¯t there one for me? Even if I come to a different world, it¡¯s still a hard world. ¡°Please do so. It¡¯s sad that you arrived at the southern continent only to be killed by bandits.¡± ¡°Certainly, when I was attacked in the southern city, I couldn¡¯t do anything if I was alone, so I will seriously look for one. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°No, we need you to take us to the southern continent for sure, so please do your best.¡± ¡°You are right. I will do my best.¡± A voyage with Alessia-san and the others¡­ I really wish I could make it happen. We arrive at the island thinking and chatting about silly things. As usual, I stopped the boat at the tent raft and served tea. ¡°Wataru-san, we are planning to return at least once in two days this time too. I¡¯ll ask you to take care of it.¡± ¡°I understand. I will prepare a meal and a bath for you.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Then, we will be leaving soon.¡± After sending Alessia-san and the others back to the island and catching the slime, I greeted Guido-san and the others. ¡°Hello¡­ Guido-san, you¡¯ve been drinking again. You shouldn¡¯t, you know, in case there is an emergency.¡± ¡°I know; I only had one glass. Now that we have a tent raft and more stuff, there¡¯s a lot of temptation.¡± ¡°It really is just one glass. Well, it¡¯s true that the adventurers have brought in quite a few more things. But that drink was brought in by you, wasn¡¯t it, Guido-san?¡± ¡°Haha, well, maybe we can add another raft. Before, we had only a magic boat, so we couldn¡¯t bring things, but with a tent raft, we had enough room to bring things. It makes life on the island a lot richer.¡± Guido-san changes the subject bluntly. But life on this island is pretty comfortable. It would be even more comfortable if we added another raft. ¡°If you are going to build more rafts, please do so as soon as possible. I haven¡¯t decided when, but I¡¯m planning to try the pepper trade soon.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to try the pepper trade? It¡¯s dangerous, you know. Are you really that desperate for money?¡± ¡°I am not in need of money because I already earn quite a lot. It seems like I can get a good magic ship, and I want to try another continent, so I thought I¡¯d do the pepper trade anyway.¡± I don¡¯t actually have any debt, but the ship I want is unbelievably expensive. Do you also call this a case of being in financial trouble? ¡°I see, but you should do some research, and if you think it¡¯s impossible, then give up.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand. Then I will return to the tent raft. Thank you very much.¡± I left Guido-san, trained, played with slime, took a bath, and went to sleep. My usual calm life has begun. £ª£ª£ª The Girasole was supposed to be back today. Let¡¯s get the bath and dinner ready. I clean the bath and fill it halfway with water. I made burning stones and a charcoal fire to boil the water, and the bath was ready. Next, I¡¯m going to make vegetable soup. For the main menu, I will use the meat that Alessia-san and the others will bring back. Karaage is the most popular dish at the moment, and in the case of Alessia-san and the others, they are very likely to bring back a bird for us to eat. They always choose the best birds, so it is a very exciting event for me as well. After I finished preparations and played with the slime, Girasole returned. ¡°Welcome back. Are you hurt?¡± ¡°We are back. Everyone is fine. Here are some souvenirs for you. Please make us some karaage.¡± As I had expected, the souvenir was bird meat. If I opened a restaurant specializing in karaage in this other world, it might be a big success. ¡°Bird meat, yes, I understand. Let¡¯s go back to the tent raft first.¡± ¡°Yes, there is one more souvenir I have for you later. I don¡¯t want to be late for a bath and dinner, so I¡¯ll give it to you afterward.¡± ¡°What is it? I¡¯m curious, but I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± Another souvenir¡­ I can¡¯t imagine what a souvenir from this island would be. We went back to the tent raft. I grabbed a hand towel and a cup of tea and headed for the bath raft. I put the boiling water into the water-filled bath to check the water level. It was a little lukewarm, so I threw in a burning stone, and it was just right. Now, back to the tent raft. ¡°The bath is ready. Who is the first one?¡± ¡°Me.¡± ¡°Then get in. By the way, Claretta-san, haven¡¯t you been first lately?¡± ¡°Ufufu¡­ I have good luck in lotteries.¡± Claretta-san smiles a little boastfully. I really envy her. ¡°That¡¯s nice. I¡¯m not lucky in lotteries, so I envy you. We¡¯re here. Please check the temperature before entering.¡± ¡°Yeees.¡± Claretta-san seems to be in a good mood. I returned to the tent raft and prepared the meal. I rub garlic and ginger on the bird meat, make potato sticks and soak them in water. I would finish the rest after everyone finished taking a bath. ¡°Wataru-san, I am done.¡± ¡°I understand. Who¡¯s next?¡± ¡°Me.¡± I picked up Ilma-san and went to pick up Claretta-san. A big-breasted beauty in hot water, I never get tired of seeing it over and over again. It¡¯s a precious time to be thrilled on a peaceful island. After going back and forth between the tent raft and the bath raft several times, I went to pick up Carla-san, who was the last to take a bath and finished up dinner. ¡°Dinner is ready.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Alessia-san and the others came out of the tent rafts with happy looks on their faces as they heard the call for the completion of the meal. Karaage is very popular. Tonkatsu (pork-like meat) is also popular, but karaage seems to be the most popular. ¡°Thank you very much for the food.¡± The karaage I had prepared is completely gone, and the dinner is over. Now, I guess it was time to clean up the dishes and call it a day, right? ¡°Have you forgotten it, Wataru-san? I told you we still have some more souvenirs for you.¡± As I was about to pack up the dishes and move them, Alessia-san called out to me. I must have forgotten perfectly. ¡°Yes, indeed. I was very much looking forward to it, Alessia-san.¡± ¡°Geez, you completely forgot. It¡¯s in good shape, you know. Dorothea, please.¡± What Dorothea-san brought out of the tent was a small slime, less than 20 centimeters long. ¡°C-c-cute, what is this little guy? It¡¯s tiny, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s glowing slightly, isn¡¯t it? Is it white? No, it¡¯s not white. It¡¯s shimmering a little. Is it shimmering like platinum? It¡¯s so plump. It¡¯s cute. Very cute.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, calm down. This is a newborn holy slime. It¡¯s a rare child, but because it¡¯s a slime, it¡¯s not one of the more expensive ones on the island, but Dorothea and Marina said they¡¯d take it with them because it would make Wataru-san happy. Are you happy?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m happy. Thank you, Dorothea-san and Marina-san. I am very, very happy.¡± I patted, caressed, stroked, and gave the holy slime some dried meat. It¡¯s adorable. Blue slime and green slime are cute, but this one is still tiny and looks like it¡¯s trying very hard to digest the dried meat. So cute, very cute. ¡°Wataru-san, Wataru-san, can you hear me? ¡­It¡¯s useless; he can¡¯t hear me. Well, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll come to his senses in the morning, so let¡¯s leave the blue slime and green slime in the cage and go to bed.¡± Volume 2 - CH 14 Chapter 14 ¨C Holy Slime and Familiar Contract Hmm? Morning? ¡­Seems like I¡¯ve spent the night admiring the holy slime. Oh no, I have to prepare breakfast. But first, I need to feed the holy slime breakfast. Let¡¯s feed it some dried meat and¡­ vegetables, too. It¡¯s still tiny, so it¡¯s important to keep its nutritional balance. Okay, now let¡¯s get breakfast ready for everyone. ¡°Good morning, everyone.¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san.¡± As I was finishing the breakfast preparations, Alessia-san and the others woke up at the right time, so we exchanged morning greetings. ¡°Breakfast is ready.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, your eyes are red. Did you sleep well?¡± ¡°¡­Yes, how about you, Carla-san?¡± ¡°Are you trying to change the subject?¡± Carla-san, even though she¡¯s relaxed except when she¡¯s eating, she¡¯s surprisingly perceptive. ¡°Haha, that¡¯s not true. Oh, I¡¯m sorry for leaving the blue and green slimes out yesterday. I hope I didn¡¯t inconvenience you.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re never going to admit that you were up all night. I don¡¯t even know why you don¡¯t want to admit it.¡± ¡°Carla, just leave him be.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± A subtle helping hand came from Alessia-san. It¡¯s a relief, but Carla-san definitely doesn¡¯t believe me. Oh well. Let¡¯s get breakfast on the table. ¡°Thank you for breakfast.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Somehow avoiding the topic of the all-nighter, the pleasant breakfast was over. ¡°Wataru-san, I think we will be back in the morning of the last day this time. So we would like to take a bath before returning to the southern city, please?¡± Alessia-san and the others, they are completely making their plans around the bath, aren¡¯t they? In the beginning, they used to explore until late afternoon on the day of return, but since when have they started to take a bath exactly every time and return back home? Well, I don¡¯t have any problem with it because it¡¯s a real treat for me. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll make preparations.¡± I promised to prepare well and sent Alessia-san and the others off to the forest. I want to sleep, but I¡¯ll just have to be patient and clean up afterward. This isn¡¯t Japan, and there¡¯s nothing wrong with breaking the rhythm of life. But it¡¯s bad when I find myself up in the morning. I¡¯ve stayed up all night playing my favorite game, but what about playing with slimes all night long and then waking up in the morning? Is that normal? ¡­Well, slimes are cute, so it can¡¯t be helped. Let¡¯s hurry up and finish training and play with the slimes. I suppressed my desire to skip training, play with the slimes, and finish training as scheduled. Okay, now it¡¯s time for free time. I quickly entered the tent and saw three slimes bumping into each other. They were so cute. A small holy slime is occasionally bounced around, but when that happens, two of the slimes approach and walk back to the center of the room together. It¡¯s a heartwarming scene, and I give the three slimes some dried meat and pet them all. After petting the slimes as much as I could, it was getting dark, so I prepared dinner. It¡¯s fun to give them vegetable peels, which I don¡¯t use for cooking, because they get so happy when I give them to them. After the dinner preparation, I enjoy dinner with the slimes and take a bath. Oh no, I¡¯ve been up all night, so my head is starting to feel a bit dizzy. Let¡¯s go to bed. I put the holy slime back in its basket and release the blue and green slimes into the forest and go to sleep. £ª£ª£ª Ugh¡­ morning? The sun was already up when I got out of the tent. I went to bed pretty early yesterday, but I must have overslept a lot because I had stayed up all night the night before. I check on the holy slime and prepare breakfast and lunch. Holy slime must be hungry since I left it alone for a long time. I have to hurry up and get ready. I¡¯m a little lazy, but I quickly finish the preparations and eat breakfast and lunch with the holy slime. It¡¯s fun to eat with the slime, isn¡¯t it? Just looking at them is soothing. Hmm, I want to keep playing with the holy slime, but I have to do what I have to do. Clean up afterward and train. ¡­It¡¯s hard to concentrate on the training since the holy slime came. I can put up with normal sized slimes because I can catch them quickly, but the holy slime is newborn and small, and I just can¡¯t help but want to be bothered with it. I manage to exercise self-control and finish the training. Okay, let¡¯s play with the holy slime. I go back to the tent and play with the holy slime. I wish I could take it with me. I¡¯ve been playing with the slime for quite a while, so I think I should be able to get the taming skill. I play with the holy slime, hoping to somehow tame it. ¡°¡­..Eat¡­..¡± Huh? After playing with the holy slime until the evening, I felt something strange. ¡°Somehow¡­ I think I understand the intention of the holy slime¡­ perhaps?¡± I rushed to check my status. Name: Wataru Toyomi Age: 20 Race: Human Occupation: Ship¡¯s Captain Level: 20 Physical Strength: 480 Magic Power: 46 Strength: 50 Intelligence: 60 Dexterity: 56 Luck: 15 Skills: Language Comprehension (Unique) Ship Summoning Level 2 (Unique) Spearmanship Level 1 Archery Level 1 Daily Life Magic Level 1 Tame Level 1 ¡­Yes, there is the tame skill. I was happy when I got other skills, but this time may be the happiest. I¡¯ll ask Alessia-san and the others to give me the holy slime. Ah, I should also check the contents of the tame skill. Tame: This skill allows you to communicate with animals and monsters. The accuracy depends on the level of the skill, and at level 1, you can only feel the will of animals and monsters. You can make a contract with animals and monsters and turn them into your familiars. The way to make a contract is to become friendly and deploy a magic circle and have the animal or monster accept it, or to make the animal or monster accept the magic circle by fighting and submitting to the magic circle. Hmm, if the holy slime doesn¡¯t accept me, do I have to fight it and force it to make a contract with me? ¡­I can¡¯t do that. I don¡¯t feel like I can attack the holy slime. I¡¯ll just have to hope he accepts me. It¡¯s kind of like how I feel before I confess my feelings. I never expected to find the element of romance hidden here. The other world is so deep. I play with the holy slime, respecting its will, which I can now somehow feel. Alessia-san and the others were supposed to come back tomorrow morning, right? I had to get up early and get ready. I must be perfectly hospitable and make sure they give up the holy slime. When I tried to put the holy slime back in the basket, he asked me for ¡°¡­Food¡­¡± so I put the dried meat and vegetables along with it in the basket. Tame skills are so useful. Well, good night. £ª£ª£ª As soon as I woke up, I checked the holy slime basket, and it was asleep. Cute. Regular sized slime is cute, but tiny slime is also very cute. Shall I prepare breakfast and a bath while I¡¯m at it? I don¡¯t know when Girasole will be back, and I have a purpose, so I¡¯m going to be extra enthusiastic about getting ready this time. Perfectly prepared, I look into the basket and see that the holy slime seems to be awake. It sends me the intention of ¡°¡­ Food¡­¡± Oh, that¡¯s it already; it¡¯s too cute. I eat breakfast together and watch the holy slime playing on the table. I can watch it move around and pull and jump and play for hours. While I was having a relaxing and happy time, Girasole came back. They are carrying some kind of a big bear. ¡­I am no longer surprised when I see a woman carrying a bear these days. I¡¯m getting used to the other world. I have to go pick them up. ¡°Welcome back. Is everyone all right?¡± ¡°We¡¯re back, Wataru-san. Everyone is safe.¡± Come to think of it, Alessia-san and the others have never come back injured, have they? I returned to the tent raft with Alessia-san and the others with the Japanese-style boat and served them hand towels and tea as usual. I¡¯m sorry to ask them when they are tired, but I¡¯m going to ask them about the holy slime right away. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to bother you, but I have a favor to ask of Alessia-san and the others.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, it¡¯s very unusual for you to ask for a favor. What is it? We¡¯re indebted to you, so if it¡¯s something we can do for you, we¡¯ll do our best.¡± I¡¯m a little surprised that Alessia-san is so unusual. Have I never asked them a favor before? ¡­No, I was happy enough just to be around beautiful women with big breasts¡­ I feel like I need to be a little more aggressive. But I wonder how far it¡¯s okay to go with something that could be done¡­ Yeah, I¡¯ll stop doing things that would test me. It¡¯s definitely not possible to ask them if they want to take a bath together, and I can see a future where they won¡¯t even make eye contact with me. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve finally acquired the taming skill, I¡¯d really like you to give me this holy slime. Can you do that for me?¡± ¡°Ara, you got the taming skill. Congratulations, Wataru-san!¡± Alessia-san and the others congratulated me one after another. They are all great people, and yet they are not arrogant. ¡°I told you it¡¯s a souvenir for you. So you can do whatever you want with it.¡± What¡¯s that? Alessia-san says something nice to me. ¡°But this child is very valuable, isn¡¯t it? I can¡¯t accept that for free. I want to pay you as much as I can.¡± ¡°Even if you say so, I said so when I gave you the holy slime. I wasn¡¯t sure if you could hear me, but Wataru-san nodded his head firmly. I don¡¯t think I can get the money now.¡± Alessia-san said firmly. I didn¡¯t know she said that. ¡°Haha, I didn¡¯t realize that. I¡¯m sorry, I was so caught up in the holy slime that I missed it.¡± ¡°Fufu, at that time, Wataru-san only saw the holy slime, didn¡¯t he? In addition, it¡¯s not free. There was a bath and a meal that I had never eaten before. The work on this island has become a pleasure for all of us. So please don¡¯t mind taking it as a thank-you for that. Well, I didn¡¯t think you could get taming skills, so I thought you could just keep it here or let it go.¡± So it was like a thank you. I didn¡¯t mind because it made me happy when Alessia-san and the others were happy too, but I guess they felt indebted to me. ¡°¡­I¡¯m very happy to hear you say so. I know it¡¯s impudent of me, but I¡¯ll take it gratefully. Thank you very much, everyone.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Now, I think it¡¯s time for a bath. After everyone is finished, we¡¯ll have breakfast, and then you can show us the familiar¡¯s contract.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll get it ready right away.¡± Alessia-san and the others finished their baths (I was able to enjoy the sight of all of them after taking a bath), and we ate breakfast. It was time for taming. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s okay here?¡± ¡®Yes, I¡¯m asking you, so this table will be fine. There are other options, such as fighting, but I can¡¯t fight this child. If it doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ll release it into the woods.¡± If I have to release it into the forest¡­ I¡¯m confident I¡¯ll cry. ¡°Okay, good luck.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± I talked to the holy slime that was twitching on the table. ¡°Will you make a familiar contract with me and come with me? If you agree to come, you must accept the magic circle.¡± I activate my tame skill, and a magic circle floats in front of the holy slime. The holy slime seems to be thinking about something as it continues to slide. I watched with bated breath as the holy slime continued to slide for a while, and then suddenly, it accepted the magic circle with the thought, ¡°¡­I like to¡­¡± I¡¯m so happy. I think my nose is going to bleed. ¡°Yay! Thank you, holy slime. I¡¯ll take care of you from now on.¡± I hugged and petted the holy slime on the table. I¡¯m really happy. ¡°Congratulations, Wataru-san. What are you going to name this child?¡± ¡°Dorothea-san, thank you so much. ¡­Name, huh?¡± Come to think of it, a name is necessary. It¡¯s tasteless to call it holy slime forever. I had never given a name to slime before, thinking about when we would part ways, but this child is my contracted slime. There is no problem if I give it a name. In fact, I have to name it. Name¡­ Su*taro, Su*mi, Su*rin, Puru, Puni, Poyo, no. I think it might be a problem. ¡°Umm, I¡¯ve decided. I¡¯ve decided to take the ¡°Ri¡± and the ¡°Mu¡± from the Holy Slime and call it Rimu.¡± [T.n: Ri from Hori, Mu from Suraimu.] ¡°Rimu, huh? I don¡¯t know why you took the ¡°Ri¡± and the ¡°Mu,¡± but it¡¯s a pretty name.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Dorothea-san praised me. Yes, Rimu, it doesn¡¯t mean anything, but it¡¯s kind of a pretty name. ¡°Holy slime. Your name is Rimu, and it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± ¡°¡­Rimu¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right; your name is Rimu.¡± ¡°¡­Food¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha, you must be hungry. Yes, it¡¯s dried meat.¡± I put Rimu back on the table and fed it dried meat. It doesn¡¯t seem to know its name well yet. Well, let¡¯s try to get to know each other better and better from now on. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to keep you all waiting. I have successfully completed the contract and given it a name. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Congratulations.¡± Alessia-san and the others were also pleased with the completion of the contract. I was moved. While I was immersed in the excitement, Rimu, who had finished eating the dried meat, jumped on me. That¡¯s a behavior that didn¡¯t occur to me until we signed the contract. It reminded me of the past when I had to arrange the dried meat to get it on my lap. Oh, it seems to have fallen asleep, as if it felt safe in my arms. You are too cute, Rimu. ¡°Wataru-san, what¡¯s the status of Rimu-chan?¡± ¡°Status¡­ Dorothea-san, can I see Rimu¡¯s status?¡± ¡°I think the contractor should be able to see the status of any animal or monster that has been made a familiar.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try. Status.¡± I look at the sleeping Rimu while chanting ¡°status.¡± Name: Rimu Race: Holy Slime Age: 0 Occupation: Wataru¡¯s familiar Level: 1 Physical Strength: 10 Magic Power: 50 Strength: 3 Intelligence: 15 Dexterity: 7 Luck: 30 Skills: Holy Magic Level 1 Healing Magic Level 1 Digestion/Absorption Physical Resistance ¡°Let¡¯s see, Rimu, zero years old and level 1. It has twice as much luck as I do¡­ skills are amazing. There are holy attribute magic and recovery magic. But I wonder if Rimu can learn magic circle?¡± And I just gave it a name a while ago, and it¡¯s already reflected in its status. That¡¯s plain amazing, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Holy Slime is amazing. Holy attribute magic and recovery magic are precious. And I think magic is okay. It is said that monsters use magic by instinct, not by a magic circle. So I think Rimu-chan will be able to use magic too. If its level goes up, it might evolve and become able to use even more amazing magic.¡± ¡°Claretta-san, do monsters evolve?¡± ¡°Yes, they do evolve. For example, goblins evolve into goblin leaders and eventually become goblin kings.¡± Goblin King¡­ how many levels of evolution does it take to become a king? ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that. I wonder what kind of child Rimu will become. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± I¡¯m sure Rimu will evolve into a very cute slime. ¡°Holy slime is a special kind of slime, you know. Whatever kind of evolution it will undergo, I am looking forward to seeing it. Well then, Wataru-san, it¡¯s time for us to return to the southern city.¡± Alessia-san¡¯s closing words brought the place together nicely. It would be troublesome to arrive in the southern city after dark, so let¡¯s leave quickly. ¡°I understand. Thank you, everyone.¡± ¡°Fufu, it¡¯s all right. The first time I have ever contracted with a familiar, so it was a lot of fun.¡± The contract with a familiar is quite a rare thing, apparently. After returning the sleeping Rimu to the basket, put the big bear on the Japanese-style boat and cover it with a cloth, then leave for the southern city. I learned the tame skill and was able to make a contract with Rimu. This was the best job I¡¯ve ever had. Volume 2 - CH 15 Chapter 15 ¨C Guild Consultation and Shopping We arrived at the southern city, and Alessia-san and the others offered to escort me back to the merchant guild. I am grateful for their help every time. ¡°Camille-san, please confirm the end of the request list and call for my escort. I also have a few more things I¡¯d like to discuss with you.¡± ¡°I understand. I will show you to another room after the reward procedure is finished. First of all, here are the 15 gold coins for the fee. What would you like to do about it?¡± Camille-san accepts my request with a smile. It¡¯s nice to know that she¡¯s willing to discuss things with me without a single look of disgust, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Please put the reward in my account.¡± ¡°I understand. Then, I will show you to another room.¡± After completing the procedures quickly, Camille-san leads me to another room. ¡­I¡¯m used to coming to this other room. I¡¯ve been involved in a lot of things, and it can¡¯t be helped. ¡°So what is it that you want to discuss, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Yes, first of all, this child.¡± I took Rimu out of the basket. It seemed to be a little scared, so I pet it to calm it down. ¡°I brought Rimu, which is a holy slime, with me this time because I made a contract with it. Do I need to do anything?¡± ¡°Well, a holy slime, that¡¯s a very rare slime, isn¡¯t it? Well, if it is a familiar, there is no problem if you register it on your guild card at the counter. After we are done talking, let¡¯s register it.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. The next thing I want to discuss is the possibility of buying a small magic ship. Is it okay if I withdraw the platinum coins suddenly?¡± It might be a nuisance to suddenly withdraw a large sum of money or something. It may not be necessary, but I¡¯m indebted to her, and I¡¯ll try to cause as little trouble as possible. ¡°Well, congratulations. Well, if it is too large a sum of money, we will have to take some time, but if it is less than ten platinum coins, we can have it ready for you on the same day.¡± Billions of dollars on the same day? They must have a lot of money, being a merchant guild and all. ¡°I understand. I will ask you for it before I buy the ship next time. I¡¯m thinking of trying the pepper trade after I buy a ship. If I do that, I won¡¯t be able to go to the island during that time, so I¡¯d like to discuss that with you. Is that okay?¡± At the mention of the pepper trade, Camille-san¡¯s face clouded over. ¡°The pepper trade is very profitable, but I wouldn¡¯t recommend it. Wataru-san is a valuable person who can go to the island, so as a merchant guild, we¡¯d like you to avoid the dangerous pepper trade.¡± I knew that would be the case. But it¡¯s tough to buy a luxury cruise ship without making a big profit. If I didn¡¯t have that restriction, it would be enough for me to go back and forth between the island and the southern cities and go somewhere for fun once in a while¡­ I guess that¡¯s why the creator god blasted me for being such a character. ¡°I, too, have done my research and know that the pepper trade is dangerous. But the ship I¡¯m going to get is from the same place where I bought the small boat that goes to the island. That ship is quite capable, and I believe the pepper trade will be a success.¡± ¡°Fuh, I see that you have already made your decision, Wataru-san. I would like you to choose a safe and definite profit if you can, but the merchant guild does not have the authority to force you to do so. But it is really dangerous, so please be careful. I will talk to the guild master. So, would you be willing to introduce the merchant guild to someone who would be willing to sell us those high-performance boats?¡± ¡­No, I could fully understand Camille-san¡¯s concern, but she caught on to the profit in the end. It makes me a little sad. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t introduce him to you because he doesn¡¯t like to meet people he doesn¡¯t know very well.¡± In general, from whom is the boat being bought? Is it the creator god who gave me the skills? I have no idea how to even introduce him to her, do I? ¡°I see; that¡¯s too bad. If the person wants to sell the boat separately, it would be helpful if they could contact the merchant guild. ¡­So, is there anything else I can do for you?¡± ¡°I understand. I don¡¯t know what will happen, but I will let you know. The last thing I want to ask is since I cannot ask Dino-san and Enrico-san to accompany me on the pepper trade. So I am thinking of buying a slave to escort me. Could you introduce me to a slave trader?¡± ¡°A slave? ¡­I can just introduce you to one, but if you ask the guild master to introduce you to one, you will have a better chance of getting a high-ranking slave offered to you. Shall I ask the guild master?¡± Oh, a high-ranking slave. I don¡¯t know about that, but if it¡¯s a high rank, it¡¯s likely to protect me from a life-threatening situation, so I should ask for it. ¡°Can you please do that for me?¡± ¡°I understand. Please wait a moment while I go talk to him.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± I saw Camille-san leave the room and have time to play with Rimu. It jumps on my chest and crawls up to the top of my head, which is its favorite thing to do right now. Climbing up and down and jumping on it¡­ It¡¯s too cute. While I was leisurely playing with Rimu, Camille-san came back with the guildmaster. ¡°Wataru, don¡¯t do the pepper trade; why are you such a greedy fellow when you can just relax and make a lot of money?¡± ¡°Hahaha, well, I¡¯m also curious about things and want to visit another continent, so I can¡¯t really argue with you.¡± ¡°So that holy slime on top of your head is a familiar of yours? It¡¯s just a child.¡± ¡°Yes, its name is Rimu. It looks like it was just born.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve made an unusual slime your familiar. What are you doing to give them more reasons to target you?¡± ¡°Will I be targeted?¡± ¡°Well, even if they don¡¯t know about Wataru¡¯s magic ship, they can tell the value of the holy slime at a glance. It is likely to attract thieves.¡± ¡°I see you have such a worry. But I can¡¯t think of losing Rimu now, so I want to repel them somehow. It depends on the guildmaster¡¯s introduction, so I¡¯ll be counting on you.¡± ¡°Hmm, a slave trader, right? If it¡¯s an escort, there will be a lot of men. Is that all right?¡± ¡°If possible, I would like a skilled female slave.¡± ¡°A good slave is expensive, you know?¡± ¡°It depends on the price, but we will spend a long voyage together on a small ship. Besides, if I am going to buy a slave, as a man, I would prefer a female slave.¡± ¡°I will introduce you to the best slave trader in the southern city. Take this with you.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, but I forgot to ask you, can I withdraw money from the other continent with this continent¡¯s guild card? Also, I would like to know what I can sell for a higher price if I bring it to another continent.¡± ¡°Fumu, there are also merchant guilds on the other continent, but we hardly communicate with them. It would be better to bring them cash. Spider silk fabrics should sell for a high price. Buy them from the merchant guild when you go.¡± ¡°I understand, and I appreciate all your help. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Well, if you go, make sure you succeed. The guild will be enriched if the pepper is brought in.¡± ¡°Haha, I will do my best. Camille-san, may I ask you to register my familiar?¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go to the counter to complete the procedure.¡± After registering Rimu at the counter, Dino-san, Enrico-san, and I went to the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s inn. When I showed Rimu to the landlady, she said it would be free of charge as long as I didn¡¯t make the room dirty. I ordered dinner at the cafeteria and talked with Dino-san and Enrico-san about my future plans. ¡°Dino-san, Enrico-san, I¡¯m going to try the pepper trade next time. For that purpose, I am going to buy slaves for my escort tomorrow.¡± ¡°I see you have chosen a dangerous path. In that case, are we to be released from our duties tomorrow?¡± ¡°No, I need to consult with you about that. I am thinking of buying two skilled female slaves tomorrow, and since I will be on the island two more times, would it be possible to have you teach the slaves how to escort me during that time?¡± ¡°Hmm, playing the role of instructor, huh? I¡¯m not sure if Enrico can teach people things, let alone me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so mean. I can also teach the basics of escorting.¡± ¡°Well, Enrico-san, please don¡¯t tell me that the basic rule of a guard is to break bones.¡± ¡°If you break bones, they can¡¯t escape, and the next time they come at you, it will take a while.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think breaking bones is a good idea.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s say 12 days, I can teach them the basics, and I¡¯ll take care of it. Is that okay with you, Dino?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then, sure.¡± I returned to my room, played with Rimu, and made plans for tomorrow. I¡¯d better buy the ship before departure because if I¡¯m conspicuous, I¡¯ll be attacked again. I want to have enough food for two months, but I can¡¯t take the boat out with the escort. I¡¯ll buy some small rubber boats and summon them in my room, or I¡¯ll reveal my abilities to the slaves, so I¡¯ll use the boats as food storage and gather lots of meat, vegetables, wheat, bread, and food from the food stalls. Also, the ship has a shower but no bath. The outside part after the ship, what do you call the aft deck? Let¡¯s ask Donnino-san to make a bath that I can put on the aft deck. It will be a small bath because it will be placed on top of a smaller rubber boat, but I want to try a bath on the sea. For now, let¡¯s buy four rubber boats without extra protrusions, one for the bath boat and three for the food storage boat. Each of these boats will cost me one silver coin and 50 copper coins. That¡¯s six silver coins in total; let¡¯s check the screen. Ship Summoning Level 2 You can summon the ship you bought. +1 You can keep the purchased ship in the best condition and control it at will. You can buy a new ship from the purchase screen. Mapping Auto-maps the places you have been to. Ship Disguise Change the appearance and texture of the ship without changing its performance. Initial Rowboat (Wooden): Maximum number of passengers: 2 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Purchased: Rubber Boat (blue): Maximum number of passengers: 2 (Bath boat) Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Rubber Boat (green): Maximum number of passengers: 2 (Food storage boat) Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Rubber Boat (red): Maximum number of passengers: 2 (Food storage boat) Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Rubber Boat (black): Maximum number of passengers: 2 (Food storage boat) Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Big Fishing Rubber Boat (dark green): Maximum number of passengers: 4-5 (Hut boat) Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Big Fishing Rubber Boat (blue): Maximum number of passengers: 4-5 (Warehouse boat) Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Japanese-style boat: Maximum number of passengers: 12 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection The number of boats has increased, but the level of ship summoning has not increased. I wonder if the condition for leveling up is not how many boats you bought but the value of the boats you bought. ¡°Rimu, let¡¯s go to sleep.¡± ¡°¡­Sleep¡­¡± Rimu jumped into the basket it had been in all day today. I wonder if it thinks it is its own room? Tomorrow I¡¯ll buy a slightly better basket where I can lay a towel in it. ¡°Good night, Rimu.¡± * * * Morning, huh? There¡¯s a lot to do today. I get ready and go to the cafeteria with the two guards and a sleeping Rimu in a basket. Was it the smell that caught its attention? Rimu came out of the basket with a pop. I wonder if slime can smell? ¡°Good morning, Rimu.¡± ¡°¡­Good morning¡­ food¡­¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s breakfast.¡± I¡¯ve been thinking about it, and I¡¯m wondering if I¡¯m the only one talking to Rimu because Rimu¡¯s words are only being communicated to me. The two guards are smiling wryly. Well, it¡¯s okay because there¡¯s no way I¡¯m not talking to Rimu. I order an extra breakfast for Rimu and have breakfast. Rimu is happy to have a variety of tastes and is moving from one dish to the next, digesting them all. So cute. After finishing our meal, I put Rimu in a basket and went shopping. First, we went to a bag shop, where there were various kinds of bags, but Rimu liked a solid leather shoulder bag that cost four silver coins. Next, let¡¯s ask Donnino-san to make me a bath. ¡°Good morning, Donnino-san.¡± ¡°Oh, Wataru, it¡¯s been a long time.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯d like a slightly smaller version of the bath you made me the other day. The size is 150 x 70, and the height is 80.¡± ¡°Thanks to Wataru, I¡¯ve received a lot of orders from Guido and the others. So, I¡¯ll make it for you at a great discount of 60 silver coins.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yeah, because I¡¯ve made a lot of money thanks to you.¡± ¡°Well, please then, here¡¯s 60 silver coins.¡± ¡°Okay, it¡¯ll be ready by tomorrow night. You want me to take it to the dock?¡± ¡°No. Can you take it to the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s Inn?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Now finally, the slave trading house. It is a place where nobody has any problem in this world, but I guess it is the result of Japanese education that the mere thought of slavery makes me feel guilty. But I guess the fact that the thought of slavery makes my heart pound is a result of the influence of the novel sites that post stories. Balance: 3 gold coins, 11 silver coins, 60 copper coins. Guild account balance: 4 platinum coins, 83 gold coins, 80 silver coins. Volume 2 - CH 16 Chapter 16 ¨C Slave Trading House & Ines-san This is the slave trading house; I¡¯m so nervous. It¡¯s luxuriously built compared to its surroundings. It must be a first-class store since it was introduced by the guild master. As a commoner, I¡¯m feeling cowed. ¡­I can¡¯t help getting intimidated; let¡¯s just enter the store. ¡°Excuse me, I got a letter of introduction from the guild master of the merchant guild. Where should I hand in the letter of introduction?¡± ¡°Welcome; I will take care of it for you. Please wait a moment while I show you to the room.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I was shown to a room, and even tea was served. Yeah, it¡¯s hard to relax when you¡¯re treated so courteously; I pat Rimu to calm myself down. When I answered the knock, the person who had shown me around before and another fat uncle came in. ¡°Hello, my name is Duccio, and I am in charge of this trading house. I look forward to working with you.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, my name is Wataru, and it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± In charge? Is that like a manager or an owner? What a great person suddenly came out of nowhere. How effective is a letter of introduction from a guild master? I¡¯m scared. ¡°So the letter of the introduction says you are looking for a female slave who can escort you. Is that correct?¡± ¡°Yes, that is correct. I don¡¯t know anything about slaves, so I would appreciate an explanation of that as well.¡± ¡°Very well; I will explain it to you while preparing. There are two types of slaves: debt slaves who sold themselves to pay debts and criminal slaves who committed serious crimes and were reduced to slavery. Debt slaves can be bought back or freed by the kindness of their masters, but criminal slaves can never be freed. Criminal slaves are sent to forced labor in dangerous areas, so what I am asking for is a debt slave. The debt slaves are contracted based on the skill of the slave contract given by the God of commerce, so there are rules. The rules are that killing, excessive violence, sexual abuse of slaves who have not agreed to be sex slaves, and coercion to commit criminal acts are prohibited even if they are slaves. You are also obligated to give them a minimum standard of living. It does not matter if it is simple, but you must provide them with enough food to survive, sleep, and at least minimal medical treatment when they get sick. Failure to comply with the above will be punished by the God of commerce. In return, slaves are required to obey their masters absolutely, not to do anything injurious, not to run away, and to keep strict confidentiality. Am I clear so far?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, I understand somehow.¡± I feel that this is slightly different from the slave I had imagined. I originally didn¡¯t intend to do anything terrible, but I didn¡¯t expect to be punished by the gods or anything. ¡°There are two ways to purchase slaves: at the slave trading house or at auction. Slaves could only stay in the slave trading house for up to one year. After that period, they are put up for auction. During the one-year period, the slaves negotiated for more than the initial offer made to the slave trading house. The purchase price is increased, and the slave¡¯s term is delimited. The diet, the revocation of approval for sex slaves, and so on. The more confident the slave is in themselves, the stricter the conditions will be. Conversely, slaves who are less confident are worried about what kind of place they will be bought at the auction, so they try to put together the minimum conditions as quickly as possible. When both sides come to an agreement, the purchase can be made. At the auction, the amount the slave first offers to the trading house will be the minimum bid, and the auction will be sold on the terms first offered. If those conditions are adhered to, the bid is forced to go to the highest bidder. Slaves don¡¯t like auctions because they don¡¯t know what kind of person they will be bought by. As for the condition of emancipation, if the slave¡¯s term of servitude is not set at the time of negotiation when the slave is purchased, the slave is basically emancipated by paying the master the same amount of money as they were bought for. However, the master is not obligated to pay a salary, so in most cases, slaves are freed as a reward for their good deeds or as a favor to those who have served the master faithfully for a long time. It is also possible for a slave¡¯s relatives to collect money and liberate the slave if the master agrees to it. It is important to note that even after emancipation, the slave is required to keep all secrets and information obtained during the contract period strictly confidential. Now that I have explained all of this, do you have any questions?¡± ¡°No, I understand. Thank you very much.¡± Yes, slaves are protected better than I thought. I had longed to be kind to slaves in terrible circumstances and have them adore me, but¡­ this world is surprisingly solid. ¡°I am sorry to say, sir, that there are only a few female slaves in our trading house who can serve as escorts. Would you like to see them all?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± ¡°They are ready, and I will bring them to you.¡± When Duccio-san answered the knock, a dozen or so women came in after him. ¡°These are all the female slaves who can serve as escorts. You may interview them individually later.¡± One by one, I carefully checked each of them. They are all wearing thin cloth clothes and no bras, right? Are there bras in this world? Oh no, I have to take this sight into my eyes. Some of them look like female bodybuilders, but there are quite a few beautiful women too. But the two in the middle are the ones that are flying apart. They are in the class of the ladies of Girasole. Both of them have F-cup breasts. They were wearing only thin cloth clothes, so they were shaking every time they moved. After checking everyone, everyone left once. ¡°Was anyone to your liking?¡± ¡°Yes, especially the two in the middle.¡± ¡°Those two are the centerpiece of our store. The price for both of them is 30 gold coins.¡± Thirty gold coins, or 30 million Japanese yen. That¡¯s a lot of money, but for such big-breasted beauties, it is too cheap for a wealthy man to pay so much for them, don¡¯t you think? ¡°Duccio-san, may I ask you a question?¡± ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± ¡°It seems to me that there are a lot of people who would pay a lot of money for those two, so I think thirty gold coins is too cheap.¡± ¡°I am sorry, I have not explained to you how slaves are priced. The price of slaves is determined by the gods of commerce, whose prices are based on appearance, bloodline, race, skill, virginity, and approval of sexual acts. The only people who are more expensive than these women are those with unique skills or those with even higher levels of skills at the same level condition. Therefore, it is very difficult to negotiate with these girls. There are some who, in exchange for agreeing to sexual intercourse, have their slavery period cut off to one day, and they are released from slavery in one day. These two women still have more than half a year left to negotiate, and because the conditions are unique and difficult, there are many customers who have failed in their negotiations. Some of the customers who failed to negotiate once still come back again and again, and some wait until the very end of the one-year period they are allowed to stay in the trading house. The only way to win them over is to fulfill all of their conditions or to offer them more attractive conditions. It¡¯s going to be a tough negotiation, but are you up for the challenge?¡± It¡¯s getting great; it¡¯s not just about the money anymore; it¡¯s about the release in one day or 30 million yen in one day. Even if I were rich, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do it. But it seems impossible, but it¡¯s worth it just to meet and talk. Let me give it a try. ¡°I know it sounds difficult, but please just let me take the challenge.¡± ¡°Very well, I will show you the room. Inside this room, the God of commerce has set up a barrier so that conversations inside are kept secret by the God of commerce.¡± What kind of secrets are you talking about in a place like this? To appeal to these women, who would talk about things they are not supposed to talk about? What should I do? If it¡¯s a story, will they take a story about another world? I risk becoming a crazy person. But if the secret is protected by God, is it okay to talk about it? I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯ll be ready with one of my stories. ¡°Yes, I just have to wait inside, right?¡± ¡°Yes, we will start with Ines of the Flame Tiger Tribe.¡± I asked the two escorts to wait outside and went inside with Rimu. I don¡¯t see anything unusual, but I don¡¯t see any barrier? There was a knock on the door, and when I answered, Ines-san came in. ¡°Hello, my name is Wataru. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Ines. Nice to meet you.¡± She is a bright red-haired, white-skinned woman with tiger ears and a dynamite body. She has a kind of American sexy dynamite vibe, and I would love it if she would be my slave, but is she someone I can control? ¡°Is it okay if I ask you why you became a slave?¡± ¡°Fine, I, you know, I became a slave because of debt. I guess most people do, I like to have fun, and I got my debts from good food and gambling. But I¡¯m a pretty good B-ranked adventurer, so I should have been able to pay off my debts pretty quickly. But then I got injured in the labyrinth city and couldn¡¯t meet the repayment deadline, so I sold myself.¡± Wow, what a hopeless person. There is a very beautiful, very hopeless person right in front of me. Is it safe to take her as my slave? I mean, she¡¯s a very attractive woman, but I¡¯m not sure if she¡¯s a good escort¡­ ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry to hear that you¡¯ve had such a hard time. Are you all right now with your injuries?¡± ¡°Yes, I had a high-ranking recovery magician in the labyrinth city heal me, so I¡¯m fine. I couldn¡¯t pay off my debt by paying that fee, though.¡± ¡°Is that so? I am glad to hear that you are healed. So, could you tell me your terms?¡± ¡°Oh yes, my conditions are very strict; I have a few people who are willing to have sex with me just once, so I won¡¯t give you any bonus; you have to fulfill all of them.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± How about 30 million yen for one-time sex with a terribly beautiful woman in front of me? She¡¯s certainly very beautiful and has a very H-shaped body¡­ Well, I guess there are many people for whom $30 million is a small fortune. ¡°My additional requirements are that you give me a lot of delicious food that I¡¯ve never eaten before and a lot of interesting things that I¡¯ve never experienced before. If you can convince me of that, I¡¯ll be your slave. Too many people are stupid enough to say, no, I¡¯m going to make you feel good. You have to at least assure me that you¡¯re going to entertain me.¡± Huh? I can fulfill all the requirements with the ship summoning, though it¡¯ll take some time¡­ But is this girl really the right person for the job? She¡¯s beautiful, she¡¯s got big breasts, she¡¯s got the perfect looks, but as an escort, you know? Can I survive with this person as my escort? ¡°Fufu, you¡¯re having a hard time. It can¡¯t be helped, it¡¯s difficult, but if you can accomplish it, you¡¯ll enjoy this body that no one has ever touched before.¡± With that, she lifts her breasts up with both hands. I-if you lift them up that high, I¡¯ll be able to see the protrusions. ¡°Ufufu, you can¡¯t go any further.¡± Wow, she¡¯s a slave, and she¡¯s enjoying this situation as much as she can. She¡¯s really hopeless, but she¡¯s beautiful and has big breasts, so I¡¯m torn. ¡°Ufufu, you¡¯re giving up? You¡¯re giving up?¡± Hmm, what should I do? Yes. ¡°Rimu, Rimu, come out for a minute.¡± ¡°¡­Hmm¡­?¡± ¡°Ara, a holy slime? That¡¯s a rare one.¡± ¡°What do you think of this Onee-san, Rimu? Do you like her?¡± I put Rimu on both hands in front of Ines-san and showed Ines-san to Rimu. ¡°¡­Hmm¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know, huh? Well, no problem, thanks, Rimu. Just rest a little longer in your bag, okay?¡± ¡°¡­Yeah¡­¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t go talking on your own.¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry, it seems that the conditions are not impossible to achieve, but even if I can achieve it, I¡¯m worried about the fact that Ines will be my escort. I wanted to at least ask Rimu if it likes you, but it seems it isn¡¯t sure.¡± ¡°Wait a minute; my terms are achievable? You can¡¯t just be conventional or unattainable like the others, can you?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯ll take some time, but I¡¯m sure I can meet your conditions.¡± ¡°Then tell me how to do it right away, and I¡¯ll be the judge of that.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not comfortable with Ines-san as my escort, so give me some time to think about it.¡± ¡°Are you unhappy with me? Even with all this, I¡¯ve rejected a lot of men. And I think I¡¯m quite beautiful.¡± ¡°No, Ines-san is very beautiful, and I like you very much. But now the problem is that Ines-san as a guard, because I am weak, and it would be meaningless if I die because you can not protect me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all right then; I told you I was a B-rank adventurer. I¡¯ll show you my status, and you tell me how to achieve my conditions.¡± That reminds me; she said she was a B-rank adventurer because I thought she was beautiful but a no-good person. So, if she can show me her status, then I¡¯ll think about it. ¡­Or rather, can you show your status to other people? ¡°Can status be shown to other people?¡± ¡°You can show it, didn¡¯t you know? Well, normally, you don¡¯t show your status to others, so it¡¯s understandable if you didn¡¯t know about it. But it is okay to show the information in this room because it cannot be exposed. You just have to open the status screen and strongly desire to show it to someone; then, they will be able to see it. It¡¯s a mystery, isn¡¯t it? Here¡¯s my status, and everything will be fine.¡± Name: Ines Age: 19 Race: Flame Tiger Tribe Occupation: Slave Level: 78 Physical Strength: 1560 Magic Power: 580 Strength: 380 Intelligence: 68 Skills: Flame Attribute Magic Level 3 Swordsmanship Level 3 Physical Arts Level 2 Presence Detection Level 3 Physical Enhancement Level 4 Oh, she is indeed strong, her level is high, and her physical strength is great. Her skills are also combat-oriented, and she also has presence detection. The skill levels were 1, beginner; 2, intermediate; 3, advanced; 4, master level; 5, superhuman level, right? She¡¯s a master at physical enhancement, and flame attribute magic? Is it a higher-level version of fire attribute magic? And her presence detection is an advanced class. Yes, I have some concerns about her personality, but she is very strong, so I¡¯ll do my best to persuade her to become my slave. ¡°It¡¯s amazing. If this is the case, I¡¯d like you to sign a contract with me.¡± ¡°Ufufu, right, but you have to fulfill all the conditions. I¡¯m a tough person to convince, you know.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll show you my status, too, so you can judge.¡± ¡°Okay, but what does status have to do with interesting or tasty food?¡± ¡°Well, you can judge it after you see it. Status.¡± Name: Wataru Toyomi Age: 20 Race: Human Occupation: Ship¡¯s Captain Level: 20 Physical Strength: 480 Magic Power: 46 Strength: 50 Intelligence: 60 Dexterity: 56 Luck: 15 Skills: Language Comprehension (Unique) Ship Summoning Level 2 (Unique) Spearmanship Level 1 Archery Level 1 Daily Life Magic Level 1 Tame Level 1 ¡°Ara, you are really weak.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why it¡¯s important to have an escort. Look at my skills.¡± ¡°I see you have two unique skills. That¡¯s great, but do you know how to use them?¡± ¡°Yes, and I¡¯m going to show you the second one, which is ship summoning.¡± Rubber Boat: 50 copper coins Swan boat: 30 silver coins Motorboat: 40 silver coins Fishing Boat: 4 gold coins Cruiser: 20 gold coins Ferry / Cargo Ship: 100 platinum coins or more Luxury Cruise Lines: 500 platinum coins or more ¡°I don¡¯t understand, but these are ships, aren¡¯t they? What about it?¡± ¡°So take a look at this luxury cruise ship, the 500 platinum coins. There are various otherworldly first-class restaurants, otherworldly casinos, otherworldly clothing stores, otherworldly storybooks, and countless other fun things to do on this big ship. And if you get tired of this ship, it is possible to buy another one and enjoy different cuisines and games. Even Ines-san has never been to an otherworldly cuisine or casino, right? Sounds like fun, right?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s great, amazing; I¡¯ve never been this thrilled before. But can you save up to 500 platinum coins? It¡¯s so tempting, but what¡¯s the point if you die before you can buy it?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why I said it would take some time. I am going to buy a premium boat, an Ex*lt 45. I plan to do a pepper trade with it. Do you see the characteristics of the boat? It means that it won¡¯t sink, it won¡¯t break, nothing can get into it, and it can easily repel dragon breath. We are absolutely safe as long as we are on the boat. Now, if we can survive on land, I think we can make a killing in the pepper trade. What do you think?¡± ¡°Amazing, amazing, sure, it¡¯s going to take a little time, but not so much that I can¡¯t wait. Can you swear to the gods of commerce when you sign the contract that this trait is not a lie? Then I¡¯ll be your slave. The only condition is that you can¡¯t have any real sex until you buy this luxury liner. But I¡¯ll give you a little bit of H-things, and you have to feed me as much delicious food as you can before you buy the luxury liner. Then, when you get the luxury liner, you must let me enjoy it to the fullest and take good care of me. If you agree to these conditions, I will become your slave with no expiration date.¡± What will she do to me that is a little bit H? If I buy the luxury liner, I can have sex with her! As for the food, I¡¯ll feed her as much as she wants. ¡°I don¡¯t mind swearing to the Gods of commerce, but what¡¯s in it for you? And I heard that the facilities on board a luxury liner cost a lot of money, so I can only say that it depends on the situation at that time. Well, I¡¯m also planning to enjoy myself, so at the very least, you can enjoy yourself, and if we can afford it, how about we enjoy ourselves to the fullest?¡± ¡°If you make a false oath to the God of commerce when you sign the contract, you will be punished on the spot, you know. It¡¯s still strange that it costs money to be in the boat you bought. Well, that¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll be your slave if you keep my terms.¡± I succeeded in persuading her. I was a little nervous, but I was going to have a slave who was a beautiful tiger-eared woman with big breasts and who was willing to do a little bit of H-things for me. Normally, I would have been overjoyed to have a beautiful tiger-eared woman with big breasts, but Ines-san¡¯s personality¡­ makes me hesitant. I ask her to go outside and call Duccio-san. When I told him that we had agreed on terms, he rolled his eyes and was surprised but led me to the contract room. On the magic circle of the contract, he told me that the contract was completed when I put blood on her collar after announcing the conditions. I paid Duccio-san 30 gold coins by debit from my guild card. In the presence of Duccio-san, we declared our conditions. ¡°First, I swear to the God of commerce that I will not lie about any of my characteristics. And the condition for signing a slave contract with Ines-san is no real sex until I buy the promised ship, but a little bit of H-things is okay. I will feed her as much delicious food as possible before I buy the promised ship, and once I get the promised ship, depending on the situation, I will enjoy myself at least as much as I can, and if I can afford it, she will enjoy herself as much as she can, too. I will sign a slave contract on the condition that I will take good care of Ines-san.¡± I put blood on Ines-san¡¯s collar, and the magic circle glowed and was absorbed into my body and Ines-san¡¯s. ¡°Phew, this completes the slave contract, doesn¡¯t it? Is it safe to use such a simple phrase?¡¡Aren¡¯t rituals supposed to be performed with more solemn language?¡± ¡°Fufufu, it¡¯s all right. Take good care of me from now on, Master.¡± I¡¯m embarrassed to be called ¡°Master,¡± but it¡¯s very good. It¡¯s good to be your Master, too, Ines-san.¡± Balance: 3 gold coins, 11 silver coins, 60 copper coins. Guild account balance: 4 platinum coins, 53 gold coins, 80 silver coins. Volume 2 - CH 17 Chapter 17 ¨C Slave Trading House and Felicia-san I was buoyed by the slave contract with Ines-san when Duccio-san came to talk to me. ¡°What about Felicia?¡± Felicia? Yes, I was supposed to meet one more person, I gotta ask him. ¡°Yes, please do.¡± ¡°Ara, you¡¯re so greedy; after buying me, you want another one, and it¡¯s Felicia?¡± ¡°Ahaha, you can¡¯t escort me by myself all the time. I need at least one more person.¡± ¡°That¡¯s also true.¡± While we were talking, Rimu came out from inside the bag. It climbed up to my shoulders and conveyed to me. ¡°¡­Food¡­¡± ¡°Oh, I see, you¡¯re hungry. Sorry to keep you waiting; please wait a little longer.¡± ¡°Duccio-san, do you mind if we start after lunch?¡± ¡°Yes, no problem. If you like, I can prepare lunch here for you.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, can I ask for five people¡¯s lunch? Also, would you be willing to sell some of Ines-san¡¯s clothes if you have any?¡± ¡°Very well. Please wait in this room.¡± ¡°Rimu, they will bring the food soon, so please wait a little longer.¡± ¡°¡­Yeah¡­¡± ¡°Master, is that child your familiar?¡± ¡°Yes, I have not introduced it to you. This is Rimu, a holy slime and my familiar.¡± ¡°Rimu, that person is Ines-san, and she has become one of our companions today.¡± ¡°¡­Companion¡­¡± ¡°So, Master can talk to Rimu-chan?¡± ¡°Yes, it may look like I¡¯m talking to myself, but I¡¯m talking to Rimu.¡± ¡°Okay, Rimu-chan, nice to meet you.¡± ¡°¡­Companion¡­¡± Does Rimu know what that means? Well, okay, it¡¯s so cute. ¡°So smooth and nice to the touch.¡± ¡°Rimu feels great to the touch.¡± As I told Ines-san how cute Rimu was, lunch was brought in. ¡°Your meal and clothes are ready.¡± ¡°Thank you. How much is it?¡± ¡°This is a service.¡± ¡°Eh? Is it okay? These are such nice clothes.¡± ¡°Yes, no problem.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Ines-san, go and change while I get Dino-san and Enrico-san.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I go outside to call Dino-san and Enrico-san. ¡°Dino-san and Enrico-san, I am sorry for keeping you waiting. I have had your meals prepared, so please come this way.¡± I return to the room with Dino-san and Enrico-san. Yes, I should introduce Ines-san too. ¡°Dino-san, Enrico-san, this is Ines-san. If all goes well, I think we¡¯ll have one more friend, so please take good care of her.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Ines. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°¡±Nice to meet you.¡±¡± ¡°Now, let¡¯s eat. Itadakimasu.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Itadakimasu.¡±¡±¡± ¡°Rimu, is it good?¡± ¡°¡­Delicious¡­¡± Rimu is going back and forth between the various plates as it did at breakfast; cute. After lunch, I ask Ines-san and my two escorts to wait for me in this room, and then I take just Rimu to meet the other one. I entered the room with the God of commerce¡¯s barrier, and Felicia-san came in right after me. ¡°I am Felicia, a dark elf. Pleased to meet you.¡± ¡°Yes, my name is Wataru. Nice to meet you.¡± She¡¯s a beautiful woman with shining silver hair and brown skin, a little darker brown than Dorothea-san¡¯s. She has F-cup breasts, and you can see the contour of her breasts thanks to her thin cloth clothes¡­ No, now I have to work hard so that she can sign a contract with me. ¡°Wataru-sama, the conditions I have submitted to the slave trading house are a minimum of food and approval for certain sexual acts.¡± ¡°They are very few, aren¡¯t they? I think you could make better conditions.¡± ¡°Yes, I did that because I thought I could get a good price for the minimum conditions if I ever had an auction.¡± She seems very different from Ines-san. Is it seriousness or lack of leisure? Let¡¯s listen carefully. ¡°May I ask how you became a slave, Felicia-san?¡± ¡°Yes, I am the daughter of a dark elf village chief in the forest. One day, our village was attacked by a force of subhuman hunters. We resisted desperately and managed to fight them off, but many of the villagers died, and we lost all our food. So I sold myself to buy food and medicine.¡± Oof, that was a heavier story than I expected. But hunting subhumans? I heard that there is almost no racism in this country, but I wonder why? ¡°Felicia-san, I heard that there is little racism in this country. Was I wrong?¡± ¡°No, this is a pleasant country to live in and there is very little racism. I think that it was one of the race-supremacist nations that attacked our village. They attack us and take us, not under a slave contract with the God of commerce, but by the magic circle, forcing us into slavery.¡± ¡°Does the king of this country have any measures in place to deal with such a thing from another country?¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s been tightening security at the borders and increasing the number of people, but it¡¯s a big country, and there is no way to cover it all. And I don¡¯t know how to say it myself, but we are a good-looking race, so we are traded at a high price, and even in this country, we can still be attacked by subhuman hunters and bandits.¡± ¡°Is that possible?¡± ¡°Yes, and I know it¡¯s a difficult condition, but I want you to find us a safe place to live, and since the number of people in our village has decreased, I want to find dark elves who are living somewhere and recruit them. If you can help us, I will give my all, please?¡± Hmm, if a beautiful woman with beautiful silver hair and big breasts said that she would give her all, I should be excited, but I can¡¯t get excited because there¡¯s a sense of sadness in the air. In fact, this problem can be solved by ship-summoning, but the fact that the conditions of the slave contract seem to be manageable by ship-summoning for both of them makes me think it is too convenient. ¡°I know, I know it¡¯s difficult, and I¡¯m sorry to be unreasonable. I know that even if I gave my all, it wouldn¡¯t be worth the balance.¡± While I¡¯m struggling with this, the conversation is moving on, and I have no choice but to go along with it, with or without leverage, so I¡¯m going to do it. ¡°Oh, wait a minute, I was just thinking, you know, I can¡¯t say for sure, but there is a way we can work something out.¡± ¡°Really? Tell me, please.¡± ¡°Look at my skill, this unique skill of ship summoning; I can summon a ship that won¡¯t sink, won¡¯t break, won¡¯t be trespassed on.¡± I am seeking an escort when I am on land for trade. If Felicia-san is strong enough to protect me, I can help her find a deserted island where people can live and emigrate while trading. However, there is a possibility that there are no uninhabited islands or that I may not be able to find one. If I can find a deserted island that can be settled, there are many large monsters in the sea, so there is little chance that people will come to the deserted island that I found. It¡¯s a search that requires a lot of luck, but that¡¯s about all I can do. ¡°Can you really build a ship that won¡¯t sink? If you can cross the ocean freely, then you may be able to find a deserted inhabitable island.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t freely cross the ocean for any length of time because of the food problem, but I can swear to the God of commerce about my unique skill set.¡± ¡°Thank you, um, I look forward to working with you.¡± ¡°Yes, first of all, could you show me your status? Then we can come to an agreement on the conditions.¡± ¡°Okay, status.¡± Name: Felicia Age: 62 Race: Dark Elf Occupation: Slave Level: 92 Physical Strength: 920 Magic Power: 1840 Strength: 92 Intelligence: 268 Dexterity: 178 Luck: 18 Skills: Lightning Magic Level 3 Barrier Technique Level 3 Archery Level 3 Dagger Art Level 2 Presence Detection Level 2 Physical Enhancement Level 2 Age 62, is that normal for a dark elf? I know she¡¯s a long-distance type, but if lightning attribute magic and barrier magic, especially barrier magic, are useful for safety on land, I¡¯d love to have her as a companion. ¡°Felicia-san, what kind of magic is this barrier magic?¡± ¡°Barrier magic is a magic that creates a barrier around an object to prevent it from being attacked. With my ability, I can certainly prevent one strong blow, whether it is with a sword or magic.¡± ¡°Can you move around while barrier magic is applied?¡± ¡°Yes, the barrier automatically detects danger and prevents it, so it is no different from the normal state of nothingness.¡± It¡¯s perfect. I¡¯d love to have her as a companion. Oh, I forgot, I have to ask Rimu in case there is any problem. I woke up Rimu, who was sleeping in the bag, perhaps sleepy after eating lunch, and showed Felicia-san to it. ¡°Rimu, what do you think of this Onee-san?¡± ¡°¡­?¡­¡± It doesn¡¯t really understand, but if it doesn¡¯t hate it, it¡¯s probably fine. ¡°Felicia-san, I would like you to sign a contract with me. Can you give me your conditions?¡± ¡°Yes, to search for a safe place to live, to help with the relocation once an island is found, and to help with the relocation if you find a dark elf elsewhere after the island is found. I will also give my whole heart and body to you, but, well, can it be after the island is found and the migration is completed that I do it to the end? I will serve you to the best of my ability until then.¡± Serving me to the best of her ability? I¡¯m very happy. But this is the second time I can¡¯t make it to the end. I should really go to church to make sure that the creator God hasn¡¯t done something to me. ¡°I understand. Under those conditions, I would like to sign a slave contract with you.¡± When I went outside and told Duccio-san that we had agreed on the conditions, he rolled his eyes and was surprised again. I asked Duccio-san to deduct 30 gold coins from my guild card and headed for the contract room. We climbed on top of the magic circle in the contract room and declared our oaths and conditions. ¡°I swear to the God of commerce that I will not lie about my skills, and the terms of the slave contract are that I will search for a safe haven for the dark elves and that I will assist them in their migration once an island is found. After the island is found, if I find dark elves in another place, I will help them migrate, and after the island is found and the migration is complete, I will ask you to give your whole body and soul to me, and we will have relations only after the migration is complete, and until then, you will serve me as best you can.¡± When I put blood on Felicia-san¡¯s collar, the magic circle glowed and absorbed it. ¡°Whew, we made it, didn¡¯t we? I¡¯m not good with this tension.¡± ¡°Master, I will do my best as long as the contract is kept. I look forward to working with you.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Duccio-san, I¡¯m sorry to keep asking you, but could you please take care of Felicia-san¡¯s clothes?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. Please wait a moment.¡± I asked him to bring some clothes, and after Felicia-san had changed her clothes, we went to the room where everyone was waiting for us. After entering the room, we greeted each other. Then, after returning to the inn and getting our rooms back together, we decide to go shopping for all the things we need. We return to the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s inn, have the room changed to a four-person room, and have the two escorts move in next to us. ¡°I¡¯d like to talk to you about our future plans. Ines-san and Felicia-san will be shopping for the things you need. A change of clothes, personal items, weapons, and armor.¡± ¡°I have to work on the island for about ten more days, so during that time, Ines-san and Felicia-san, you will learn how to be an escort from Dino-san and Enrico-san.¡± ¡°I have been asked to escort people several times when I was an adventurer, you know?¡± ¡°Dino-san and Enrico-san are professional escorts introduced to me by the merchant guild. I think you have a lot to learn from them.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Then, Ines-san and Felicia-san, please think about what you need and make a note of it.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± First, we headed to the weapons shop and purchased a sword and a small staff for Ines-san and a dagger, a bow, and a small staff for Felicia-san. At the armor shop, Ines-san bought light armor, and Felicia-san bought monster leather armor. When I asked them if they use the big staff, they told me that the big staff is for drawing a big magic circle with ritual magic, and the small staff is used for a magic circle in battle. We headed to the clothing and tool stores with weapons and armor in hand. It was a long day; even in this world, women have to shop for a long time. But they both seem to be having fun, so I guess it¡¯s okay? I and my escorts, Dino-san and Enrico-san, were quietly watching from afar. Balance: 3 gold coins, 11 silver coins, 10 copper coins. Guild account balance: 4 white gold coins, 23 gold coins, 80 silver coins. Volume 2 - CH 18 Chapter 18 ¨C A Little Bit of H-Things and Buying a Ship After a long shopping trip, we ate dinner and returned to the inn. But 15 gold coins was quite a lot, even though I also bought some equipment. I returned to my room and took a rest. Well, it¡¯s hard to relax when there are two beautiful women in the room. I thought, let¡¯s play with Rimu. ¡°Rimu, after dinner, I have some dried fruits. Would you like to try some?¡± ¡°¡­Eat¡­¡± I gave Rimu some dried fruit, and it got bigger and covered it. Did it like it? Rimu came up to me with a little plump, and when it climbed up to my shoulder, it slithered up to my face. ¡°¡­Like¡­¡± My nose is bleeding, but hey, Rimu, do you like me? Or do you like dried fruit? ¡°Hey, master, what are you stiffening up on?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. Oh yes, I want to gather food for the pepper trade. I want to gather at least two months¡¯ worth. I will summon a small boat into this room now.¡± ¡°I understand gathering food, but does the boat have anything to do with it?¡± ¡°There is. When I put the cargo on the boat and repatriate it, time stops at that point. That¡¯s why we can store so much food.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very convenient. So I want to gather a lot of food and cooking supplies while we are here. Tomorrow, I want you two to go around town and buy some food. I¡¯ll repatriate what you have bought later.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°How about you, Felicia-san?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, okay, um, may I ask you something, Master?¡± ¡°Sure. What is it?¡± ¡°Is it okay that Ines-san talks to you like that?¡± ¡°Eh? Hmm, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a problem because I don¡¯t particularly care about it. Oh, I like it when you call me master.¡± ¡°From other people¡¯s point of view, I don¡¯t think they would think very well of you letting your slaves do as they please.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why that would be such a problem¡­ but then I think about it, I hardly know anyone. It¡¯s okay to talk in an easy way; just think about it when there¡¯s someone who seems to be a big deal or something.¡± ¡°I see, but Master, I think you should at least call us by our first names and stop using honorifics.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very conspicuous when you call your slaves with ¡®san.''¡± ¡°Oh, is that so? Hmm, I understand, there is no need to be conspicuous, and from now on, I will call you by your name and stop using honorifics.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Hmm, calling off such a beautiful woman¡­ is quite a challenge. ¡°I guess it¡¯s time to go to bed. I look forward to tomorrow.¡± ¡°Ufufu, Master, do you want to do something a little naughty?¡± ¡°Eh, I want to. I would love to, but, Ines-san, thinking about it, how much is a little bit of H-things? If it goes beyond a little bit, then there will be punishment, right?¡± ¡°I wonder, what do you think?¡± ¡°Master, you are still using honorifics. The condition is okay if we don¡¯t finish, so do you want me to serve you?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right, I¡¯ll be careful. But do you want to serve me in this state? For that matter, are the two of you willing to do H-things so easily?¡± ¡°I promised to serve you to the best of my ability. I will only serve you to the end after the island is found and the immigration is completed; after that, I will serve you to the best of my ability.¡± ¡°I thought that would be what I would do when I became a slave, so why not? It sounds fun.¡± What do you want me to do? What should I do? Should I be cool and tell them to take better care of themselves or something? But honestly, I want to do H-things, and if I play it cool, I¡¯ll regret it for the rest of my life. Okay, let¡¯s be honest about my desires. ¡°Um, let¡¯s not get too intense. Dino-san and Enrico-san are next door, after all, so let¡¯s do it during the pepper trade, please. Today I just want to flirt lightly in bed together and go to bed.¡± ¡°Ufufufu, I understand.¡± ¡°Yes, I will do my best.¡± I say goodnight to Rimu and head to bed. I kiss and flirt with both of them slowly. The breasts are wonderful; I¡¯m glad I fell into a different world. Thank you, creator God, for the wonderful world. I fall asleep with a tremendously beautiful woman hugging me from both sides. In the morning, I wake up, and Ines kisses me. ¡°Ufufu, good morning Master.¡± After Ines¡¯s kiss, followed by Felicia¡¯s kiss¡­ What is this? I¡¯m the happiest I¡¯ve ever been. ¡°Good morning, Master.¡± It¡¯s going to be a great day when I wake up, and such happiness is waiting for me. ¡°Good morning, both of you.¡± ¡°Ufufu, how was that wake-up kiss?¡± ¡°It was great. I¡¯d like to get one every day when I can.¡± ¡°Sure thing.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± I looked at Rimu and saw that it was still sleeping. We all got ready and went to the cafeteria. When we arrived at the cafeteria, Rimu came out of the bag. ¡°Rimu, good morning; time for breakfast.¡± ¡°¡­Food¡­¡± After breakfast, I give Ines and Felicia 10 silver coins each and ask them to buy food. I will repatriate the food that the two bought while playing and training with Rimu in my room. The two of them finish their shopping in the morning, and one rubber boat is full with 20 silver coins. It would be all right if we bought two more boats¡¯ worth of food on my next day off and bought a large quantity before we set sail. We all had lunch and rested in our rooms, drinking tea. ¡°Come to think of it, if we buy slaves or something, do we have to report it to the merchant guild or something?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. It might be a good idea to ask them just in case.¡± ¡°Shall we go check with the merchant guild?¡± When I checked with the merchant guild, they said that if I wrote down the slaves I owned on the guild card, it would prove it and reduce the problem. After registering the two and confirming tomorrow¡¯s request, I returned to the inn with some shopping. When I returned, the bath I had ordered had been delivered, so I had it brought to my room and put it on a rubber boat, and repatriated it. ¡°From tomorrow morning, I will be on the island for five days. During that time, I have asked Dino-san and Enrico-san to train you for escort duty, so do your best; I will leave ten silver coins each with you so you can buy food and anything else you need.¡± Hmm, it¡¯s hard not to use honorifics. I¡¯ve been talking to everyone but Rimu in honorifics, so it¡¯s pretty much a habit. Well, I¡¯ll get used to it eventually. ¡°¡±I understand.¡±¡± Let¡¯s say good night to Rimu and go to bed; we¡¯re going to get lovey-dovey again; I¡¯m looking forward to it. ¡°Let¡¯s go to bed. Rimu, good night.¡± ¡°¡­Sleep¡­¡± Rimu is in the bag; I flirted with the two of them and went to sleep. It¡¯s been two weeks since I bought the slaves, and although I¡¯ve enjoyed my two island visits more now that Rimu is here, I feel lonely without Ines and Felicia. I was completely drained. Guido-san and the others asked me to carry three rafts. They are going to build their own tent rafts to make their lives more comfortable. Ines and Felicia have always been adventurers and hunters, so they can handle most dangers as long as Felicia¡¯s barriers are in place. While I was in town, I gathered some food and had three rubber boats full of food. Today I will go to the guild and withdraw all my money. I will say hello to Camille-san and ask her to wholesale as much spider silk fabric as she can and bring it to the dock. Ines and Felicia will collect more food from today to tomorrow morning and bring it to the dock as well. I will then go out to sea in the Japanese-style boat to buy a Yam*ha EXULT 45, stay overnight, and return to the dock in the morning to load up and set sail, so let¡¯s go to the merchant guild right away. Shall we? ¡°Good morning, Camille-san. I¡¯m here for another consultation. May I have a moment?¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll show you to the usual room.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± When we arrived at the room, Camille-san made us some tea. ¡°Please enjoy, eh? Has Rimu-chan gotten a little bigger?¡± ¡°Is that so? Come to think of it; it does seem a little heavier, though?¡± I held Rimu on my head with both hands and measured its size. ¡°Really, it¡¯s a little bigger than when I tamed it. Rimu, you¡¯re getting bigger. Great job, Rimu.¡± ¡°¡­Great¡­?¡± It doesn¡¯t seem to be understand well. ¡°But Camille-san, how did you know that it got bigger? I didn¡¯t recognize it at all.¡± ¡°I guess in my case; I understood because I hadn¡¯t seen Rimu-chan in a long time. If I see it every day like Wataru-san, I won¡¯t notice it either. So, Wataru-san, what is it that you want to talk to me about?¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m thinking of leaving for the pepper trade tomorrow morning. I would like to know if I can withdraw cash from my account, how much of the spider silk fabric I can get wholesale, and what I should do when I return from the pepper trade.¡± ¡°You are really going, aren¡¯t you? I will bring the cash for your withdrawal later. I can provide you with some spider silk; how much do you need?¡± ¡°Well, can you tell me how much I should bring?¡± ¡°Yes, I am certain that spider silk will fetch a higher price on that continent. There is a possibility that problems may occur in areas where expensive goods are not sold, or political instability makes it difficult or time-consuming to process the shipment. If you want to be safe, it would be safer to leave some money to stock up on pepper.¡± ¡°I see. In that case, I would like one platinum coin¡¯s worth of spider silk, please.¡± ¡°I understand. Spider silk costs two gold coins per roll, so I will prepare fifty rolls.¡± ¡°Can you deliver them early tomorrow morning to dock number 115?¡± ¡°Of course. Now, all we have to do is to deal with the pepper trade when you return. Are there any merchants who plan to wholesale pepper? If you bring it to the merchant guild, the price will be a little lower.¡± ¡°I would like to leave everything to the merchant guilds. Is that possible?¡± ¡°Is that all right with you? As a merchant guild, we would be very grateful, but you will get a higher price if you sell your goods directly.¡± ¡°The guild has been very helpful to me, and as an amateur in business, I think it would be dangerous for me to negotiate directly with other stores, so I will leave it to the guild.¡± ¡°If that is so, please send an errand to the guild when you return, and I will make arrangements for it to be handled.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Now, please give me your guild card so I can withdraw the cash from your account.¡± ¡°Yes, please leave two gold coins in the account for the two guards who have not yet been paid.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Until Camille-san comes back, I¡¯ll play with Rimu. ¡°Thank you very much for your patience; excluding the two gold coins for the escort and the three platinum coins for the spider silk, there will be thirty-six gold coins and fifty silver coins. Please confirm.¡± ¡°Certainly, thank you.¡± ¡°Take care, and I wish you success in the pepper trade.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Let¡¯s go to the dock, well, the last is the two escorts here, and I have to thank them properly. ¡°Dino-san and Enrico-san, thank you very much for everything you have done for me.¡± ¡°No, it was a good commission for us, and if you ever need us again, we will be happy to help you.¡± ¡°Yes, it was an easy and profitable job; please be sure to call on us again.¡± I was attacked quite a bit, but it was a good-paying, easy job. A job that these two think is tough sounds like a bad idea. ¡°I¡¯d like to avoid a situation where I¡¯d need an escort if possible, but if I need any more help, I¡¯ll ask for it again. Well, I¡¯ll be leaving then.¡± I boarded the Japanese-style boat and sailed toward the open sea. Since I didn¡¯t want to be followed, I ran the Japanese-style boat at full speed, changing direction occasionally. Is it about time? After running the Japanese-style boat for three hours, I confirmed that no one was on board. I decided to make a purchase right away. I selected ¡°EXULT 45¡± from the purchase screen and put in 37 gold coins (1 platinum coin) to purchase the ship. Ship Summoning Level 3 You can summon the ship you purchased. +2 (NEW) Can keep the purchased ship in the best condition and control it at will. Can purchase a new ship from the purchase screen. Autopilot£¨NEW) Linked to mapping, if a place has been mapped, it can be reached automatically by setting a destination, although it is limited to water. Mapping Places you have been to are automatically mapped. Ship disguise The appearance of the ship can be changed to reproduce the texture of the ship without changing its performance. Initial Rowboat (wooden): Maximum number of passengers: 2 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Purchased: Rubber Boat (blue): Maximum number of passengers: 2 (Bathtub boat) Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Rubber Boat (green): Maximum number of passengers: 2 (Food storage boat) Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Rubber Boat (red): Maximum number of passengers: 2 (Food storage boat) Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Rubber Boat (black): Maximum number of passengers: 2 (Food storage boat) Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Big Fishing Rubber Boat (dark green): Maximum number of passengers: 4-5 (Hut boat) Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Big Fishing Rubber Boat (blue): Maximum number of passengers: 4-5 (warehouse boat) Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Japanese-style boat: Maximum number of passengers: 12 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Exult 45: Maximum number of passengers: 15 (NEW) Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection The number of ships has been increased, the level of ship summoning has been increased, the number of ships that can be summoned at once has been increased to three, and the autopilot¡­ will proceed to the destination on its own if it has been there once before. It¡¯s convenient when you¡¯re traveling long distances. I can get there even if I¡¯m asleep, so I¡¯ll have to go on my own this time, but it¡¯ll be much easier next time. Balance: 2 platinum coins, 2 gold coins, 15 silver coins, 10 copper coins. Volume 2 - CH 19 Chapter 19 ¨C The Scent of Civilization and a Sea Serpent Okay, let¡¯s summon the Exult 45. ¡°Rimu, I¡¯m summoning a new ship now. Do you want to see it?¡± I called out to Rimu, who was still in the bag, and it came out and climbed up to my shoulder. ¡°¡­Ship ¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going to summon a big ship. Want to see it?¡± ¡°¡­See¡­¡± Rimu said and settled on top of my head; it¡¯s so cute. ¡°Ship summoning.¡± A ship with a pure white hull and black reflective windows came out of a large glowing magic circle. Is the second floor the cockpit? The window on the first floor is black. Is that some kind of privacy glass? Where do we get in? There is a lowered area at the back of the ship; I can get in from there. There is a lot of space in the back; this is called the aft deck, right? The rear deck is quite large and could have been used for a bigger bath, right? Leaving the inside of the ship for later, I go around to the bow deck, which is also called the forward deck. Finally, I went inside the ship. Oh, this is the salon, with an L-shaped sofa, a high table, and two stools. Going up the second floor, there¡¯s a blue transparent table and sofas on both sides, here¡¯s the sky lounge; I can see a good view of the outside from the window. I wonder if the air conditioner can be operated; it smells like civilization. Rimu is excited, too; it¡¯s bouncing his head on my head. ¡°Rimu, it¡¯s amazing, isn¡¯t it? So luxurious!¡± ¡°¡­Luxurious¡­¡± Next to the galley is the kitchen. There¡¯s an electric stove, a microwave, a freezer, and a refrigerator. There are dishes and kitchen utensils. Going to the back, here is the guest room; there are two beds; why are there steps? You can see a skylight when you lie down. Oh, there¡¯s a toilet next to it. Next, here is the owner¡¯s room, with storage and a large bed, so three people can sleep. There¡¯s a toilet and shower room in the back. Just looking at this room is very exciting. After going outside, I climbed up the ladder to the flying bridge. This is the cockpit. Oh, yes, it¡¯s about time to do the ship¡¯s disguise. It would be a waste to change the interior, and since no one except Ines and Felicia will probably try to get inside, I¡¯ll just leave it as it is. The exterior needs to be changed, disguised as a wooden structure to make it look like a slightly different magical ship? It¡¯s probably okay, right? Okay, the disguise is complete. There is still plenty of time before tomorrow morning, so let¡¯s enjoy this ship. I made some tea in the kitchen, brought out some fruit, and had a tea party in the sky lounge with Rimu. Yes, gorgeous. I relax as I watch Rimu happily digest the fruits. Now let¡¯s take a bath. I boil a lot of water in the kitchen and fill the bathtub. There is a shower, but I want to try a bath with a sea view. This time, I summoned a bathtub boat on the forward deck, which looks like it has a nice view. I undress and soak in the bathtub. The weather is clear, and the blue ocean is all around me. Rimu, who had been exploring the front deck, climbs up to the top of the bath. ¡°Do you want to take a bath, Rimu?¡± ¡°¡­Yes¡­¡± ¡°I see; you should take a nice long soak. And don¡¯t absorb the bath water.¡± ¡°¡­Yes¡­¡± Rimu fearfully dipped its body into the hot water and slowly got into the hot water. Rimu floats in hot water and drifts in hot water. I didn¡¯t know slime could float. ¡°Are you alright, Rimu? Is there anything wrong? If you feel any discomfort, get out of the hot water right away.¡± ¡°¡­Like it¡­¡± Yeah, does that mean you like it? Well, if you¡¯re happy with it, that¡¯s good. I go up after enjoying the bath slowly. Rimu is still floating in the bath. It¡¯s getting dark, so I prepare dinner in the lamp¡¯s light. ¡°Rimu, dinner¡¯s ready.¡± ¡°¡­Food¡­¡± We eat dinner together, enjoying Rimu¡¯s quick reaction to the food. ¡°I think it¡¯s time to go to bed.¡± I lie down on the bed in the owner¡¯s room and shut my eyes. I feel a little uncomfortable, as the bed is more comfortable than my own bed in Japan. I didn¡¯t know luxury beds could be this comfortable. Good night. When I wake up, I feel refreshed, probably because I had a good sleep. After having breakfast with Rimu and getting ready for the day, I go up to the flying bridge and depart for the southern city. It is still dark when I leave for the southern city. It¡¯s too bad that I can¡¯t see the scenery because it¡¯s nighttime on the sea. It¡¯s almost time to go to the southern city and proceed through the sea at dawn. It¡¯s nice to sit back in a comfortable chair and maneuver the ship from a high vantage point with a great view. When I arrive at the dock, no one has arrived yet, so I make myself a cup of tea and wait for the others to arrive. After a while, Ines and Felicia arrived, each pulling a cart. ¡°Ines, Felicia, good morning. It looks like you got plenty of food.¡± ¡°¡±Good morning, Master.¡±¡± ¡°I think everything is well stocked. Shall we load it up now?¡± ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s just load it up on the aft deck, and it will be repatriated when we sail away.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± While we were loading the food on the aft deck, Camille-san delivered the spider silk to us. It seems that Dino-san and Enrico-san came to see us off as well. ¡°Camille-san, Dino-san, Enrico-san, good morning. Sorry for coming so early in the morning.¡± ¡°No, I want Wataru-san to do his best, so this is nothing. Please come back with lots of pepper.¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± We load our luggage onto the ship and chat with Camille-san and the others. They asked me, ¡°It¡¯s a strange magic ship. Do you know where it was excavated?¡± It was difficult to disguise it when they asked me. I had to be careful. ¡°Then, Camille-san, Dino-san, and Enrico-san, I¡¯m off.¡± We departed from the southern city while listening to the words of wishes for the safety and success of the voyage. The destination was the southern continent, the beginning of a long voyage that would take at least a month by magic ship. While I was lost in emotion, Ines and Felicia came up to the flying bridge. ¡°Master, this ship is amazing. There are some things I don¡¯t understand, but there are many wonderful things here.¡± ¡°Master, the beds were soft and big. The chairs were wonderful.¡± ¡°It seems you both like the ship. Just wait a little while until I get my stuff sorted out on the aft deck; then, I¡¯ll show you how to use it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I need to purchase three additional rubber boats to load my belongings. It¡¯s hard to see the boat screen because of the amount of stuff. Can¡¯t it be put together? Oh, it¡¯s done; now it¡¯s much easier to see. Ship Summoning Level 3 You can summon a purchased ship. +2 Can keep the purchased ship in the best condition only and can operate the ship at will. You can buy a new ship from the purchase screen. Autopilot If you set a destination on the map, you can reach it automatically. Mapping Places you have been to are automatically mapped. Ship disguise The appearance of the boat can be changed to reproduce the texture of the boat without changing its performance. Initial Rowboat (wooden): Maximum number of passengers: 2 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Purchased: Rubber Boat: Maximum number of passengers: 2 (Bath boat) x 1 (Food storage boat) x 6 (Trade goods warehouse boat) x 2 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Big Fishing Rubber Boat: Maximum number of passengers: 4-5 (Hut boat) x 1 (Warehouse boat) x 1 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Japanese-style boat: Maximum number of passengers: 12 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection EXULT 45: Maximum number of passengers: 15 Features: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Now that the cargo has been sorted out, I show the two of them how to use the facilities on board. They were surprised by the air conditioner and the refrigerator freezer, tilted their heads at the explanation of the microwave oven, and seemed to abandon their understanding at the electromagnetic plate and the water coming out of the faucet. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter if they know how to use it, right? When I explained the shower and toilet, they were delighted. They wanted to use them immediately, so the three of us went into the small shower room and poured ourselves off each other. It was a blissful time. ¡°Ufufu, that felt so good; this magic ship is amazing. I¡¯ve been on other magic ships as an escort, but they are totally different.¡± This ship is not a magic ship, but I wonder whether it is a magic ship when it can be cleaned up by just wishing for it. Water and fuel can be restored with just a thought, so maybe I can just call it a magic ship? ¡°I think so; if you were to use an analogy, a luxury cruise ship would be like a small town with the finest of the finest. It has the finest rooms, the most prestigious variety of stores, and the best entertainment facilities you¡¯ve ever seen, maybe¡­¡± I¡¯ve never been on a luxury liner; I can only imagine. ¡°I know, I can¡¯t imagine it, but I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Is there anything you don¡¯t understand, Felicia?¡± ¡°There are many things I don¡¯t understand, but I know how to use it, so I think I can figure it out.¡± ¡°If you have any more questions, just ask me, and we will be on our way again soon, and you two are free to spend your time as you please.¡± After a while, they came up with a cup of tea. ¡°Would you like a cup of tea?¡± ¡°Thank you; I¡¯ll take a break.¡± While talking with them, I suddenly thought, isn¡¯t this the life of a winner? Two beautiful women on a luxurious ship, isn¡¯t this the life of a winner? Ah, but not enough good food, good drinks, and entertainment, right? If I can summon a luxury cruise ship, I can definitely live a winner¡¯s life, but right now, I think I¡¯m still on the verge of winning. I have to work harder. We proceeded, ate dinner, flirted in the owner¡¯s room, and went to sleep. On the morning of the fifth day of such a happy life, we were attacked by a sea monster for the first time. ¡°Master, Master, may I have a moment?¡± ¡°Hmm? Morning?¡± I wondered what was wrong. Usually, they would wait for me to wake up. There is no kiss, and when I wake up, I see Felicia in front of me with a puzzled look on her face. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t know what to say, but you would know if you went outside. A sea serpent is hitting this ship with its body.¡± ¡°? Anyway, I¡¯m going to go see what¡¯s going on.¡± I get out of bed and head to the aft deck, where Ines is watching the sea serpent¡¯s body slamming into the ship with amusement. She looks like she has plenty of leeways, but even when the sea serpent hits the ship, there is no vibration at all, which is impressive. ¡°Ara, good morning, Master.¡± She approaches and gives me a morning kiss. Felicia, who had forgotten to kiss me, rushed over to give me a kiss, too. Both of them are quite relaxed. ¡°Oh, Rimu, don¡¯t get too close; it¡¯s dangerous.¡± For some reason, Rimu was very interested in the sea serpent and approached it, so I hurriedly picked it up. ¡°¡­?¡­¡± Why are you sending me a questioning thought there? ¡°So what shall we do, Master?¡± ¡°Umm, this barrier won¡¯t be broken, so I¡¯d say we¡¯re fine as we are. It¡¯s depressing, isn¡¯t it? Can Ines and Felicia take it down?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. I think I can do some damage, but it might escape before I can defeat it.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s going to run away, why don¡¯t we let it go? What do you think, Master?¡± ¡°Yes, you don¡¯t have to force yourself to beat it.¡± ¡°I understand. Then, before we attack in earnest, you should give the sea serpent a hit, too, Master. Then if we can defeat it, I think Master¡¯s level will increase.¡± ¡°Is that so? Then let¡¯s have Rimu attack it too. Rimu is level 1, so I think it will level up tremendously.¡± I took out my bow and fired several shots at the sea serpent. It doesn¡¯t even sting, it¡¯s being repelled, but I wonder if I¡¯ll get any experience out of it. After that, I let Rimu shoot a stone and hit the sea serpent. It doesn¡¯t work at all, but Rimu seems to be enjoying it. ¡°¡­?¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not working at all, is that it?¡± ¡°Yes. Now, if we can get the sea serpent down, we¡¯ll all be leveled up. Felicia, prepare the most powerful lightning magic, and I¡¯ll unleash the most powerful fire magic; we¡¯ll go at the same time.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Both of them draw large, complex magic circles with their staves. ¡°Here we go, then.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The magic circle glows and transforms into flames and lightning, striking the sea serpent. Huh? Don¡¯t they shout out the name of the magic or something? I¡¯ll ask them later. With a thunderous sound, the vapor that spreads across my field of vision subsides, and there is the sea serpent, shredded but still alive. That thing doesn¡¯t fall down. This monster is amazing. ¡°It¡¯s furious; it doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s going to run away, so let¡¯s give it another shot.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The sea serpent was furious, and it was hitting the ship with its body, and a second magic shot was fired at the sea serpent. ¡°Did it escape?¡± ¡°No, I think we took it down; it didn¡¯t even twitch as it sank.¡± ¡°We must retrieve the sea serpent; it would be a shame to waste it.¡± ¡°Eh? Oh, that¡¯s right¡­ We don¡¯t have any preparations, so we won¡¯t be able to make it this time. Let¡¯s buy some rope for the next time.¡± Ines looked disappointed as she looked at the sunken sea serpent. ¡°Is the sea serpent expensive?¡± ¡°Yes, compared to sea dragons, they are cheap, but sea monsters are basically very strong and difficult to defeat, so they are very valuable. The sea serpent class is almost impossible to defeat, so it is worth the platinum coin.¡± ¡°That¡¯s terrific. We¡¯ll get some rope prepared while we¡¯re at it. We¡¯ll have to make sure we collect it next time.¡± ¡°The sea serpent¡¯s attack would normally sink most magic ships. Well, with this ship, we won¡¯t have any problems, but remember, it¡¯s a monster that you have to be prepared to die if you encounter it in a normal situation.¡± ¡°All right, well, let¡¯s have breakfast while we check our levels.¡± ¡°Oh, right, I¡¯m starving, so let¡¯s do that.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ll get it ready for you, and you should dress yourselves.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Oh, I forgot, I came out here in my underpants. The sea serpent would get mad at me for that. I got ready and checked my level while eating my breakfast. Name: Wataru Toyomi Age 20 Occupation: Ship¡¯s Captain Level: 45 Physical Strength: 980 Magic Power: 96 Strength: 100 Intelligence: 110 Dexterity: 106 Luck: 15 Skills: Language Comprehension (Unique) Ship Summoning Level 3 (Unique) Spearmanship Level 1 Archery Level 1 Daily Life Magic Level 1 Tame Level 1 Name: Rimu Race: Holy Slime Age: 0 Occupation: Wataru¡¯s Familiar Level: 33 Physical Strength: 650 Magic Power: 114 Strength: 67 Intelligence: 79 Dexterity: 71 Luck: 30 Skills: Holy Magic Level 1 Recovery Magic Level 1 Digestion/Absorption Name: Ines Race: Flame Tiger Tribe Age: 19 Occupation: Wataru¡¯s Slave Level: 85 Physical Strength: 1700 Magic Power: 594 Strength: 394 Intelligence: 82 Dexterity: 126 Luck: 25 Skills: Flame Attribute Magic Level 3 Swordsmanship Level 3 Physical Arts Level 2 Presence Detection Level 3 Physical Enhancement Level 4 Name: Felicia Race: Dark Elf Age: 62 Occupation: Wataru¡¯s Slave Level: 97 Physical Strength: 1020 Magic Power: 1850 Strength: 102 Intelligence: 278 Dexterity: 188 Luck: 18 Skills: Lightning Attribute Magic Level 3 Barrier Technique Level 3 Archery Level 3 Dagger Art Level 2 Presence Detection Level 2 Physical Enhancement Level 2 ¡°Amazing, Ines has gained seven levels, and Felicia has gained 5. Rimu and I are gaining 32 and 25 levels, respectively.¡± ¡°Ufufu, yes, the higher your level, the harder it is to raise your level. As expected, if you defeat an A-rank monster, which is close to S-rank, you will be able to raise your level by that much, right?¡± ¡°Right; if it weren¡¯t for this ship, we wouldn¡¯t even be able to fight it.¡± The sea serpent is such a great thing. I thought it looked strong, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be that strong because it didn¡¯t even make an impact when it hit the ship. ¡°Rimu has improved a lot; aren¡¯t you happy?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Rim, I¡¯m so happy ¡­¡­¡± ¡°Oh, Rimu said two words. That¡¯s amazing Rimu, that¡¯s amazing. Is it because its intelligence has improved? Level up is essential, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°¡­Rimu, happy¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing; Rimu is very amazing.¡± ¡°¡­Rimu, happy¡­¡± The two looked on with a wry smile as I spoke to Rimu. Balance: 2 platinum coins, 2 gold coins, 15 silver coins, 10 copper coins. Volume 2 - CH 20 Chapter 20 ¨C Quiet Talk: Evaluation of Sailing in the Divine Realm and Treatment of the Creator God ¡°Wataru-kun comes to pray by chance, but is it wrong if I call him up?¡± ¡°No. The creator God himself has decided that we should not interfere too much in the lower realms. The last summons was also a special case. It would not be good for the other gods if we interfered too much.¡± ¡°But the God of war still complains to me. He said, as expected, it¡¯s not fun to watch him because of his bad skills, so you, God of light, should tell these guys, too.¡± ¡°Yes, I think he has acted a little better since the last conversation, but what is it you don¡¯t like? God of war, let¡¯s talk about it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s boring! He¡¯s still only fighting horned rabbits and goblins, whereas, in the past, most of them would have made a splash in the adventurers¡¯ guild or at least jumped up a rank or two!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just as the God of war says. I don¡¯t understand why you don¡¯t give magic skills to people from other worlds. Seeing him working so hard every day to train in daily life magic, as a God of magic, I can¡¯t help but feel pity for him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right; I think it is as the God of war and the God of magic said. And yet he¡¯s just a young guy with a nice boat, making money by staying in his boat, which is boring.¡± ¡°I understand what you are saying, but it is up to Wataru-kun to decide how he wants to live his life in this world. How he lives his life in this world is his choice, not ours to interfere.¡± ¡°O God of light, we know that; you don¡¯t need to tell us that. What we are not happy about is the fact that the creator God gave a valuable otherworldly person a stupid skill at his own idea.¡± ¡°I agree. The otherworlder has been working hard since he talked to the creator God. As a God of entertainment, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m not happy with the meager work he chooses to do, but he can¡¯t fight, so I guess it¡¯s inevitable, right? It was funny when he really wished a clairvoyant skill to God, so it¡¯s too bad because I think it would have been more interesting if the creator God would think about it properly before giving him the skill.¡± ¡°As a God of magic, I can¡¯t help but wonder how an otherworldly person can¡¯t use a single offensive spell.¡± ¡°Umu, as a God of war, I can only question the fact that he has not given martial arts and physical strengthening related skills to a weak otherworldly person who was originally only an amateur, and yet a ship summoning skill? Just die already!!¡± ¡°What do you think about that, creator God?¡± ¡°You guys are talking all you want in front of the creator God. I¡¯ve told you many times, ship summoning is a great skill. If you earn enough money to buy a big ship, you could have a country by yourself. It¡¯s a great skill, it¡¯s just the beginning, and you, God of war, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s going to die!¡± ¡°Even if you say he¡¯s just getting started, won¡¯t he just end up making money, buying a luxury cruise ship, and shutting himself away? As the God of entertainment, a luxury cruise ship sounds like a lot of fun, but I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll ever think about building a country.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he bought some slaves, and they have their own wishes and desires. They¡¯ll pull him along. Wataru-kun is weak against girls; he can¡¯t stay cooped up.¡± ¡°Right, are those slaves with their convenient wishes your work, creator God?¡± ¡°Eh? N-no, I didn¡¯t do anything like that.¡± ¡°From your reaction, you¡¯re definitely messing with it. God of light, what¡¯s going on here?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know that either. Creator God, can you answer me?¡± ¡°Eh? You didn¡¯t approve of it, did you? Why am I supposed to have interfered? I didn¡¯t do it, you know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear your excuses. Why did you do it?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t judge me; I¡¯m the¡­¡± ¡°Creator God!¡± ¡°Yes, I did it¡­ It¡¯s because everyone complains so much, and I thought if I didn¡¯t do it, they would say it was boring again.¡± ¡°Is such a reason why you reduced people to slavery?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t do anything to Ines, and I only stopped Felicia from being moved to a slave trading house in the royal capital. They were originally slaves. I didn¡¯t do much to them.¡± ¡°The problem is that the creator God interfered, even if it was only a small intervention. You should be ashamed of yourself.¡± ¡°Yes, I am sorry.¡± ¡°But are these otherworldly people a good stimulus to this world?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. Oh, but the God of gastronomy is pleased that kelp broth and chicken broth have spread, albeit slightly, to the southern city.¡± ¡°How plain it is.¡± ¡°But the God of gastronomy seems to be expecting a food revolution in this world if the otherworlder buys a luxury cruise ship and the food, desserts, and alcohol served in those restaurants spread.¡± ¡°I, too, might be satisfied as a God of entertainment if the games, movies, casinos, and other amusements that can be created on a luxury cruise ship were to spread.¡± ¡°Maybe so. I don¡¯t know if I can expect much in the way of fighting at the moment, but if good wine spreads, then I can have some fun. I guess we¡¯ll just have to wait and see.¡± ¡°Is that so? I think we should just get on with it and give him some skills, whether they¡¯re magical or martial arts skills.¡± ¡°Well, the God of magic has a point, but if we think about it, that otherworldly person prays in church and thinks everyone is happy because he is not called to the divine realm. It would be a pity if we suddenly gave him skills because he¡¯s so boring.¡± ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯ll be a little better if he buys a luxury cruise ship from the pepper trade. Let¡¯s see how it goes for a while.¡± ¡°Yes, the creator God said that he would be successful later. We¡¯ll see how it goes, and if it doesn¡¯t work out, we¡¯ll give him what he needs.¡± ¡°God of light, we¡¯re coming back, so give the creator God a good scolding.¡± ¡°I understand, but you mustn¡¯t provoke the creator God too much.¡± ¡°We are not provoking him, but we are telling him the truth.¡± ¡°I understand what you are saying, but if the creator God does something, it will be my burden, so please don¡¯t provoke him too much.¡± ¡°Yeah, all right. I¡¯ll see you later.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll see you later.¡± ¡°Now, as a punishment, the creator God will work without rest for the time being, starting today.¡± ¡°Eh, I am the creator¡­¡± ¡°The answer is yes. Do you understand?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Volume 3 - CH 1 Chapter 1 ¨C Arrival on the Southern Continent and the First Village A comfortable voyage, a more luxurious living space than the room I lived in Japan. However, there is a desire that awakens as life becomes more comfortable. Yes, I want to drink a nice cold beer. I saw many times on TV that most of the people on the cruiser were drinking beer. I guess it must be delicious. If it¡¯s a luxury cruise ship, I should be able to buy beer. Good food and cold beer. I would love to make a toast by the pool on a luxury cruise ship under the sun. I¡¯ve never actually been on a luxury cruise ship, so I¡¯m just imagining, but it would be a dream come true. While I was stroking Rimu in a daze and imagining a happy future, Ines and Felicia came up to the flying bridge. They are wearing thin clothes and no bras, so my eyes are glued to their plump breasts. They show them to me at night, but this kind of eroticism in everyday life is a different story. ¡°Master, a sea monster, perhaps, a gluttony shark, is approaching.¡± What¡¯s a gluttony shark? Are you talking about a gluttonous shark? That¡¯s scary. ¡°If it seems impossible to escape, we¡¯ll have to fight it off, but do you think we can escape?¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to escape. Gluttony sharks tend to move in a straight line, so even if we run away, they¡¯ll chase us forever.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to fight. Prepare to intercept.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± With the features of this ship, there should be no problem, but the open sea in this world is still dangerous. I¡¯m convinced that the success rate of the pepper trade is 1 in 30. I put Rimu on my head, prepared my bow, and headed for the rear deck. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s coming at us with tremendous force. It scares me even though I know it¡¯s going to be okay.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s okay. They¡¯re a lot lower ranked than the sea serpents, so I can handle it with a little more confidence. When Master and Rimu-chan have a hit on the gluttony shark, we will attack it with our magic.¡± ¡°Okay, Rimu, let¡¯s do our best.¡± ¡°¡­Rimu, do my best¡­¡± After its level was raised, communication with Rimu became much smoother. I hit the gluttony shark with my bow, and Rimu hits it with a rock when it comes to biting us with its big mouth and being repelled by boarding rejection. Yeah, it didn¡¯t work at all; it¡¯s really an experience point thief, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Next time it jumps again, we¡¯ll shoot it. Felicia, are you ready?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m ready.¡± The gluttony shark jumped again and was engulfed in flames and lightning. When the vapor generated by the aftermath cleared, the gluttony shark floated on the sea¡¯s surface. ¡°Do you want to haul this shark up? It¡¯s kind of well-cooked, though, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, the material may be no good, but I think the magic stone has some value, so I think we should take it.¡± ¡°Then I have something to try; wait a minute, ship summoning.¡± I summoned a rubber boat under the gluttony shark, and yeah, I¡¯m going to try to repatriate the gluttony shark now that it¡¯s on top of the boat. Hmm? I can¡¯t repatriate it, huh? Ah, I can¡¯t repatriate it because its head and tail are sticking out. I pull in the rubber boat and ask Ines to cut off the head and tail. Then I try to repatriate the boat again. ¡°Yes, I can¡¯t repatriate the boat if the head and tail are sticking out, but this will make it easier for us to haul the monster up.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great, the sea monsters are so big, so if we cut out the excess, it¡¯ll make it really easy to retrieve them.¡± ¡°Yes, this way, we won¡¯t have to worry about not being able to retrieve the sea serpent like we did the other day. That¡¯s great, Master.¡± ¡°Hahaha, thank you, it is just in time. Let¡¯s have lunch and then depart.¡± ¡°¡­Rimu, food¡­¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We eat lunch while chatting leisurely. ¡°Rimu, the food is delicious.¡± ¡°¡­Rimu, delicious¡­¡± ¡°Yes, you should eat a lot.¡± ¡°¡­Eat¡­¡± ¡°Hey, Master, have you named this ship?¡± ¡°Hmm? A name?¡± ¡°Yes, you name your ship, don¡¯t you?¡± She¡¯s got a look on her face like it¡¯s common sense¡­ In this case, EXULT 45 is different. If it¡¯s a name, it should be something like ¡°something-maru¡± or ¡°something-go.¡± ¡°Is it bad if it doesn¡¯t have a name?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s bad, but everyone seems to have one, and I think there¡¯s a reason they have them. Do you know about it, Felicia?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never been out of the village, so I don¡¯t know what¡¯s common knowledge about ships.¡± ¡°Oh, of course you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Hmm, but if everyone else is naming their ships, I guess I should name it. I¡¯ll think about it.¡± I¡¯m not good at thinking of names. No, as expected, Toyomi-maru wouldn¡¯t do in a world with a medieval European feel. ¡°How about Luto, taken from Exult (Izzaluto in Japanese)? Is it too short if it¡¯s just Luto? Luto-maru, Luto-go¡­ Yeah, I decided on Luto-go. ¡°It¡¯s decided. The name of this ship is Luto-go.¡± ¡°Luto-go? Does it mean anything to you?¡± ¡°No, I took it from the theme of the ship, EXULT (Izzaluto).¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s easy to understand, Master.¡± ¡°R-right, it¡¯s good that it¡¯s easy to understand.¡± I don¡¯t know; it¡¯s kind of embarrassing to be praised; well, I can¡¯t help but wonder myself. ¡°Well, from now on, the name of this ship is Luto.¡± After lunch, Luto was ready to go again. ¡°I wonder if that gluttony shark can be beaten by a normal magic ship?¡± ¡°Yes, I think it is manageable as long as you hit the gluttony shark with magic before it gets to the ship. What do you think, Felicia?¡± ¡°If the magic hits it, as Ines said, I think we can manage, but if it is discovered too late, or if we are ambushed before we discover it, it will be impossible to deal with it. But if we can create barriers that can withstand several attacks, I think there is a chance we can manage.¡± ¡°I see; the open sea is dangerous, after all. Well, you¡¯ve worked hard today.¡± ¡°I would like to take a bath before it gets dark. I think it will be more pleasant to take a bath while looking at the sea.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Let¡¯s take a bath early and watch the ocean as the sun sets.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master. Ufufu, I¡¯m looking forward to it, right? Felicia.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been a long time, hasn¡¯t it? Thank you, Master.¡± I remember the first time I took a bath while watching these girls talking happily. The narrow bathtub, their skin close together, and their breasts swaying¡­ were the happiest I¡¯ve ever felt. If they are this happy, I¡¯ll take baths a little more often instead of being satisfied with showers. I enjoyed the bath for the first time in a long time, without seeing the spectacular view of the setting sun and with my eyes being drawn to the plumping object. Although I have worshiped them every day in the shower and in bed, when the situation changes, a new charm is brought out even more, isn¡¯t it? Every day I play with Rimu and maneuver the ship, and when it gets dark, I train, flirt, and sleep. When monsters attack, we fight them off. When I woke up in the morning and found a kraken clinging to the barriers, I was so surprised. On the 25th day after starting out on such a voyage, we finally saw the southern continent. I think this is the safest power leveling in the world. Name: Wataru Toyomi Age: 20 Occupation: Ship¡¯s Captain Level: 67 Physical Strength: 1420 Magic Power: 140 Strength: 144 Intelligence: 154 Dexterity: 150 Luck: 15 Skills: Language Comprehension (Unique) Ship Summoning Level 3 (Unique) Spearmanship Level 1 Archery Level 1 Daily Life Magic Level 1 Tame Level 1 Name: Rimu Race: Holy Slime Age: 0 Occupation: Wataru¡¯s Familiar Level: 73 Physical Strength: 1450 Magic Power: 194 Strength: 147 Intelligence: 159 Dexterity: 151 Luck: 30 Skills: Holy Magic Level 1 Recovery Magic Level 1 Digestion/Absorption Physical Resistance Name: Ines Age: 19 Race: Flame Tiger Tribe Occupation: Wataru¡¯s Slave Level: 95 Physical Strength: 1900 Magic Power: 614 Strength: 414 Intelligence: 102 Dexterity: 146 Luck: 25 Skills: Flame Attribute Magic Level 3 Swordsmanship Level 3 Physical Arts Level 2 Presence Detection Level 3 Physical Enhancement Level 4 Name: Felicia Age: 62 Race: Dark Elf Occupation: Wataru¡¯s Slave Level: 102 Physical Strength: 1220 Magic Power: 1870 Strength: 122 Intelligence: 298 Dexterity: 208 Luck: 18 Skills: Lightning Attribute Magic Level 3 Barrier Technique Level 3 Archery Level 3 Dagger Art Level 2 Presence Detection Level 2 I asked them if I could fight now that my level had increased, and they said that my basic ability had improved but that I was not used to fighting and that I would be beaten easily by an opponent who had some experience in combat. I don¡¯t want some scary experience in combat, so I¡¯ve decided to stay protected and get out of harm¡¯s way as much as possible. ¡°Hey everyone, I can see the southern continent!¡± I shouted loudly, and two people who were preparing lunch came up to the flying bridge. ¡°Where is it?¡± ¡°Where? Master?¡± ¡°Look, you can see it clearly from here. Over there.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, yes. I can see the land.¡± ¡°Oh, there it is. We¡¯re here at last.¡± ¡°Yes, we arrived in 25 days. That¡¯s five days ahead of schedule. Let¡¯s have lunch and a cup of tea before we arrive and decide what to do on the southern continent.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We moved to the salon and discussed it over a cup of tea. Things were decided. We would continue for some time along the continent and find a place where there are people living. If it is a small village, we will ask about the location of a large town located by the sea. Ask for information about this continent. Find out the market price of pepper. Always keep Felicia¡¯s barrier magic on. ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s about it for now.¡± ¡°Oh, Master, I don¡¯t understand the language of this continent.¡± ¡°Oh, me neither.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, that¡¯s right. The language changes as the continent changes, doesn¡¯t it? I have a unique skill to understand the language, so I will be fine, so I will negotiate, and you two will focus on escorting me.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°¡­Rimu¡­?¡± Oh, well, the holy slime might be targeted on this continent. I think it would be better to have you hide in the bag until we can meet someone we can trust. Can Rimu hold out in the bag?¡± ¡°¡­Hmm, Rimu, be patient¡­¡± ¡°Great, Rimu, you are getting smarter and smarter as your level goes up.¡± ¡°¡­Rimu, smart¡­¡± ¡°Yes, Rimu is smart.¡± After talking with Rimu, we all go up to the flying bridge and depart for the southern continent. After a short ride, we approached the southern continent, and on a hunch, I turned the wheel to the right, and we proceeded. After a few hours of sailing, we found a small village. ¡°It was getting dark, so we decided to go to the village tomorrow and rest for the day.¡± ¡°Yes, it seems to be a small village, and if we go there when it is dark, we need to be warier of the people.¡± ¡°Yes, and it would definitely be more comfortable to stay on the ship than in the village.¡± ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s very cozy on the Luto. I¡¯m going to train, so please prepare dinner for me, okay?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± After training, we all have dinner, shower, lovey-dovey, and go to bed. In the morning, I wake up in a daze and am awakened at once by Ines and Felicia¡¯s gentle kisses. ¡°Today, we will finally land on the southern continent and go to the village. Let¡¯s have breakfast and get going.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± After finishing breakfast, I brought the ship to the shore. Huh? I summoned a Japanese-style boat and boarded it, and repatriated the Luto. ¡°Phew, we finally made it ashore. Let¡¯s get to the village quickly.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Walking toward the village, I see a man tending to his fields, so I call out to him. ¡°Good morning. I am a traveling merchant. Is it okay if I enter the village?¡± ¡°Hmm? A traveling merchant, huh? It¡¯s rare to see one in a place like this. If you greet the gatekeeper and he is okay with it, I think you can enter, okay? I don¡¯t know for sure since only familiar merchants come here, sorry.¡± ¡°No, thank you.¡± It seems to be a fairly small village. If few people come here, I wonder if I can get some information? A little apprehensive, I walked toward the village and spoke to the two gatekeepers standing in front of the crude wooden gate. ¡°Good morning; I am a traveling merchant. Can I come in?¡± ¡°A traveling merchant. How unusual for you to be in a place like this. I¡¯m going to the village chief¡¯s house and get the crystal, so please wait a moment. The crystal is kept in the village chief¡¯s house since few people come here.¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯m sorry for disturbing you this morning.¡± ¡°Ahahaha, it¡¯s no problem; we love to have guests. I welcome visitors even though there is nothing in the village.¡± As we were talking, the gatekeeper came back with the appraisal crystal. After proving that all of us were not criminals, he led us to the village chief¡¯s house. ¡°Good morning; my name is Wataru, a merchant. These are my escorts, Ines and Felicia. Pleased to meet you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very polite; my name is Glauco, the village chief. What brings you to our village? You do not appear to be from this country.¡± ¡°Yes, we have just arrived on the southern continent from the northern continent to trade. If you know of any large port towns, I would be grateful if you could tell us about them.¡± ¡°Oh, you must have had quite a voyage. Speaking of large port cities, if you walk ten days west of here, you will reach a large port city called Gothenburg. However, I am embarrassed to talk about this to people from other countries. The king of this country died about two months ago, and there is a struggle for his successor. According to the peddlers who come to this village, the security situation in Gothenburg is worsening, so please be careful if you are heading to Gothenburg.¡± ¡°Is it safe for people from other countries to go there?¡± ¡°I am sorry, but the merchant was just making small talk, so I do not know the details.¡± ¡°I see. I understand. Thank you very much.¡± After some small talk, we returned to the ship as we heard there was no accommodation. But there¡¯s a possibility of a civil war if the security situation deteriorates badly. What should we do? ¡°It seems that the security situation is getting worse, so what should we do?¡± ¡°Right, we don¡¯t know all the details, so we¡¯ll just have to go there. We can handle some of the danger, and we have Felicia¡¯s barriers. If push comes to shove, we can hold out until Master summons the ship, so I think we¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°I agree. I think we are good enough to escape even if the security situation worsens. If we act carefully, I think we can manage.¡± ¡°I understand. Everyone¡¯s level has improved, so we will act cautiously and challenge the pepper trade, assuming that we can escape as soon as we are in danger.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Well, I hope that the succession struggle will not cause a security problem or some other troublesome situation after having come all the way here, I thought as we left for Gothenburg. Volume 3 - CH 2 Chapter 2 ¨C Southern Continent Merchant Guilds and First Template At noon on the third day toward Gothenburg, which I had been told about in the first village, I saw a large port town in the distance. Is it okay to enter the port town like this? ¡°Ines, Felicia, I can see the town, but do you think it would be better to continue on into the port or walk into the town and gather information?¡± ¡°Well, this ship is very eye-catching, and I think it would be better to walk in and gather information. What do you think, Felicia?¡± ¡°I agree with you, I don¡¯t think it would do any good to stand out, so I think we should keep as low a profile as possible.¡± ¡°All right, then let¡¯s get off the ship around here and walk to town.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We get off the ship and walk towards the town. If we can get into the town safely, we can go to the merchant guild immediately, right? I would like to gather information in the town first, but it is dangerous to walk around in a town where security is deteriorating, so let¡¯s go to the merchant guild and listen to their stories. After walking for a while while thinking, we found a line to enter the town, so we got in line at the back of the line. Finally, it was our turn. ¡°Do you have something to prove your identity?¡± ¡°Will this be okay?¡± ¡°Hmm? This is a guild card from the northern continent. It can be used as identification, but what happened to your ship?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s the thing. Before we came to this town, we stopped by a small village. We were told that there was a lot going on and that security had deteriorated, so we were concerned about the ship, and we went ahead and checked on the situation.¡± ¡°I see. It is true that some ruffians are coming in, but there is no fighting going on. You will be fine as long as you don¡¯t go out at night or wander into the slums. And since this isn¡¯t a guild card for this continent, there will be an entrance fee of 10 copper coins.¡± Whoa, the security situation isn¡¯t that bad, huh? ¡°Is that so? Thank you very much. The two people behind me are with me, so I¡¯ll pay for them together. Is it okay with one silver coin?¡± ¡°The value is the same, but you¡¯ll stand out from the crowd, so exchange your money as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Whew, we got in safely. The merchant guild is over there. Once inside, I found that even on this continent, the guild¡¯s Onee-sans are all beautiful women. It proves that men have a weakness for beautiful women on every continent. ¡°Excuse me; we are here to trade from the northern continent. Is it okay if we use this counter?¡± ¡°You are from the northern continent? ¡­Yes, please follow me as I show you to another room.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± This Onee-san is also a beautiful woman¡­ I think her breasts are about C-cup. She is a human, brown-haired, and beautiful. ¡°Please wait here. I will prepare some tea.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Here is your tea. My name is Mear. Pleased to meet you.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. My name is Wataru, and behind me are my two guards, Ines and Felicia.¡± ¡°Yes, and by trade from the northern continent, do you mean the pepper trade?¡± ¡°Yes, I heard that spider silk is very popular here, so I¡¯ve brought it with me.¡± ¡°Spider silk? Yes, of course, we can trade with you, but I think you can get a higher price if you bring it directly to the store.¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t know of any reputable stores, and I¡¯ve heard some fishy rumors, so I¡¯d like to close the deal as soon as possible. Can you give me some information about that?¡± ¡°Is that so? I think that would be the right decision. I can give you as much information as anyone in this country knows. Beyond that, I would have to ask you to become a member of the guild and buy the information.¡± ¡°For now, please give me the information you can.¡± ¡°I understand. About two months ago, the king of Catania died suddenly. The cause of death is currently unknown. The first and second princes are currently competing for the throne. Although the armed conflict has been avoided, both the first and second princes are gathering troops. In response, the nobles are also gathering troops, and mercenaries and other ruffians are gathering in this town as well. Is there anything else you wish to ask so far?¡± ¡°Why wasn¡¯t the first prince elected king automatically? Which side does this town support? May I ask?¡± ¡°The first prince¡¯s mother is a princess from another country. The second prince¡¯s mother is a concubine and the daughter of the prime minister of this country. And the prime minister has declared that the first prince is not fit to be king and that the second prince should be king, and the lord of this town is pro-first prince, I suppose.¡± ¡°Wow, what can I say? It¡¯s going to be a boggy development, just like in the story. Is it possible that there will be no armed conflict?¡± ¡°If nothing happens and the situation continues as it is now, I think an armed conflict will eventually occur.¡± I don¡¯t know what is really going on, but this sounds like a story about a prime minister trying to drag down the first prince in order to run the country the way he wants. In a story, the first prince would be cornered, but he would overcome the ordeal and turn things around. ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll try to wrap up the deal as soon as I can. How much pepper can I buy?¡± ¡°If you can give me about five days, I can get you about ten platinum coins¡¯ worth of pepper.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see, our budget is two platinum coins, and I plan to use all the money from the sale of the spider silk to buy pepper and return. Can I bring the spider silk tomorrow and ask you for it? Also, can you recommend a safe inn with delicious food?¡± ¡°Yes, the inn will be a bit pricey under the current circumstances. Is that all right?¡± ¡°Yes, I would not trade my safety for anything.¡± ¡°Then I would recommend the Pearl Pavilion, which is a little more expensive at two silver coins per person per night, but in terms of safety, there is no doubt about it.¡± Two silver coins are 20,000 yen, right? I don¡¯t care if it is in Japan; 20,000 per person in another world seems pretty expensive. Well, I guess it can¡¯t be helped. If I stay in a bad place, I¡¯m sure there will be problems. ¡°Thank you very much. What time will you be available tomorrow morning?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be at work from dawn tomorrow, so I should be fine anytime.¡± ¡°I see. Well, I look forward to working with you tomorrow.¡± ¡°I will be waiting for you.¡± Is everything alright? At any rate, I headed to the Pearl Pavilion to complete the formalities before I got involved in anything else. The lodging fee was six silver coins a day, which was a bit heartbreaking for me, a petty citizen at heart, even though I was earning a lot of money. And it¡¯s sad that the Luto is much more comfortable than the Pearl Pavilion. Well, safety comes first, I guess. ¡°So, Master, how did the talks go?¡± I explained to them what I had heard at the guild, and they both sighed. ¡°I wanted to do at least some sightseeing since we are in this situation, but it would be troublesome if we get involved in something, so let¡¯s go back as soon as the deal is done this time, shall we?¡± ¡°Yes, I would have liked to do some sightseeing, but I don¡¯t want to get caught up in a civil war. Let¡¯s just get it over with and get out of here.¡± ¡°I agree, but what about food? We still have more than a month¡¯s worth of food left, so should we not replenish it?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯d love some food. I am also interested in the food on this continent. Hmm, let¡¯s not act alone this time, and until we have a deal, let¡¯s go shopping for food in this town.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°But this room, it¡¯s not bad, but the Luto is definitely better, and I can¡¯t wait to get back.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m looking forward to our meals, as I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have dishes we haven¡¯t had before.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, there¡¯s a meal, and since we¡¯re here, we¡¯ll have to enjoy it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost time for dinner; let¡¯s go to the dining room. Today we¡¯re going to be extravagant.¡± ¡°Ufufu, that sounds exciting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so happy, Master.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve come to another continent. We must enjoy ourselves.¡± In the dining room, we were given a menu. As this is a high-class restaurant, there are various dishes on the menu. ¡°As I mentioned earlier, we¡¯re going for luxury today, so you can order whatever you like. For now, I¡¯ll order the recommended dishes first and have them brought to us.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± As the area is known for its spices, the dishes that arrived at the table were rich in spices. Spare ribs with salt and pepper, garlic and herbs, and whole roasted chicken stuffed with herbs. Seafood pasta with arrabbiata? Pasta with tomato sauce and very spicy pasta with too much garlic and hawk¡¯s claw. As a port town, seafood is abundant, and although there was no sashimi, I enjoyed steamed fish meuniere, a feast that I usually cannot eat as much as I would like. ¡°Rimu, is it good? Sorry, it¡¯s in the bag. There¡¯s plenty to go around, so eat a lot.¡± ¡°¡­Rimu, eat a lot¡­ delicious¡­¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s delicious, good for you.¡± ¡°Thanks for the treat. I can¡¯t eat anymore. Master, it was very delicious, thank you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m full too. Thank you, Master.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome; I¡¯m full too. I think it¡¯s time for us to return to our rooms.¡± After enjoying a hearty meal, I wipe myself off and go to sleep. In the morning¡­ Ines and Felicia give me a morning kiss, we flirt for a little while, and then we get ready and head to the dining room. Rimu wakes up as breakfast is brought in. ¡°Good morning Rimu. Breakfast is here.¡± ¡°¡­Good morning¡­ Breakfast¡­¡± After finishing breakfast, I return to my room and summon a ship to take out the spider silk. ¡°Now, let¡¯s go to the merchant guild, shall we?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Arriving at the guild, I call out to Mear-san. ¡°Good morning, Mear-san. I brought the spider silk.¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. Let me show you to the other room.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Here is your tea. Then I will check the spider silk.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± How much will the spider silk cost? I don¡¯t think it will be cheap because it is recommended by the guild master of the merchant guild. ¡°I have checked, and the quality is good enough. The merchant guild will buy them all for five platinum coins. As I said last time, if you bring them directly to the store, the price could go up by more than one more platinum coin. Are you sure?¡± Do you mean the price will go up by more than 100 million? What should I do? But I have no confidence in my business and don¡¯t want to get caught up in a civil war, so let¡¯s make this quick. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I¡¯ll do. Can you give me seven platinum coins worth of pepper combined with the two platinum coins I have on hand?¡± ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯ll need about five days to get the pepper.¡± ¡°I understand and thank you for your cooperation. Oh, and I¡¯d like to take out the collected items little by little, so could you let me know when you have collected a certain amount?¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Is it all right if I notify the Pearl Pavilion?¡± ¡°Yes, at the Pearl Pavilion, please. Then, please excuse me.¡± Okay, I guess we¡¯re getting by now. Maybe I should negotiate for more price increases or lower pepper prices, but I can¡¯t do that anymore; I¡¯ll give up some losses if I can make a profit. I¡¯m not cut out for business, either. What am I cut out for? ¡°Now that we¡¯ve done with the merchant guild. The rest is shopping. Let¡¯s buy food and other souvenirs for the people who helped us in the southern city. Ines and Felicia, let me know if there is anything you want.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± What should I buy for the women who took care of me in the southern city? As for the men, they will be satisfied with a rare drink; well, I guess I will look around and decide. As expected, we were tangled up as we looked around the lively town peculiar to a port town. ¡°Hey, you pretty ladies, let¡¯s have some fun with us instead of that dull guy.¡± I think this is the first time I¡¯ve encountered a template. Five rugged, bearded guys dressed as mercenaries, saying the same things as in the novels, but sadly they don¡¯t have the power to beat up their opponents on their own like the main characters. ¡°Hey, are you listening to me? You leave these women here and get the hell out of here. Oh, and leave all your money, too.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t just leave them here. They¡¯re my bodyguards. I don¡¯t think this is the right thing to do in the middle of the day on the main street.¡± ¡°What? Are we doing something wrong? The girls wanted to play with us, so we decided to play with them, you know? And since you¡¯re paying for the trouble, there¡¯s nothing wrong with that. So why don¡¯t you just put your money down and get the hell out of here.¡± Oh, it¡¯s the Japanese theory, and now I¡¯m on the scene. Can¡¯t we just settle this peacefully? I look around, but they are so full of an aura of not wanting to get involved that they won¡¯t even make eye contact with me. I wonder if someone could call the soldiers to come over here? ¡°Can¡¯t you even understand what I¡¯m saying to you? Get the hell out of here.¡± They suddenly hit me, oh¡­ Ines and Felicia beat up the guys in an instant¡­ Is that okay? Should we run away from this situation? Or should we catch these men? When I was wondering, the soldiers came running. I wished they had come a little faster. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Hah, I am a merchant, and these men came to me and told me to leave my money and my woman and disappear. They came at me and tried to beat me up, so I asked them to protect me.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, there were many people around me who saw them, and I am sure they will testify.¡± At my words, some of the soldiers started to ask questions. These mercenaries had been doing some bad things, not only involving me but also revealing their past misdeeds. ¡°It seems to be true. What do you want to do with them? If you want to reduce them to slaves, you will have to go through a procedure.¡± What, they¡¯re going to be reduced to slavery? Well, since they tried to rob me of my money and take the girl away, do they deserve to be reduced to slavery? ¡°Well, we don¡¯t have much time, so please compensate the people who have been harmed because, from what I hear, they¡¯ve been doing many bad things.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The people who had been listening to my words were complaining to the soldiers one after another about the damage they had suffered. Something is slightly unconvincing. ¡°Well, excuse me.¡± We returned to the inn to take a rest. ¡°Ines, Felicia, thank you for protecting me.¡± ¡°Ufufu, I was bought to be your bodyguard, so it¡¯s only natural.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re right. But thank you. I don¡¯t feel like going shopping today, so let¡¯s just relax at the inn.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Volume 3 - CH 3 Chapter 3 ¨C Island Discovery and Exploration It has been five days since I requested pepper from the merchant guild. The daily deliveries of pepper would be repatriated on the rubber boats I had purchased, and when I was done, we would go food shopping. While shopping for food, we often got tangled up with people. The security indeed seems to be getting worse, but I think the trouble is concentrated on the good looks of Ines and Felicia¡­ I think I would be less likely to get tangled up if I went out alone. I¡¯m not going to do it, though, because if I were to get tangled up on my own, I¡¯d be stripped to the bone, and that would be the end of it. Ines and Felicia handled the trouble without a hitch, and I just watched, and the trouble was over. You know, I¡¯m just like the air, you know? I bought souvenirs for everyone in the southern city, and for the guys, it will be this continent¡¯s liquor. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s good, but it¡¯s rare, so they should be pleased. I did my best to pick out souvenirs for the women. I wanted to make a good impression on them and have them be nice to me. After listening to everyone¡¯s opinions, I decided on an assortment of spices and a fabric made from a material that is only found on this continent. I thought we could manage as long as we kept the food and clothing-related items in mind. Ines and Felicia were pleased with the clothes made of this fabric, so I knew it would be fine. I was so impatient that I bought so many things that my balance was down to only five silver coins. I didn¡¯t have enough money to stay at the Pearl Pavilion for one more night. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. Is everyone ready?¡± ¡°Ufufufu, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s walk to a secluded place, then summon Luto and go.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We leave the town, walk to a secluded spot, board the ship, and set sail for the southern city. ¡°Whew, I feel at home on Luto.¡± ¡°Ufufu, yeah, Gothenburg was fun, too, because we could eat rare foods, but we didn¡¯t get to see much of the sights, and I think Luto is the best place to live.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to do some sightseeing in the southern continent when the succession is settled, and I¡¯m planning to visit other countries, so we¡¯ll wait for the next opportunity.¡± ¡°Master, I haven¡¯t had a bath for a while. Would you like to take a bath today?¡± ¡°It¡¯s better; I only wiped myself at the inn. Shall we take a bath? I will rest today after we get some distance from the southern continent. Please prepare the bath for me.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I saw them off to get prepared and played with Rimu while steering the boat. ¡°Rimu, we will take a bath today. Rimu likes taking a bath, right? Are you happy?¡± ¡°¡­Bath, like¡­ Rimu, happy¡­¡± ¡°Yes, looking forward to it.¡± After driving for a while, I stopped the ship. It¡¯s bath time, I undress, and Ines and Felicia wash me. We soak in the bath, and when it gets hot, we leave and let our bodies cool down. Enjoying the bath after a long time. Of course, during that time, I¡¯m glued to the plumpness. The only time I can suppress my lustful gaze is when I¡¯m playing with the floating Rimu. ¡°It feels so good to take a bath after a long time, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Ara, is the bath the only thing that felt good for you, Master? What do you think, Felicia?¡± ¡°Well, when Ines hugged him from behind, Master almost melted, didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Ufufu, that¡¯s right. Master was also very at ease when he was wrapped around Felicia¡¯s breasts.¡± ¡°Please give me a break. I¡¯m hungry after a long bath. Let¡¯s have dinner.¡± ¡°Ufufufu.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Over dinner, we discussed our future plans. ¡°Since it was our first time there, we headed straight for the southern continent, but on the way back, let¡¯s deviate from the route and go back while looking for the island that Felicia desires.¡± We will be arriving at the southern city late because we will have to make a major detour along the pepper trade route to reduce the possibility of people coming, but we will search until the last minute while checking the food situation. ¡°Thank you very much, Master, and I appreciate your help.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind either. The new island looks interesting.¡± ¡°Well, this time, we¡¯ll take a big detour to the west and head for the southern city, hoping to find an island.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We turn west and depart. Other than searching for an island, every day was the same as the previous ones, with the same repetitive ship handling, training, and flirting, with the occasional sea monster to fight off. ¡°I just thought about it. Rimu can use magic, right? What kind of magic can it use?¡± ¡°¡­?¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know? Well, you¡¯re too young to do it, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Ah, Felicia, Rimu has magic skills, so I asked Rimu what kind of magic it could use, but it doesn¡¯t seem to understand yet, so I¡¯ll ask again when it¡¯s a little older.¡± ¡°That reminds me, Rimu-chan is a holy slime, isn¡¯t it? If it can use holy attribute magic and recovery magic, we will be even safer.¡± ¡°Yes, well, Rimu is cute as it is now, so it¡¯s fine. Then is something wrong?¡± ¡°Fufu, Rimu-chan is so sweet, isn¡¯t it? The lunch is ready and¡­ Master, isn¡¯t that an island?¡± ¡°Hmm? An island? Where?¡± ¡°Just beyond the tip of my finger. You can faintly see the shadow of an island.¡± ¡°Yeah, I see it. Tell Ines we are on our way to the island.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± We arrived at the island, but¡­ ¡°Well, this place is no good. It¡¯s small, and the ground is rocky. You can¡¯t build a village here.¡± ¡°Yes, I agree. Look, Felicia, don¡¯t be discouraged. At least we have found land. Now we just need to find an island where people can live. It¡¯s better to have hope than nothing, so cheer up.¡± ¡°You are right. We found land, so we can find a good island if we look for it. I will do my best.¡± After that, small islands were found one after another. They were not inhabitable islands, but they were being found with increasing frequency. ¡°Hmm, there seem to be small islands scattered around here, and I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if there is a big island nearby. I can¡¯t seem to find any, though.¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t there be a big island near a small one?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know much about it, but I think that islands are formed when the seafloor rises due to a large-scale undersea anomaly, such as an undersea earthquake or eruption of an undersea volcano. Or sometimes, a large continent sinks, and only the high part of the continent remains and becomes an island. Well, anyway, there are traces of such things all around us, so I think there is a big island in the place where there was the biggest anomaly, so let¡¯s search around the area without giving up. ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± After three days of staying in the area and exploring the surrounding area by ship, we finally found a large island. ¡°Hey everyone, I found a big island. It¡¯s green, so it looks like it has a forest.¡± Two people came up to the flying bridge at a great speed. ¡°Where is it? Master!¡± ¡°Where, where is it?¡± ¡°Not that way. Look right behind you.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a really big island.¡± ¡°With an island that big, my village would be dozens of times bigger.¡± ¡°Calm down, both of you. It¡¯s big enough to live on from a distance, but we have a lot of things to check to see if people still live there or if there are any monsters that are too strong. First of all, we need to approach the island and go around it to check for any man-made structures or monsters.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I calm Felicia, who is very excited, and we go around the island observing the surroundings. Rimu is also very interested in observing the island, which is cute. We went slowly, so the sun went down in the middle of our exploration. Let¡¯s leave the exploration for tomorrow and have dinner. ¡°Master, there were no signs of human habitation so far, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, we haven¡¯t found any so far.¡± ¡°This island is ideal. There are mountains, forests, grasslands, and rivers.¡± ¡°Felicia, I know how you feel, but calm down a little. If you intend to bring your family here, you must remain calm and not miss a single anomaly.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, thank you, Ines. I¡¯ll calm down a little.¡± ¡°Hahaha, Ines calming Felicia down is the opposite of what you usually do.¡± ¡°Yes, Felicia is my calming influence, and you mustn¡¯t lose yourself in it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not taking on that role.¡± ¡°Haha, well, now that dinner is over, let¡¯s take a shower and go to bed early. Tomorrow we will explore the island, so let¡¯s do our best.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± When I woke up, it was still dimly lit. Did I go to bed too early? ¡°Chuu, good morning, Master.¡± ¡°Felicia, fully equipped, kisses me, Ines giggling in the background.¡± ¡°Nchu, good morning, Master.¡± ¡°Morning. Felicia, you¡¯re getting ready too fast. We haven¡¯t even circled the island yet.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I just can¡¯t seem to calm down.¡± ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯ll have to settle for breakfast.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Rimu woke up, and we all ate breakfast together. The sun was coming up, so we set out at once. We made it around the island a little before noon. ¡°We¡¯ve circled the island now, right? It¡¯s just noon, so let¡¯s talk about what we noticed over dinner. First of all, we didn¡¯t see any man-made structures on the island. The fact that there is not a single building on the beach or in the grasslands, it is safe to assume that there are no people here. Well, we can¡¯t be completely sure until we check the forests and mountains.¡± ¡°I agree. I also confirmed the presence of small animals and monsters in the meadows.¡± ¡°Well, so far, it seems ideal. There is a mountain in the northeastern part of the island, surrounded by forest. The rest of the island is grassland.¡± ¡°There is a big river running from the mountain to the sea, so as long as there are no people and strong monsters, I think this is a good place to settle down.¡± ¡°Yes, we can take a Japanese-style boat up the river to the mountain, and if there is no sign of people along the river, I think we can conclude that there are no people here. After that, we will explore the forest and the mountains. Then, let¡¯s set out, shall we?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We head to the river and change to the Japanese-style boats to go up the river. The grassland looks so relaxing. Oh, there is a horned rabbit. Hunting for meat seems to be okay. We crossed the grassland and entered the forest without any difficulty. There were some fallen trees, but we were able to dodge them by summoning ships and sending ships back as we proceeded deeper into the forest. There are slimes and goblins in the forest. Goblins are troublesome, but they can also be used to supply magic stones, so it is not all bad. As we continued up the river, the current became too steep for the Japanese-style boat. It will be dark soon, so we should camp around here. ¡°We should get ready to make camp.¡± I summoned the hut boat after a long time. I also summoned two rubber boats that had been used for food and emptied and arranged them in a triangle shape, making a fire in the middle and preparing dinner. ¡°Ufufu, Master has such an unusual boat. It has a small room.¡± ¡°Well, if you put up the barrier, it makes an absolutely safe place for encampment. That¡¯s great.¡± ¡°Yes, I like it because I can rest alone, and it¡¯s surprisingly cozy. Oh, Rimu, don¡¯t go too far away. Sorry, Felicia, but I need you to put some barriers around Rimu for me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve been putting barriers on Rimu-chan since we left the ship.¡± ¡°Thank you. Apparently, Rimu is enjoying the forest after a long time.¡± ¡°Ufufufu, it¡¯s true. It is all bouncy.¡± ¡°So, how was the trip back to the forest?¡± ¡°There were goblins. The people in my village can intercept them to some extent, but it would be bad for a large settlement.¡± ¡°Well, the only other monsters I saw were slimes, but it¡¯s a big forest, so you never know what¡¯s out there.¡± ¡°Yes, but it is the same in my home village, so if we expand our search carefully, I think we can manage.¡± If a village is built on a hill near the sea and river, which we could see when we first went back, there would be easy access if something happened, and they could evacuate if they had a boat ready. ¡°I see, so you don¡¯t want to live in the forest right off the bat, but rather build a village in a safe place first. I thought that since you are dark elves you would live in the forest.¡± ¡°We prefer the forest, but we also know how scary it can be. We won¡¯t push it.¡± ¡°Then I guess we can explore the mountains tomorrow, and if it looks okay, we can move your people.¡± ¡°If it were uninhabited, it would be a pretty ideal island, and I would like to move to it.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s a nice island, too. It¡¯s hard to imagine people in the mountains when there is no sign of people here, and it¡¯s okay when there are no people along the river. It looks like it¡¯s going to work out, so let¡¯s have dinner soon.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Ufufu, Rimu-chan is very sensitive about food. It is coming back.¡± ¡°¡­Dinner¡­?¡± ¡°Hahahaha, yes, Rimu, are you looking forward to dinner?¡± ¡°¡­Rimu, food, like¡­¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s eat a lot.¡± After finishing the meal, I wipe myself off and go to sleep in the hut boat. It¡¯s small, but the close contact is great. But sweet breaths from both sides and very soft things¡­ make it hard to sleep. Morning, huh? I didn¡¯t sleep much, but I was happy. After the routine morning kiss, I prepare breakfast. After breakfast, we climbed up the mountain along the river, a steep but not too high mountain, so we reached the top before noon. ¡°Hmm, the mountain is empty, and looking at the forest from the top, I don¡¯t see any large settlements.¡± ¡°Well, unless there are some S-ranked monsters lurking in the forest, I think it will be all right.¡± ¡°Yes, I think so too. Master, could you please settle the dark elves on this island?¡± ¡°Yes, that would be fine. I will help as much as I can.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master. I would be very grateful.¡± ¡°Yes, I will do my best. If that is decided, shall we return to the southern city?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± That evening Felicia spoke to me. ¡°Thank you, Master, for finding a safe haven for the dark elves. I will now devote myself to the service of Master with all my heart and soul, so please take care of me.¡± ¡°Um, yes, I am very happy, but the migration is not yet complete, so I would like to ask you for it without any reservations after the migration is firmly completed.¡± Wow, what am I saying? Why didn¡¯t I attack her? Felicia was okay with it. Why did I play it cool? I have nothing but regrets now. Haha, it can¡¯t be helped. I said it, so let¡¯s do my best for the migration¡­ ¡°Oh, yes, of course, thank you.¡± ¡°Ufufu, are you sure? Felicia took the trouble to tell you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say it. I already regret it. In this case, I have no choice but to complete the migration as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Ufufu, yes, but I don¡¯t want to forget it either. Let¡¯s enjoy the best room on the luxury liner when we get it.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best to push forward with that.¡± It was an agonizingly sleepless night. I¡¯m definitely going to have fun with Ines and Felicia. Volume 3 - CH 4 Chapter 4 ¨C Dark Elven Village and Parents Morning, huh¡­? I don¡¯t think I slept much because I was in so much agony. I haven¡¯t slept well for two days in a row. But a morning kiss from the two of them wakes me up in a snap¡­ I¡¯m so easy, aren¡¯t I? I¡¯m even afraid of my simplicity that this is the only thing that cheers me up. Is this how it¡¯s going to be? After breakfast, I take out the Japanese-style boat to go down the river. Once we reached the grasslands, we could skip the rest of the way, and we were at the sea in no time. From there, we changed to the Luto and headed for the southern city. I remember that there is an autopilot system. Let¡¯s give it a try. Let¡¯s see, it¡¯s linked to the map, right? I set the southern city and started the autopilot. Is that correct? Oh, the ship is moving. Let¡¯s go to the salon. ¡°Huh? Master, the ship is moving, you know? Is it okay?¡± ¡°Ara, it¡¯s true. Is everything okay?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine. I tried to use the autopilot skill. It seems that if I set a destination that I have been to once, the autopilot will automatically steer the ship to that place. Now the ship will keep going while we sleep, so we¡¯ll get to our destination two or three times faster than before.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s great. That means we can get from the southern city to Gothenburg in about ten days, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, well, we can still go during breaks and meals, so it could be even faster.¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing. Once you get to a destination, you can get there two or three times faster.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t had a chance to use it before, so I haven¡¯t tried it, but now I¡¯m going to use it a lot, and it¡¯s going to be a great tool for the migration and trade and all that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to being able to buy the luxury cruise ship soon.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really looking forward to it, too. Then let¡¯s decide what we are going to do.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°First of all, we need to load the ship with pepper before we reach the southern city, and since we only have five silver coins now, we need to exchange the pepper for cash as soon as possible, give out souvenirs, collect tools for the settlement, visit Felicia¡¯s homeland, hmm, what else is there?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything else except maybe to make sure Felicia knows how to get to her homeland.¡± ¡°My homeland is in the woods, about seven days¡¯ walk west of the southern city. If we go by ship from the sea, we can get there in one or two days. So, in this direction, if we can see the Kingdom of Latina, I think we will pass close to my homeland.¡± ¡°Really? Then we can stop by on the way back, have a discussion and make preparations for the migration, and in the meantime, we can do our business in the southern city.¡± ¡°That would be less hassle. Felicia, do you think there will be any problems if we go there directly?¡± ¡°The village is closed, so I don¡¯t think we can just walk in. But my father is the village chief, so I can ask him to come and explain. We have the oath of the God of commerce, so trust is not a problem.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s no problem, then it¡¯s decided. Is it okay if we buy an extra bottle of liquor as a souvenir?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about souvenirs.¡± ¡°But we are going to meet Felicia¡¯s father. Felicia is very kind to me, so I¡¯ll feel uncomfortable if I don¡¯t bring something for your father.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one who¡¯s indebted to you¡­¡± ¡°Ufufu, that¡¯s fine; I think it¡¯s best to do what Master wants.¡± ¡°Alcohol is also a good way to start a conversation, no problem. I also like to have something to talk about.¡± On second thought, the man who enslaved his daughter goes to see the father of his slave daughter¡­ Huh? Will things get any better? Am I about to jump into a terrible place myself? Is a little alcohol enough? ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master, I really appreciate it.¡± ¡°Y-yeah, it¡¯s okay. Let¡¯s take it easy and not think about it too hard.¡± In this case, it was a matter of taking it as it came. The more I think about it, the more it makes me sick to my stomach, so I¡¯ll try to escape from reality. ¡°Ufufu, yes, oh, Master, it looked like a gluttony shark just bumped into us, or was it my imagination?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right. We¡¯re being attacked.¡± I don¡¯t feel nervous at all about the attack. I¡¯ll have to be more careful when I¡¯m on land. After fighting off the gluttony sharks, I decided to take a bath since I had only wiped my body for two days. ¡°Ufufu, it¡¯s nice to take a bath while the ship moves, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all sea, so the scenery doesn¡¯t change much, but is it because of the wind and the swaying? It¡¯s a fresh sensation. What do you think, Master?¡± ¡°Yes, the wind gets stronger, so it¡¯s a different sensation, but I like it.¡± Yes, I love it. The breasts floating in the bath are more heaving than usual, and I don¡¯t know what to do with them. Two days after leaving the island, the continent came into view. ¡°Hmm, we arrived on the continent two days after leaving the island. I think the distance between the island and the continent is too close.¡± ¡°I think it will be alright. This ship has been sailing for two whole days, and it is very fast. It would take a normal magic ship five days to reach the island.¡± During that time, the ship would have been attacked by monsters many times. Five days in the treacherous open sea is no easy feat, and I think it is safe enough. ¡°Yes, I think so too. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth the risk of losing the magic ship, and once the villagers have prepared to defend themselves, they will consider fighting back or even fleeing.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s no problem, then fine, let¡¯s move on.¡± ¡°Master, my homeland is in that forest. If we can land halfway through the forest, we can reach the village in about two hours.¡± ¡°Okay, let me know if we have come to the right place. At the very least, we can switch to the Japanese-style boat and land without any problems.¡± Finally, I¡¯m going to visit her home in a few hours, and it makes my stomach ache. ¡°Master, please go ashore at that spot.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°This way, Master. There are monsters out there, so be careful. Ines, you take care of the rear.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After walking for about two hours, we could see the village in the distance. It seemed to be on high alert, or perhaps they had spotted us and were on alert, and people were gathering at the gate. ¡°Stop right there, don¡¯t make any strange movements. What do you want?¡± ¡°I am Felicia; we mean you no harm. Please call the village chief.¡± ¡°Felicia, huh? But there are some unfamiliar people with you. I can¡¯t allow you to approach until the chief gives you permission. You must stay there.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Master, do you mind waiting here for a moment?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine.¡± I heard that they had been attacked before, so it¡¯s no wonder they are on high alert. After waiting for a while, two men approached. ¡°Felicia, it¡¯s been a while. Could you introduce these people to us?¡± ¡°Yes, this is my master Wataru-sama. The one on top of his head is Rimu-chan, who is Master¡¯s familiar. The woman over there is Ines, who, like me, is Wataru-sama¡¯s slave. Wataru-sama, this is Federico, the village chief of this village. He is also my father. And over there is Edgard, the captain of the guard.¡± ¡°My name is Wataru, and it is a pleasure to meet you.¡± Yeah, dark elves have good faces, even the men. Well, I somehow knew that, but it seems like my jealousy is about to flare up. But so far, I don¡¯t feel any hostility from them. ¡°I¡¯m Federico, the village chief, and it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. May I ask how I can help you?¡± ¡°Yes, but it would be better to hear it from Felici¡¯s mouth, Felicia, please.¡± ¡°Yes.¡¡¡± Felicia reported the discovery of the island to Federico-san. She told him that the conditions of her slave contract also included helping with the discovery of the island and relocation, as well as the island¡¯s environment. ¡°Phew, I understand what you are talking about. It is a dream come true for us. In the meantime, let me show you my house.¡± While we are being shown to his house, I take a look at the village, with its battered houses and broken walls, still not fully recovered from the damage caused by the attack. ¡°This is my wife, Cecilia. Please wait a moment while she prepares tea for you.¡± Felicia¡¯s mother seemed like she wanted to talk to Felicia, but I wondered if they could take some time later. But if I wanted to be cool, now would be a good time, right? Felicia, go and help your mother make the tea. I think I¡¯d be more likable if I ordered her to do it. I¡¯ll give it a try¡­ While I was thinking about it, the tea was brought to us¡­ It¡¯s unfortunate. ¡°May I ask you to elaborate?¡± ¡°Yes, the main idea is as Felicia told you earlier. I¡¯m going to help the villagers move, transport the household goods from this village, donate food and pioneering tools until things settle down, and I think that¡¯s about all I can do. Please discuss the rest with the villagers and make a decision.¡± ¡°I am very grateful for your help, but why are you willing to go that far?¡± ¡°Well, most of the reasons are to keep the agreement I made with Felicia.¡± The rest of the reasons are just to finish the migration as soon as possible and have some fun, but as expected, I can¡¯t say that here, can I? ¡°I see, I also need to discuss this with all the villagers, so could you please give me some time?¡± ¡°Okay, I have some work to do in the southern city, so I will come back after I finish that. How much time do you need?¡± ¡°Well, I think we can conclude in three days. Can you give us some more time?¡± ¡°Understood. I don¡¯t know how long my work will take, so I will come back in about seven days. Is that all right?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much. Would you like to stay the night? We will prepare dinner for you.¡± I could go back now, but I think I should stay here. Felicia would probably want to talk to her mother. ¡°Yes, thank you for your hospitality.¡± ¡°Now, I will show you to the guest room. We¡¯ll call you when the food is ready, so please wait a moment.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± ¡°Felicia, it¡¯s been a while since you¡¯ve been here, so you can go and talk to your mother while you help her. You haven¡¯t talked to your mother properly yet, and I forgot to give the souvenir liquor to your parents, so take this with you.¡± ¡°No, but I¡¯m your escort.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Ines is here, and I don¡¯t plan on going out.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll take your word for it. Ines, take care of the rest.¡± ¡°Fufu, leave it to me.¡± ¡°Ines, this village still had the remains of the attack, and the population was low, so do you think the migration will be safe?¡± ¡°Right, but if it means they won¡¯t have to be so careful about the humans, I think they will make the decision to move, even if it is painful at first. In this country, there is less danger, but in a country with human supremacy, even beastmen would be captured and enslaved, and it would be very difficult to be cautious all the time.¡± ¡°Human supremacy, huh? If I remember correctly, the empire in the north of this continent is like that, right?¡± ¡°Yes, all beastmen are enslaved when they are found. They are in an endless skirmish with the neighboring beast kingdoms.¡± ¡°A beastmen country next to an empire of human supremacy, I can see no other reason for conflict.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± While I was chatting with Ines and playing with Rimu, Felicia came to tell me that dinner was ready. She was smiling as if she was having a good time talking with her mother, and we were guided to our seats for dinner. ¡°Thank you for waiting; it¡¯s not much, but please enjoy your meal.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Itadakimasu.¡±¡±¡± A whole roasted bird, mushroom soup, and bread. I feel like they did their best for this meal; I¡¯ll eat it with all my heart. ¡°This mushroom soup is very delicious. It contains mushrooms that I have never eaten before, but they are tasty with various flavors.¡± ¡°This soup is my wife¡¯s specialty. I am glad you like it.¡± ¡°Yes, it is very delicious.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, my daughter told me that you take very good care of her, and I am really grateful for that.¡± After the friendly dinner, Federico-san and Cecilia-san thanked me. ¡°Please raise your head, Felicia is the one who has taken very good care of me, and it is only natural that I should take good care of her.¡± ¡°When we were cooking, she told us how much she enjoyed living with you. We are the parents who sacrificed her life for us because it was beyond our control, so we would not have the face to meet her, but I really appreciate that you gave us the opportunity to talk with her with a smile.¡± ¡°No, no, you will have many more opportunities to see each other in the future. Since we are staying here tonight, please talk with her a lot more. I think it¡¯s time for us to go to bed. Felicia, please spend some time with your parents today.¡± ¡°Eh, but¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s been a long time since you¡¯ve seen each other, so please talk a lot, and have a good night.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but run away from the somewhat sober and serious atmosphere. Ah, I¡¯m not good at that kind of atmosphere. ¡°Ufufu, they are good parents, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yes, come to think of it, do you have any family, Ines?¡± ¡°Yes, I do. I have my parents and one younger brother.¡± ¡°If you want to meet them, we can go, but where do they live?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to see them.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get along with them?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re a normal family, not that I don¡¯t like them, but if I see them, I¡¯ll have to explain why I became a slave.¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t seem to be as emotional as Felicia, do you?¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t want to go see them after seeing Felicia like that.¡± Yeah, well, as expected, she got into gambling, got into debt, and became a slave¡­ It doesn¡¯t sound like an emotional reunion is going to happen. Let¡¯s go to bed. Good night. Volume 3 - CH 5 Chapter 5 ¨C Southern City and Shopping for Migration ¡°Morning, huh¡­? ¡°Nchu, good morning master.¡± ¡°Ines, good morning.¡± I get ready, have breakfast, and set out. As I walk to the gate, I see a young man, a dark elf, staring at me fiercely. He glares at me. Did I do something wrong? ¡°Thank you for seeing me off; I¡¯ll be back in seven days. I¡¯ll be looking forward to seeing you again.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much. Please take care.¡± We parted ways with the village chief and headed for the beach. ¡°Felicia, did you have a lot of time to talk to your parents?¡± ¡°Yes, they were worried, but thanks to Master, they felt a little more at ease.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that.¡± While chatting and defeating goblins that come out occasionally, we arrived at the coast and boarded the ship. While we were in the forest, I was just stroking Rimu. It¡¯s good to have a dependable escort. ¡°Whew, at this distance, it looks like we¡¯ll be in the southern city by tomorrow morning. We¡¯ll have to get up early tomorrow and load the pepper outside.¡± ¡°Yes, Master. By the way, will we be staying at an inn in the southern city?¡± ¡°Hmm? I hadn¡¯t thought about it, but we have been staying at the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s inn, and I¡¯d like to try their food again, so we¡¯ll stay at their inn.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then we won¡¯t be able to take a bath for a while, so why don¡¯t we take a bath today, Master?¡± ¡°Great, let¡¯s take a bath.¡± I get naked in the bathtub on the front deck, get washed and soaked by the two of them. I want to join to wash their bodies, but every time Ines makes me give up because she says it¡¯s more than a little bit intimate. But the sight of these two beauties playing with each other is wonderful in itself. I stroked Rimu, which was floating in the water, and burned this spectacle in my eyes. After taking a bath as much as we can, we eat dinner. We flirt in bed, too, and then fall asleep. I wake up, and after my routine every morning, I eat breakfast and get ready. ¡°I¡¯m going to put out the pepper, and you will carry it to any available space. I want to show that I brought a lot of pepper, so I want a lot of it on the front and back decks, and I want it covered with cloths.¡± ¡°Master, we¡¯ve run out of room for the pepper.¡± ¡°This is unexpected¡­ What shall we do? We have only put out 20 rubber boats¡¯ worth of pepper, only half of them, and the boats are full¡­ would it look suspicious if we cashed in all of them?¡± ¡°I think it would look suspicious. They¡¯ll think you have some special skill, like a spatial skill.¡± ¡°The small magic boat has caused a stir, and this magic ship is also subtle and conspicuous. We should avoid attracting any more attention. Let¡¯s stop halfway and move on to the next.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Regarding the docks in the southern city, I ask for a place to stop the ship and to contact Camille-san of the merchant guild. I hope Camille-san is around. After waiting for a while, Camille-san came with many carts. I was surprised that she came with so many carts, Camille-san, you are such a capable woman, aren¡¯t you? ¡°Good morning, Camille-san. I¡¯m sorry for coming so early in the morning.¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe and sound, and Rimu-chan seems to be doing well.¡± Rimu is jumping on her head and saying, ¡°¡­I¡¯m fine¡­¡± He¡¯s so cute. ¡°Yes, Rimu says he is fine, too. I¡¯ll bring out the pepper.¡± ¡°Yes, can you wholesale everything to the merchant guild?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I intend to do.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± We unloaded the pepper from the ship into the port and asked the people from the merchant guild to carry it to the carts. We are running a little short on carts, though there is still about a third of the pepper left. ¡°I see you can load quite a lot, Wataru-san. How much do you have left?¡± ¡°I think there is about one-third left.¡± That was close. Even this amount is being questioned. I wonder what would have happened if I had taken out all of it. ¡°I understand. Please bring the carts back to the guild once they are loaded. I¡¯ll ask the guild to bring other carts.¡± We finally finished loading all the goods and headed for the merchant guild. I¡¯m glad it¡¯s still early in the morning, so it¡¯s not that conspicuous. ¡°Then please wait here while I go check it out.¡± I was taken to another room and offered tea. While we were chatting leisurely and waiting, Camille-san came back. ¡°The pepper is in very good condition. The total is 72 platinum coins. Is that acceptable?¡± ¡°Ah yes, please leave 50 gold coins in my guild¡¯s account. I would appreciate it if you could exchange one gold coin into silver coins.¡± ¡°Yes, I will arrange it that way. Congratulations again on your success in the pepper trade.¡± Oh, I have a souvenir for you, Camille-san. It consists of an assortment of spices and a rare piece of cloth from the southern continent.¡± ¡°Well, thank you very much, but I cannot accept such an expensive gift.¡± ¡°Haha, it¡¯s alright. I bought a lot of pepper, and when I bought a lot of souvenirs, they gave me a big discount. Don¡¯t worry about it; just take it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a very precious commodity here on this continent.¡± ¡°Hmm, but I would be happy if you could accept them because it would be sad to turn what I bought as souvenirs into money.¡± ¡°I understand. I will take good care of it. Thank you very much.¡± That smile is enough for me; thank you very much. ¡°Oh, this drink, it¡¯s a souvenir for the guild master. He is a busy man, so could you please give it to him for me, Camille-san?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. By the way, Wataru-san, how was the southern continent?¡± ¡°Oh, about that, I only went to the Kingdom of Catania. Let¡¯s see; if we combine the return voyage, about three months ago, I heard that the king died suddenly, and although there has not been an armed conflict yet, the security situation has deteriorated due to the struggle for succession.¡± ¡°I see that the pepper trade has become even more difficult in a country where there are no negotiations.¡± ¡°Yes, we couldn¡¯t even go sightseeing. I¡¯m thinking of going to the pepper trade a few more times, but I¡¯m worried about the worsening security situation.¡± ¡°Well, do you still intend to do the pepper trade?¡± ¡°Yes, I intend to. If I bring too much pepper, will the sales be bad?¡± ¡°No, there is still plenty of room for more. Since you have made a lot of money, I think it would be better for you to do business in a safe way.¡± ¡°Ah, I plan to visit many places, so the pepper trade is just a side trip. I am thinking of going to the next country next to the Kingdom of Catania.¡± ¡°Is that so? But please be fully aware that it is a dangerous voyage, and please don¡¯t die.¡± She¡¯s looking at me like she¡¯s given up. It gives me a chill, huh? I feel like this has happened before¡­ ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be very careful. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Also, I¡¯d like to rent a dock to anchor that ship. Is there one available?¡± ¡°Please wait a moment. Yes, there is. You can rent a dock for a small magic ship for three silver coins per month.¡± ¡°Yes, that would be great. Please deduct the three silver coins from the price of the pepper.¡± ¡°Very well. Then you can use dock number 55.¡± ¡°Oh, and I¡¯m going away for a little while in six days. I may be leaving for the southern continent directly, so I¡¯d like to withdraw 30 platinum coins in five days. Also, I¡¯d like to buy spider silk for ten platinum coins, please.¡± ¡°I can provide the platinum coins if you give me five days¡¯ time, but I think I can only collect about five platinum coins worth of spider silk.¡± ¡°Then, please prepare five platinum coins worth of spider silk. There is no need to force yourself to collect. Just as much as you collect is fine, thank you!¡± ¡°Thank you for your concern. I will do my best to collect it.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I appreciate your help.¡± But I need at least 500 platinum coins to buy a luxury cruise ship. If I withdraw 500 platinum coins at once, no matter how much I think about it, it will cause a big fuss. I should just withdraw the platinum coins steadily and repatriate them. I get my payment and leave the merchant guild. I met Dino-san and Enrico-san on the way, so I gave them their souvenirs. I told them I didn¡¯t know if it was a good drink since it was from another continent, but they laughed and said they were looking forward to it. I also gave the alcohol to Donnino-san, and then¡­ I wondered if I would have a chance to give it to Guido-san and the others or not. If not, I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll ask Camille-san to give it to them. And for everyone in Girasole, I¡¯ll give it to them in person, by all means. When I arrived at the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s Inn and got a room, I gave them some souvenirs, too. They were more pleased with the spices than the cloths and said they would enjoy them in various ways. ¡°Phew, now I just need to give the souvenirs to Guido-san and the others and also to everyone from Girasole. Then we can buy some food and tools for the migration.¡± ¡°Ufufufufu, I¡¯d love to eat some good food.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything.¡± ¡°Good food? I don¡¯t have any ideas. Do you know any good places, Ines?¡± ¡°The restaurant by the harbor is good. They serve a lot of fresh fish.¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost noon, so let¡¯s go to that restaurant. On the way back, we can stop by Guido-san¡¯s house and the Girasole¡¯s lodgings and do some shopping and then go back. Would that be okay, Rimu?¡± ¡°¡­Rimu¡­ fish¡­ eat¡­¡± He replies while wriggling on my head¡­ cute. The restaurant recommended by Ines was delicious. The fresh seafood was tasty enough on its own. Come to think of it; I haven¡¯t eaten fresh fish for a long time even though I¡¯ve been at sea all the time. Maybe I should go fishing? I¡¯ve never done it, though. I impulsively bought some seafood at a nearby market. I secretly put it in a rubber boat to avoid it going bad, but someone walked by and almost saw me. I shouldn¡¯t use the ship summoning on the street too often. I stopped by Guido-san¡¯s house and found that he had returned home at the right time. He was happy to see me back safe and sound¡­ but he was even happier when I gave him the liquor. I heard that Carlo-san and Daniel-san were still on the island, so I entrusted their souvenirs to Guido-san and asked him to give them to them both¡­ I¡¯m a little worried about Guido-san, who has a suspicious eye for alcohol. Let¡¯s hope he gets it safely. Now that we¡¯re near the shopping district, we¡¯re going to do some shopping. ¡°Isn¡¯t unground wheat better for preservation? Do you have the tools to grind wheat into flour in your village, Felicia?¡± ¡°Yes, we do. We used to preserve wheat as it was in our village.¡± ¡°I see. Then let¡¯s buy more wheat and stock a lot of it in several batches. How much should we stock? How many people are in Felicia¡¯s village?¡± ¡°My father says there are currently 35 people living in the village. The raids have really reduced the number of people.¡± Oof, I¡¯m sorry I brought up such a gloomy subject. I would like to be a more thoughtful person. I asked the shopkeeper for a considerable amount of wheat, enough for 40 people to live on for about six months. We made a deal to have it brought to the front of the ship several times. As for meat, there were horned rabbits in the grassland, and dark elves who hunt would be able to catch them with no problem, but we should buy dried meat just in case. Vegetables tend to go bad quickly, so we only buy a small amount of them, and since they were selling vegetable seeds, we bought all kinds. At the store where I had bought the tents for the raft, I ordered two large tents for ten people, five tents for five people, and ten tents for two people and asked them to bring them to the front of the ship. We were so excited about the massive order. We also needed carpentry and farming tools, so we went to the general store and bought as much as we could think of. Ten hoes, ten shovels, five sets of carpentry tools, a lot of nails, and ten buckets, which I ask them to bring to the front of the ship. Felicia said they didn¡¯t need that much, so I explained to her that we wouldn¡¯t be on the island all the time and that it was important to have a reserve, and we continued shopping, finding the small necessities as we went. Before I realized it, I had spent ten gold coins, and Ines and Felicia were looking at me with amazement. It¡¯s thrilling¡­ Huh? I feel like I¡¯ve felt like this before¡­ I will try my hardest to explain to them and make them understand how hard it is to pioneer from scratch in a place where there is nothing. It¡¯s not like I wanted to shop like a tycoon with a lot of money by any means. I feel like I¡¯m being looked at with suspicion, but I¡¯m imagining it, aren¡¯t I? ¡°I think we have a certain amount of things, but is there anything else you need?¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know, I think it¡¯s better to actually live there and buy what is needed. We¡¯re going to check in on that island once in a while, aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the plan. Especially in the beginning, when we have to carry vegetables and such.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough. I¡¯m sorry you had to spend so much money, Master.¡± ¡°It is nothing for you to worry about, Felicia. The migration help is in the contract from the beginning. I am just honoring the contract, and it is Felicia¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Ufufu¡­ I can¡¯t wait to finish the migration and have some fun, you know?¡± ¡°No, Ines, I was just being kind of cool now.¡± ¡°Ara? You don¡¯t want to?¡± ¡°No, I do want it.¡± ¡°Honesty is good, Master.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Felicia. If you put in a lot of hard work, you should do a lot of hard work and have a lot of fun. Master will be happy with that, won¡¯t you, Master?¡± ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m ashamed to admit it, but it will be very satisfying.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± ¡°Now, let¡¯s go and hand out some souvenirs to everyone from Girasole.¡± Balance: 39 gold coins, 98 silver coins, 70 copper coins. Guild account balance: 71 platinum coins, 49 gold coins, 97 silver coins. Volume 3 - CH 6 Chapter 6 ¨C Souvenirs For Everyone in Girasole and Claretta-san¡¯s¡­ I¡¯ve arrived at Girasole¡¯s lodgings. Are they here? ¡°Excuse me.¡± ¡°Welcome. Do you want to stay here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m not a guest. Are the people of Girasole here?¡± ¡°We are very sorry, but there are many people who would like to meet the members of Girasole. Unless you know them or have an appointment with them, we will not accept any visitors. Do you have an appointment?¡± I had no idea there would be such difficulty. ¡°Um, I have been with them several times, so if you tell them I¡¯m Wataru, I think they will meet me, but can you please leave a message for me?¡± ¡°Very well, I will tell them, but if they don¡¯t remember you, I will have to ask you to leave.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± ¡°For some reason, that man didn¡¯t seem to believe what Master was saying. His speech was polite, but I found him condescending and unpleasant.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. The members of Girasole are very beautiful and very popular. There must be a lot of things going on, and the innkeepers are very cautious about it.¡± ¡°Are they that beautiful?¡± ¡°Yes, if it¡¯s a slave trading house, they must be of the highest rank, just like the two of you.¡± ¡°Master, I don¡¯t think you should refer to your acquaintances by slave trading house rank.¡± ¡°Haha, I know it¡¯s pathetic, but it¡¯s the only way I could think of to describe a beautiful woman.¡± ¡°Ufufu, and you seem so happy about it.¡± ¡°Huh? Can you see that?¡± ¡°Yes, your nose is elongated.¡± Oh no, it¡¯s like my desire is leaking out, so I have to be careful. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think they will take me seriously, but I brought them souvenirs so the connection will not be broken.¡± The innkeeper came back with Alessia-san behind him. Thank goodness she came. If she had told him that she didn¡¯t know anyone like that, I would have cried. ¡°Wataru-san, it¡¯s been a long time. I¡¯m so relieved to see you back safe and sound. We are all here; let me show you to our room.¡± The innkeeper gave me a look that said, ¡°Why is this guy¡­¡± as I proceeded to the inner room. When I entered the room, everyone was happy to see me back safely. ¡°Rimu-chan seems to be doing well, too. Wataru-san, could you introduce the two people in the back?¡± ¡°Oh, excuse me, this is Ines and Felicia. They are my slaves and guards. Ines, Felicia, these are the Girasole, Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, Marina-san, Carla-san, Ilma-san, and Claretta-san.¡± ¡°¡±Nice to meet you.¡±¡± ¡°I¡¯m Alessia; it¡¯s nice to meet you, too. By the way, Wataru-san, how did you manage to buy such a beautiful and skilled slave? At this level, money alone is not enough to buy them, is it?¡± ¡°Yes, I heard that various people couldn¡¯t afford them because they didn¡¯t meet the requirements, but I tried just to have a chat with them. Then, I found that they had conditions that I could fulfill, so I was able to negotiate with them. The owner of the trading house was surprised and rolled his eyes.¡± ¡°Ufufufufu, for such a boy like Wataru-san to just talk to them.¡± ¡°No, Ilma-san, I¡¯m already a man. I am no longer a boy.¡± Ugh, I thought I had developed a tolerance for beautiful women with Ines and Felicia, but Ilma-san¡¯s bewitching atmosphere is just something else, a terrifying attraction. ¡°Ara, is that so? I¡¯ll never forget how you looked at me passionately after my bath.¡± ¡°Ah, no, that¡¯s just because I¡¯m a man.¡± ¡°Fufu, Ilma, let¡¯s leave it at that. So, what are you up to today, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, I forgot all about it. I bought some souvenirs from the southern continent, and I¡¯m distributing them. I don¡¯t know if everyone here will like them, but here you go.¡± I handed everyone an assortment of spices and a piece of cloth. ¡°Well, are you sure about all this? Spices are expensive, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Hahaha, Alessia-san, I went to the place where spices are cheap, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, too, but with the spices you¡¯ve given us, we¡¯ll be able to enjoy our encampment more; thank you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, will you continue to accept requests for the island?¡± ¡°Well, I have to do a lot of things, so I won¡¯t be able to accept requests from the island for a while.¡± Huh? Carla-san just went sad. What¡¯s this? She¡¯s just too cute. ¡°Um, excuse me? What¡¯s wrong? Carla-san?¡± ¡°Fufufu, I¡¯m sorry, that¡¯s because Carla loved Wataru-san¡¯s tent raft. I am sorry too, but can I hold Rimu-chan?¡± It seems that Rimu is okay with it, so I leave Rimu in Dorothea-san¡¯s hands. Oh, Marina-san also came to pet Rimu. Rimu is so popular; I am so jealous. Hah, now there are eight beautiful women in this room; I have to take a deep breath. ¡°Do you really like it? Guido-san and the others have improved their tent rafts, too, haven¡¯t they? So I think the comfort doesn¡¯t change much?¡± ¡°Indeed, Guido-san and the others have made their tent raft much more comfortable. But they can¡¯t cook. Claretta has learned to cook Wataru-san¡¯s food, so we can eat at the inn, though. It makes a big difference when you return to the tent raft after a long day, and there is no good food. Well, before Wataru-san came, we had been camping for a long time, so I wonder if it is extravagant to complain about having a bath and a tent raft where we can take a rest.¡± Oh, come to think of it, Carla-san always ate her meals with such relish. She always asked for a refill, and when I see her looking so dejected, I feel like I need to do something about it. (Master, we want to try your cooking, too.) (Why are you whispering? Besides, haven¡¯t I made it before?) (Ufufu, isn¡¯t it strange for a slave to ask her Master to cook for her when there are other people around? Besides, I¡¯ve never eaten Master¡¯s cooking.) Even if it¡¯s weird, Ines requests in a whisper, which is very typical of her. But I¡¯ve never made it for her, huh¡­? Yeah, I¡¯ve been satisfied with everything they cooked just because it¡¯s a beautiful woman¡¯s cooking. I never thought about cooking for myself. Oh, that¡¯s right, I have to get Carla-san better somehow. ¡°Carla-san, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be going to that island for a while, but would you like me to cook a new dish for you? I¡¯m thinking of cooking for you.¡± ¡°Really? But I also want to eat karaage.¡± ¡°Of course, I will make karaage, too. Besides, this new dish is a very delicious seafood dish.¡± ¡°I want to eat it.¡± Her bear ears, which had been shrunk, are now twitching. She is really a lovely person. She looks like a tall, beautiful woman with big breasts, but when you talk to her, it¡¯s strange that she seems so cute. ¡°Wataru-san¡¯s new dish, can you teach me how to cook it?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± Claretta-san likes to cook, and I really enjoy cooking with her, but it¡¯s sad that her interest isn¡¯t directed toward anything else. ¡°Well, when shall we do it? I¡¯m only preparing for the next five days, so we should arrange a time, but what time would be convenient for you?¡± ¡°I want to eat tomorrow.¡± ¡°Since we¡¯re off until tomorrow, how about dinner tomorrow?¡± ¡°Okay. Where would you like to meet?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, we can use the kitchen at this inn, where I cook occasionally, but it would be too busy for dinner.¡± ¡°Is that so? Then how about cooking a little earlier? Seafood tastes better when it¡¯s fresh.¡± ¡°Would it be all right if we use the kitchen after the busy morning hours and finish cooking before it gets busy at lunchtime?¡± ¡°That way, I don¡¯t think it will cause any trouble.¡± ¡°Then I will come to the inn tomorrow morning around 10:00 a.m. By the way, should I make enough for everyone?¡± I looked around the room and saw that everyone was nodding their heads, so I decided to make enough for everyone. I¡¯ll make enough for about fifteen people, which is a lot of work. ¡°Well, if you¡¯ll excuse me, let¡¯s go, Rimu.¡± I picked up Rimu, who was being rubbed by Dorothea-san and Marina-san and left the inn. ¡°Master, that man who works at the inn was glaring at you. Is it alright?¡± ¡°I think he just doesn¡¯t like the fact that I entered the room of the Girasole, so I think it will be okay, maybe¡­¡± If I were in his shoes, I would have a murderous intent when I see a man enter the room of those beauties¡­ This is a different world where life is light¡­ I wonder if it¡¯s going to be okay¡­ ¡°Fufu, don¡¯t worry; we¡¯ll protect you if anything happens to you. But more importantly, Master could cook. Why didn¡¯t you cook for us too?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s because I was satisfied enough with Ines and Felicia¡¯s cooking that I never thought of cooking it myself.¡± ¡°Ufufu, that¡¯s a compliment, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°But Master, even though Claretta-san cooks too, she seemed to be interested in your cooking. We only did the usual cooking. Were you really satisfied?¡± ¡°I¡¯m quite satisfied just with what Ines and Felicia cook for me.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± To be honest, unless the food is so bad that I can¡¯t eat it, it is impossible for me to be dissatisfied with the food that Ines and Felicia make and bring to me, smiling and saying, ¡°Your food is ready.¡± In my mind, a beautiful woman¡¯s home-cooked meal is more wonderful than anything sacred given by God, and I wouldn¡¯t bother to cook it myself if I was completely satisfied, would I? ¡°Besides, I¡¯m not a great cook; I just know how to cook in a different way. I think Claretta-san can cook the dishes I teach her better than I can.¡± ¡°I see, but I¡¯m happy if I can learn new dishes.¡± ¡°¡­Wataru¡­ Food¡­ Like¡­¡± I was shocked at the sudden confession. Come to think of it; I had taken Rimu to the island several times, so he had eaten a meal I had cooked several times. I was happy that he ate it so deliciously. ¡°Thank you, Rimu, I¡¯ll cook a lot of food tomorrow, and we¡¯ll eat together.¡± ¡°¡­Together¡­ Eat¡­¡± Rimu is so cute; I think my nose is going to bleed. We head to the dock to load the cargo being carried to the ship and put it on a rubber boat inside to be repatriated. ¡°Now that we¡¯re here on the ship, let¡¯s take a shower and head back to the inn, shall we?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I love baths, but I also love taking a hot shower together in a small shower stall. We return to the inn and flirt, then fall asleep. In the morning, we complete our usual routine, get ready, and eat breakfast. I quickly go to the market and pick out some seafood for lunch, most whitefish and bluefish are suitable for frying, and I also have to buy some oysters for the grill. Fried oysters by themselves can be the main course. I found large shrimp. Fried shrimp is a must. I buy chicken, eggs, potatoes, and other necessary items. Fried fish, fried oysters, fried shrimp, fried chicken and potatoes, and all sorts of fried food, but if we add vegetable soup, there should be no problem, right? The mixed fry set meal, I think, will probably satisfy them, but the lack of condiments hurts. I need sauce, I know how to make mayonnaise, so I want to make tartar sauce, but I¡¯m afraid of food poisoning, and mayonnaise with eggs in this world takes courage. Oh, but Claretta-san is a priest, right? I should ask her if she can help me get rid of bad germs by purification or something. Rimu should be able to use it too, but he hasn¡¯t even used magic yet, so it¡¯s all up to Claretta-san, but if we can make mayonnaise, then today¡¯s dinner party will be a great success. I¡¯ll buy mayonnaise ingredients, just in case. Come to think of it, there must have been other people who came to this world besides me, but the food culture hasn¡¯t developed. I wonder why? After shopping, I returned to the inn to repatriate the ingredients and have a cup of tea, as there was still time before the scheduled appointment. ¡°Master, you bought a lot of different ingredients.¡± ¡°Yes, there will be a large number of people, and it will not be a problem to cook many kinds of food, so I will be extravagant. Please look forward to it.¡± ¡°Ufufu, I¡¯m very much looking forward to it, Master.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°¡­Rimu¡­ Look forward¡­¡± Huh? I think I raised their expectations a little too high. Ines and Felicia both seem to be looking forward to it, and Rimu is happily popping his head up and down. Ugh, I¡¯m confident I¡¯ll cry if the pressure suddenly gets¡­ discouraging. ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I grab the ingredients, put Rimu on top of my head, and head to Girasole¡¯s inn. If we go now, we will get there a little before 10:00. When I arrived at the inn, the male employee from yesterday spoke to me with a blatantly unpleasant look on his face. He didn¡¯t have to express his displeasure so blatantly, I could read the air, but it was frustrating, so I ignored him. ¡°Welcome. Are you staying with us?¡± ¡°No, I have an appointment with the members of Girasole. Could you please tell them Wataru is here?¡± ¡°Certainly¡­ tch.¡± Hey, he was clearly disgusted, and then he clicked his tongue again? And then he walks away just like that. Is that okay? Is that really okay? More importantly, Claretta-san is watching behind you, you know? Oh, he froze¡­ boohoo, I can¡¯t help it, I let out a laugh. Calm down. Now comes the fun part. ¡°Wataru-san is our guest, and you treat him so poorly at this inn? This makes it impossible for us to stay at this inn with peace of mind. We will discuss what to do next. Let¡¯s go, Wataru-san.¡± Huh? Why am I so scared when it¡¯s supposed to be interesting? Claretta-san¡¯s anger scared me. I was planning to smirk at the employee who was getting scolded, but the anger was so strong that even I wanted to run away from the situation. I can see that the employee is turning blue, and I can tell that Claretta-san is looking very scary right now. Volume 3 - CH 7 Chapter 7 ¨C Crazy Employee and Mixed Fries I followed Claretta-san, who was angry at the employee¡¯s attitude. That fun dinner party mood dissipated in an instant, didn¡¯t it? What¡¯s going to happen now? I was led into Girasole¡¯s room. Alessia-san froze as she was about to call out to me. She must have been affected by Claretta-san¡¯s aura of anger. What will happen next? Whoa, Dorothea-san came up to me and spoke to me in a whisper. (Wataru-san, what¡¯s going on? I¡¯ve never seen Claretta so angry before, you know?) (This inn¡¯s employee¡¯s attitude was a little, no, it was terrible, but I didn¡¯t expect Claretta-san to be that angry. I don¡¯t know what to do.) (I see. Claretta is surprisingly strict with etiquette. No one has ever been rude to us before, but I guess he was quite rude to you, our guest, huh?) (Yes, well, it was pretty blatantly disrespectful.) (And then Claretta got mad at him for that, yeah, okay, let¡¯s just wait for Claretta¡¯s anger to subside, there¡¯s nothing we can do about it.) She gave up easily, well, not surprisingly. Right now, it seems that Claretta-san is trying to calm down and cool down her own anger, but still, everyone in the room is frozen in place, touched by the aura of anger. ¡°Alessia.¡± ¡°Y-yes?¡± Please calm down, Alessia-san. Claretta-san isn¡¯t angry with you. ¡°When I went downstairs to pick up Wataru-san just now, I found the owner¡¯s son treating Wataru-san in a very rude manner. Didn¡¯t that man turn away our customers before without our permission?¡± He had a record, huh? And yet, in a way, it¡¯s amazing that he can still behave in that manner. But an owner¡¯s son shouldn¡¯t have that attitude, right? No, a normal employee would have been fired. Only he, who has the privilege of being the owner¡¯s son, could behave like that. ¡°He was a man to whom we owed a debt of gratitude. We managed to meet at the adventurer¡¯s guild, but didn¡¯t he promise at that time that he wouldn¡¯t judge our customers and turn them away without our permission?¡± ¡°Y-yes, indeed, that did happen.¡± ¡°Did he keep his promise at that time? He seemed to have the intention of telling us about our visitor, but he served the customer with a grim face, clicked his tongue in a way that Wataru-san could hear, and walked slowly and sluggishly in front of Wataru-san as if this was a bother. What do you think? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a problem to be grumpy and rude to our guest even though he tried to keep his word and tell us?¡± ¡°No, I think it¡¯s a problem. Come to think of it, my adventurer friend who came to the inn before also said that the innkeepers had a bad attitude, just as he was displeased, too. I thought there must have been some misunderstanding because the people at the inn are kind and they serve us politely. From what Claretta told me, it doesn¡¯t sound like a misunderstanding.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been told that too.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Yeah, me too.¡± How many people have been told that? That employee was working completely out of desire. Huh? Even Alessia-san and the others got into a serious mood. Is it such a big problem? I thought they were just going to give him a little lecture, and that would be the end of it. ¡°Yes, I couldn¡¯t believe it either until I saw it with my own eyes, but it was the worst reception I¡¯ve ever seen. I get dizzy just thinking about how many people who have visited our inn have been made to feel uncomfortable by that kind of attitude.¡± Everyone cooks and eats delicious meals together. It was supposed to be a fun dinner party, but why is this happening? Well, it¡¯s that employee¡¯s fault, but I couldn¡¯t have predicted that it would turn out to be this much trouble. ¡°Whew, I guess he must have made quite a few people feel uncomfortable. But why did he do that? Did we do something wrong to him?¡± Eh? What are you talking about? Are you serious, Alessia-san? I looked at the members of Girasole in surprise and saw that all of them except Ilma-san were deep in thought. I secretly moved next to Ilma-san and asked her in a whisper. (Um, are the others seriously thinking about it? I mean, not just joking around?) (Yes, they are seriously thinking about it. I have warned them several times, but they are unaware of it.) (Ilma-san, you are very aware of this, aren¡¯t you?) (Yes, Wataru-san made me aware of it with his passionate gaze.) If you say something like that while lifting your chest with your arms crossed in front of you¡­ Well, that¡¯s a feast for my eyes. (Thanks for the treat, no, Ilma-san was fully aware of it from the moment we met, right?) (Ufufu, wasn¡¯t I?) (Yes, you were, and so were Dorothea-san and Marina-san? I think those two are the type of people who observe their surroundings.) (Yes, they are calm and watch their surroundings while searching. But they are usually natural.) (Um, good job. Keep up the good work.) I never thought that the bewitching and sexy Ilma-san was the only sensible person in this party¡­ The world is full of wonders, isn¡¯t it? When I was about to leave, after saying a few words of encouragement, she crossed her arms. Ah, it was as if that breast said, ¡°Ufufu, that¡¯s right, it¡¯s very hard, so please help me out.¡± Ah, if you speak in such a sexy voice in my ear, ah, my breath will be¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s ask Wataru-san for his opinion as well.¡± Eh? Ilma-san, is this what you mean when you ask for help? Do you want me to raise their self-awareness? Do you want me to tell these beautiful women that this happened because they are beautiful? ¡°Right, Wataru-san, have you noticed anything?¡± ¡°Hah, I think the reason why the employee did this is probably some kind of possessiveness.¡± ¡°Possessive?¡± ¡°Yes, you are all very beautiful. And he couldn¡¯t stand a man who came to see you all, who are so beautiful, so he behaved like that.¡± ¡°It is embarrassing to be called beautiful, isn¡¯t it? But Wataru-san, you are exaggerating too much. He wouldn¡¯t be rude just because of something like that.¡± ¡°Hahahaha, is that so? I guess you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°You mustn¡¯t give up.¡± ¡°Even if you say so, was it difficult to understand what I was explaining? It couldn¡¯t have been any clearer, could it?¡± ¡°Still, please do?your?best.¡± It¡¯s not fair; I can¡¯t say no to such a request. But Ilma-san is aware of her sex appeal and uses it to her advantage, so why can¡¯t the rest of them understand it? ¡°You see, were there any women among those who said the inn¡¯s employees had a bad attitude?¡± Everyone is shaking their heads. ¡°The women have been let through normally, but the men have been uncomfortable. I think that¡¯s because the employee didn¡¯t want the men to meet the Girasole¡¯s members. I think he was jealous of all the men who approached the beautiful ladies he had a liking for.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, I don¡¯t mean to speak for myself, but I think we are good-looking people. I have been told that we are beautiful, but is that enough of a reason for him to do such a thing?¡± ¡°Yes, I think the employee has let his love and admiration get the better of him.¡± ¡°Hah, I can¡¯t say I understand completely, but I do understand that such things can happen. It was a nice place to stay, but I think we should probably move to another place.¡± Is that okay? I looked at Ilma-san, and she nodded, so I guess it was good. Knock, knock¡­ ¡°I am sorry; I heard that my foolish son has caused you trouble, and I have come to apologize. May I come in?¡± ¡°You may enter.¡± ¡°I am truly sorry for the trouble he has caused you.¡± The innkeeper and his son were bowing, huh? When I looked up, he glared at me. I felt a surge of anger from Claretta-san. Why, let¡¯s push our feelings away for the sake of both of us here. You don¡¯t have to glare at me here; there are other ways to do it. Why are you adding fuel to the fire? ¡°I would like to accept your apology, but I am concerned that your son does not seem to be content with it.¡± Eh? The innkeeper looks at him with a ¡°what?¡± look, discovers the unfaithful son, and hits him unintentionally. I don¡¯t understand how and why this situation is happening. ¡°What are you thinking? I came here to apologize for the trouble you have caused, but what¡¯s with your attitude?¡± It¡¯s a great argument; please tell him more. ¡°Why did you hit me? It¡¯s not right that such a dull man comes to see Girasole, but he also has a nice female slave behind him, and I can tell when I see him that he intends to approach Girasole with his money power.¡± No, well, I¡¯d like to get close to them, but¡­ ¡°I did give him a message because you told me last time; of course, I shouldn¡¯t have let that guy through to the room. You should have let me handle it. I wouldn¡¯t have let that suspicious guy near Girasole.¡± What a gut-wrenching thing to say, Stupid son-san. It¡¯s true that the last time I came here to flatter them with souvenirs, but I don¡¯t think I have to go that far as to suspect me of anything. ¡°What kind of nonsense is this? An employee of the inn has no authority to refuse a visitor, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m an employee now, but I¡¯m the heir, and I can decide who¡¯s not worth letting Girasole see. Just let me take care of Girasole. I know I know Girasole better than anyone else, don¡¯t I, Alessia-san?¡± Oof, he¡¯s already turned out to be a total stalker now. Even Claretta-san has pulled back her wave of anger and is completely taken back. Wow, Carla-san is getting all teary-eyed; it¡¯s so cute. ¡°Owner, it seems that your son is confused. It is truly unfortunate that since we have been here for so long, we are going to have to move to a new inn. Please complete the formalities.¡± ¡°Yes, certainly. I am very sorry.¡± ¡°No, Alessia-san, you are not leaving. I¡¯ll take over the inn and protect you all, so you should retire, dad, I¡¯ll be the owner of the inn from now on, and no one will go near the Girasole.¡± ¡°You, stop talking.¡± The owner of the inn hit his son as hard as he could. Is he alive? ¡°I apologize for the inconvenience. Please come with me for the formalities.¡± Everyone quickly began to pack up their belongings, and as expected, they realized that the man was in trouble. The owner of the inn bowed deeply to us as we left the inn. ¡°He was an even more eccentric employee than I thought, wasn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Yes, he was a very amiable young man to us, but we didn¡¯t expect that.¡± ¡°I guess the Girasole¡¯s got a lot of work to do today, so we¡¯ll have the meal another time, huh?¡± Carla-san froze with a look of dismay on her face, but as expected, she had a lot of things to do today, including finding a place to stay, so it would be impossible. ¡°No, we just need to find a place to stay and inform the adventurer¡¯s guild, so the time will be fine, but the problem is where to cook.¡± You¡¯re so tough that you can move on to cooking right after experiencing that horrible experience, aren¡¯t you? ¡°If you have the time, would you like to rent the backyard of my inn for cooking? I have the tools, so it¡¯s a little inconvenient, but there¡¯s nothing we can¡¯t do.¡± ¡°Right, Carla is also looking forward to it, so would you mind if I ask you to do it?¡± ¡°Okay, then, let¡¯s go.¡± The landlady accepted my request, and we rented the backyard. ¡°Shall we make it then?¡± It seems that only Ines, Felicia, and Claretta-san are willing to help. Carla-san was going to observe the process, and the rest of the group was either reserving a room at the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s Inn, reporting to the adventurer¡¯s guild, or playing with Rimu in their rooms. I¡¯m glad we can stay in the same inn, but this isn¡¯t the A-ranked adventurer¡¯s grade to stay in, so is it okay? ¡°Then, can I ask Claretta-san to prepare the chicken first? When you are done, please process the fish in this way, removing the bones and skin. Ines, please prepare the vegetable soup. When you are done, please remove the shells and backs of the shrimp. Felicia, when you have finished shucking the oysters, please help Ines.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡± Carla-san, can you help us, too?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t cook.¡± Don¡¯t look so sad, but she looks cute. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; it¡¯s easy. I need you to break this dry bread into pieces.¡± ¡°I can do that much.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll ask you to do it.¡± She breaks the bread with great enthusiasm as if she is happy to have something she can do. ¡°Um, Claretta-san, do priests have any magic that can help with food poisoning?¡± ¡°Hmm? Food poisoning? Yes, there is. It can be cured by purification magic.¡± ¡°Can you use purification magic, Claretta-san?¡± ¡°Yes, I can.¡± Oh, I can make mayonnaise, then. If I can make tartar sauce, fried fish and fried oysters will taste even better. ¡°Now then, may I ask you to perform a purification spell on these cracked eggs?¡± ¡°Yes, of course, but what¡¯s the point of casting a purification spell on the eggs?¡± ¡°Yes, it is an indispensable process for what I am about to make. Therefore, please be sure to cast a purification spell on them if you are going to make them, too.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Stir salt, pepper, and lemon juice into the purified egg yolks. I add a little oil to the combined liquid and repeat the process over and over again. Even if everyone around me has more arm strength and stamina than I do, this is where I do my best. Everyone looked at me like I was doing something strange, but they would be surprised when they tasted it later. I add mayonnaise to the hard-boiled egg and mash it, and after mashing it to some extent, I add chopped onions and mix them together. It¡¯s too bad there are no pickles, but it¡¯s enough. I tried a teaspoon of tartar sauce to a curious Carla-san, and ahhhhh. After a little hesitation, she took a mouthful, and yes, it was cute. ¡°Delicious, Wataru-san, this is delicious. I love it.¡± The other members who were cooking also heard her voice and gathered around, so I shared a bite with each of them. Everyone seemed to like it. As expected of mayonnaise. The ingredients are prepared and dipped in a liquid of dissolved eggs and flour and then covered with breadcrumbs. All that¡¯s left to do is fry them. I clean up around them first, get the room ready for eating, and then just fry them. A large pan is filled with oil, and the hot oil is used to deep-fry the fries. A large quantity of fried food is completed. I put out the fire and took the fried food to the room. ¡°I made fried fish, oysters, shrimp, karaage, french fries, and vegetable soup. The fried fish is delicious with this tartar sauce.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡± Everyone takes the fries at once. Let¡¯s try the fried oysters first. The oyster extract spreads in your mouth from the batter; it¡¯s the most delicious. ¡°Rimu, is it good? Let¡¯s try it with this tartar sauce next time.¡± ¡°¡­Delicious¡­ Like¡­¡± ¡°I see that¡¯s good; there¡¯s plenty to go around, so let¡¯s eat a lot of it.¡± ¡°¡­Yeah¡­¡± Everyone is eating silently, I know they like it because the fries are going down fast, but I¡¯d like to know what they think of it. Oops, I have to eat, or it will be gone. The plump fried shrimp and the fried fish were all satisfying, not so much the cooking skill but the power of the fresh seafood. ¡°Thank you for the food.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, it was very good. I like the fried shrimp the best.¡± ¡°Alessia, you are wrong, the fried shrimp is good, but the best is the fried oysters.¡± ¡°Dorothea is wrong. Fried shrimp is the best, right, Marina?¡± ¡°I like fried oysters.¡± ¡°Marina, you! Ilma, you like fried shrimp, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Ufufufu. I like the fish.¡± ¡°What about you, Carla?¡± ¡°I like all of them.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, can you tell me how to make this tartar sauce later?¡± ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± They¡¯re arguing over which one is the best. I clean up and head back to my room with Rimu on my head. ¡°Whew, that was a lot of work. Thank you both for your hard work.¡± ¡°It was hard work, but it was fun. Master¡¯s cooking was very tasty.¡± ¡°I enjoyed it too, especially the tartar sauce.¡± ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m glad you liked it. But it¡¯s still early afternoon. What shall we do afterward?¡± ¡°Yes, it was a lot of work, but in terms of time, it wasn¡¯t that long, was it?¡± ¡°But you did a great job, and now that we don¡¯t have anything pressing to do, how about we take it easy and flirt today?¡± ¡°I will flirt.¡± If you say that to me, I have no choice but to flirt with you. Volume 3 - CH 8 Chapter 8 ¨C Cooking Class and Preparation for Migration After flirting as much as I wanted after the dinner party, I headed to the dining room to get dinner, and Claretta-san talked to me. She wants to know how to make tartar sauce right away. It¡¯s a cooking class after dinner. ¡°Please take care of me, Wataru-san. Carla said she could help me with the mayonnaise and would like to learn. Is that alright with you?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. Ines and Felicia would like to learn too.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then, let¡¯s get started. Claretta-san, could you crack open an egg, take out the yolk, and purify it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As I watched Claretta-san apply the purification, Rimu bounced around on top of my head and told me what he wanted to do. ¡°¡­Rimu can¡­ also¡­¡± ¡°Hmm? What is it, Rimu? What can you do?¡± ¡°¡­Do¡­ that¡­¡± ¡°Hmm? Are you trying to say that you can purify it too?¡± ¡°¡­Hmm¡­¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s great, Rimu. Can you show us?¡± ¡°¡­Show¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Claretta-san, but Rimu wants to try purification, so can I borrow some egg yolks?¡± ¡°Oh my, Rimu-chan? ¡­Oh, that reminds me, Rimu-chan is a holy slime, so of course, it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Yes, Rimu, can you purify this yolk for me? Just don¡¯t push yourself too hard.¡± ¡°¡­Hmm¡­¡± As Rimu twitched, the light from his body began to grow stronger. When that light fell on the yolk, the light enveloped the yolk. ¡°Claretta-san, was that a purification?¡± ¡°Yes, the purifying light enveloped the yolk. Rimu-chan is amazing.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great. Rimu succeeded in performing magic for the first time.¡± I praise Rimu all over while stroking him. ¡°¡­Did¡­ Rimu succeeded..?¡± ¡°Yes, it was done. Rimu is awesome!¡± ¡°¡­Am I¡­ great¡­?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so great!¡± I, Ines, Felicia, Claretta-san, and Carla-san praised Rimu all over again. Rimu also looked happy as his body twitched. ¡°Well, let¡¯s resume making the tartar sauce. I apologize for taking up so much of your time.¡± ¡°No, Rimu-chan worked so hard; it¡¯s only natural.¡± ¡°Thank you, Claretta-san. Now, please add salt, pepper, and lemon juice to the purified egg yolks and stir carefully.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Once well mixed, add a spoonful of oil and stir well again. Repeat this process many times, and when the mixture becomes angular, the mayonnaise is ready. It is a tasty condiment enough as it is, perfect for salads.¡± ¡°Can you just pour it over the salad as is?¡± ¡°Yes, mayonnaise goes well with most vegetables, so give it a try.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± ¡°Then mix the mayonnaise with the boiled eggs, mash them together, and add the chopped onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and the tartar sauce is ready. In fact, it tastes even better if you add finely chopped sour pickled vegetables.¡± ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s a little hard to mix, but the process itself isn¡¯t difficult.¡± ¡°Even I could do it.¡± ¡°Yes, but mayonnaise can be arranged in various ways, depending on the type and amount of vinegar and oil, etc. It is fun to make your own favorite mayonnaise.¡± ¡°Yes, the simplicity of the recipe makes the taste different depending on the ingredients.¡± ¡°Yes, you can try that. Hmm? Carla-san, do you want to eat tartar sauce?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I see. If you want to eat it, shall I make something simple with it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll eat it.¡± Carla-san¡¯s words are getting shorter and shorter as I get more accustomed to her. Is this a sign that we¡¯ve become friends? ¡°Carla, we just had dinner.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s pretty simple to make, all you have to do is mash up a boiled egg and mayonnaise and mix them together, so if you put the mashed boiled egg in the tartar sauce and mix it together, it¡¯s pretty much the same thing. Put this between two pieces of bread that have been toasted, and you have an egg sandwich. It¡¯s simple but delicious.¡± ¡°Can you eat at least one of these sandwiches, Claretta-san?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, I¡¯ll have one.¡± ¡°It¡¯s delicious. I love egg sandwiches.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s really good. I like it, too.¡± ¡°Me, too.¡± ¡°Ufufu, I like it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you liked it. Shall we clean up and go back to our rooms?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Five days after the dinner with the members of Girasole, we are leaving for the Dark Elven village. I have not yet decided whether I will go to the southern continent, but I took 30 platinum coins that I had asked for at the merchant guild from my guild account and bought seven platinum coins worth of spider silk. They said they could only collect five platinum coins worth of spider silk, but it seems Camille-san did a great job. I¡¯ll have to buy some more souvenirs for her. Once we¡¯re off the coast, we¡¯ll be heading to the Dark Elven village using autopilot. This will get us there tomorrow morning. ¡°We will arrive tomorrow, but after that, how will things work?¡± ¡°Depends on what the dark elf village decides, but I think we will help them prepare for the migration. Felicia, everyone wants to migrate, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yes, I know some of them will be anxious to move to a new place, but I think they will choose to move because they know that their current village is too difficult to sustain them.¡± ¡°Thirty-five people. How are we going to get them there? This ship has a capacity of 15 people, but I think it can hold about 30 people, including children because it is not going to sink because of my skills.¡± If I tow the boat with a rope, I can carry all of them at once, but it will be hard for all of them. ¡°I think it would be better to take them separately. As expected, 30 people on the Luto would be tough.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, and then we should dismantle the houses and carry them over there. It will take time to dry the wood after cutting it over there.¡± ¡°That would be very helpful.¡± ¡°Oh, and how much of the ship¡¯s disguise and capabilities do you think we should show them? I know the dark elves won¡¯t have any contact with others once they are on the island, so I don¡¯t see the need to hide them.¡± ¡°No, I think it is better to hide Master¡¯s abilities as much as possible. The probability is not zero that a ship that happens to drift ashore will attack the village and make slaves of them. It is better to hide them as much as possible.¡± ¡°I agree. If we can reduce the risk even slightly with a little effort, we should do so.¡± ¡°Alright, then, let¡¯s take care of the ship disguise, and let¡¯s put out the tents and such to give to the village.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s about it. We¡¯ll take care of the rest as we see fit.¡± After training, I flirt in the bath, eat dinner, flirt, and go to sleep. It¡¯s fun on a ship because you don¡¯t have to worry about your surroundings. Good night. Morning, huh¡­? I wake up in a daze and get my daily morning kiss¡­ Okay, let¡¯s get on with the day. Have we arrived already? I go outside and look around and see a forest. Shall we eat breakfast and do the ship disguise? ¡°Hey, you two, do you think the disguise will be okay if it looks like this?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a little strange, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a problem.¡± ¡°Most of the people in the village have never been on a magic ship before, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a problem.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s get going.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± After walking through the forest for about two hours, Ines and Felicia quickly repel the goblins that come out. The dark elf village was reached without any problems. ¡°Stop¡­ Oh, you people, I¡¯ve heard so much about you¡­ Come inside¡­¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± We entered the village and headed for the chief¡¯s house. One of the gatekeepers ran to the chief¡¯s house ahead of us. The gatekeepers didn¡¯t seem to mind, and it looks like the migration thing will be no problem.¡± ¡°Welcome to our village.¡± ¡°Good morning.¡± The village chief welcomes us and quickly takes us inside. Over a cup of tea, I ask him about the results of the discussion. ¡°Village Chief-san, have you reached a conclusion from the discussion?¡± ¡°Yes, all the other villagers are in favor of the relocation, except for one.¡± ¡°I see. Once the discussion with that one person is over, can we move in?¡± ¡°No, that one person is just spouting emotionalism about things that make no sense, so we will re-educate him after forcibly taking him away. Therefore, I would like to ask you about the migration.¡± ¡°Is that so? I don¡¯t mind, but may I ask the reason for that one person¡¯s objection?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just selfishness, and as a fellow dark elf, it would be shameful, so I¡¯d appreciate it if you don¡¯t ask me.¡± ¡°Oh, I understand. So, we will proceed with the decision to migrate.¡± I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m very curious, but it doesn¡¯t sound like he really wants me to listen to him, so I guess I¡¯ll just give up. I hope it won¡¯t be too much trouble. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°First of all, what we can do is take the villagers here to the island on two separate trips. I have prepared some tents for the villagers, six months¡¯ worth of wheat, vegetable seeds, vegetables that will last for a long time, dried meat, and tools for pioneering. If there is anything missing or needed, just let me know, and I will deliver as much as I can. Is this sufficient so far?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that¡¯s enough. Thank you very much for your generous support.¡± ¡°No, it is within the scope of my promise to Felicia, so please don¡¯t worry about it. I think it would be easier to live over there if we also transported household goods from this village. The first people to move to the island will be those who can prepare for life on the island, and the next people to move to the island will be those who can dismantle the household goods and put them together so that they can be transported.¡± ¡°So you will also transport the houses in this village?¡± ¡°Yes, we can do that with a few round trips. It will be difficult for the remaining people to dismantle the houses alone, so I will give you some tents so that you can start dismantling them before the resettlement begins. So, could you work out with everyone when we can leave?¡± ¡°Yes, I understand. Would you like to stay in the village until that is decided? Most of the people are preparing to migrate, so I don¡¯t think it will take that long.¡± ¡°Well, what should we do? I think it would be better to stay the night and bring what can be carried to the island tomorrow.¡± ¡°I agree, there is not much we can do in this village, and I think it would be better to take some of the luggage to the island first.¡± ¡°I agree, there will be a lot of luggage, so it would be better to get it to the island first so everyone can move to the island more quickly.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯m sorry to rush you, but if there is anything you want to bring to the island first, could you bring it to the ship tomorrow morning? We will be back in five days, so please get some of the decisions regarding the migration finalized.¡± ¡°Yes, we will have a meeting this afternoon, and I will inform you then.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you the tents while I¡¯m here. One large tent and one medium tent. And three small tents.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡± The discussion was over, and Felicia went to help her mother. We stayed in the room as they were busy with other things. The next morning, when we went to the gate, we found five dark elves waiting for us with big bags on their backs. They must have gathered quite a lot of luggage for only one night. ¡°Good morning. I see that you are the ones carrying the luggage to the ship. Best regards.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Good morning.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Um, Chief, I know you need more manpower, but is it possible for at least the two of us to be taken to the island first?¡± ¡°I hear there are goblins there, and if there are only a few, we can fight them off and protect our belongings. If we make some preparations for the migration on the island, it will be easier for you to act when the main group arrives.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ how about it? Is it possible to have the two of them go first?¡± ¡°Yes, it would be helpful, as I hadn¡¯t thought about guarding the luggage over there, but once we leave the island, the two of them will have to work hard for at least five days, and if the village is delayed in its preparations, it could be ten days or more, is that alright?¡± ¡°Yes, we can hunt, and I think we can escape in case of danger. We can survive for more than ten days.¡± ¡°I understand; if you want, I can take you with me.¡± ¡°Yes, I would like to ask you. Barnabas, Bruno, you will accompany them.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We left the village, carried the luggage to the ship, and set sail with Barnabas and Bruno, who looked around the ship happily and seemed to have settled in on the rear deck. We were attacked several times by sea monsters along the way, and the two of them looked pale, but they were relieved to know that we could fight them off without any difficulty. Two days later, we arrived safely on the island. ¡°Wataru-san, this is a wonderful island; it¡¯s like a dream come true to live here.¡± ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t realize it was such a big island. Nature is abundant, and it is truly a wonderful island.¡± ¡°Barnabas, Bruno, calm down. After a short rest, we¡¯ll start moving the luggage.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°I think the best place to start is at the top of that hill. If you don¡¯t feel comfortable, go check it out.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master, they seem to be having a bit of a flutter.¡± ¡°Haha, it¡¯s an island where they are going to live, so it can¡¯t be helped. Now, let¡¯s unload the luggage and have those two carry it up the hill, even though it¡¯s hard for them.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We started to carry out the luggage we had bought from the boat. When the two men came back halfway up the hill, their spirits seemed to have been lifted by the sight of the luggage. When we finished carrying out the luggage from the ship, we set up a large tent on the hill and carried the luggage up to the tent. ¡°Whew, we¡¯re finally done. I guess we needed a cart, too.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t think about carrying all the stuff up to the hill. Thank goodness we have those two men.¡± ¡°Ufufu, yes, but those two are down there, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°I think we¡¯ve overworked them. We¡¯ll let them rest until dinner.¡± After dinner, we returned to the ship and told them that we would be leaving tomorrow morning, and they would stay here to watch the luggage and set up their living environment. They seem to like the island very much. Back on the ship, we take showers, flirt, and go to sleep. Volume 3 - CH 9 Chapter 9 ¨C Demolition of Dark Elven Villages and New Dark Elven Islands Two days after leaving the island, I trained as usual, bathed, flirted, played with Rimu, and went to bed. We arrived at the beach near the dark elf village, fighting off the occasional monster. ¡°Huh? There¡¯s some lumber over there. Are they already bringing in the demolished houses? They work fast, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Ufufu. That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°I think people are excited about the migration, thank you very much.¡± ¡°I know I keep saying this, but it¡¯s within the terms of my contract with Felicia, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it. Let¡¯s get going.¡± When we arrive at the village, everyone is busy working. We greeted them and went to the village chief¡¯s house. ¡°Hello, Village Chief-san. You seem to be quite busy. Is everything going well?¡± ¡°Oh, hello, Wataru-san, preparations have been made as decided at the meeting after that, and the 17 people who are going to migrate first have already made their preparations. Right now, all the villagers are working together to bring the houses to be dismantled and transported to the beach.¡± ¡°I see. When can we expect to leave next?¡± ¡°Yes, we will finish the work that requires a large number of people by the end of tomorrow, and the rest of the work will be done by the remaining people, so you can leave the day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°That¡¯s early. I understand, and I will make preparations to leave the day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡± After the discussion was over, the village chief went back to work, and I let Felicia go to help her mother while Ines and I chatted and played with Rimu. ¡°Hmm, that gives us a lot of time. What shall we do until the day after tomorrow? Should we help them with something?¡± ¡°We¡¯re strangers and, in a way, the benefactors of this village, so wouldn¡¯t it just make them feel bad if we helped them?¡± ¡°Oh, I suppose you¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry, but we¡¯ll just relax until we leave.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do that.¡± As I said, I was playing with Rimu, chatting with Ines, and taking it easy on the day of our departure. ¡°I see that all seventeen of them are here, then, Village Chief-san. Is it okay for everyone to leave?¡± ¡°Yes, I have told them to follow Wataru-san, so they will be at your service.¡± ¡°I understand. Now, let¡¯s all leave.¡± We walked through the forest to the ship, and no goblins approached us, probably because there were so many of us. We reached the ship without incident. First, we tie a rope to a large piece of wood that is being brought to the ship so that it can be towed by the ship. First, it seemed that they wanted to build a fence, so they selected the materials for the fence. ¡°We¡¯re off, everyone. It¡¯s going to be cramped for the next two days, but please bear with it.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± As expected, there were 20 of us in total, and everywhere you looked on the ship, there were people. The three children, in particular, are very excited. They said there were six children in the dark elf village, and they split them in half. Is it safe to take them to the middle of nowhere? The adults chided the children for running around but to no avail. The meal was a big deal, and both adults and children panicked when the monsters attacked. No matter how much we tried to assure them that everything would be alright, it was useless. We finally made it through the hardest voyage ever and arrived at the island. The dark elves cheered loudly when they saw the island. The island looked better than they had expected, and they were filled with joy. Barnabas and Bruno, perhaps noticing the cheers, came running toward us. ¡°Thank you all for your hard work. We arrived at the island safely. Please take your luggage and disembark. Please make sure you don¡¯t forget anything.¡± I look at the dark elves who are disembarking noisily and happily. It was worth the effort. It¡¯s hard that I have to do the same thing one more time, though. ¡°Thank you for your hard work, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Barnabas-san, did you and Bruno-san make it out okay, or did any problems arise?¡± ¡°Yes, no problems occurred.¡± ¡°That¡¯s glad to hear; please instruct these men. Also, I would like everyone to carry the lumber that is tied to the back of the ship.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Hey guys, there is a tent on top of that hill. We will move it there. Those of you with strength, please help me carry the lumber as well.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Oh.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Women and children walk towards the hill with their belongings. The men seem to be hauling a large amount of lumber towed by boat up to the shore and carrying it little by little. As expected, they need help. ¡°Thank you both for your hard work. We¡¯re almost done here, so let¡¯s get the lumber hauled away.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Whew, were we being too greedy? We towed a lot of lumber, trying to carry as much as possible. How many round trips do we have to make? We managed to finish hauling the heavy, seawater-soaked lumber before nightfall, taking breaks in between. On top of the hill, a number of tents were pitched, and preparations for dinner were underway. ¡°Hmm, do you think we can make it if we carry one more load of people from the village and the rest of the stuff that we couldn¡¯t carry?¡± ¡°Ufufu, I think everyone can manage to build a village from scratch since there are enough materials and food to go around.¡± ¡°Yes, everyone seemed to be working happily, and with hope, so I think it will be alright.¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably right. We are all tired today. After we have dinner, let¡¯s take a bath on the ship.¡± ¡°Ufufufu, I haven¡¯t had a bath in a while. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°It has been five days. I am looking forward to it.¡± After dinner, we return to the ship and tell them that we will sail away tomorrow morning as it is. Everyone is going to start building fences tomorrow. We part ways and return to the ship to get ready for our baths. ¡°Let¡¯s take a bath without turning on the light today because they might be able to see us from the top of the hill if we take a bath with the light on.¡± ¡°Ufufufu¡­a bath in the dark¡­ Will it be fun?¡± ¡°Okay, it¡¯s dangerous, so please be careful not to hurt yourself.¡± Phew, a bath after physical labor is so satisfying; I feel like I¡¯m going to melt. It¡¯s dark, so you can feel the sensation of being in close contact. But it¡¯s still more fun to be able to see. ¡°Rimu, be careful it¡¯s dark.¡± ¡°¡­Hmm¡­¡± ¡°Phew, oh great starry sky. Come to think of it, I¡¯ve never seen such a beautiful starry night sky since I¡¯ve been back in my room right after dark.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, I don¡¯t go out at night, so I¡¯ve never seen a view like this before.¡± ¡°Ufufu, I had seen it before when I was an adventurer in the camp, but the starry sky looks even more beautiful when I see it while taking a bath.¡± It¡¯s nice to take a leisurely soak in the bath. Maybe it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve enjoyed a relaxing bath since the symbols of desire are usually right in front of me. After taking a longer-than-usual bath, we go back to our room and end up flirting and sleeping on the bed. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ As usual, I spend two days sailing along with training, playing with Rimu, flirting, and fighting off monsters, and arrive at the beach near the dark elf village. When I went outside after my morning routine, I saw a huge pile of lumber. ¡°With that much lumber¡­ the village must have been cleared out. It¡¯s only been five days since we left the village, right?¡± ¡°True, oh, there¡¯s my father.¡± ¡°Did something wrong?¡± I pulled the boat to the shore and talked to the village chief. ¡°Village Chief-san, is there something wrong?¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. No, nothing is wrong. We have just finished dismantling the village, so I thought it would be less trouble to wait here anyway.¡± ¡°I see. It will be quicker this way. First, let¡¯s tie the lumber to the ship with rope.¡± ¡°Yes, you hear that, everyone? Let¡¯s float the wood on the sea and tie it to the rope from the ship.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised it went so quickly, though.¡± ¡°The dismantling of the big stuff had already been done before Wataru-san¡¯s departure. All that was left was the small stuff and the transport, and everyone did a great job.¡± ¡°The villagers on the island said they were going to build the fences. If everyone works hard, the village will be completed soon.¡± ¡°Yes, we will do our best to ensure that happens.¡± We were only able to tie half of the wood to the ship. The other half will be next.¡± ¡°Then, everyone, please take your belongings and board the ship.¡± As I watched everyone board the boat, giving them permission to come aboard¡­ I found a funny thing. Is that¡­ a person wrapped around a rope? Huh? That¡¯s the person who stared at me when I first came to the dark elf village. What¡¯s going on? Oh, our eyes met, and the person with the rope started to go into a violent rage. Ah, he wanted to hit me. Is there some kind of hostility towards me? ¡°Village Chief-san, who is that guy?¡± ¡°¡­Don¡¯t worry about him. We will re-educate him at a later date.¡± ¡°Oh, I understand.¡± He looked kind of embarrassed. Oh, by the way, he said there was one person who was against it. Is it okay to take him by force? Yeah, let¡¯s pretend I didn¡¯t notice. ¡°Well, let¡¯s all set sail, shall we? We may be attacked by monsters along the way, but don¡¯t worry; we¡¯ve fought them off before. If monsters come to attack us, please do not panic, but act calmly.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± In the noisy ship, when the monsters attacked us, they panicked, but whether it was the warning before we set sail that worked or the trust of the village chief, they didn¡¯t panic and screamed as much as the villagers on the first trip. That man who was tied up had been rolling around tied up on the rear deck for two days¡­ I wonder if he is okay? When we arrived at the island, the cheers were just as loud as the first time. The first group noticed the cheers and came down from the hill too. The villagers who had come down with their belongings were rejoicing over each other¡¯s safety. The children joined them and ran off into the hills. Oh, the adults went after them properly, they were kind of angry, so I guess the kids will be lectured. ¡°Good work. Now, all we have to do is carry that wood, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Everybody will be happy later. Let¡¯s just get that wood up there.¡± The wood was being moved quickly and efficiently. It seemed that the remaining members were more powerful than the first group. When we reached the top of the hill, the fence was halfway up. It looks like the village will be ready in a very short time. The wood is being piled up, and it looks like they don¡¯t need any help. It would be a nuisance to stay here, so what should we do after this? ¡°It¡¯s not even noon yet. Shall we go back to get the rest of the wood?¡± ¡°Master, are you sure you don¡¯t want to take the rest of the day off? Please don¡¯t push yourself too hard.¡± ¡°Felicia, you¡¯re making a big mistake.¡± ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡± ¡°Yeah, to tell you the truth, I¡¯d rather take a break back on the Luto than stay here.¡± ¡°Oh, well, that reminds me, we¡¯re only going to be on the ship for two days.¡± ¡°Yeah, unless you have a lot of people on board, like this time, but if it¡¯s just the three of us, we¡¯re almost on vacation while we¡¯re on the Luto.¡± ¡°¡­Rimu¡­ also¡­¡± ¡°Oh yeah, there¡¯s Rimu too. I haven¡¯t forgotten about you.¡± ¡°¡­Forgot is¡­ no good¡­¡± ¡°I really haven¡¯t forgotten you, but I¡¯m sorry. As an apology, let¡¯s have a lot of fun today.¡± ¡°¡­Really¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll take a bath and have a lot of fun.¡± ¡°¡­Rimu¡­ bath¡­ like¡­¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s take a nice bath and have lots of fun. Then let¡¯s go back to the ship. Do you mind it, Ines?¡± ¡°No problem, let¡¯s go back.¡± I told the chief that I would get the rest of the wood and return to the ship. The chief was worried about me, but I couldn¡¯t say that I was more comfortable on the ship than here. I just told him that I was fine and returned to the ship to sail away. ¡°I think we can haul all the lumber this time, but what will we do when we¡¯re done? Is there anything else we can help them with?¡± ¡°Well, maybe we could deliver some things that are desperately needed?¡± ¡°According to my father, there are enough supplies to go around. So, once the lumber is delivered, I think things will be fine for the time being.¡± ¡°I see. Then let¡¯s go to the pepper trade. I still can¡¯t afford to buy a luxury liner, so I have to make some money.¡± ¡°Right, I want a luxury liner as soon as possible. Well, it will take some time because we have a limited amount of pepper to sell, and we have to offload the platinum coins little by little.¡± ¡°Yes, it will take time because we have to unload the pepper in time.¡± ¡°Yes, we need to find another way to make money.¡± ¡°But, Master, it¡¯s hard to find anything more lucrative than the pepper trade.¡± ¡°Hmm, I guess you¡¯re right. Well, there is no such an easy way to get a good job, so we should be steady in the pepper trade.¡± ¡°Ufufu, the pepper trade is also a dangerous business in which many lives are normally lost.¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, I feel safe thanks to this ship, but normally only one out of every 30 ships would be successful in this dangerous trade.¡± I think I¡¯m getting used to the power of the ship summoning and getting carried away. If you¡¯re the type of person like me, you will fail if you get carried away¡­ So let¡¯s keep our heads up and do our best. Volume 3 - CH 10 Chapter 10 ¨C The Pepper Trade Again and Ines and Felicia¡¯s New Hobby On the shore near the former village of Dark Elves, we collected the lumber and returned to the island of Dark Elves. When we arrived at the island, the village chief led the residents down from the hill. ¡°Good morning Village Chief-san. How are things going?¡± ¡°Good morning Wataru-san. Yes, everything is going well so far.¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s good. I think we have brought all the wood, so please collect it.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Did you hear that, everyone? That¡¯s the last of the lumber. Let¡¯s take it back to the village.¡± At the same time as the village head gave the order, the villagers began to carry the wood. As I headed for the hill carrying the lumber with them, I found that they had finished fencing off the entire area and had begun to build a house. ¡°Village Chief-san, you have already started to build a house, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, the fence was put together from the old fence, so it was done quickly. But for the house, we need the guidance of a specialist. It will take time from now on.¡± ¡°I see, but I think the pace is fast enough. Is there anything you need?¡± ¡°We have received more than enough supplies so far. According to the person in charge, we can sustain ourselves for at least five months.¡± The one who went out to scout in the meadow said that they could hunt horned rabbits and wild birds, so I think they could sustain themselves for longer than that. ¡°I see. We are going to go out on the pepper trade. We will not be able to come to the island for at least a month, but I think we will be fine, right?¡± ¡°You are going to the pepper trade? I would have stopped you if I hadn¡¯t seen you fight off the sea monsters before coming to this island, so I guess Wataru-san and the others will be fine. We can do well enough. Take care, Wataru-san, and the others. I wish you a safe return.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much. See you soon.¡± Felicia also greeted the village chief and her mother, then returned to the ship and set sail. ¡°First, we will go to Gothenburg to find out more about the southern continent and, if possible, buy and sell goods. From there, we will go to another country. If the security situation worsens, we will leave Gothenburg immediately. Any questions?¡± ¡°If we go to another country, how many peppers do you plan to buy in total?¡± ¡°Well, if we can get the same price for the spider silk, it will be 35 platinum coins. We should get at least 35 platinum coins worth of peppers.¡± ¡°Well, that pepper alone will bring us up to 700 platinum coins, and we¡¯ll be on our way to the luxury liner.¡± ¡°Hahaha, I know that, but don¡¯t be so sneaky. We can¡¯t get all the pepper at once, and it takes time to unload the platinum coins, so we have a long way to go. Besides, no matter how much pepper we have, can we buy 35 platinum coins worth of pepper in two countries?¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know. I heard a story about a large fleet of ships that brought back pepper and made a lot of money, so I wonder if they can get together.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard such a story. It is true that a fleet of ships can carry a large amount of pepper. Let¡¯s get Ines and Felicia to learn how to operate a ship and buy two more ships. Then we can distribute more pepper.¡± ¡°It would be fun to steer a ship, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°But, Master, if you buy two more magic ships, the government will definitely take notice of you. Only a few wealthy merchants and nobles own magic ships of this size.¡± ¡°If Master, who is a merchant in the eyes of the public, owns three magic ships, the state, nobles, and big merchants will try to take them away from you in various ways, such as solicitation, threats, and false accusations.¡± ¡°Ah, tripling the amount of wholesale pepper at once, that won¡¯t work, will it? Even my Japanese-style boat was almost taken away from me after being falsely accused, and it would be a terrible thing if the government came out.¡± ¡°Ufufu, Enrico-san told me that before you bought us, you had been falsely accused by a merchant who had a noble backer, and you proved your innocence in a trial in the presence of the Southern Count. I wish I could have seen it.¡± ¡°The false accusation was proven innocent in a trivial way, but it would have been dangerous if the guild master had not talked to the Southern Count. In a normal case, the Baron-sama pushed for my guilt. I would have had my ship confiscated, and I wonder what would have happened to me.¡± ¡°With your skills, Master, as long as you are on a ship, you can do whatever you want. You can endure for a considerable period if you buy more rubber boats in large quantities and buy food to the limit. However, it is hard when you are in a small space, and if you keep being surrounded, you will eventually reach your limit. If you buy a luxury cruise ship and have enough money, you will be able to cope with most situations.¡± ¡°Ufufu, right, I just looked at Master¡¯s ship purchase screen, and there are a lot of very large, very fun-looking things. It would be hard to keep something that size enclosed, and on the ocean, it would be hard to even block its path. A luxury liner would be a great help.¡± ¡°I know, once we buy a luxury liner and save up the money, we can be a little more reckless, and until then, we will be very careful, even if it takes a while.¡± I can¡¯t picture myself doing anything reckless even if I buy a luxury liner, though¡­ ¡°It¡¯s strange that you think you¡¯re acting so cautiously when the world sees you as a reckless merchant who¡¯s going to try the pepper trade in rapid succession.¡± ¡°Ah, come to think of it, the pepper trade would be a reckless challenge too. I¡¯d like to find a way to wholesale pepper in large quantities discreetly. We might not be able to buy a ship, but you two might try to learn how to steer one.¡± ¡°That sounds fun. I want to learn.¡± ¡°I want to learn too.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s give it a try, it¡¯s not that difficult, but I¡¯ll explain it to you on the flying bridge.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°First of all, you turn on the engine, and this lever on the lower right is in the normal position, and if you push it forward, the ship moves forward. If you push it to the opposite side, the boat moves backward, and if you turn the handle to the left, the ship turns to the left, and if you turn it to the right, the ship turns to the right. You just have to get used to it. The ship doesn¡¯t sink, so you have to try different things.¡± ¡°Ara, it¡¯s easier than I thought.¡± ¡°I think I can do it too.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s just the basics. There¡¯s still a lot to learn about how to moor the ship, the weather, etc. Well, you can take turns maneuvering the ship during the daytime.¡± I can only teach them this much because it¡¯s a different world, I don¡¯t have a license, and I myself don¡¯t know anything about ships at all. Is there such a thing as navigation in this world? ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Ines immediately started to steer the boat. She suddenly pushed the lever all the way up, turning the steering wheel left and right to see what it felt like. ¡°It¡¯s fun; I can feel the difference in speed when I¡¯m steering the ship by myself.¡± After a while, Felicia couldn¡¯t stand it any longer and asked to take over. ¡°Ines, it¡¯s time to switch; I¡¯d like to try it too.¡± ¡°Ara, yes, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m having too much fun. Master, it was a lot of fun, but I¡¯d like to steer in a place with lots of obstacles, not in a big, empty sea.¡± ¡°Haha, when you get a chance¡­¡± ¡°Ufufu. It¡¯s a promise.¡± I¡¯m afraid to let Ines steer the boat; it might be too soon. There are many obstacles in the way, and she might go full throttle into one of them. Felicia is a safe bet: she checks the speed one step at a time and is very gentle with the steering wheel. She is checking every single thing the ship can do. ¡°Master, it was fun. Steering the ship myself made me feel closer to it than if I had just been on it.¡± Felicia eventually tried the ship up to its maximum speed, but she doesn¡¯t seem to be the type to take pleasure in speed, so that¡¯s a relief. ¡°I¡¯m glad you had fun; you two can practice if you feel up to it.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Ufufu, I wonder if any monsters attacked us, it would be fun to play catch-up with them.¡± ¡°Ines, don¡¯t be absurd.¡± ¡°But, Felicia, there may be times when we have to run away from monsters or enemy ships. I think it¡¯s a good idea to train for it.¡± ¡°¡­I can¡¯t imagine any enemy ship being able to follow the Luto, let alone monsters¡­ Master, what do you think?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what will happen, and I hope there won¡¯t be any danger. You say enemy ships¡­ Are there such things as pirates?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that pirates haunt well-used safe shipping lanes. Also, I¡¯ve heard that the military ships of tyrannical countries sometimes plunder the ocean, but if you go through the open sea, you¡¯ll almost never encounter them.¡± ¡°Ah, the open sea is dangerous because there are many monsters, and ships do not pass through it, so there are no pirates there. But if you take a safe route, there is a possibility that you may encounter them. If we are carrying someone and we don¡¯t want that person to see what the Luto can do, if we are attacked by pirates, we have to flee¡­ I don¡¯t think we will be in that situation.¡± ¡°But, Master, such a situation is possible if you were asked to do so by the merchant guild, you know? How can you refuse, Master, especially if Camille-san asks you to do it? You need to practice.¡± ¡°Hmm, when you put it that way, I have a feeling that way¡­ Well, there¡¯s no harm in practicing as long as you don¡¯t do anything too crazy.¡± ¡°Yay, thank you, Master.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Well, Ines¡¯ joy is so great that it makes me feel uneasy¡­ ¡°I¡¯m going to practice right away.¡± ¡°¡­Rimu¡­do it¡­¡± ¡°Eh? Rimu, what are you going to do?¡± ¡°¡­This¡­¡± He¡¯s bouncing around on the steering wheel¡­ Eh? Does Rimu want to steer the ship? ¡°Um, I think it¡¯s too hard for Rimu to do it.¡± ¡°¡­Do it¡­¡± If Rimu wants to do it, it¡¯s my role to make it happen. ¡°Rimu is in charge of moving the steering wheel, and I¡¯m in charge of moving the lever.¡± ¡°¡­Hmm¡­¡± ¡°Eh, Master? What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Rimu wants to steer the boat, too, and it¡¯s my job to make it happen, you know.¡± ¡°Even if you say it so strongly¡­ Rimu-chan, are you really going to steer the ship?¡± ¡°Felicia, give it up. Luckily, it¡¯s not going to sink. It would be a pity for Rimu-chan if we were the only ones enjoying ourselves.¡± ¡°Well, yes, but¡­ is it okay?¡± Yeah, I¡¯m sorry, Felicia, you seem very anxious. But I am prepared to do most things if that¡¯s what Rimu wants. ¡°Oh, Rimu is so good. Now let¡¯s go over there, shall we? Yes, Rimu is very good. Let¡¯s go a little faster.¡± ¡°He¡¯s doing a good job. How is he turning the wheel?¡± ¡°Yes, I wonder.¡± A new addition to my usual routine. The ship suddenly speeds up when I am lying in the salon, my body swinging from side to side; it is too stimulating. Monster raids have always been a way to pass the time, but since learning to steer a ship, Ines has been eagerly awaiting the monster raids. Felicia also enjoys steering the ship, and she accompanies Ines. Ines says that it is no fun to chase after fleeing monsters. She is not happy when they dive and run away immediately, but she enjoys it when they chase after us. Recently, instead of running away as fast as possible, in order to prevent us from giving up, we have been playing a game in which we have to get as close to the monsters as possible and lose if we are touched by them. The loser of the game is the one who has to stand guard until the next monster attacks. Once, she wanted to play a game of escape in the sea at night, so I allowed her to do so, and the whole night was filled with joyful laughter. I flirted with Felicia a lot and went to sleep, but I missed Ines so much that I put a ban on it. I was repeatedly asked to withdraw the ban because it seemed to have been fun¡­ so I gave it permission just in case. I am so weak. ¡°Master, I think the monsters are getting tired, so we¡¯re going to fight. Get ready.¡± ¡°Alright, Rimu, let¡¯s go.¡± After being made to run around for a long time, they are finally defeated by magic. Am I the only one who feels sorry for the sea monsters? It seems to be only me. The two of them are having fun shooting magic. I retrieve the magic stone from the defeated monster and put it away in the warehouse ship. ¡°Ufufu¡­ The gluttony sharks never give up. Aren¡¯t they wonderful?¡± ¡°Yes, they can be quite fun. But it¡¯s not as good as the sea serpent, which you can only encounter rarely.¡± ¡°Ufufu, yes, especially the breath; it¡¯s so nice, it makes me nervous.¡± ¡°Yes, the exhilaration of dodging at the last minute and the frustration of getting hit by the breath is addictive. I wish they would attack again.¡± ¡°Right. I wonder if there is a sea serpent¡¯s nest somewhere?¡± ¡°It would be fun to find one, with sea serpents coming at you from all directions, breaths flying around, and if you don¡¯t keep your skills up, you¡¯ll lose in an instant.¡± ¡°Right. Would it be good practice to limit the speed of your escape?¡± ¡°Practicing steering and assessing the situation might be a good idea.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s give it a try. Ufufu, I wonder if it¡¯ll attack us soon.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait.¡± I can¡¯t believe this is happening. I can¡¯t believe that even Felicia, not to mention Ines, is into this. I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s like, I like this accessory, but would you like this one better? The two of them are making a commentary on the monster in the same manner as if to say that. Felicia does her job well and only goes wild when I give her permission. When she has my permission, she¡¯s just crazy as Ines. The Sea Serpent¡¯s Nest? If they find it, they¡¯re talking about it with the intention of going there for sure, aren¡¯t they? I think they¡¯d rather try to find them. I¡¯m afraid of the repercussions of banning it when they seem to be having so much fun. I think it might have something to do with stress, and I think it would be better to give them a holiday. I can¡¯t go out without an escort, but I can stay inside the ship for a day or so, so I¡¯ll give them a holiday when we return to the southern city. We arrived in Gothenburg, alternating between a calm, uneventful, leisurely time and a violent escape drama that suddenly began. Again, the political situation was likely to be unstable, so we landed from a remote location using the Japanese-style boat. ¡°We got there in 10 days this time, which is a pretty good feat considering the autopilot shortened the trip by 15 days.¡± ¡°If it weren¡¯t for our game, we would have gotten here a little quicker, and that¡¯s a lot of power.¡± ¡°Yes, it took extra time. Master¡¯s ability is amazing.¡± ¡°Ines, if you know what you¡¯re doing, hold off a little bit. Hey, Ines, look at me.¡± ¡°Huh, well, it¡¯s a good thing you¡¯re getting better at navigating the ship, but¡­ If the security in the city is too bad, we¡¯ll withdraw immediately, so please take care of the escort.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Oh yeah, and make sure you hide in the bag, Rimu, not on top of my head.¡± ¡°¡­Yes¡­¡± Volume 3 - CH 11 Chapter 11 ¨C The City of Terni and Me Without Sense I paid the simple appraisal check and the entrance fee at the gate and headed for the merchant guild. ¡°Hmm, there are more and more people with bad manners in the city. But the fact that they are gathered here means that the civil war hasn¡¯t started yet, right?¡± ¡°Yes, there is a lot of disorder in the city, but it doesn¡¯t look like a civil war has broken out.¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t turned into a civil war, but the number of bad people is increasing. It would help if it weren¡¯t on the verge of breaking up, but that is unlikely.¡± ¡°Well, if things were going smoothly, they wouldn¡¯t be gathering so many people. We should get information from the merchant guild as soon as possible.¡± If the civil war hasn¡¯t started yet, we¡¯ll have time to buy pepper, and it looks like we¡¯re just in time. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s hurry.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I speed up my steps and enter the merchant guild. ¡°Hello, Mear-san. I¡¯d be glad if you could help me again. Is that alright?¡± ¡°Hmm? ¡­Well, the merchant from the northern continent¡­ Wataru-san, wasn¡¯t it? Are you still staying here?¡± ¡°No, no, I have already made one round trip. I need a business meeting and some information.¡± ¡°Round trip? In such a short time? No, I¡¯ll show you to the other room.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°So, Wataru-san, you came here again to trade spider silk and pepper?¡± ¡°Yes, I made a good profit, so I thought I¡¯d try again.¡± ¡°Is that so? You are reckless, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Hahaha, well, I am aware of it.¡± Everywhere I go, people tell me that a second pepper trade is reckless¡­ I may not be able to do a pepper trade all the time. ¡°So, is it possible to do business here? It¡¯s getting even creepier, though.¡± ¡°Yes, it would be better to sell spider silk in another country. Right now, the royalty and nobility in the country want cash for civil war rather than to buy expensive things. Expensive purchases are being discouraged, and on the other hand, pepper is quite cheap for the sake of cash.¡± ¡°I see, so I can get it a lot cheaper than last time?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How much can I get?¡± ¡°It depends on how much time it takes, but we have already collected a considerable amount of pepper, so we should be able to get 20 platinum coins worth in three days. The price is about one-third less, so it¡¯s a good deal.¡± ¡°Can I go to the place where I can wholesale the spider silk, make a deal, and then come back and buy the pepper?¡± I think it would be about 65 platinum coins in all, assuming, of course, that the spider silk can be traded at the previous price. ¡°I think it is possible to make a deal under the current circumstances. The pepper is coming in fast.¡± ¡°I see. Then, can you tell us a port in the country where we can trade in spider silk and the current situation in that country?¡± ¡°Yes, the port where spider silk can be traded is in the port town of Terni in the Kingdom of Forli, about five days by magic ship to the west of here. I think it is possible to trade spider silk there.¡± As for the situation in that country, no armed clash has yet occurred, but both sides are not backing down. A clash is only a matter of time. The clash is likely to be centered on the royal capital, and this city will not be hit by the flames of war. However, if the civil war drags on and the flames of war spread, it will never be safe. I would recommend that you deal with them as soon as possible.¡± ¡°I understand, thank you. Then, I will go to Terni and come back. Thank you very much for your help then.¡± ¡°Understood; I will arrange for pepper and wait for you. Please return safely.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I leave Gothenburg and explain the contents at the merchant guild to Ines and Felicia. ¡°I see that, for the time being, the city of Gothenburg is unlikely to be involved in a civil war. And the price of pepper has dropped by one-third, so you have increased your original plan to buy pepper for 35 platinum coins to 65 platinum coins?¡± ¡°Yes, I could have bought 34 more platinum coins worth of pepper at a lower price if I had unloaded the entire amount at the merchant guild in the southern city anyway¡­ but that was a mistake.¡± ¡°But how long would it take to process 65 platinum coins worth of peppers?¡± ¡°Right, and it¡¯s a huge quantity because you can buy it much cheaper than usual. Before, it was difficult to handle without being suspected; it would be suspicious at the receiving stage, wouldn¡¯t it? I wonder how many ships it would take to transport it normally.¡± We boarded the Luto and headed west. The trip to the west would take a long time because the autopilot could not be used. The return trip would take about two days. If the time is out of sync, Mear-san might get suspicious, so we should go to the port town over there to look for souvenirs and sightseeing to kill some time. We¡¯ll sail until dark, have dinner, flirt, and sleep. In the morning, or maybe I¡¯ll get my morning kiss and go to the salon¡­ Huh? That¡¯s not usual, is it? Normally I would go straight to breakfast like this, but now it¡¯s getting even busier. What¡¯s up with that? When I was confused by the unusual behavior, a sweet breath of air hung in my ear. ¡°Ufufu, I have a favor to ask you, Master. I¡¯m bored running along the coast because there are no monsters, so I want to go for a run in the open sea.¡± It was an even more insane request than I thought it would be. I knew she was crazy about it, but I didn¡¯t expect her to go this far. ¡°It¡¯s Ines¡¯ request, and I¡¯d love to fulfill it, but not this time.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because this is the first time we are going to that city, we can¡¯t use the map this time. The best way to get there is to go along the seashore. If we go out to the open sea to chase after monsters and end up in a different town than the one we were introduced to because of a time delay, it will add to the hassle.¡± ¡°Well, then, can we go on the return trip?¡± ¡°Yes, I can use the map on the way back.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll hold off until the return trip.¡± I don¡¯t know what¡¯s driving her to be so disappointed¡­ but I don¡¯t want to be chased by monsters, even if I know it¡¯s safe to do so. But I wonder if Ines would be happy if I gave her a powerboat like the ones used in powerboat racing? ¡­Let¡¯s not do that, because I¡¯m sure she¡¯s going to explode and crash into a terrific place. Felicia likes to steer too, and if push comes to shove, I¡¯ll give the two of them a power boat as a trump card to put them in a good mood¡­ I¡¯ll keep that in mind. We arrived in Terni after five days of relaxing sailing, without the monster attacks that Ines wanted because we were going along the coastline. It was a more enjoyable voyage for me than going out to the open sea. Again, we landed at a place far from the town. We took a quick appraisal at the gate, paid the entrance fee, and headed for the merchant guild. The streets are not much different from those in Gothenburg, except that there are fewer ruffians. I had heard that this continent as a whole is less safe than the northern continent, but I wondered if there was any town where we could leisurely go sightseeing. We arrived at the merchant guild and headed for the vacant counter. Oh, it¡¯s a man. Well, the women¡¯s counter is popular here too, and people don¡¯t come to the men¡¯s counter even if it¡¯s crowded¡­ I want to get back in line at the women¡¯s counter, but Ines and Felicia look at me like, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to get back in line from here. ¡°Hi, I would like to talk about a slightly larger amount of money. Is this okay here?¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll show you to another room.¡± I feel like I can talk calmly with a male staff member because I don¡¯t feel nervous¡­. but I¡¯d rather talk with a beautiful lady. ¡°May I ask you about your business then?¡± ¡°Yes, actually, I brought a large quantity of this cloth. Is it possible to trade with the merchant guild here?¡± ¡°This is¡­ spider silk, isn¡¯t it? Are you from the northern continent?¡± ¡°Yes, I hear it is very popular on this continent.¡± ¡°Yes, of course. How much wholesale can you supply?¡± How much? How many lots did I have? I was thinking in terms of money, so I didn¡¯t think in terms of quantity. What should I do? Let¡¯s see. One platinum coin is 50 tans (2500kg), so that¡¯s 350 tans (17500kg). ¡°I think it was about 350 tan.¡± ¡°350 tan, that¡¯s quite a lot, isn¡¯t it? At the merchant guild, the price will not be higher than the market price, and if you bring it directly to the store, the price will be even higher.¡± ¡°Yes, the quantity is so large that I would prefer the guild to handle it.¡± ¡°Very well, the price will be ten gold coins per tan. Where will you send the goods?¡± ¡°We will bring them tomorrow morning. Can you recommend an inn and a cart for rent? I would like to stay at a safe inn, even if it is expensive.¡± ¡°I will recommend the Coral Pavilion. How many carts do you need?¡± ¡°Would it be alright if I borrow three carts?¡± ¡°Very well, then. I will be waiting for you tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Ah, I would like to receive payment in cash. Is that okay? I don¡¯t have a guild card for this continent.¡± ¡°In that case, we would like to ask you for a little time. Is it possible to exchange it for pepper if you are going back to the northern continent?¡± ¡°No, I have an appointment in Gothenburg to purchase the pepper.¡± ¡°I see. The price has gone down there. Then I will need a couple of days of your time.¡± ¡°Very well. I will borrow your cart at that time. Oh, I¡¯m sorry again, but while I¡¯ve been waiting for two days, I¡¯d like to look for some souvenirs.¡± ¡°The most famous alcoholic beverage is distilled from barley. It is too strong for me, so I can¡¯t drink it. As for local specialties, coral ornaments are very popular in this country.¡± ¡°Thank you very much; I will look for it.¡± A distilled liquor made from barley, huh? Is it whiskey? Coral ornaments would be delightful. But as usual, spider silk sells for a lot of money. Ten million Japanese yen for a tan of spider silk, how does that sound? I¡¯ve heard that a long-established kimono store charges millions of yen, but is that a reasonable price considering that it cannot be taken on this continent and the risk of crossing the sea? Still, 10 million is a lot, isn¡¯t it? Yet it sells, so even the merchant guilds are buying it. I guess people have money in this world. I leave the merchant guild and get a room at the Coral Pavilion. The price here is also not friendly to the common people, at two silver coins per person per night. Safety comes first, though. During the two days, we went sightseeing, bought food, and looked for souvenirs. Surprisingly, alcohol is distilled and sold without being laid down after distillation, and it is usually mixed with fruit juice. If it is the same in the southern city, I will talk to the guild master when I meet him. The coral accessories were quite beautiful. I bought several kinds of bright red and pink coral earrings, rings, brooches, and pendants. Although they were not suitable as souvenirs for women, I would let them choose what they liked from among the several kinds. Ines has red hair, so how about a pair of red earrings? I asked her if she would like to wear red earrings with her red hair. She said¡­ ¡°It¡¯s not for me.¡± I ended up buying Ines and Felicia some that they liked. I had no sense of style, so I decided to go with their ideas for the souvenir accessories. Two mornings later, in the dark, I loaded the rented cart with spider silk and set out for the merchant guild. When we entered, the man was waiting for us. I knew I should have waited in line again at the women¡¯s counter. After checking the spider silk, I received 35 platinum coins and left the city. We return to the Luto to have a rest. ¡°We managed to conclude our business negotiations without incident. Now we need 65 platinum coins worth of pepper. Last time, it was seven platinum coins, and that was about 40 rubber boats, so that¡¯s more than nine times that number, and with a third of the discount on top of that, how much more will it be¡­? I dread to think.¡± ¡°At that time, too, we carried a lot and repatriated a lot, and it was hard work. Is it about ten times as much as that? I think it would be better to divide it into several days.¡± ¡°Ufufu¡­ yes, it is better than carrying them all in one day. Master, can we go out to the open sea now?¡± ¡°Yes, but don¡¯t be too reckless. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to have to calculate how much we can carry.¡± ¡°Alright, Master, be careful not to overthink things; it¡¯s bad for you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Let¡¯s see, how long has it been since I¡¯ve done this kind of math? Even in high school, I completely abandoned math. I was already bad at it from my math days¡­ Let¡¯s see, first of all¡­ Wow, a math error? It¡¯s a huge amount of stuff. I¡¯m definitely buying too much just because it¡¯s cheaper¡­ How can I load as many as 495 rubber boats? And how can we handle it? This would be very suspicious if we didn¡¯t say that we were going to take a ship to Gothenburg and transport them to another big ship. I think it¡¯s suspicious just to take it to another big ship, but I¡¯ll stay away from Gothenburg for a while after this thing is over. I should also buy an assortment of spices, alcohol, and cloths. When I told them, they laughed and said they would help me. Let¡¯s get this over with as soon as possible. Let¡¯s forget about the scary stuff and have fun with Rimu. I rubbed Rimu and regained my peace of mind. ¡°I love you, Rimu!¡± ¡°¡­Rimu¡­ too¡­¡± Rimu, you horrible child. If you say that to me, I won¡¯t be able to leave you. I hug Rimu and writhe in agony. ¡­We arrived in Gothenburg in 2 days. We were only attacked by a monster once, and Ines is not happy about it. The monsters are out of my control, so please spare me. We¡¯ve got a lot of work ahead of us, and we¡¯ve got to get into the swing of things. Volume 3 - CH 12 Chapter 12 ¨C Large Amounts of Pepper and the Pepper That Can¡¯t Be Flowed Smoothly? We entered the port of Gothenburg on the Luto. The port entry fee is three silver coins a day, which is expensive, and you can rent it for a month just like that in the southern city. But when I told them that I was going back and forth to carry my cargo, they said I could come and go as I pleased within a day since it cost three silver coins a day. Good, because it¡¯s not fancy to pay three silver coins every time. When I entered the guild, I was greeted by Mear-san. ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. Did you close the deal successfully?¡± ¡°Yes, it has ended without a hitch.¡± ¡°I see; that¡¯s good to hear. We also gathered 65 platinum gold worth of pepper here. There is no space for it in the merchant guild, so it is stored in the warehouse at the port. Would you like to see it?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± There is no space in the guild? A warehouse at the port? I knew that, but it sounded like a huge amount of stuff¡­ ¡°Then, let me show you around.¡± Mear-san guides me to the warehouse at the port. ¡°All of this is enough pepper for 65 platinum gold coins.¡± ¡°Wow, this is indeed a huge amount.¡± The pepper was piled up in a large warehouse. I should not have been so quick with my purchases. I should be able to make a lot of money, but why do I feel depressed? ¡°Wataru-san, may I ask you a question?¡± ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± ¡°I was wondering how you carry such a large amount of goods.¡± ¡°Ah, you see, we have a fleet of ships. From this port, my ship will transship the cargo to a larger ship. We bought more than we planned because it was so cheap, so it¡¯s going to be difficult to get back and forth.¡± ¡°Well, is that so? It¡¯s great that you can cross the ocean with a fleet of ships.¡± ¡°Hahaha, thank you very much.¡± I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s all a lie. Please don¡¯t look at me with respect; it hurts my heart. ¡°Excuse me; it¡¯s going to take me a while to get it out of this warehouse. Is that alright?¡± ¡°Yes, since you are a customer who purchases in large quantities, the guild will pay for the storage for five days. If it goes beyond that, we will have to charge you for the use of the warehouse.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I will manage to get it out within five days.¡± ¡°Very well. Then shall we return to the guild and conclude the contract?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I return to the guild and pay the 65 platinum coins. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Likewise. May I borrow the cart?¡± ¡°A cart? No problem. How many carts would you like to use?¡± ¡°Three carts would be great.¡± We entered the warehouse pulling three carts. ¡°Phew, I really bought a lot of stuff, but this warehouse is a good place to store it. We can take the pepper to the ship several times a day, sail out on the Luto a few times, and come back, and it won¡¯t be a problem since it won¡¯t be seen by anyone.¡± ¡°Do you need to carry the pepper to the ship by cart and then sail out on the ship?¡± ¡°Yes, it would be bad if we don¡¯t go at all. If we show them that we are carrying the pepper a few times, they will be convinced that it was carried while they were not watching. If nobody sees you carrying it out, there is a possibility that some people will start to have doubts. Well, if we just show up a few times, it won¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a few steps easier than carrying the whole thing, so I¡¯ll give it a little effort.¡± ¡°Please do. Shall we get a few peppers into the boat right away?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ For the next five days, the pepper was repatriated every day and then brought back to the ship and shipped out again and again. To catch our breath, we bought alcohol, an assortment of spices, cloths, and food. We got into a couple of trouble, and I don¡¯t think we got a chance to relax. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the last of it; thank you both for your hard work. I appreciate it.¡± ¡°Master, we are your slaves. You don¡¯t have to thank us.¡± ¡°Ines is right.¡± ¡°Is that so? Well, I was in the mood to thank you, so don¡¯t mind it.¡± ¡°Ufufu. Okay.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It was a long process¡­ and by far easier than hauling everything to the boat, but I was still tired at the point of buying 495 rubber boats, and it¡¯s a hassle when I have to buy one boat at a time. I¡¯d love to have the ability to buy in bulk. ¡°Then, let¡¯s return the carts, say goodbye to Mear-san, and set sail, shall we?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I thanked Mear-san for her hospitality and sailed away. But the three silver coin daily berthing fee is a pain, but I didn¡¯t have to pay for lodging, so it¡¯s a win-win in the end. ¡°Well then, we¡¯re heading to the Dark Elf Island, aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Ines and Felicia are enjoying a game of escape with the monsters to relieve the exasperation of carrying the cargo. Rimu also seems to like the flying bridge when the ship is moving fast, which is a little sad these days. But how shall I wholesale the pepper? With the 20 boats from last time and the 495 boats this time, there are enough pepper for 515 boats. If I could wholesale all of them and withdraw the platinum coins, I would have 1,854 platinum coins, enough to buy a luxury cruise ship. But it won¡¯t work that well. If I can buy the luxury liner, I feel like I can handle it regardless of whether we are hostile to the country or not, but that doesn¡¯t mean I have to go out of my way to be hostile to the country. Is there any way to get a luxury liner and not attract too much attention? Hmm, I don¡¯t know. ¡°Master, what¡¯s troubling you?¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯m wondering if there¡¯s some way to handle a large amount of pepper conveniently.¡± ¡°Ufufu, didn¡¯t you say that taking your time is the best way?¡± ¡°Yes, but if we process 515 ships of pepper, that means we have successfully completed the pepper trade 26 times. I thought that would be time-consuming and conspicuous.¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s true, though. If you¡¯ve succeeded 26 times, you¡¯re always going to attract attention because you either know how to succeed or you have a great magic ship. If you can have a stable trade with the southern continent, the royalty and nobility will not keep quiet about it.¡± ¡°Ara, that reminds me. Felicia is right. And even five successes, let alone twenty-six, would be a remarkable achievement.¡± ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s hard to cash in on all the platinum coins we have. If I didn¡¯t hesitate to stand out, I could do whatever I wanted. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t like the hassle of standing out. Socializing with the higher-ups is just nerve-wracking for the average person, and it¡¯s never good for me.¡± ¡°With Master¡¯s skills, you could have been a king, but you are a commoner at heart, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You should be aware that your income is not at the level of a commoner anymore, Master.¡± ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped to a certain extent. If it weren¡¯t for the threat of death, false accusations, and troublesome orders, I¡¯d do my best to keep up with the royalty and nobility.¡± ¡°It would all come down to you without a doubt.¡± ¡°There will definitely be troublesome orders. Well, the most likely one is the king¡¯s order to take up your magic ship.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ship made of skill, so it¡¯s useless, and if they find out it¡¯s a skill, all I can think about is the trouble I¡¯ll get into.¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯ll try to keep you forever.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay if I¡¯m holed up on a luxury cruise ship. I could be a hermit on a luxury liner, but I wouldn¡¯t want to have to give up my comfortable life of freedom to go out and about.¡± ¡°Right, but isn¡¯t it conspicuous that you try to distribute everything through the merchant guild? It is not that pepper is only sold in the Latina Kingdom. If we sell directly to merchants in other countries, we can handle it without being so conspicuous, can¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to say that you bought the pepper in the pepper trade, and it won¡¯t be a problem if you sell the pepper that you bought over time.¡± ¡°¡±I see.¡±¡± ¡°I was only thinking about processing it in the merchant guild. Since there are other countries, if we go there and process the peppers, it will take some time, but we will be able to handle it. Ines, you are a genius.¡± ¡°Yes, Ines is a genius.¡± ¡°Ufufu, it¡¯s only because Master and Felicia were only thinking about the merchant guild.¡± ¡°I was blindsided.¡± ¡°I¡¯m ashamed to admit that I only thought of the pepper trade this time, when I said that I had overloaded the pepper trade because it was so cheap, and all I could think of was to wholesale 30 boats worth of peppers.¡± ¡°All I could come up with was the excuse that we had towed it all together on a rope, just like when we towed the lumber.¡± ¡°Thanks to Ines, we have a plan in place. I¡¯ll tell the guild that we¡¯re going to sell 20 boats worth of pepper and use the rest for peddling in other countries and get some information from Camille-san.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We continued our voyage as usual. It was a little frightening that Ines and Felicia¡¯s ship-handling skills were improving so rapidly, but we arrived at the Dark Elf island in 10 days.¡± ¡°Thank you for welcoming us, Village Chief-san. How is everything going in the village?¡± ¡°I am glad to see you are safe, Wataru-san, and the village is doing fine without any problems.¡± When I arrived at the village on top of the hill while listening to the conversation, I saw that several houses had already been built. ¡°Village Chief-san, I see that some houses have already been built.¡± ¡°Yes, but only the outside has been built. The interiors are being worked on by each of the residents.¡± ¡°I see. It¡¯s becoming more and more like a village.¡± ¡°Yes, the villagers are very enthusiastic. We have already been to the forest several times to explore.¡± ¡°How was the forest? Are there any dangerous monsters?¡± ¡°So far, we have seen slimes, goblins, and orcs, but we are well within our ability to handle them. We have also found the necessary medicinal herbs and the bounty of the forest.¡± Orcs, come to think of it, I haven¡¯t seen any. When I think about it, I¡¯ve only ever killed horned rabbits and goblins. I am confident that I would be frightened if I met an orc, though my level has increased only through power leveling during the voyage. ¡°I see that you can get a lot of things in the forest. Will you eventually move your residence to the forest?¡± ¡°What do you think? I like this village, but it would be nice to build another village in the forest and use the river to come and go.¡± ¡°Yes, a river would be convenient, and you could bring wood from the forest.¡± ¡°Yes, we have already thinned some trees and transported them by the river. Now we are drying the wood.¡± While chatting with the village chief, a villager came to call for him, so we parted ways with the chief and went to meet Cecilia-san. I greeted her and left Felicia with her, and strolled around the village when someone suddenly yelled at me. ¡°You must be Wataru, and if you wish to save your life, let Felicia go.¡± What is this young man? He has some kind of rope tied around his waist, and he is already kind of ragged. What should I do? I envy the Dark Elf, who is kind of cool even if he¡¯s in tatters. At any rate, I hugged Rimu and hid behind Ines. Should I summon a boat? ¡°Ines, should I summon a boat?¡± ¡°No need, just hide behind me. Don¡¯t come out.¡± I hear the young man cursing as I retreat behind Ines as she tells me to. ¡°You hide behind a woman; I still don¡¯t accept that you are Felicia¡¯s master.¡± Ahh, I can picture the story somehow, maybe he is in love with Felicia, or perhaps he and Felicia were in love with each other? Wow, that¡¯s a depressing turn of events, and if so, I¡¯m in the bad guy position that tore two people who love each other apart. I didn¡¯t do anything wrong, but if it¡¯s a template, does this pattern mean I¡¯m the bad guy, and I¡¯m going to be vanquished? I¡¯m in trouble. Oh, Felicia and Cecilia-san noticed the commotion and came running. ¡°Master, are you okay? What happened?¡± ¡°Well, Romano, you¡¯re under house arrest. You shouldn¡¯t have come out.¡± ¡°Everyone in the village has been deceived. If I stay under house arrest, this village will be destroyed. Now, Felicia, come here; you can¡¯t stay with a man like that.¡± ¡°What are you saying, Romano? Master is our benefactor. I will not tolerate any disrespect.¡± ¡°Kuh, so you¡¯re being deceived too, Felicia; I will rescue you.¡± Huh? Does the flow of the story differ from what I thought? ¡°Hey, Felicia, what¡¯s your relationship with that young man?¡± ¡°With Romano? We were close in age in the village, so we used to play together when we were young.¡± Hmm? Did I escape the pattern of evil people who tore apart two people who loved each other? If so, is that young man a self-centered conceit? Something similar happened the other day¡­ I wonder how that employee is doing? ¡°Um, Master? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Hmm? Nothing. What should we do about this situation?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really know what¡¯s going on either. My father will be here soon, so we¡¯ll just have to wait and see, won¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Felicia, you must not talk to such a man. Cecilia-san, don¡¯t you also want to save your daughter?¡± Oh wow, he is definitely in the same category as that employee. I guess this young man is the one whose chief doesn¡¯t want to talk about it because he is against immigration, and it makes him feel ashamed. Everyone here is bewildered except the young man. Oh, come to think of it, this is the person who was wrapped around with a rope; yes, it makes you want to hide him, doesn¡¯t it? The young man who was screaming, the bewildered surroundings¡­ Oh, the village chief and some dark elves came running. ¡°Romano, what are you doing? I thought I put you under house arrest.¡± ¡°The village chief has been deceived. It is wrong to lock me up for trying to protect your daughter and to take the side of such a man. Please come to your senses.¡± ¡°Romano, what are you talking about? No one is being deceived.¡± ¡°Kuh, I won¡¯t allow you to deceive even my mother.¡± Everyone looks so embarrassed, and they don¡¯t have the energy to get angry. ¡°Kuh, in this case, Wataru, duel with me. If I win, you must let Felicia and everyone in the village go.¡± ¡°Ah, I can¡¯t fight, so I refuse.¡± ¡°Did you hear that, village chief? This man is a pathetic man who runs away from a duel as well. If he can¡¯t protect Felicia, he has no right to be by her side, don¡¯t you agree, chief?¡± ¡°No, in the first place, I can¡¯t fight, so that¡¯s why I have Felicia escorting me.¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t fight, then let Felicia go and leave.¡± No, there is no point; he can¡¯t understand it. What should I do? Volume 3 - CH 13 Chapter 13 ¨C Information on the Dark Elven Village¡¯s Privates and Next Destination ¡°What are you doing? You must release Felicia as soon as possible.¡± Romano-san shouted out his demands, not caring about the embarrassment of the people around him. It¡¯s kind of painful to watch, and Romano-san¡¯s parents are looking at him like he¡¯s a dead fish. Please notice, now it¡¯s just a memory that makes you want to die when you remember it. ¡°Ah, Village Chief-san, what should I do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san. I had him locked up, but he seems to have slipped out, and we have been looking for him¡­¡± Ah, the reason the village chief was called earlier was because Romano-san had slipped out, wasn¡¯t it? However, the villagers are gathering in droves. It¡¯s a small village, so maybe they all got together. What is Romano-san going to do now? ¡°Calm down, Romano. You say that we have been deceived, but in reality, we have settled on such a nice island. What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you get it, Father? We didn¡¯t move here; we¡¯re being held captive on this island. From now on, we are going to be livestock to be bred and raised by him.¡± What kind of villain am I? I don¡¯t understand how he came to that conclusion. ¡°Um¡­ what can I say? Village Chief-san, I just don¡¯t understand him.¡± ¡°Yes, we, too, have discussed this with Romano many times, but we just don¡¯t understand each other. I really don¡¯t know how this is happening¡­¡± The village chief must be having a hard time; I know he doesn¡¯t want to go through this kind of hardship. ¡°Wataru, what¡¯s the matter? Are you in a hurry to be told the truth? I¡¯ll forgive you if you let Felicia go right now and get off this island.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that because I don¡¯t want Felicia to disappear.¡± ¡°You heard him, people, he¡¯s forcing Felicia to stay with him, and I¡¯m going to rescue her.¡± Ah, Romano-san¡¯s father is approaching from behind. Ah, he hit me, he hit me in the back of his head as hard as he could; there was a tremendous sound, but is Romano-san still alive? ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-sama. My foolish son has caused you trouble. I take full responsibility. I will do whatever it takes to make amends, so please only support the village.¡± Making amends is not such a big deal, but I am afraid of what people like Romano-san might do to me if I let him go unchecked. And it is tough to have two men disabled from this small number of people. Either that or I¡¯m going to have Ines and Felicia do their best to protect me. ¡°There¡¯s no need to make amends. I would appreciate it if you could talk it over with Romano-san and clear up any misunderstandings. That¡¯s all I ask.¡± Well, I think the hardest thing is to clear up Romano-san¡¯s misunderstanding. ¡°Yes, thank you. I will re-train my son so that he will not bother Wataru-sama in any way. I deeply apologize.¡± I wonder what kind of measures he is going to take. The next time I see him, I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll turn out to be a smiling young man. ¡°Yes, there is no more problem, so please don¡¯t worry about it too much.¡± We parted ways, and I headed for the village chief¡¯s tent. ¡°Wataru-san, I am truly sorry for the trouble we have caused you.¡± ¡°No actual harm was done, so please don¡¯t worry about it. But why did Romano-san come to that conclusion?¡± ¡°When I was offered the immigration proposal, he began to strongly oppose it at a meeting in the village. No matter how much we talked about it, he said that Felicia was in captivity and that this village was in danger. I explained to him that a proper contract had been signed, but he was not convinced.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Maybe he likes Felicia, but then he gets carried away and thinks his imagination is reality. Just like that employee, I have to be careful, too. When I was commissioned to work on the island, I fantasized that all the members of Girasole were my girlfriends¡­ so maybe I¡¯m not a stranger to this. I¡¯ve seen people like that in the members of Girasole and Felicia, so I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Ines had someone like that too¡­ Is this what it¡¯s like for a beautiful woman to be a life-destroying tool? ¡°Well, I can¡¯t help thinking about things I don¡¯t understand. Oh yes, I have some souvenirs for you all to enjoy.¡± ¡°Thank you very much for your hospitality and for the souvenirs.¡± ¡°No, no, don¡¯t worry about it. Since I was involved, it would not be good for my soul if everyone did not have a good time.¡± I don¡¯t want to get into a depressing situation where people are unhappy because I brought them to the island. I leave him some alcohol, assorted spices, and cloths that I bought in Gothenburg. ¡°So, Village Chief-san, have you found anything you need in the village?¡± ¡°No, so far, nothing has turned up. We have more than enough liquor, spices, and cloth.¡± ¡°I see, but I will leave some food on the ship, just in case. I am thinking of visiting other countries on this continent, so it may be a few months before I next come to this island. Is that alright?¡± ¡°Well, originally, we were living isolated in the forest. If we receive this much support, we will be able to live well enough. Please don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Then I will return to the ship.¡± I handed over the food to the village chief and the others who came to see us off to the ship, and we departed for the southern city. ¡°Master, I apologize for the trouble Romano has caused you.¡± ¡°Felicia didn¡¯t do anything wrong. Anyway, as for what to do when we get to the southern city, I plan to wholesale pepper, buy food, get some information from the guild, and then sail away.¡± ¡°Do you want to hand out any souvenirs?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I had in mind. We also have to get the pepper out to the ship before we arrive.¡± We arrived in the southern city in three days without any unusual events. I asked for a messenger from the dock to Camille-san. As we were unloading the pepper from the ship, Camille-san came with a cart in tow. ¡°Good morning, Camille-san. I¡¯m sorry to bother you so early in the morning.¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. I am glad you are safe. Will you be wholesaling these to the guild?¡± ¡°Yes, it is the same quantity as last time. Can you do it for us?¡± After finishing loading the pepper, we headed to the merchant guild and were taken directly to another room. ¡°Please wait a moment while we check the pepper.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± While I was drinking tea and playing with Rimu, Camille-san came back. ¡°Wataru-san, the pepper was of the same excellent quality as last time. Would you be willing to sell it to us wholesale for 72 platinum coins?¡± ¡°Yes, that will be fine; please leave 30 platinum coins in cash and 42 platinum coins in my guild¡¯s account.¡± ¡°Are you going back to the pepper trade?¡± ¡°No, I will not. I would like to visit another country on this continent, so I would like to keep more cash on hand.¡± ¡°I see. Well, may I take your guild card, please? Can you wait three days for the platinum coins?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± ¡°Oh, Wataru-san, your adventurer¡¯s guild card has expired, hasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°The deadline of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild? ¡­Oh, I forgot, I have to accept a request once every three months.¡± ¡°It is not a good idea to leave an expired request on your card, so you should either register it again with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild or delete it.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild later.¡± Wow, I completely forgot; three months is just a short time when you¡¯re sailing. I guess I don¡¯t need the adventurer title anymore, right? But when it comes to other worlds, it¡¯s adventurer¡­ Yeah, but I have a feeling that even if I register, it will expire again. I¡¯ll ask them to delete it once and register when I need it. ¡°So, I need to talk to you about something regarding another country.¡± ¡°Yes, how can I help you?¡± ¡°Yes, on the southern continent, due to the civil war in the Kingdom of Catania, the price of pepper has dropped, so I¡¯ve been forced to load up with more pepper. I want to sell it outside the country. I also want to do some sightseeing. Are there any good countries?¡± ¡°Outside of the country? There is still demand for pepper in this country, but is your goal sightseeing rather than selling pepper at a high price?¡± ¡°Of course, I would be happy to sell pepper at a high price, but I would also like to see interesting and rare things.¡± ¡°You are right; I think you can sell the pepper wherever you take it. If you are interested in sightseeing, I think the cathedral in Palermo, a religious state located in the eastern part of the continent, is the most famous. I¡¯ve never seen it myself, but I hear it¡¯s wonderful.¡± A religious state¡­? Seems like a troublesome country in the image of a novel or something. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about religion, but is it safe to go there?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there will be any problem. It is a tolerant country as long as you don¡¯t insult God in the cathedral.¡± Oops? It seems that this is not a country where people are fighting a holy war in the name of God or something like that. Well then, I haven¡¯t been to church lately. Maybe I should go to Palermo? ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯ll go there. And if it¡¯s pepper, can you sell it in any country? Would it be alright if I just pop in and sell it at a store?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine. Pepper is hard to find in any country, so they will buy it.¡± ¡°Thank you very much; I will give it a try. And here are the souvenirs I brought this time. Please choose one of them.¡± ¡°I appreciate the souvenir, Wataru-san, but I can¡¯t accept anything too expensive, and I don¡¯t think this is a good way to give a woman an accessory, do you?¡± ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s not that expensive. I understand my lack of taste, so I would rather have you choose something you like and wear it than give you something you don¡¯t like.¡± ¡°I see, then¡­ I¡¯ll take this pair of pink earrings. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯m always indebted to you, and could you please deliver this drink to the guild master? I heard it tastes good when mixed with fruit juice.¡± I forgot all about the alcohol. Next time I see the guild master, I¡¯ll ask him about the whiskey. ¡°Certainly, he was pleased with your last drink, thank you very much.¡± ¡°Oh, may I see Dino-san and Enrico-san?¡± ¡°The two of them are currently in the royal capital for escort duty. It will be a while before they return.¡± ¡°Oh, I am sorry, but could you give them their souvenirs as well?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. I will give the souvenirs to the two of them when they return.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I will be back in three days, so please excuse me.¡± I left the guild and headed to the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s Inn to get a place to stay. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san, but the inn is fully booked.¡± ¡°Is that so? That¡¯s unfortunate.¡± ¡°Since Wataru-san brought the Girasole group here, they have been using this inn. Since then, the number of guests has been increasing, and we are very happy about it. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°I see. Are the Girasole members here now?¡± ¡°No, they on a commission. Shall I tell them when they come back?¡± ¡°Please, I will come back again.¡± Did the members of Girasole stay at this inn as it is? That¡¯s all it takes to fill up the inn. They¡¯re very popular¡­ Well, I understand the feeling. ¡°Ines, Felicia, since the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s inn is full and I don¡¯t feel like going to another inn, shall we sleep on the Luto?¡± ¡°Yes, I prefer the ship, so no problem.¡± ¡°Me, too.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, cancel my registration, hand out souvenirs, and then go shopping.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Every time I enter the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I think to myself, I¡¯m not cut out to be an adventurer. Although my level has improved through power leveling, and I should be as good as the people here, I don¡¯t feel like I can beat even the novice adventurers. It¡¯s a shame to come to another world and have this personality. I went to the counter to have my adventurer registration canceled. In case you were wondering, I heard that you can re-register back to F-rank. I heard that high ranks could take a test and be registered back to their original rank. I gave Guido-san and the others some alcohol and then delivered some to Donnino-san as well. Is that about it? All that¡¯s left to do is to give the souvenirs to the members of Girasole. We return to the ship after buying food for the trip to Palermo. ¡°Oh, I was kind of thinking of going to Palermo. Is everything okay with you two? If there¡¯s someplace you want to go; we can go there too.¡± ¡°Ufufu, I wanted to see the cathedral too, no problem.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°So Palermo is our next stop¡­ Speaking of which, can we get to Palermo by ship?¡± ¡°Come to think of it; I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know too.¡± ¡°Yeah, well, I¡¯ll ask the next time we go to the merchant guild. But what if we can¡¯t get there by ship?¡± ¡°Right, if we can¡¯t get there by ship, it will be a hard trip. I was fine when I was an adventurer, but I¡¯m used to my life now, and I don¡¯t want to make a long trip overland.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ like it either, but is there a problem with just drifting off into an easier life?¡± ¡°¡­I have problems, but do I have to force myself to go to a field I don¡¯t like?¡± Come to think of it; I think I¡¯m losing the desperate feeling I had when I was hunting horned rabbits. Maybe I¡¯m getting on a roll now that I¡¯m making money. Most of the time, being in a good mood hurts, so let¡¯s be careful. ¡°Well, why don¡¯t we just ask around about the place, and then we¡¯ll think about it?¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s have dinner and go to bed for the night.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Volume 3 - CH 14 Chapter 14 ¨C Tame Skill Level Up and Ines and Felicia¡¯s Holiday ¡°Nchu. Morning, Master.¡± ¡°Nchu, good morning, Master.¡± The morning routine gives me strength, and I head to the salon. We have breakfast and discuss our plans for the day. Come to think of it, I thought I should give them both the day off. I don¡¯t have any plans today, so I think I¡¯ll give them the day off, and I¡¯ll stay on the ship and play with Rimu¡­ Yeah, that might be a good idea. ¡°Ines, Felicia, I¡¯m taking the day off today, and since I¡¯ll be staying on the ship all day, you two can have some free time after a long while.¡± ¡°Ufufu, you¡¯re giving us the day off? But what shall we do?¡± ¡°I have no idea. I haven¡¯t really thought about it since we were in the village.¡± ¡°Really? Well, even if you don¡¯t think about it, just taking a stroll around the town and forgetting about your role as an escort would be a good way to relax, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Right, I used to take it easy when I was an adventurer, and I¡¯m going to enjoy it.¡± ¡°Do you mean casual sightseeing? ¡­I¡¯ll try it.¡± ¡°You need money to have fun. Here¡¯s your allowance.¡± ¡°Ten silver coins each? That¡¯s too much, Master.¡± ¡°Well, ten silver coins is a lot to go out and have fun, but it¡¯s the first time you¡¯ve been out on your own in a while, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find something you want or need, so you can buy all kinds of things and let off steam.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you, Master.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± ¡°Have a good day.¡± ¡°¡±See you later.¡±¡± I see them off. At first, they seemed puzzled, but by the time they left, they were excited; I hope they enjoyed themselves. Phew, it¡¯s kind of relaxing to have two beautiful women like that by your side, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m usually always trying to look good and act carefully, so it¡¯s subtly tiring. But I don¡¯t want them to hate me, so I do my best. Of course, I¡¯m happy to have a beautiful woman by my side, but I¡¯m a fan of anime, manga, and light novels, so a sloppy life without putting in a lot of effort suits me better. ¡°¡­?¡­¡± ¡°Oh, Rimu, we¡¯re staying on the ship all day today. Let¡¯s have lots of fun.¡± ¡°¡­Like it¡­¡± ¡°Uhaahh, Rimu is so cute.¡± I lay on the sofa in a slumped position and hugged Rimu. Hmm, I want to eat a hamburger and drink a coke while watching some anime. I wonder if I can do that when I get a luxury cruise ship? We enjoy playing Rimu¡¯s favorite game together. First of all, it¡¯s higher, higher. I throw Rimu to the ceiling, and when he falls down, he is in a good mood as he repeats ¡°¡­?¡­¡± over and over again. ¡°¡­Outside¡­¡± ¡°Do you want to go outside?¡± ¡°¡­Outside¡­ jumping¡­¡± ¡°Ah, you want to go out there and get higher and higher. But I can¡¯t throw you as high as Ines. Is that okay?¡± ¡°¡­Yeah¡­¡± Sometimes Ines throws him so high that it worries me. My level increased, so I think it¡¯s okay, but I¡¯m worried. But if Rimu asked me to do something, I would do it. He once crossed the barrier and was rejected when he came back to the ship. Rimu was fine with it, but I was really panicked. ¡°Then let¡¯s go; there it is.¡± I tossed him higher into the air than the flying bridge. I carefully caught the falling Rimu. I was nervous, but Rimu seemed to be having a lot of fun with ¡°¡­???¡­¡± After repeating the game a few times, I got tired and moved on to the next game. We play for a while and have lunch. ¡°Rimu, do you like it?¡± ¡°¡­Delicious¡­¡± I hadn¡¯t had lunch with Rimu since our tent raft. It was nostalgic. ¡°Rimu, let¡¯s play a game of treasure hunt next, shall we?¡± ¡°..Let¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Well then, you have to find the dried meat wrapped in this cloth. I¡¯m going to hide it now, so wait for me on the flying bridge.¡± ¡°¡­Yeah¡­¡± Hmm, lately, Rimu can easily find it, such as under the bed, so where should I hide it¡­? Oh, maybe above those speakers at the top of the wall. Can he find it? ¡°Rimu, it¡¯s ready¡­ this time it¡¯s harder, you know. Can you find it?¡± ¡°¡­Rimu¡­ Find¡­¡± Rimu moves around, searching for the place where I have hidden it before. Rimu is so smart because he remembers where the hidden places are. Come to think of it, don¡¯t you look for treasure while moving around? Is there a reason why he usually moves by bouncing around? Let¡¯s observe Rimu searching around¡­ No, all I know is that he¡¯s cute. Even with treasures that are hard to find, Rimu does not give up and expands his search area. Whoa, he sticks to the wall and moves forward toward the speaker; I wonder how he noticed it? ¡°¡­Rimu¡­ found it¡­¡± ¡°Oh wow, that¡¯s great. I¡¯m so proud of you for finding it even though I hid it in a difficult place.¡± ¡°Rimu, happy. Wataru, love.¡± I¡¯m surprised to see Rimu¡¯s joyful intentions being conveyed to me like never before. No, now is the time to praise Rimu, let¡¯s think about it later. ¡°Rimu, you¡¯re amazing. I can understand your intention very well, you know? Can you say my name one more time?¡± ¡°Wataru.¡± ¡°Oh, Rimu, you¡¯re getting better and better. We can talk more from now on.¡± ¡°Rimu, talk with Wataru.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s talk a lot.¡± I enjoy hugging Rimu and enjoying his springy texture. I looked at my status and saw that my tame skill had increased to level 2. I wondered if I would be able to talk with Rimu more if my tame skill was further improved. I talk with Rimu leisurely. I am healed from the bottom of my heart by Rimu, who talks hard while feeling my arms. ~Ines, Felicia¡¯s point of view~ Hmm, what should I do? When I was an adventurer, I would eat delicious food and then gamble. Hmm, I don¡¯t want to gamble with the money Master gave me. I could eat good food and visit foreign countries. I¡¯m pretty satisfied and can¡¯t think of anything I want to do. I¡¯d love to buy food at a food stall, but most of the food stalls in this town are busy collecting food, so it¡¯s a bit more difficult than I thought. ¡°Hey, Felicia, is there anything you want to do?¡± ¡°Me? I¡¯ve been thinking about it, but¡­ I can¡¯t think of anything.¡± What did I do when I was in the dark elf village, you ask? I usually help my father and mother and hunt. Other than that¡­ I practiced magic, hmm, even after being told to take a break, I usually strolled around this town with Master and the others, and I can¡¯t think of anything else. ¡°No, I can¡¯t think of anything at all. Ines, is there anything else?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything either; that¡¯s troubling.¡± Felicia doesn¡¯t have anything to do either; what should we do? What would be a normal thing to do? Is there anything we need? ¡­Clothes, yes, let¡¯s go buy some clothes. ¡°Hey, Felicia, do you want to go shopping for clothes?¡± ¡°Clothes?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll be on escort duty when we go into town, so we¡¯ll have to wear equipment. But when we are on the ship, we will wear the clothes under the equipment that Master bought for us, and I think Master would be happier if we wore our normal clothes on the ship. ¡°¡­That might be a good idea. Let¡¯s go take a look.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Ines, isn¡¯t that outfit a bit revealing?¡± ¡°Do you think so? I think Master will be more pleased if you wear something like that on board.¡± ¡°Would he?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re only buying one dress, so why don¡¯t we buy both a normal dress and a revealing one?¡± ¡°I think it might be too stimulating. Wouldn¡¯t Master hate it?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry; Master was happy to see me in that rag-like dress I wore in the slave trading house.¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, I have a feeling about that.¡± ¡°Yes, there are some interesting clothes; let¡¯s go and buy some things.¡± We had lunch on the way and then chose and bought clothes that were comfortable for spending time on board and revealing clothes. ¡°Phew, we bought quite a few things; it was quite fun.¡± ¡°Right, I couldn¡¯t afford the high-end fabrics, but it was interesting to see all the different kinds of clothes.¡± ¡°I wonder how Master will react when he sees us wearing these? I think he¡¯ll be pleased.¡± ¡°What do you think? He is usually honest about his desires, but sometimes he does play it cool, doesn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Yes, and then he regrets it terribly. It¡¯s funny.¡± ¡°If he¡¯s going to be cool, it would be better if he hides his regrets, too¡­¡± ¡°He thinks he¡¯s hiding it, doesn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Is that so¡­?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s alright. It¡¯s getting dark soon. Shall we go back?¡± ¡°Yeah, right.¡± ~Inez, Felicia¡¯s point of view is over~ We had a lot of fun and talked a lot, so we were tired, and Rimu fell asleep. I put him on the blanket and gently moved away so as not to wake him up. Well, I¡¯ve been healed enough, and I have to make time for this kind of thing once in a while. But what shall I do now? I guess I don¡¯t need to force myself to find something to do, so I¡¯ll just let today go by without a care in the world. I¡¯m going to lie on the sofa and enjoy the time in a daze. ¡­Hmm? I can hear Ines and Felicia¡¯s voices. Have they come back? I give them permission to come aboard and welcome them. ¡°Welcome back. Have you had fun?¡± ¡°Yes, I had fun.¡± ¡°It was worthwhile.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Yeah, they seem to be in a pretty good mood, and I¡¯m glad I gave them the day off. ¡°Hey, Master, will you wait for me while I go change?¡± ¡°Eh? Change of clothes? I don¡¯t mind, you know.¡± A change of clothes, huh? Did they buy some clothes? I hardly ever buy clothes¡­ I feel bad; I should be a little more careful. As I waited, feeling sorry for myself, Ines and Felicia returned. Wow, what¡¯s that, Felicia¡¯s good, clean, feminine, and beautifully dressed. It suits her well; she is beautiful¡­ Inez is¡­ dressed in a thin cloth with a thin bosom and protrusion and thighs that are full and sexy. ¡°I wonder which one Master prefers? I¡¯ll make sure I wear whichever one you choose most often.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take Ines¡¯ then¡­ Let me think about it for a minute¡­¡± What should I do? For me, Ines¡¯ outfit is the best. But can I keep my cool with a beautiful woman dressed like that around me for a day? Will I be able to keep my wits about the situation? ¡°Oh, um, is it possible for you to dress as Felicia normally and change into Ines at night if I ask you to?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine, but you don¡¯t mind dressing like this normally?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t mind, but it¡¯s just that I can¡¯t do anything else when you¡¯re around me dressed like Ines.¡± ¡°Ufufu. Right. I get it.¡± Ines, you are totally on the wrong track. Felicia is also looking at me with a disappointed look. I love it when Ines stimulates a man¡¯s desire. If I can make it to the end, I¡¯ll change the subject, but¡­ thanks for the treat. ¡°Ah, I was playing with Rimu today, and my tame skill level went up. Then I could understand more of what Rimu wanted to do.¡± ¡°Ufufu, that¡¯s great.¡± ¡°Congratulations, Master.¡± ¡°Yeah, thank you. Well, let¡¯s have dinner.¡± After dinner, I took a shower and quickly got the two of them dressed in thin cloth¡­ which was wonderful. Good night. I woke up with the routine kisses and¡­ oof, a thin cloth dress in the morning is very stimulating¡­ I¡¯m happy, but now I want to make out with them again. Patience, come on, it¡¯s breakfast. ¡°Today, we¡¯re going to show up at the merchant guild to pick up our payment, check on the location of Palermo, go to the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s Inn to give the Girasole members their souvenirs if they¡¯re there, and then we¡¯re going to get some food.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I went to the merchant guild and looked for Camille-san¡­ Oh, there she is. I have the impression that she is always at the merchant guild, but isn¡¯t there at least a day off? ¡°Camille-san, good morning.¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. You¡¯re here for your payment, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Well, Camille-san is such a fast talker, a beautiful big-breasted fox-eared Onee-san who can get the job done. That¡¯s a heap of attributes. ¡°Here is your payment of 30 platinum coins; please check it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± But 30 platinum coins is a huge amount of money. Is this a common practice in merchant guilds? In a way, it¡¯s scary. ¡°Sure. Also, I would like to know more about Palermo. Can you tell me where it is?¡± ¡°Yes, no problem. You are going by ship, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If so, you can reach Palermo in about ten days by magic ship from the southern city to the east. From there, it takes about 20 days by carriage to Barletta, the capital city where the cathedral is located. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a bit tough.¡± I¡¯m at a loss. Should I give up on Palermo¡­? ¡°Yes, but if you continue along the continent for another seven days without landing, you will reach Bergamo, a port town east of Palermo. From there, it takes only three days by carriage.¡± ¡°I see, it will take longer than I thought, so I will think it over a little more. Thank you.¡± Hmm, the journey by ship is fine, but not 20 days by horse-drawn carriage. The rest is a three-day route by carriage, or we could go for that amount of time, I think as I leave the merchant guild. ¡°I think we could go via Bergamo; how about you two?¡± ¡°Three days by horse-drawn carriage would be fine.¡± ¡°Yes, I think that would be fine.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s make plans when we get back to the ship. The next stop is the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s inn. I hope Girasole is back.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I wonder if the members of the Girasole have returned? I hope they¡¯re happy with their souvenirs. I have to cherish the relationship with the beautiful party I¡¯ve just connected with. Volume 3 - CH 15 Chapter 15 ¨C A Boat Trip with Girasole? And My Exposed Desires ¡°Hello, Landlady-san, are the members of the Girasole back?¡± ¡°Hello, Wataru-san. Yes, they¡¯re back. I¡¯ll let them know you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Please, thank you.¡± Oh, it looks like they are back; just the thought of seeing these beauties makes me excited. ¡°Ufufu, master, your nose is growing.¡± ¡°¡­Hahaha, oh, it looks like they¡¯re here. Hello, Alessia-san.¡± ¡°Hello, Wataru-san. I¡¯m glad to see you are safe; please come into our room since we can¡¯t just stand around talking.¡± Yes, she is as beautiful as ever; I think it can¡¯t be helped that my nose is growing. ¡°Thank you.¡± Wow, the guys in the dining room were getting bloodthirsty¡­ and I knew this inn was full because the Girasole members were staying there. There are a lot of their fans here. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to get in trouble when I leave. I was shown to the room and greeted everyone. Everyone greets me with a smile, and it makes me happy¡­ I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to misunderstand them like that employee. I¡¯ll have to be careful. ¡°That reminds me, what happened to that employee after that?¡± ¡°¡­He¡¯s come to our inn a few times. He said that this inn was not suitable for us to stay here. When the landlady complained to the innkeeper over there, he stopped coming, but now¡­ he often calls out to us in town. ¡­ He¡¯s really made it worse. He didn¡¯t seem to give up, but I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s going too far. ¡°Well, you must be careful enough. Today I brought you some souvenirs. I have several, so pick the one you like.¡± ¡°Ara, they¡¯re beautiful, but is it okay to give a souvenir this way?¡± ¡°Ahahahaha, Camille-san told me that too. But that¡¯s okay because you¡¯ll be more likely to wear something you choose and like.¡± ¡°Are you giving souvenirs to Camille-san, too? It¡¯s not good to give random souvenirs to women, you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve bought souvenirs for the men, too. I have already given them to Guido-san and the others.¡± I don¡¯t want to be told that I put more effort into the souvenirs I give to the ladies. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re surprisingly good.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m very curious about what you thought of it, but that¡¯s why you should choose it.¡± If I ask them poorly, I might get my heart broken, so I¡¯m not going to bother. Yeah, just to see a beautiful woman enjoying herself is enough to make it worthwhile to buy these souvenirs. ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san. I feel bad for always taking things from you.¡± ¡°No, no, you¡¯ve given me enough just for letting me have Rimu. Please don¡¯t worry about it at all.¡± If Girasole hadn¡¯t brought Rimu to me, we wouldn¡¯t have met, and this souvenir is nothing compared to Rimu. ¡°Really? Well, if you say so, I will indulge myself.¡± I want you to be indulged too. Oh, Dorothea-san and Marina-san took Rimu. I envy Rimu for being pampered every time. ¡°So, how was the southern continent?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t been able to do much sightseeing, not much different from what I told you before. The probability of civil war has increased.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s going to be rough.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s what it looked like.¡± ¡°So, Wataru-san, will you still continue with the pepper trade?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m thinking of looking at other countries this time while selling the pepper I buy.¡± ¡°Ara, that¡¯s nice. Where are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking about going to Palermo. I heard that the cathedral there is very beautiful.¡± ¡°You are going to Palermo?¡± ¡°Y-yes, I haven¡¯t decided yet, but I am thinking about it.¡± ¡°Claretta, you are talking too loud. I¡¯m sorry, Claretta has always wanted to go to Palermo.¡± ¡°S-sorry.¡± ¡°No problem. But with your skills, you could always go, couldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°We are from the Kingdom of Brescia, northwest of this continent. The best way to get to Palermo from there, other than the beast kingdom, is to go through the trouble of human supremacist people to a greater or lesser extent.¡± ¡°Oh, do you mean the Northern Empire?¡± ¡°Yes, the Kingdom of Brescia also borders the Empire, so there are often skirmishes. Well, the Brescia Kingdom is only involved in skirmishes because of the fierce conflict between the neighboring beast kingdom and the Empire.¡± ¡°Is there another country between the Kingdom of Latina and Palermo that has a human supremacy policy?¡± ¡°Yes, there are countries friendly to the Empire. From here, we have to pass through them by land and even by sea; when we make port calls, they give us the cold shoulder if we have beastmen on board, and even by sea, they sometimes inspect our ships and harass us if we have beastmen on board.¡± ¡°Wow, it¡¯s very troublesome.¡± In fantasy, human supremacy is usually a troublesome issue, isn¡¯t it? I feel like they don¡¯t ask questions, and I¡¯m not good at it. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s troublesome. I¡¯m asking you, in light of all the trouble you¡¯re going through, would you take us with you?¡± ¡°To Palermo?¡± ¡°Yes, can you do that?¡± A boat trip with Girasole? That would be a great reward, wouldn¡¯t it? But what if they find out about the performance of the ship? It was fine with the dark elves because there was little risk of information being leaked, but what about this time? Let¡¯s get some time to think it over. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯d like to say it¡¯s not a problem at all. As I said before, there is a secret on my ship. Would you mind if I had some time to think about it?¡± ¡°Ah, the secret that makes the pepper trade so successful. All right, we¡¯re the ones who are asking for the impossible, so don¡¯t mind us.¡± We continueed chatting for a while and left the inn. Claretta-san looked like she was going to ask for a favor, but she held back. I was tempted to say I¡¯ll take them there, and then, what should I do? ¡°I have to think about things, so shall we go back to the ship?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I sit on the sofa in the salon and think about it while poking Rimu. The advantages and disadvantages of the boat trip with Girasole. The advantage is definitely the boat trip with Girasole, that big-breasted beauty party. In fact, I would pay to have her go with us. The disadvantage is that they might find out about my skills. I guess so. It¡¯s hard to send out a food storage ship, and I don¡¯t want to go along the shore if there are on-site inspections and other hassles. If there are monsters out there, they¡¯ll know about my ability to reject to come aboard¡­ What should I do? ¡°Is Master worried about taking the members of the Girasole with us?¡± ¡°It¡¯s different, Felicia. I don¡¯t know how Master could refuse their request. He wants to take them with us, but he¡¯s also worried about keeping his secret.¡± They see through me completely. But I can¡¯t say no to a beautiful woman like that. It¡¯s something that can¡¯t be helped, right? But yes, in the end, it¡¯s a matter of whether I want my abilities to be known or not. The members of Girasole are good people, and they are beautiful. If I ask them to keep my secret, I think it will be alright. In addition to being beautiful and having big breasts, it would be great to go on a boat trip with them. The Creator God said it, too, right? People like us try to live inconspicuously, but eventually, our desires get the better of us, and we use our abilities. In this case, it should be at a level where we can¡¯t help but be defeated by our desires. I can¡¯t pass up the chance to travel with the beautiful party of my strike. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve made up my mind. We will go to Palermo with the Girasole. Do you mind it, Ines, Felicia?¡± ¡°Ufufu¡­ it¡¯s fine. ¡°I don¡¯t mind either, but what are you going to do about your skills?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to hide anything from them, especially since I¡¯m going to make it a condition that they keep it a secret. I¡¯m letting them on board because I trust them, so any secrets would be detrimental to their trust in me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a wonderful idea, Master.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t mean to say that we should stop hiding things from each other in order to enjoy the cruise together to the fullest? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re not going to do that?¡± ¡°Hahahaha¡­.. no way.¡± ¡°Master?¡± ¡°But let¡¯s talk to Girasole and make plans for tomorrow.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We¡¯re on a boat trip, and I want to make sure I make full use of my abilities and have a good time on the ship. ¡°But, Master.¡± ¡°Hmm? What?¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be so preoccupied with the Girasole that you leave us alone, should you?¡± ¡°Of course. I will do my best to please Ines, Felicia, and everyone from Girasole.¡± ¡°Ufufu, Felicia, our Master has revealed his true nature.¡± ¡°Yes, indeed.¡± ¡°Eh? Ah, no, no, no. I was just expressing my desire to do my best for a pleasant cruise.¡± ¡°Ufufu, Master, you haven¡¯t changed much, have you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Master. Felicia will serve whatever Master wants to the best of my ability.¡± ¡°Eeh? Yes, thank you?¡± It¡¯s not good. When I thought that I couldn¡¯t let my desires get the better of me, it seemed my desires were leaking out. If I don¡¯t at least try to mend the surface, I¡¯ll just be a pervert. Since there was still time before dinner, I thought I¡¯d better think about a fun boat trip plan, or else I¡¯d be exposed if I talked too much. ¡°Can I please have a cup of tea since I¡¯ll be thinking about it a little longer?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Oh, thanks, Rimu, you¡¯ve helped me organize my thoughts.¡± I give a piece of fruit to Rimu, who is twitching in my arms, and then let him go. ¡°Rimu, great? This, like.¡± ¡°Rimu is so great; I¡¯ll give you another fruit too.¡± Rimu is happy and shaking with joy, hah¡­ It comforts me¡­ After getting a cup of tea, I continue to think about it. What can we do to have fun on the ship? The template would be pudding, but can I get the ingredients? Do we have sugar, eggs, and milk? And vanilla extract? Well, there¡¯s nothing that can¡¯t be done with vanilla extract, but if I can get milk, I¡¯ll make it. What else is there to do? It¡¯s like planning a date. But I want us to have fun and get to know each other better. Is there anything else? Right, I¡¯ll ask Donnino-san to make a reversi and jenga game, which is a simple game, but I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll enjoy it. The rest is¡­ Hmmm, I can¡¯t think of anything. Maybe a new ship? Let¡¯s look at the ship purchase screen. Hmm, a luxury liner is obviously not possible, or a ferry, come to think of it. I¡¯ve seen luxury liners, but I haven¡¯t looked at ferries in detail¡­ Here, this is¡­ I didn¡¯t know ferries were like this. I¡¯ve never been on one before. I think this is enough already. I should have negotiated with Ines about the ferry; I want a ferry. ¡°Master? What¡¯s wrong? You¡¯re acting weird.¡± I was writhing in greed and regret, and Ines barged in on me. ¡°Oh, Ines and Felicia, I was looking at the ship purchase screen and found the ship I wanted, and now I¡¯m in trouble.¡± ¡°Why would you be in trouble? What kind of ship is it?¡± ¡°Here it is.¡± ¡°Oh? A big boat, a ferry? I¡¯m curious about this restaurant with all these delicious-looking things.¡± ¡°I¡¯m interested in this bathhouse with a view. The large bath looks very comfortable, Master.¡± ¡°Yes, there are also cup noodles, ice cream, alcohol vending machines, juice vending machines, concession stand, mini-theater, DVD rental, game corner, and many other things I want on this ship.¡± ¡°Ufufufu, there¡¯s a lot of stuff I don¡¯t understand. Is it fun?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen Master so obsessed with anything but women.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s full of very fun stuff and food that I miss. ¡­Felicia, am I that easy to understand?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I-I see.¡± ¡°How is this different from a luxury liner?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t really want to let it slide, huh, Ines?¡± ¡°Ufufu, yeah, right. You¡¯re so easy to understand. So, what¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°W-well¡­ I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m getting it right, but a ferry is a boat that you can take for a trip or just to get around and have some fun. A luxury cruise ship is a luxurious ship for the rich, with the best food and the best entertainment.¡± ¡°Ara, is there a difference between a luxury cruise ship for the rich and a luxury cruise ship for ordinary people, huh?¡± ¡°Is it? Well, for ordinary people, there are a lot of things on the ferry that stimulate their greed.¡± ¡°They both look like fun. But if you want it, why don¡¯t you buy it?¡± ¡°Yes, I have 27 gold coins, 41 silver coins, 50 copper coins with me right now, 76 platinum coins and 50 gold coins in my guild account, 30 platinum coins in my savings boat, and 495 boats full of pepper, and I¡¯m having trouble finding a place where I can buy one if I spend all the platinum coins I have. If I can¡¯t buy them, then I can just give up¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s very expensive, but it¡¯s nice to have fun on a regular ship before having fun on a luxury cruise ship. I¡¯d be less impressed if it were the other way around. How about you, Felicia?¡± ¡°Yes, Ines is right. It seems a shame to start with the luxurious ones first.¡± ¡°That being said, I can¡¯t do it with Ines without buying a luxury liner. I don¡¯t want it to take even longer.¡± ¡°Ufufufu, you¡¯re being honest about your desires today, Master. I¡¯m glad you want me so much that you are worried about giving up something you love so much, hmm.¡± ¡°Yes, it will be a long time before the migration is complete for me too, and I see that you are patient too, Master.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry, I said something embarrassing. Please forget it.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you were honest, Master.¡± I¡¯m exposing myself to the fullest extent today. I wanted to be at least a little bit of a perverted master, but I didn¡¯t realize that they already thought I was a very perverted master¡­ Volume 3 - CH 16 Chapter 16 ¨C A New Ship and a Cunning Scheme As I was stunned that I had been exposed to more perverted behavior than I thought, Ines came over and spoke to me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even though Master is very perverted, Felicia and I are fine, so don¡¯t worry about it. Right, Felicia?¡± ¡°Yes, Master is the benefactor of my village. No matter who you are, I will serve you to the best of my ability, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Stop, don¡¯t gouge my heart with words of comfort¡­ ¡°Ines, Master has stopped moving. Did I do something wrong?¡± ¡°I think you chose the wrong word.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master.¡± ¡°Rimu, Wataru, love.¡± Rimu¡¯s gentle words heal my devastated heart. It¡¯s as if my heart has been cleansed of its stain, as expected of Holy Slime. ¡°Thank you, I love you too, Rimu.¡± ¡°Rimu, happy.¡± ¡°So, Master, what about the ferry?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, what should I do?¡± ¡°Well, if you can¡¯t decide, why don¡¯t you put it on hold? We have to unload all the platinum coins to buy it, and if we are going to sail with the Girasole people, wouldn¡¯t it be better to go on a smaller ship?¡± It was true that we could spend more time together on this ship than on the larger ferry. It¡¯s great¡­ to be on a ship with beautiful, big-breasted Onee-sans everywhere you look. ¡°Ines, please don¡¯t provoke my exact desires.¡± ¡°Ara, I¡¯m sorry. But as I thought, Master is an otherworlder, right?¡± ¡°Eh? How did you know?¡± ¡°So that¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it? Master.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, but¡­ how did Ines know, even though I kept it a secret from you?¡± ¡°You kept it from me? I knew you were from another world, but it was the ferry that convinced me. I would know if you said there was a lot of stuff you missed that was from another world that I had never seen or heard of.¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right. When we signed the slave contract, I mentioned otherworldly food, and Ines, Felicia, do not tell anyone that I am from another world. This is an order.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°But it was so obvious; I thought you weren¡¯t trying to hide it.¡± ¡°No, I was hiding it¡­ Well, I thought it would be okay to tell Ines and Felicia. I heard that if people find out you¡¯re from another world, they¡¯ll hurt you badly, so be very careful with others.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that, too. They target you because of your valuable knowledge. Master, I¡¯m telling you, just because a woman is beautiful doesn¡¯t mean you should share your secrets with others so easily, okay?¡± ¡°I know, and I¡¯ll be careful. But Felicia, why do you limit it to beautiful women only?¡± ¡°Because the next people Master is likely to talk to will be Camille-san and the members of Girasole.¡± ¡°¡­Yes, I¡¯ll be careful.¡± There is no longer a dependable and cool Master line; I was completely exposed¡­ But if I am not very careful, I will be in trouble if the royalty and nobility find out something about me. ¡­If I keep talking like this, their impression of me is going to get worse and worse. Let¡¯s change the subject, why did we start talking about this¡­? Ah, it¡¯s because of the ferry¡­ I was looking for a good ship for the boat trip with Girasole, wasn¡¯t I? ¡°I¡¯ll hold off on the ferry this time; I¡¯ll look for a few more ships. You two are free to go now.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Whew, I was able to end the conversation for the time being. Let¡¯s put the ferry on hold and look for another ship. ¡°Master, would you like another cup of tea?¡± ¡°I will. Thank you, Felicia.¡± I sip my tea and leisurely look at the screen. ¡­What¡¯s this¡­ What¡¯s this¡­ T-this is so cool. This is totally cool. What should I do? What should I do now that I¡¯ve found this? I want it¡­ I want this ship. The price is four platinum coins¡­ It¡¯s expensive, but it¡¯s still affordable. If it¡¯s four platinum coins, I can get it back if I do my best at peddling¡­ Hmm, what should I do? Buy it? But is this a ship? It doesn¡¯t have an engine, and normally it would have to be towed. If it floats on the water, why is it put in the ship section? But it also says it¡¯s an island¡­ We go on the Luto during the day and this ship at night¡­ No, this ship is great during the day as well. ¡­To enjoy it during holidays or breaks? Suppose I could spend time with Ines and Felicia on this ship, ah, Rimu too. My mind is running wild in an erotic direction. I can¡¯t believe I forgot about Rimu. Let¡¯s think calmly. ¡­I don¡¯t think there will be any problem getting to Palermo even if we just go on the Luto. I¡¯d rather be on a smaller ship, and with Ines, Felicia, and the Girasole, I think that would be a good idea. But¡­ this ship has a Jacuzzi on the sun deck that could fit 4-5 people comfortably. For example, if everyone buys swimsuits, I might have a chance to get in the Jacuzzi with them. I can certainly go in the Jacuzzi with Ines and Felicia. Besides, if there is a chance of getting into the Jacuzzi with Girasole¡­ I should buy it. Four platinum coins is a lot of money, but not only a Jacuzzi but also a gorgeous cruise with beautiful women on a luxurious ship¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve made up my mind; I¡¯m buying. I¡¯ll definitely buy it!¡± ¡°Master, what¡¯s the matter? Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Wataru?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡­Ines, Felicia, and Rimu are looking at me worriedly. Ah, I got so excited. I guess I stood up and shouted out loud¡­ It¡¯s embarrassing. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. I found a really nice ship, and I guess I got over excited. I¡¯m sorry for disturbing you.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, as long as there¡¯s no problem.¡± ¡°Wataru.¡± ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t mean to startle you either, Rimu. Sorry, it¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡± Rimu jumped up and settled on top of my head. ¡°Are you going to stay with me?¡± ¡°With you.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you, Rimu.¡± Yes, Rimu is cute; I mustn¡¯t startle him. ¡°But what is it about a ship that gets the Master so excited? Well, you said you¡¯re buying it, and it¡¯s not a luxury liner or a ferry, right?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s this ship¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s it about? Master.¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s selfish of me, but I decided to buy this ship. I wanted to surprise you with the ship I bought instead of showing it to you on the screen.¡± ¡°Ufufu, there is nothing selfish in buying something that Master wants to buy. But you must be very confident with what you bought, right?¡± ¡°Yes, this ship is amazing. I¡¯ll show you tomorrow, so look forward to it.¡± ¡°Ufufu. Okay. I¡¯m really looking forward to it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it, too, Master.¡± ¡°Rimu, looking forward to it, too.¡± ¡°You can count on me.¡± Both Ines and Felicia look excited and happy. Rimu is also bouncing on my head. Normally, I would be scared of the hurdles, but with this ship, things are going to be fine. I was taken aback just by looking at it on the screen. ¡°I¡¯ve got some things I want to be made and some things I want to buy, so I want to go shopping and visit Donnino-san. Is that okay?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I¡¯ll have Donnino-san make me a reversi and a Jenga, and then I¡¯ll buy a swimsuit. Well, I can¡¯t be in the Jacuzzi tomorrow without a swimsuit. I¡¯m excited. Huh? Do they sell swimsuits here?¡± ¡°Ah, you two, do you know where I can buy a swimsuit?¡± ¡°A swimsuit? I don¡¯t know anything about swimsuits themselves. Do you know about it, Ines?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know either. What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s something you wear in the water.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Why do you need clothes to go in the water in the first place?¡± Oh, well, in this world inhabited by monsters, there is no such thing as a pastime as swimming in the water¡­ What should I do? I can¡¯t believe there are no swimsuits¡­ If I teach them swimsuits, I feel like they¡¯ll evolve and develop bras¡­ I have to stop them from doing that. ¡°Um, Master?¡± ¡°Wait a minute, let me think.¡± Let¡¯s see, as long as it¡¯s not in the shape of a bra and hides the breasts; it¡¯s all good. I¡¯ll have them make a hot water suit, even though it will reduce the exposure. The less exposure there is, the more likely it is that we will be able to get in together. It should be like a jinbei. This way, they won¡¯t develop a bra. Let¡¯s go to a clothing store and talk about it. [T/n: A jinbei is a traditional set of Japanese clothing worn by men, women, and children during summer. Consisting of a side-tying, tube-sleeved kimono-style top and a pair of trousers, jinbei were originally menswear only, though in recent years, women¡¯s jinbei have become popular. ¡°Very well, I would like to consult with a clothing store, so please take me to the store where Ines and Felicia bought your clothes. Oh, let¡¯s stop by Donnino-san¡¯s place first.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Oh, I was going to ask him to build me a cabin boat, but I don¡¯t think I need it if I buy a new ship. And I was thinking of building one because, with the Luto, there¡¯s no place for all of us to sleep if I include Girasole. ¡­Oh, but there will be an encampment in Palermo for at least two days, so I¡¯ll have a hut boat built as well. I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t be wasted even if I have one. ¡°Wait a minute, hut boat. Let¡¯s get the ropes off. I¡¯ll take this with me.¡± I removed the hut and headed for Donnino-san¡¯s place with the help of Ines and Felicia. I¡¯ll buy the ship at night, and I¡¯ll do the proper preparations to enjoy myself to the fullest. I walk along, suppressing my inner excitement. ¡°Hello, Donnino-san!¡± ¡°Oh, Wataru, the liquor you brought me was delicious. Do you have any more?¡± ¡°Have you drunk it already? I have some, but I need to order something, so I¡¯ll bring it to you when it¡¯s ready.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m all for a rewarding job. What will you make?¡± ¡°I want you to make one just like this one. All boarded up and beautiful.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that old piece of junk? Is it garbage?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a hut, but I didn¡¯t have enough money at the time, so I had it made out of scrap wood. Now that I have some money, I thought I would ask you to make me two beautiful ones this time.¡± ¡°Hmm, simple construction; if it¡¯s boarded up, what about the door part?¡± ¡°Oh, a sliding door, please.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s an easy job, it won¡¯t take much time, and I¡¯ll build it.¡± ¡°Also, this is not something I would ask a shipwright to do, but I would like you to carve a groove in this 8 x 8 square board. And 64 round boards, a little smaller than the squares, with the front and back painted black and white. And I want 54 pieces of wood about this size, neatly filed. I want them to be about the same size but filed slightly differently, so you won¡¯t notice the difference in size.¡± ¡°It¡¯s certainly not the work of a shipwright. Well, it¡¯s a bit of work, but the whole thing could be done in three days. But what¡¯s this for?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a toy. When I come to pick up the finished product, I will bring a bottle of booze and a note with the rules. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Toys? Well, alright, I¡¯ll do it all for 61 silver coins. Don¡¯t forget the booze, okay?¡± ¡°Yes, 61 silver coins. I¡¯ll be back in three days with the booze as well. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± One preparation for an enjoyable boat trip is done. Now for the all-important hot water suit. Depending on how well I do, I may or may not be able to join Girasole in the Jacuzzi. I have to find the right place that will give it a little exposure but still be acceptable. ¡°Next stop, the clothing store.¡± ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll take you there.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ines and Felicia lead me into the clothing store. They have some pretty revealing clothes¡­ I love that skimpy nightgown so much. I wonder if they bought it there. ¡°Welcome. What kind of clothes are you looking for?¡± ¡°Hello. I looked around, and I didn¡¯t see anything that looked like what I was looking for, but if I ask you to create something, would you be able to do it for me?¡± ¡°Yes, we have skilled tailors, so it would be possible, but the price would go up if it were custom-made.¡± Well, there is no reason to hesitate after coming this far, is there? I¡¯ll just have to work hard to earn money. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Understood. Please tell me what you want to order.¡± ¡°First of all, the fabric, since it will be in direct contact with the skin, do you have a fabric that feels good against the skin and is water-resistant?¡± ¡°Well, if it has to be water-resistant, I would prefer a fabric made from spider threads. It is durable and dries quickly even if it gets wet.¡± ¡°Spider thread? Is it spider silk?¡± ¡°No, it is a thread from a spider of a different species and of a lower rank as a monster, so it is considerably less durable than spider silk.¡± I¡¯m glad to hear that. I know I said I wouldn¡¯t hesitate, but I can¡¯t pay gold coins for jinbei. ¡°I see. Can I see it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Hmm, spider thread cloth¡­ It feels pretty good to the touch. I think the thickness of the cloth is too thin. If it is made as it is, it would be too thin to see through. It would be meaningless if people don¡¯t wear it. ¡°The feel is good, but the cloth is too thin. Do you have anything thicker?¡± ¡°Yes, we do. Please wait a moment while I bring it to you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Thank you for your patience. This is almost double the thickness of the previous one.¡± Yes, this one is fine. ¡°Please use this one. The shape I want you to make is¡­¡± It was very hard work. I didn¡¯t remember the shape of a jinbei clearly, so I managed to explain how to make one while holding a piece of cloth against my body. ¡°It is an unusual garment, isn¡¯t it? The process is not complicated and should not take long. The cost will be five silver coins per piece.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you. Please make sure that the men¡¯s clothes are somewhat loose-fitting. The pants should be about the same length as the knees. And these two should be exactly the same size as the measurements you took.¡± ¡°I understand. I think they will be finished by tomorrow evening.¡± ¡°Very well. Please take care of it.¡± Hmm, five silver coins, huh? It¡¯s not too expensive for a custom-made with monster material, but I wonder if I should recommend it to Girasole. Even if I offered to pay for it, I don¡¯t think they would accept it, so it¡¯s¡­ leaving a matter to chance. ¡°Whew, we¡¯re done. Shall we have dinner and go home? I¡¯d like to go to that restaurant that Ines introduced me to that serves great seafood.¡± ¡°Ufufu, it¡¯s been a long time. I¡¯d like to go, too, Master.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Rimu wants to go, too.¡± ¡°Rimu wants to go, too, huh? Since we¡¯re all in agreement, shall we go?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± But now that I¡¯ve improved my tame skill, Rimu has started to join in the conversation. Let¡¯s work harder to improve my tame skill. Back to the ship after dinner, the grilled seafood there is delicious, and the atmosphere of an oyster shack is very satisfying. Back on the Luto, I take my time and have a cup of tea. Whew, alright, let¡¯s buy the new ship. I take out four platinum coins from the savings boat and bring up the purchase screen. Put four platinum coins into the coin slot¡­ What will happen to these platinum coins? If I have a chance to ask some questions to God, I will do so. Okay, I¡¯ll buy it. Fufu, I¡¯m looking forward to tomorrow. It¡¯s really exciting to get a new ship, isn¡¯t it? Let¡¯s take a shower, have some lovey-dovey time, and go to bed. Good night. Volume 3 - CH 17 Chapter 17 ¨C Aiming For The Best Pudding and Planning a Trip to Palermo I wake up with a daily kiss. Then I have breakfast and get ready to head out. I want to check out the new ship, but I also have to answer to Girasole and buy food. Let¡¯s get it all done and enjoy the new ship as much as we can. ¡°It¡¯s too early to go meet Girasole now, isn¡¯t it? Shall we go shopping for food first?¡± ¡°It¡¯s certainly early, but what if the Girasole has left on a request?¡± ¡°Ah, sure, but if they are busy, we can¡¯t discuss it, so let¡¯s stop by the inn and ask the landlady to let them know that we will visit them around 10:00, and if they have a request, to let us know the date and time when they will be back.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I walked to the inn and went inside, and said, ¡°Oh, good morning, Landlady-san. I¡¯d like to ask you to inform the people of Girasole, please?¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. That is fine.¡± ¡°Please tell them that I will visit them today around 10:00 a.m., and if they are not here because of a request, please inform the landlady of the date and time they will be back.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll be back around 10:00.¡± ¡°Yes, I will be waiting for you.¡± ¡°Now is the time for shopping. I want to make something, so I need eggs, milk, and sugar. Do you know where I can find milk?¡± ¡°I have no idea.¡¡¡± ¡°Milk? I¡¯ve never seen it, either. It¡¯s what they make cheese from, right?¡± ¡°There is cheese?¡± ¡°Yes. They sell it with dried meat for preservation.¡± Yes, did I miss it? But I¡¯ve never seen it in a restaurant or anything like that, have I? But I¡¯m glad they have cheese. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it in a restaurant or anything, you know? Why?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s very peculiar and expensive. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll ever see it in a restaurant because they don¡¯t bother to use preserved foods.¡± ¡°I see; I would love to get my hands on some cheese and milk. Let¡¯s go ask Camille-san if we can get some.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I found Camille-san at the merchant guild and talked to her. ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. How are you today?¡± ¡°I need some milk. Do you know where I can get some?¡± ¡°Milk, is it¡­? If that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s a village called Siena, about an hour up the river by magic boat, where they make cheese. You may be able to get it there.¡± ¡°Thank you very much; I will go there.¡± ¡°What do you use the milk for, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°I have something I would like to make. I will show you when I succeed.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll look forward to it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to finish it. You can praise me if it turns out well.¡± ¡°Fufufu, I¡¯m very strict, you know? Please do your best.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Oh, I promised Camille-san to praise me by accident; I have to make the best pudding I can. I leave the merchant guild and buy eggs and sugar. ¡°Ines, Felicia, can we check on the new ship tomorrow? I want cheese and milk, so we¡¯ll go to the village today, but we have a little time before ten o¡¯clock, so let¡¯s go somewhere and have tea.¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting impatient. I can¡¯t wait to see the new ship.¡± ¡°I want to see it too, Master.¡± ¡°Rimu too.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see it too. I want to take time to enjoy the new ship in a well-lit place at first, so today is not enough time. Let¡¯s take our time tomorrow.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I also want to enjoy the new ship as soon as possible, but I¡¯m going to hold off for today so that we can enjoy the new ship. After killing some time, I headed to the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s Inn, ¡°Landlady-san, where is everyone from Girasole?¡± ¡°Oh, Wataru-san, they are waiting in their rooms; I¡¯ll go get them.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Hello, Wataru-san. Please go to our room.¡± ¡°Hello, Alessia-san, thank you.¡± Ohfu, the atmosphere is even more murderous than the last time I was here. Are all the people staying at the inn Girasole fans? ¡°So, Wataru-san, how can I help you today?¡± Alessia-san asked me after we had finished our round of greetings. ¡°Oh, I thought I would take you with me to Palermo as long as you keep my secret.¡± ¡°Really?!!!¡± ¡°Yes, Claretta-san.¡± ¡°I will keep your secret, I promise.¡± ¡°Calm down, Claretta-san. We need to hear what the others have to say.¡± ¡°Eh, yes, that¡¯s right; I¡¯m sorry.¡± The shy dog-eared big-breasted beauty¡­ cute. ¡°Fufufu, Claretta has always wanted to go to the cathedral; it can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, Wataru-san¡¯s secret is not a bad thing, is it?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s alright, Alessia-san. My secret is not about crime.¡± ¡°I see. Then I will keep your secret. What about the rest of you?¡± When Alessia-san asked, all the other members of the team pledged to keep the secret. ¡°So, Wataru-san, how much is the boarding fee?¡± ¡°The boarding fee? Well, I hadn¡¯t thought about it. I didn¡¯t think of it as a job, so I don¡¯t really need it. It would be hard for me to accept money, on the contrary, because it would be like I¡¯m working during the voyage.¡± I didn¡¯t think about it at all, because if anything, I¡¯d rather pay for them myself. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t work that way.¡± ¡°Really? Well, it will take three days from the time we arrive at the port town to the capital, so how about an escort during that time? Wouldn¡¯t an escort of an A-rank adventurer be more than enough?¡± ¡°Is that so? Then we will escort you the whole way?¡± ¡°Then, I would like you to escort me when I go out to do business. The rest of the time, we¡¯ll be sightseeing, so feel free to enjoy yourselves.¡± ¡°Okay, thank you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a pleasure for me too.¡± ¡°So, Wataru-san, when are you planning to leave?¡± ¡°I can leave anytime after the night after tomorrow, so I¡¯ll be fine according to your schedule.¡± ¡°Yes, we were going to go to the island too, but we¡¯re going to cancel that. We have to get ready, so the day after tomorrow would be good for us. Is everyone okay with that?¡± No one seems to have any objections. Oh, I¡¯ll let them know we¡¯ll take care of the food. ¡°Oh, we¡¯ll take care of the food, so it¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°It should take quite a while to get to Palermo; we can¡¯t possibly bother you that much.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that¡¯s right; I¡¯m sorry to cause you concern. One of my secrets is how to preserve food. Since you don¡¯t need preserved food, shall we arrange a time to go shopping together?¡± ¡°Really? Then let¡¯s go shopping together. When would be a good time?¡± ¡°Hmm, I have some things to do tomorrow, so how about the day after tomorrow?¡± I¡¯m just trying to enjoy my new ship, but I have to make sure I check the facilities well before I show Girasole around. It can¡¯t be helped, can it? ¡°Yeah, okay. What time would work for you?¡± ¡°Right, how about the same time as today?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll be ready for you. Thank you for your time.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Ah, as soon as the serious conversation was over, Rimu was taken away from me¡­ Rimu¡¯s charm is melting both Dorothea-san and Marina-san. ¡°Hey, hey, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, Carla-san, may I help you?¡± ¡°If there is no need for preserved food, can we have delicious food every day?¡± She asked with sparkling eyes. Wow, she¡¯s cute¡­ I have to live up to her expectations, don¡¯t I? ¡°Yes, we can cook on the ship, so we can have a delicious meal every day.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so happy.¡± ¡°Ufufu, Carla is not good at preserving food. She likes Wataru-san¡¯s cooking too, so please make her happy.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Ilma likes Wataru-san¡¯s cooking too, right?¡± ¡°Ufufu, yes, I like it.¡± Ilma-san, your way of saying that is very erotic. Thanks for the treat. ¡°Thank you very much. When I get the ingredients in the village we¡¯re going to today; I¡¯ll make something special for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it. What will you make?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, so please wait in anticipation. Please praise me if it turns out well.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll give you lots of praise, so please do your best.¡± Oh, I was able to follow the same pattern as with Camille-san. I had to make the best pudding to get lots of compliments. ¡°Yes, leave it to me.¡± ¡°U-um, Wataru-san, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Eh? What¡¯s wrong, Claretta-san?¡± ¡°Um, I wanted to go to the cathedral so badly that I couldn¡¯t resist, and I¡¯m really sorry that I asked Wataru-san to go.¡± ¡°Oh, there is nothing unreasonable at all. I was originally planning to go to Palermo, and it will be a pleasure to be with the Girasole people. I am very grateful to you, Claretta-san!¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°No, no, we are going to the cathedral, which is your long-cherished dream. Let¡¯s enjoy it to the fullest.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I just said something good, didn¡¯t I? If it¡¯s a bishoujo game, my favorability rating will go up. (Master, your smile is dangerous¡­) (Inez¡­ Is it that dangerous?) (Yes, very.) (Thank you. I¡¯ll be very careful.) According to what Ines told me in a whisper, my smile is dangerous. I have to be careful¡­ especially now it¡¯s the first step for the Jacuzzi. I have to be very careful. ¡°So, everyone, I have some clothes you might want to make to use at one of the ship¡¯s facilities. They cost five silver coins each.¡± ¡°Clothes? What kind of clothes for what facility?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want you to be surprised, so I won¡¯t go into detail, but it has to do with the baths.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s not fair. If you say it¡¯s for the bath, I can¡¯t help but want to make it. What about you girls?¡± Everyone else is on board. That¡¯s kind of heartbreaking; I¡¯m not lying about the bath connection, but the clothes are to increase the chances of me getting in there with them, and I hope they won¡¯t get mad at me. ¡°Wataru-san, where do you think I should make it?¡± ¡°If you have time after this, I can take you there.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have anything planned for today, so I¡¯m counting on you.¡± ¡°I understand. Shall we get going?¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s all go.¡± I put Rimu on my head and headed for the clothing store. I was afraid of the men¡¯s stares as I left the inn with Girasole. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever stay at the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s Inn again. I entered the clothing store. ¡°Welcome. Ara, your order isn¡¯t ready yet.¡± ¡°No, I just wanted to request you the clothes I ordered yesterday for these people.¡± ¡°Well, they¡¯re from Girasole, aren¡¯t they? I¡¯m honored.¡± The clerk is brimming with enthusiasm¡­ the Girasole is awesome. They are happily conversing with each other while taking measurements¡­ I was just smiling and watching them, but they kicked me out. ¡°Master. I thought it was indeed a problem to be smilingly observing a woman¡¯s measurements.¡± ¡°¡­Oh, surely¡­¡± Yes, smilingly observing a woman¡¯s measurements. I¡¯m not sure how much delicacy is in the word. I¡¯ll apologize when the measurements are done. After the measurements were taken and they let me in, I apologized. They laughed and forgave me, but I had to be careful. ¡°It¡¯s a strange outfit, isn¡¯t it? There are many of us, but they said they would work it out by the day after tomorrow, so we¡¯ll be ready to go by the time we leave.¡¡¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse us, we will be waiting for you at the inn the day after tomorrow around 10:00 a.m.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you very much.¡± We parted ways with Girasole and set out for the village of Siena. We¡¯ll get cheese and milk. Volume 3 - CH 18 Chapter 18 ¨C Milk, Cheese, and Pizza We arrived at the village of Siena. After parting with Girasole, we boarded the Luto for an hour and easily arrived at the village of Siena. It was a quiet farming village where cattle herding was thriving, and livestock was lying down inside the wooden fences. Would such a wooden fence be able to withstand the attack of monsters? When I presented my guild card to the village gatekeeper and asked about the milk, he told me to consult the village chief. He said he would give us directions. Can the gatekeeper leave the gate to guide us? ¡°Village chief©`, you have a visitor, a merchant!¡± ¡°I understand, so don¡¯t speak so loud. Nice to meet you; my name is Consalvo, the village chief of Siena Village.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you; my name is Wataru, a merchant. I have come to ask you for some milk. Can you sell it to me?¡± ¡°Milk? We can sell it to you, but it will take time if you have enough to make cheese.¡± ¡°How much would it cost, and how long would it take to fill these two barrels?¡± ¡°This will not take long; how about 50 coppers per barrel?¡± ¡°Yes, please, here¡¯s one silver coin. I also need fresh eggs and some cheese as well.¡± ¡°Cheese and eggs. I¡¯ll have them brought to you. How much do you need?¡± ¡°Well, I would like two large chunks of cheese and all the eggs you can spare, as long as they are fresh.¡± Fresh eggs from the region will make me feel more secure, won¡¯t it? I think I saw on TV that eggs taste better after a little time¡­ but time is a scary thing in this world. ¡°I¡¯ve already wholesale some to the Southern City, so I can sell you¡­ Fifty eggs, if you don¡¯t mind. With the cheese and eggs, that would be six silver coins and 40 copper coins.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± ¡°I will have them prepared for you. Shall I carry them to your ship?¡± ¡°Thank you. If you could bring it to the front of the ship, that would be great.¡± ¡°Alright, now, since you are the first person to purchase milk, may I ask what you will be using it for?¡± ¡°Milk? I have a lot of things I want to make, so I thought I would give it a try. Cottage cheese, fresh cream, butter, and many other things.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of all these things. Are they things that Wataru-san deals with in his business?¡± You make cheese in this village, and you don¡¯t know about it? Is it under a different name? ¡°Fresh cream is the part that floats on the surface of milk after it has been left to stand for a few hours. Butter is also made from fresh cream. Cottage cheese is one of the fresh cheeses, and it tastes best when it¡¯s freshly made.¡± That¡¯s what they explained during the ranch tour, right? I¡¯m sure I¡¯m not wrong¡­ ¡°Can you tell us if there is such a thing if you don¡¯t mind me asking? This village is also convenient because of its proximity to the Southern City, but the only specialty we have is cheese, and we don¡¯t know what¡¯s in store for us.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t mind if I teach you, but I don¡¯t know if it will work, you know?¡± Am I going to help develop a village with the knowledge I gained from visiting a ranch? Isn¡¯t it dangerous? Are they at such a loss that they are asking a merchant they¡¯ve never met before to teach them something? ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter; this village won¡¯t change unless we have a chance to change something. I¡¯m willing to try anything.¡± ¡°Hah¡­ I understand. Do you have fresh cream? I can¡¯t do it if the milk isn¡¯t left for a while, but I have to be back in the Southern City at night, so I don¡¯t have a lot of time.¡± ¡°I have some milk that I squeezed in the morning that I didn¡¯t use up, so as long as it¡¯s ready, I think I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Alright, I will go back to the ship to load up and come back, so please prepare everything. You will need milk, salt, lemons, a colander, a large pot, a water bottle, and a clean fine cloth.¡± Isn¡¯t this getting caught up in the village development? This is a template event¡­ Isn¡¯t it? We returned to the ship and repatriated the goods we bought. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to Master¡¯s second cooking class.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal. The thought of teaching something I don¡¯t even know if it will work makes me sick to my stomach.¡± ¡°Master, if you weren¡¯t sure, shouldn¡¯t you have said no?¡± ¡°That being said, I couldn¡¯t say no to him when he suddenly started talking so much about how he couldn¡¯t see the future of the village and how he had to change.¡± ¡°Ufufu, you¡¯re such a weakling, Master.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± ¡°Ines, you should speak more kindly to him. He is our Master.¡± ¡°N-no, it¡¯s okay, you two, we¡¯ll go back.¡± Back at the chief¡¯s place, the villagers had gathered¡­.. it¡¯s so much pressure¡­.. ¡°Wataru-san, we are ready. Please take care of us.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Please take care of us.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Ugh, I want to go home¡­.. ¡°I understand. First, we will make cottage cheese, which takes a long time.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°First, heat the milk without boiling. Stir slowly to warm it up. When warm, add salt and lemon juice, stir and remove from heat. Let it sit for a while until it cools.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Now we will make the butter during this time. Put the cream taken from the top of the milk and the salt in a water bottle and shake it up and down. Shake it as much as you can until there are solids inside. I don¡¯t know how long you should shake it, but you have to keep shaking it for 5 to 10 minutes, so either you are physically strong or take turns shaking it. So, please try it. Oh, and I heard that the cream will harden more easily if it is cold, so the next time you make it, it would be better to make it early in the morning or when the temperature is cooler.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Everyone is shaking their water bottles incessantly. It¡¯s surprisingly tough¡­ butter and cottage cheese¡­ That¡¯s not enough to sustain a village¡­ I¡¯ll have to think of some main course¡­ Maybe I can make a pizza? We don¡¯t have any dry yeast or anything like that¡­ would a crispy pizza work? Oh, let¡¯s try it with the bread dough they make in the village; it would be a highlight in a village that makes cheese. ¡°Is the response to the water bottle you are shaking changing? If so, open the water bottle, throw out the water inside, and take out the solids. That¡¯s butter; spread it on the bread and eat it.¡± Even the exhausted villagers seemed to be invigorated by the taste. They were all talking about how delicious it was. They brought us some, too, so we tasted it. Yes, it¡¯s delicious. Is it because of the rich cream? It is rich and has a wonderful aroma. I could eat as much bread as I wanted. Ines and Felicia are happy too. ¡°Next is the cottage cheese. Put the cooled milk in a colander on top of another pot, lay a cloth with a fine texture over the colander, and pour the milk into the colander. Let it sit for at least half a day, and when it hardens, it¡¯s complete. You can use it in salads, as an ingredient in sweets, and many other things, so try it out. Please adjust the butter and cottage cheese to your liking, including the salt.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about another main dish. If you improve this and sell it along the river, it could become a specialty. First, please prepare the bread dough, cheese, tomatoes, garlic, basil, onions, chilly peppers, and olive oil.¡± Everyone is very motivated. As soon as they heard what was going on, they ran to gather the ingredients. ¡°When you are ready, the first thing you need to do is make the tomato sauce. Boil the tomatoes, peel them and chop the garlic, basil, and onion. Put olive oil, chilly pepper, and garlic in a frying pan and heat through. Throw in the chopped basil and onion and saute further. Next, mix in the tomatoes, crushing them, and season with salt to taste. It¡¯s more expensive, but it tastes even better if you add white wine and some pepper, understand?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Next, roll out the bread dough thinly, spread it with the tomato sauce you just made, and sprinkle cheese all over it. Sprinkle with torn, dried meat and bake in the bread oven to complete the dish. Can you do the baking for me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± A man ran to the bread oven with the dough. After a while, he came back with a baked pizza. He quickly cut the pizza into pieces and tasted it. It was so well received by the villagers that they were fighting over it. ¡°This food is called pizza. We made a simple one this time, but there were many ingredients, such as sliced tomatoes, potatoes, vegetables, meat, fish, and so on. If you make good pizza, people may start stopping by your village, so please do your best.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Can it be done? I am full of anxiety because I am an amateur cook. I wonder why I ended up in this situation when I came here only to buy some milk. Maybe it¡¯s the protagonist¡¯s trouble constitution. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ve acquired the hero¡¯s constitution by coming to a different world. ¡­Not true. All I did was cook. ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san, it was a delicious dish. If we can sell it to boats along the river, people will come. If it gets to the Southern City, the consumption of cheese will increase, and the village will become more lively. We can¡¯t give you much in return, but we are willing to sell cheese and other products free of charge to you, although there is a limit to how much we can offer.¡± ¡°No, no. If it is free, it will be hard for us to come here. I will be out of the country in a few days, so the next time I will be here will be in a few months. I look forward to seeing how things are going, so good luck. Oh, and the cottage cheese is delicious if mixed with tomatoes and olive oil and seasoned with salt. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡± Waving goodbye to those who saw us off, we headed back to the Southern City. We docked at the harbor and went to the clothing store to pick up our jinbeis.¡± ¡°Excuse me, are my clothes ready?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, yes, they are ready. Thank you for introducing me to Girasole during the day.¡± ¡°No, it just so happens that we need the same clothes, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± It¡¯s amazing how many people thank me just for bringing them to the store. Will they get more customers like the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s Inn? That¡¯s possible. ¡°Still, thank you so much. Here are the items you ordered. Please check it.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s exactly as ordered. That¡¯s good enough. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°No, it was an unusual order, and the craftsman was pleased. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.¡± ¡°Yes, that would be my pleasure, too.¡± After receiving the jinbei, I returned to the Luto and quickly changed into it. ¡°It¡¯s a somewhat unusual outfit, but it suits you well, Master.¡± Yes, if I may say so myself, I think it suits me quite well. The gray jinbei matches well with the rest of the outfit. Is it because of my good old Japanese physique? It¡¯s not because my legs are short¡­ It¡¯s somehow not really a good fit for Ines and Felicia¡­ pure white and brown skin, heaving big breasts, and long slender legs¡­ It doesn¡¯t feel right. I guess the pants shouldn¡¯t have been shortened a bit, either. But I guess it¡¯s okay since these clothes are for the Jacuzzi. ¡°This dress is very comfortable to wear indoors.¡± ¡°Ines is right. It¡¯s easy to put on, and it¡¯s easy to take off after getting wet. But now that you mention it, why do we need these clothes for the bath?¡± ¡°Well, come to think of it, Master, why is that?¡± ¡°Umm, those are clothes for when Girasole is here, and you won¡¯t need them tomorrow. After that, you¡¯ll have to wait until tomorrow.¡± ¡°Ufufu. Alright.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Good, because if you poke too deep into it, you¡¯re going to get ripped off¡­ ¡°Whew, that turned out to be an unexpectedly hard day. I¡¯m tired, so let¡¯s take it easy today.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Master, the pizza was delicious. You must make it again.¡± ¡°I like it too.¡± ¡°And Rimu too, Pizza.¡± ¡°Ines and Felicia learned how to make it, didn¡¯t you? Next time I¡¯d like to eat a pizza homemade by the two of you. Rimu will eat pizza with us then.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°Eat.¡± Everyone seemed to like the pizza. I was a little dissatisfied with the pizza, but if everyone liked it, then good for them. ¡°Tomorrow, we¡¯re going to check out the new ship, so we¡¯ll be out in the open sea after we wake up.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re finally going to see the new ship. I¡¯m so excited.¡± ¡°Master was very enthusiastic about it, so I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Yes, the new ship will exceed your expectations. You can look forward to it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of confidence. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen Master like this before¡­¡± ¡°Are you okay, Master?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I wonder, is it too unusual for me to be so confident that both of them look so anxious¡­ is it weird for me to be so confident? We have a light dinner, shower, have some lovey-dovey time, and go to sleep. Volume 3 - CH 19 Chapter 19 ¨C Hideaway and Jacuzzi Morning. My eyes are popping before my routine today. But I get my routine done and head to the salon for breakfast. ¡°Master, are you so excited about the new ship?¡± ¡°You can tell?¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re moving very fast, even in the morning.¡± She can tell I¡¯ve been excited since morning. I¡¯m embarrassed when I think about it calmly; let¡¯s calm down. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s embarrassing, but I¡¯m looking forward to it. Shall we eat breakfast early and go out to the open sea?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± After a quick breakfast, we sailed out of the Southern City. ¡­If we get this far away from the city, there won¡¯t be any ships that will come to us. Let¡¯s summon it right away. ¡°Okay, everyone, I¡¯ll summon the ship.¡± Ines and Felicia seem to be excited, too, probably because of my annoyingly awesome appeal, and Rimu is twitching his body up and down. But I think I¡¯m going to shock them. Well, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m awesome; it¡¯s that the ship is awesome, so it¡¯s not something to be proud of. Well, since I¡¯m the one who summoned it, it¡¯s okay to brag a little. ¡°Summoning OR*OS.¡± At the same time as my voice, an unprecedentedly large magic circle of light floated on the surface of the sea. I lose my voice as the ship emerges from the magic circle. ¡­I knew this because I had seen it on the screen, but can we call it a ship? If it only floats on the surface of the water, is it okay if I think of it as a ship? The total length of the ship is about 37 meters. A large, 28-meter-wide ship with a futuristic design. What can I say¡­? A building? Was summoned. ¡°Amazing¡­ This is amazing, Master.¡± Ines¡¯s voice brought me back to reality. I looked at her, and she hugged me with a big smile on her face. ¡°Master, I¡¯ve been looking forward to seeing what kind of ship this is, but it¡¯s even better than I imagined. I had no idea such a ship existed. It¡¯s wonderful; it¡¯s so much fun to be Master¡¯s slave.¡± She hugged me tightly and gave me a passionate kiss¡­ I¡¯m glad I bought this ship. Well, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a thing to get her attention, but she¡¯s hooked on a luxury cruise ship at the time of the slave contract, and it¡¯s too late for that. Let¡¯s live happily without worrying about whether it¡¯s a thing or not. ¡°Ara, Rimu-chan, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry I startled you.¡± When Ines moved away, Rimu jumped on Ines¡¯s head. Well, it was sudden, and Rimu was surprised, too. ¡°Rimu, come here.¡± He jumped on top of me, and I held him in my arms and rubbed his head. ¡°Ines already expressed her apology. So please forgive her, okay?¡± ¡°¡­? ¡­It¡¯s fun; it¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°Oh, Rimu wasn¡¯t angry. He was happy too. Ines, Rimu was just excited with you; he wasn¡¯t mad at you.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. That¡¯s great. Come here, Rimu-chan.¡± He jumped on Ines and enjoyed the frolicking. It¡¯s nice, isn¡¯t it? A beautiful woman and a slime? ¡°Um, Master, that¡¯s a magnificent ship.¡± ¡°Thank you, Felicia; you look kind of shy; what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, I just feel like I missed the right moment and wondered if I should give my impressions now.¡± Ah, after all the fuss Ines and Rimu made, it might indeed be a little embarrassing to give her impressions in a normal way. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re impressed, and for now, let¡¯s take a quick tour around the OR*OS and then go inside.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We go around the ship in a circle. The hull is white, but the floor is planked, the first floor is glass except for the white columns, and the second floor is almost entirely wooden with a semi-domed roof. What would happen during a storm, I wonder? Really, it¡¯s more of a house built by a designer than a ship¡­ Hmmm, a spaceship? The building looks vaguely futuristic. I see they also have rubber boats docked there; I wonder if they use rubber boats to get around a bit. If I buy a bunch of these ships, I could have a small maritime city that uses rubber boats to get to and from the city. I dock the Luto on the rear deck and get on board. There are two big sofas, four one-person sofas, and two tables. The aft deck feels much larger than the Luto. ¡°Amazing.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I¡¯m curious about the interior, which I can see through the glass, but I go through the side passageway to the forward deck. Hmm? There are two showers outside too¡­ You can wash after marine sports, huh? Can we do marine sports in another world? It looks like it would be life-threatening. There is a space with four beach chairs on the front. A deck and a staircase separate the two sides of the building, which looks like it might be used in a nobleman¡¯s house or a treasure house, which leads up to the second floor. Up the stairs on the left side is the Jacuzzi I was looking for. ¡°Master. There is a big bath, isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s a big part of the reason I bought this ship. It¡¯s not just a bath, so you can expect it. When we have looked around, we¡¯ll all go in together.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll put the hot water on.¡± Felicia stares at the Jacuzzi with great interest. Felicia loves taking a bath, doesn¡¯t she? I can¡¯t wait to see how she will react when she gets into the Jacuzzi. Next to the Jacuzzi is a large sofa bed? There is also a large sofa bed and an L-shaped sofa at the top of the stairs on the right side. ¡­I think there are too many sofas on this ship. Everywhere you go, there are sofas. There are sofas set up at point points. If you go further back, under the semi-domed roof, there is an L-shaped kitchen? There is a counter with round chairs. Behind it¡­ there is a sofa that can seat about 15 people lightly. Is it possible to have a party here? Let¡¯s not mention the sofa anymore. ¡°We¡¯ve looked around outside most of the time, and I¡¯m going to do the ship disguise.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± It would be a shame to change the sundeck area. Only the part that can be seen from the outside is changed to the image of a medium-sized wooden ship¡­ It seems kind of ugly, but it¡¯s better than not doing it. Let¡¯s also consider the image of a completely wooden ship. Having looked around the second floor, I checked out the interior of the first floor. There is a large space with three doors on each side. Going to the back, there is a space with tables and a bar counter. Each of the six rooms has a large bed, desk, shower, and toilet. The beds are large, so if two people share a room, it is possible for us and Girasole to share a room. That¡¯s enough for Girasole and us. From the first floor down to¡­ the basement? Or underwater? Down to the water level? In a big room¡­ I have no choice but to touch this one. There is a big sofa that looks like a terraced garden. There¡¯s also a big TV. I wondered if we could all get together here and watch a movie. I was hoping we might be able to watch a movie, but no luck. If we could rent DVDs on the ferry, it would be nice to have a movie-viewing party here. ¡°Well, that¡¯s roughly it, but we¡¯ve seen most of it. How was it?¡± ¡°Ufufu, it¡¯s great; the rooms and furniture are classy, the bathroom, the bath, the large living space. I thought it was great even on the Luto, but this is already like a magnificent mansion.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. I almost forgot we¡¯re on the sea.¡± ¡°Rimu, fun!¡± It seems that everyone likes it. I¡¯m so excited to think that I can live in a place like this. Now it¡¯s time for the main attraction, the Jacuzzi. ¡°Then, the next step is the main bath.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We head to the Jacuzzi and take off our clothes¡­ Unlike the Luto, it doesn¡¯t feel like you¡¯re on a ship but more like you¡¯re completely naked in the yard of a house¡­ It¡¯s subtle and slightly embarrassing. I washed my body in hot water briefly and took a dip in the bathtub. ¡°Whew, it feels even better when the bath is spacious. The weather is beautiful; the scenery is beautiful too. It¡¯s great.¡± ¡°Master, I¡¯m troubled if you talk about the scenery while looking at my breasts.¡± ¡°Eh, ah, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Because if there were brown plump and pink protrusions in front of me, I would look at them, right? ¡°What is this thing with so many metal holes in it, Master?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s the great thing about this bath; just wait a minute.¡± I could push the buttons, but it¡¯s faster if I just thought about it. ¡°Kyaa.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Fine bubbles come out of the holes on all sides of the bathtub with great force. These bubbles also come out from the bottom of the bathtub, stimulating the entire body. Mmm¡­ I could see well if the water was clear, but I can¡¯t see well anymore because of the bubbles being spewed out¡­ But the stuff that floats on the surface of the water is great. Oh, and there¡¯s a plump Rimu riding the waves as well. ¡°Rimu, are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I can feel his happy intention. He is moving around in the bathtub. ¡°Feels good, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, I was surprised at first, but the warm water and the fine bubbles are very pleasant.¡± ¡°Yes, and it feels very nice. I can see why Master would want it.¡± Both of them soak in the bath leisurely, meditating and relaxing their whole body. I also relax my whole body. After relaxing for a while, I start the water flow, and Rimu gets very excited. He is going around and around in the bath. Rimu takes a rest between their breasts by accident, and it¡¯s adorable. And it is a sight to behold. ¡°Phew, come to think of it, what should we name this ship?¡± ¡°Name¡­ come to think of it, this is a ship, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I almost forgot it¡¯s a ship, but it is really a ship.¡± We all tried to think of a name, but we couldn¡¯t come up with a good one. I suggested that since it¡¯s an Or*os, how about the Orr or the Sos, but it was rejected¡­ Any ideas? I think about it while rubbing Rimu that came flowing at me. From now on, every time I buy a ship, will I have to think of a name for it? That¡¯s tough; I don¡¯t see any series naming a boat after a car. You don¡¯t name it after an animal as well¡­ Hmm, I don¡¯t know. Let¡¯s keep it simple. It¡¯s like a hideout, so let¡¯s make it English and call it Hideaway. ¡°It¡¯s decided. We¡¯ll go with the Hideaway.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it sounds bad. What does it mean?¡± ¡°It means a hiding place. It fits, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Fufu¡­ that¡¯s right. A hiding place¡­ I think it¡¯s perfect.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a ship that only comes out when Master summons it, so I think it¡¯s a good choice.¡± ¡°Finally, the name is settled. Now we can relax.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± After overcoming the difficulties, we enjoy the bath. There is a light that illuminates the hot water, but that¡¯s for the night. Sometimes we rest on the sofa next to the Jacuzzi and have a lovey-dovey time. We enjoy the bath until the evening. Cold juice is good, but I¡¯d love a cold beer. I¡¯m craving the ferry more and more. ¡°Master, so this is why you made these clothes.¡± ¡°Yes, as you can imagine, the Girasole people wouldn¡¯t let me come in here completely naked. It would be awkward if I were to go in there completely naked. It would be fun for everyone if we wore the clothes, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yeah, it would be fun, but if you look at those people the way they look at us, they¡¯re not going to like you.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll endure it somehow. If it gets too blatant, let me know.¡± I was only thinking about how to get in with them, but I wasn¡¯t thinking about what happens after we get in¡­ I have to be careful, or I won¡¯t be able to recover if they hate me for that reason. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± After soaking in hot water to the point of blistering the skin, we went to the sundeck for a little luxury and enjoyed a seafood barbecue. I want soy sauce. After a delicious meal, we get into our new room, have a good lovey-dovey time, and go to sleep. Good night. ¡°Morning, hmm? Where am I? ¡°Nnchu.¡± In a daze, my morning routine has begun. Oh, here we are on the Hideaway. ¡°Good morning, you two.¡± ¡°¡±Good morning.¡±¡± After finishing breakfast¡­ there¡¯s still a lot of time before the appointment. ¡°Hey, you two, we¡¯ve still got some time; why don¡¯t we take a morning bath and head back to the Southern City?¡± ¡°That sounds good. Let¡¯s go in.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Rimu too.¡± When a ship has a bath, I can clean it and fill it with hot water just by thinking about it. It¡¯s convenient, isn¡¯t it? Jacuzzi in the morning, beautiful women on both sides, and Rimu¡­ a composition that looks like it could be in some erotic magazine, though Rimu probably isn¡¯t there. But it was so much fun. ¡°Whew, that felt good. A morning bath is good, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, from now on, I can take a bath if Master thinks of it, right?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very convenient.¡± But I also liked the three of us in the small shower room of the Luto¡­ Well, the Hideaway is not available every time, and there are plenty of opportunities. ¡°Then it¡¯s time for us to head back to the Southern City.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Oh¡­ a Kraken is clinging to it¡­ Ines, Felicia, please.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± The two easily defeat the Kraken. Then I summoned the Luto, got on board, and repatriated the Hideaway. We arrive at the Southern City without any problems and head to the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s Inn. ¡°Good morning, everyone.¡± I greet Girasole, who is waiting for me in front of the inn¡­ I wish they would have waited for me in their room. People are gathering to see Girasole. It¡¯s scary to call out to them since that would make me stand out too much. Just calling out to the Girasole is enough to make them want to kill me. ¡°Are we all going food shopping together?¡± ¡°No, Claretta and Carla will go with you to the market, and we¡¯ll pick up the other supplies and sundries.¡± ¡°I understand. Shall we go then? Claretta-san, Carla-san.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We parted ways with the other members of Girasole and headed off to buy food with Claretta-san and Carla-san. ¡°Hey, hey, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°What is it? Carla-san.¡± ¡°Did you get the ingredients you need to make your special dish?¡± ¡°Yes, I bought them the day before yesterday. I will make it during the voyage, so please look forward to it.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± Hmm, a tall, bear-eared, big-breasted beauty who is a gourmand character¡­ as long as she¡¯s cute, I guess that¡¯s okay, right? ¡°Fufu, Carla has been looking forward to it since the day before yesterday. Please do your best for her, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll have to do my best.¡± While chatting, we continued to buy foodstuffs. Ten people worth of food for 20 days is quite a large amount. We bought various kinds of meat, poultry bones, vegetables, bread, eggs, salt, sugar, and a lot of other things. ¡°Wataru-san, even though we are on a boat, is it safe to buy so much food? Do you think we¡¯ll be able to eat all the meat before it spoils?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, Claretta-san, but I don¡¯t think we can carry it all. Shall we rent a cart?¡± ¡°Hmm, if Wataru-san says so, I want to believe you, but I can¡¯t imagine how it will be all right, so I¡¯m worried.¡± ¡°I will show you later when we all get together to the boat, so you will know then. Claretta-san, Carla-san, Ines, Felicia, Rimu, if you want to eat something, I will buy it for you. Please let me know.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Shopping with four beautiful women, I¡¯m glad I came down to a different world. But heyÒ»I was getting jealous stares even when I was with Ines and Felicia. Perhaps it¡¯s because Claretta-san and Carla-san have fans, but let alone jealousy, I have trouble with the killing stares. Well, after I pulled out the cart, they started to look at me like I was carrying luggage. It¡¯s a relief, but it¡¯s annoying. As I continue to shop while thinking, a man stands in front of me¡­ He¡¯s so full of murderous intent, isn¡¯t he¡­? Volume 3 - CH 20 Chapter 20 ¨C The Employee Again and Guided Tour of the Ship A man with murderous intent stands in front of me and shouts loudly¡­ It¡¯s the employee of that inn¡­ Wow, there¡¯s definitely going to be trouble now. It¡¯s a shame play in the middle of a big crowd. Should we leave the cart behind and run away? [T/n: Shame play: The act of satisfying perverted sexual preferences by inciting shame. Typical examples are being subjected to abusive language or being forced to dress up in embarrassing outfits. In some cases, the term ¡°shame play¡± is used to describe the thrill of having a pretty woman curse at you.] ¡­But why? I know we¡¯re physically stronger than him because of the level, but I don¡¯t think we can run away from him. The employee will chase us wherever we go; he is a man who will not give up. ¡°Carla-san, Claretta-san, are you still with that kind of man? Even if he¡¯s a baggage handler, he¡¯s not someone you should have by your side.¡± He¡¯s been dissing me from the very beginning. Not even a baggage handler is allowed to be with them, huh¡­? ¡°Um, you are the employee of the inn, aren¡¯t you? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s your place to say anything to the two of them.¡± ¡°Is that alright? You girls are the A-rank party Girasole. You don¡¯t deserve such a middle-class inn, and the man there is just as much of a pest gathered around you. Please come back to my inn.¡± Eh? Are you ignoring me? Eh? A pest? This is where I should get angry, right? But, you know, people are gathering here, and I¡¯m the one who gets angry and retorts? It¡¯s embarrassing, right? I think it¡¯s better to act calmly and maturely here. ¡°Well, Employee-san, this is a main street, and it is not your place to meddle in the inn¡¯s affairs. Can you please leave without making a scene?¡± ¡°I promise you the best service if you come back. You will have the best room and the best food, and I will be your personal attendant. You are still having difficulties, aren¡¯t you? With my inn, you don¡¯t have to go shopping. Just let me know, and I¡¯ll have it ready for you.¡± He ignored me¡­ that¡¯s right, my words were out of the employee¡¯s earshot. I was about to burst into tears. (Um, Ines, my words are not getting through. What do you think I should do?) (Ufufu, I think you should just shut up and watch.) (But that sounds kind of pathetic.) (Don¡¯t worry, Wataru-san. I¡¯m used to it now, and I¡¯ve already taken countermeasures, so just watch me for a while.) (Eh? Claretta-san, will it be okay?) (Yes, no problem.) (I understand.) Is it okay that the person at the center of the situation is participating in the whispering?¡¡What about the employee? ¡­Oh, he¡¯s acting so pompously. He¡¯s talking loudly about how wonderful he and his inn are without even looking at here. That sounds pleasant. ¡°So, what¡¯s going to happen now?¡± ¡°Yes, I think they will be here soon. Oh, here they are.¡± A group of men is rushing over. Oh, they jumped on the employee¡­ Hmm, the employee¡¯s rampaging wonderfully. After slamming and wrestling, the employee was dragged away¡­ ¡°What is going on?¡± ¡°Yes, those people are employees of the innkeeper. So that guy was sneaking out and causing a ruckus, and they¡¯re that guy¡¯s retrievers.¡± ¡°How did they get here so fast?¡± ¡°Yes, the inn is a long-established business, and there are many people around here who know the innkeeper. When someone finds that employee, they will let the owner know.¡± Is this the same pattern every time? My talking to him was a complete waste of time, wasn¡¯t it¡­? ¡°I see¡­ Shall we continue shopping?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After finishing the shopping, we returned to the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s Inn. I¡¯m feeling pretty tired. The other members of Girasole had already returned, so I led them to the ship. ¡°Please come on in.¡± I gave them permission to board the ship and let them all in. The members of Girasole are very curious. ¡°Please sit down and wait while I prepare some tea.¡± I ask the six of them to sit on the sofa and stools in the salon. ¡°Here you go.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, this is a very different kind of magic ship, isn¡¯t it? The outside of the ship looks a little bit like a strange magic ship, but the inside is beautiful; I don¡¯t know how to describe it, but it¡¯s just amazing.¡± ¡°Thank you, Alessia-san, and now, I¡¯ll tell you my secret.¡± ¡°Eh? Oh, yes, you are going to tell us the secret of the ship, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s more my secret than the ship¡¯s, but it¡¯s easier to understand if you look at it, isn¡¯t it? You¡¯ll have to watch and see. Ship summoning.¡± A magic circle appears inside the ship, and a rubber boat emerges. ¡°This is my unique skill, ship summoning. This ship is also summoned by my skill.¡± ¡°U-unique skill¡­? It should be a secret, right?¡± The people of Girasole are also surprised and dumbfounded¡­ and even their dumbfounded faces are beautiful¡­ beautiful women are unfair, aren¡¯t they? ¡°Yes, and we¡¯ll load the food we¡¯ve bought onto this boat I summoned.¡± Ines and Felicia helped me load the food into the boat. Oh, by the way, where¡¯s Rimu? Oh, he¡¯s playing at the sky lounge. ¡°And the ship is repatriated. Now the food in it will be preserved while time is stopped. Hey, it¡¯s going to be okay, isn¡¯t it, Claretta-san?¡± ¡°Y-yes, Wataru-san, I am too surprised to know how to answer, but I understand.¡± ¡°Anyway, we will load all the food into the boat.¡± I summoned two more boats, loaded all the remaining food into them, and repatriated them. ¡°I still have more secrets, but it is hard to explain them here, so I will explain them after we go out on the voyage. It would be troublesome if someone discovered my skills. Please keep it a secret, everyone.¡± ¡°Y-yes, it will certainly cause trouble. Alright, I will keep the secret. Right, everyone.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Okay, let me give you a tour of the ship. First of all, this is the kitchen. If you twist this faucet, water comes out anytime. This is the refrigerator and freezer, where you can chill drinks and food. There is fruit juice in the fridge, so you can drink it whenever you like. And this is the stove. You put a pot on it, and you can cook.¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s kind of cool, but I don¡¯t really know what to do with it.¡± ¡°No problem, you¡¯ll learn as soon as you use it. Ines and Felicia got used to it right away. If you have any questions, please ask as many times as you like. Next, here¡¯s the guest room, which can only accommodate two people.¡± ¡°Oh, Alessia, that¡¯s not fair. Me, too.¡± ¡°Hey, Alessia, Carla, Wataru-san is explaining.¡± ¡°¡±I¡¯m sorry.¡±¡± ¡°Hahaha, well, you¡¯ll have plenty of fun once we sail, so for now, just listen to my explanation.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Here is the restroom. I feel strange explaining it to you, so please ask Ines and Felicia later. Also, if you twist this sink, water will come out.¡± Oh, before I knew it, Rimu was in Dorothea-san¡¯s arms. ¡°This is the owner¡¯s room, the room I usually use.¡± ¡°Wow, what a big bed, and it¡¯s so soft.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s my favorite.¡± ¡°And here is the shower room. This is where we cleanse ourselves. It¡¯s quite comfortable, so you should try it too. I¡¯ll leave it to Ines and Felicia to explain.¡± ¡°Ufufu, you¡¯re cleansing yourself, huh? How did you get so dirty?¡± Ilma-san, please don¡¯t look at me like that. I know what you mean, but it¡¯s a misunderstanding. ¡°W-well, when you¡¯re sailing, the sea breeze makes your body sticky, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll use it often. Now that I have given you the full tour, what do you have to say? Do you have any questions?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What is it, Dorothea-san?¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t know how to use something, I will ask Ines-san and Felicia-san, but could you tell me the rules that I must follow on this ship?¡± ¡°The rules, huh¡­? There are no specific rules. I will explain later that killing is prohibited on the ship. When training, please do not engage in hand-to-hand combat.¡± ¡°I understand. Right, everyone?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Other than that¡­ I can¡¯t think of anything in particular, so I guess it¡¯ll just have to wait until later. ¡°Um, Wataru-san, this is a rather brazen request, but I¡¯d like to sleep with Rimu-chan. Can I ask you for it?¡± Dorothea-san, who is usually so sharp, is looking shy¡­ Okay. ¡°Um, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Eh? Oh, you want to sleep with Rimu?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s fine if Rimu is okay with it; I¡¯ll ask him now.¡± I¡¯m jealous of Rimu. I wonder if there is such a technique as sharing the senses included in the tame skill¡­ ¡°Rimu, next, we are going on a voyage with Onee-san¡¯s from Girasole. At that time, Dorothea-san wants to sleep with Rimu. Do you mind if you sleep with Dorothea-san?¡± ¡°Dorotea? Rimu, like.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Rimu says he likes Dorothea-san. How about sleeping together?¡± ¡°Together?¡± ¡°Yes, you sleep together.¡± ¡°Rimu, Dorothea, sleep together.¡± ¡°Then next time, you and Dorothea-san will sleep together.¡± ¡°Together.¡± ¡°Dorothea-san, Rimu doesn¡¯t mind sleeping with you.¡± ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san. I¡¯m looking forward to sleeping with you next time, Rimu-chan.¡± I wish I could sleep with them, too, though I wouldn¡¯t ask because I¡¯d be a confirmed pervert if I did. Dorothea-san and Rimu are having fun lovey-dovey¡­ I¡¯m so jealous. ¡°Wataru-san, are you sure it¡¯s okay to sail tomorrow?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, Alessia-san, it¡¯s fine. What time do we leave?¡± ¡°Well, is 6 o¡¯clock too early?¡± ¡°It will be fine with me.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll leave at 6 o¡¯clock, please. Well, we¡¯re going to leave now.¡± After seeing off the Girasole members who were leaving, I headed to Donnino-san¡¯s place with a bottle of alcohol and a piece of paper with the toy rules written on it. Oh, by the way, I left my first hut behind, so I have to carry three huts, so I¡¯ll borrow someone from Donnino-san. ¡°Good evening, Donnino-san.¡± ¡°Oh, Wataru, it¡¯s ready. I hope you brought the liquor?¡± ¡°Yes, I brought it with me. These are the rules for the toys.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll try the toy one next time.¡± Oh, no, all he can see now is the booze. The atmosphere is so refreshingly spewing that I should just go home. ¡°Donnino-san, we can¡¯t carry all the toys ourselves, so can you lend us a hand?¡± ¡°Hmm? Yes, take the young guys around here and go on your own.¡± The young craftsmen laughed and carried them to the ship. I felt sorry for them, so I gave them one silver coin. I tied the hut to a big fishing rubber boat. It was an easy job since we had the manpower. Now we have three hut boats, although one of them is shabby. What¡¯s the inside of the new hut boats like? Yeah, they are all boarded up, and I feel more secure. It¡¯s a rubber boat with a soft bottom, so it¡¯ll be comfortable enough with a blanket. Lanterns, a small desk, shelves, etc., will be set up. It¡¯s enough just for sleeping. Next, let¡¯s try out the toys they made for us. ¡°Ines, Felicia, these are Reversi and Jenga. I¡¯ll teach you the rules; now, let¡¯s play.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We start with Jenga, which is simple enough for first-timers to enjoy. Carefully pulling out the stick and placing it on the top, the two of them are so cute that they make a noise every time the stick is about to fall over. Every time it falls over, there are screams and cheers, and the loser asks for one more time. It¡¯s a lot of fun, but I found some serious flaws. It was not a good toy to play with on a boat; it could not be played with while the boat was running or when the waves were big. I wish I had realized this before I made it. Reversi was also a good experience. At first, I could easily beat both of them because they were caught in a lot of flips, but gradually they realized the importance of the corners and edges, and the game became more interesting. To my surprise, Rimu became interested in playing Reversi, so I taught him the rules, and he began to play well with both of them. He was able to move the pawns, place the stuck stones on the board, and turn them over with ease. Even though they were against Rimu, they didn¡¯t want to lose to a slime, so they fought desperately and managed to win a hard-fought victory. It¡¯s not very mature, is it? Rimu also looked sad because he had been losing so many times, so I played a game with him and lost to him. I know it was not a good act, but it was the best way to make Rimu happy. Rimu is too cute, bouncing his body around and making me happy. ¡°Well, we have an early day tomorrow, so let¡¯s have dinner and go to bed.¡± ¡°¡±Eh?¡±¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not a child anymore, so please bear with it. We have a lot of games with Girasole tomorrow, and we can¡¯t afford to oversleep, so we¡¯re done for today.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± From tomorrow, we¡¯ll be with Girasole, so let¡¯s enjoy lovey-dovey today as much as we can. Good night. Hmm¡­ Morning, huh? I finish my daily routine, and my fuzzy head clears up. That¡¯s right¡­ today is the day I¡¯m going on a boat trip with Girasole. I¡¯m going to do my best to get along with them. To be honest, I¡¯m hoping for a lucky slip as well. Okay, I¡¯ll make it a fun boat trip. Volume 3 - CH 21 Chapter 21 ¨C Quiet Talk: The Demands of the Creator God and the Response of the Gods ¡°Hey, God of Light, isn¡¯t Wataru-kun amazing these days?¡± ¡°Yes, although he still doesn¡¯t fight on his own. The dark elf migration, the success of the pepper trade, I see he¡¯s doing a great job.¡± ¡°Right, and it proves that I am right, doesn¡¯t it? The God of War and others need to reflect on what they said about the wrong choice of skills I gave to Wataru-kun. They need to get down on their knees and admit their own lack of discernment in complaining to the Creator God.¡± ¡°Sigh, the God of War and the other gods acknowledge Wataru-kun¡¯s efforts, but they don¡¯t acknowledge the Creator God, do they?¡± ¡°Eh? Why don¡¯t they acknowledge me? I mean, why are we talking about whether or not they acknowledge me? I am the Creator God, the greatest God in this world who created this world. That¡¯s impossible, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Because of the Creator God¡¯s past actions, they have completely lost respect for you. So I think it is possible.¡± ¡°Eh? They have completely lost respect for me, you say? Me, the Creator God, and the God who created them?¡± ¡°Yes, and by the way, so have I.¡± ¡°Eh? Why?¡± ¡°If you ask me why, I can only answer that I can¡¯t find anything to respect.¡± ¡°Hahaha, the God of Light has gotten good at jokes.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, there is no god who does not respect me. But for a moment, I thought I might be in trouble.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone cares about respect for you, do they? But if you disagree, would you like to take a survey?¡± ¡°Not that I care, but¡­ I don¡¯t think I have to do the survey. Because it¡¯s obvious that I am being respected, so there¡¯s no need to do anything unnecessary. I¡¯d rather have the God of War and the others say sorry for making fun of the ship summoning skill. God of Light, go call them.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind calling them over, but are you serious?¡± ¡°Of course, it was the God of War and the others who made the mistake, and they are probably regretting it right now, so let them apologize. It¡¯s very easy, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°¡­That¡¯s what the Creator God said.¡± ¡°God of Light, is the Creator God going insane?¡± ¡°I know exactly what you mean, God of Magic, but I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s sane.¡± ¡°I see¡­ God of War, can you do something to that guy?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I can¡¯t. If I could, I would have done it by now. The bad news is, even among the Creator Gods, he¡¯s so powerful that even all of us are no match for him.¡± ¡°I see¡­ that¡¯s unpleasant.¡± ¡°Well, I admit that the otherworlder is doing his best, but I still don¡¯t think the Creator God made the right choice in his skill set. I have nothing to apologize for.¡± ¡°As a God of Entertainment, I¡¯d expect more from a luxury cruise ship, but I think there were a lot of skills that could have made it more interesting. The only skills that the otherworlder really wanted were clairvoyance and sharing the five senses with slime. It¡¯s a pity that despite being a pervert, the small scale of what he wants makes him feel like a small man.¡± ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped, considering that his skills are suited to being a recluse, but what about the fact that he has only directly defeated horned rabbits and goblins?¡± ¡°Umu, the mere mention of the possibility of civil war in the country he was visiting made him immediately consider withdrawing from the area. Not that I¡¯m asking him to stop the civil war, but he might consider using this as an opportunity to make a name for himself.¡± ¡°Everyone, this is turning into a complaint about Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Not really, God of Light, for it is the Creator God¡¯s skill choices that are causing the dissatisfaction with the behavior of the otherworlder. What¡¯s the point of giving him skills to be a recluse if he¡¯s just too cowardly to do anything about it?¡± ¡°I admit that the otherworlder is acting in his own timid way right now. If the Creator God had given him skills to act with a little more security, there would have been no problem.¡± ¡°Certainly, God of Magic may be right. With the ship summoning and the skills to protect himself on land, he might have been more active, but isn¡¯t it too much of a favor?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. I think I would have given him a stronger and more useful skill than the ship summoning, even after I suppressed the power I gave him. Considering that, I still don¡¯t see any problem with giving him something.¡± ¡°Hmm, but as the Creator God said, I too think that that skill is a great but late bloomer skill. Being able to buy and use things from other worlds is a big advantage, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Umu, I know that. That¡¯s why I said I would wait and see until the luxury liner. But then the Creator God started saying crazy things like apologizing for the current situation. Then we¡¯ll have to judge him by the current status of the otherworlder. That skill has not yet blossomed, and I¡¯m sure the God of Magic is talking from that point of view.¡± ¡°The God of War is right, because the late bloomer type skill is irrelevant at this moment. If we think in terms of power at the present time, wouldn¡¯t the God of Light think that the power he has given him is too little?¡± ¡°I agree with what you say. However, I am sure that Wataru-san will get a luxury cruise ship sooner or later. If we give him power now, we will have given him too much later. I also think it is best to wait and see, but I believe that the Creator God thinks that he has shown the usefulness of the ship summoning enough even now.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what the Creator God thinks. The only achievements of the otherworlder are the pepper trade and the migration of the dark elves. And cooking? There are people who can do that even without unique skills, and I don¡¯t think it proves that the ship summoning is right.¡± ¡°Why is it that it is a late bloomer type in the first place? Up until now, when we give something to someone, it has developed a certain degree of power. That¡¯s why they could manage even in an unfamiliar world. I wonder if it was even necessary to make him run away from the goblins without giving him much of an explanation.¡± ¡°I agree with the God of War and the God of Magic, although I didn¡¯t know it, but it was funny when he escaped from goblins even though he had a barrier that repelled even dragons, so it¡¯s okay. But it¡¯s not like we should apologize to him, is it? Because if we hadn¡¯t complained, the otherworlder might have spent the rest of his life hunting horned rabbits, right? That¡¯s why the Creator God called him here to talk to him, isn¡¯t it? And now he wants us to apologize to him?¡± ¡°Sigh, I understand what you guys are trying to say. I would like to agree with you, but the Creator God can be troublesome when he gets upset. Can you please apologize somehow?¡± ¡°I understand how hard it is for the God of Light, but if we apologize, the Creator God will get carried away. I can¡¯t apologize too carelessly when I think of the look on his face when the otherworlder got a luxury cruise ship from there.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure that if Wataru-san gets a luxury liner and does even better, he¡¯ll be bragging to you all about it.¡± ¡°So, I¡¯m sorry, God of Light, but tell the Creator God that he should be the one to prostrate himself before us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a messenger, but it can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Eh? Why am I the one who has to prostrate myself? You told them about my success, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, they said so¡­.. and by the way, I agree with them.¡± ¡°Even if they didn¡¯t tell me, I would have called Wataru-kun up and talked to him, but they just made a fuss about it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not possible to prove that now, and above all, if you had given him the skills that you did not need to call him, there would not have been a problem. By calling him up and talking to him after they told you, you¡¯re admitting their side of the story. Do you want to prostrate yourself now?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to prostrate myself¡­ Hmm¡­ I¡¯d like to give them the checkmate somehow.¡± ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯ll just have to wait and see. If Wataru-san becomes successful and has a positive impact on the world, I think they will be convinced.¡± ¡°Then will they apologize while prostrating themselves?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not good enough. They were speaking abusively against the Creator God. They should at least prostrate themselves before me. Otherwise, it would be meaningless.¡± ¡°Hmm, even if you say so, it will be difficult to recover from this. I can¡¯t think of anything. Creator God will have to do it on your own. But please don¡¯t break the rules.¡± ¡°Eh, I¡¯m going to do my best myself? You mean you won¡¯t help me, God of Light?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s an order from the Creator God?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything, so I can¡¯t help you even if it¡¯s an order.¡± ¡°I see. Well, let¡¯s hope for the best and see if Wataru-kun succeeds. Maybe after some time, I¡¯ll be able to come up with something good, and if the God of Light comes up with something, please let me know.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s work hard until you think of something.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Volume 4 - CH 1 Chapter 1 ¨C Departure to Palermo and Onboard Guidance On the morning of departure, I prepared myself enthusiastically and got ready for the pickup. ¡°Ufufu, Master, if you push too hard, you¡¯ll draw attention to yourself.¡± ¡°I think the normal Master is better too.¡± ¡°Eh? Can you tell how enthusiastic I am?¡± ¡°Your eyes are so intense.¡± ¡°You¡¯re breathing hard, too.¡± ¡°W-well¡­ it calms me down a little.¡± Boat trip with Girasole¡­ it does take a lot of energy, doesn¡¯t it? ¡­Oh, no, calm down. If I¡¯m all fired up and spinning out of control, I¡¯m going to get turned away. Calm down¡­ calm down¡­ Yes, it takes strength because you have expectations. A dull man and a shining beauty, they are like the moon and the stars. It makes me sad to think about it, but if I don¡¯t realize it, I¡¯ll end up like that employee. I can¡¯t be like that one. ¡°Whew, I¡¯m calm now. Thank you.¡± ¡°You seem to have lost a lot of energy¡­ are you okay?¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m fine. Just a little dose of reality, that¡¯s all.¡± I¡¯m a little depressed, but I¡¯m a hundred times better when I hug Rimu. ¡°Is that right?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s almost time to go, so let¡¯s go outside and wait.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± After a while outside, I heard footsteps approaching. ¡°Good morning, everyone.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Good morning.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get going and get on board.¡± We greet each other individually and give them permission to board the ship. ¡°Is there any problem if we leave as we are?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Then, we will depart.¡± I go up to the flying bridge and let the ship depart¡­ Huh? I can¡¯t use the autopilot because we are going to a new place for the first time¡­ I guess this means I can¡¯t get associated with Girasole too much¡­ I¡¯m losing all my tension at once. Ah, I was soaring so high that I didn¡¯t even notice that. I can hear the happy voices from the salon. I feel lonely¡­ After running the ship for a while, Ines and Felicia came to take turns. I¡¯m glad I taught them how to steer the boat. I¡¯m about to go to the salon when I notice an important problem. ¡°Ah, Ines, if the monsters attack, I¡¯ll explain to Girasole about this ship, so you can¡¯t play the escape game out of the blue. You must come back to report properly.¡± I look at Ines, who lightly looks away as she replies, and think from the bottom of my heart that I¡¯m glad I noticed. They immediately came in to switch after going out to the open sea, and it was definitely a deliberate mistake. They must have been planning to surprise the members of Girasole, a game of escape with the monsters out of the blue. ¡°Felicia, if Ines is about to go out of control, stop her, okay?¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Aside from Ines, Felicia is calm and dependable. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll take care of it if I ask her to. ¡°Then, I¡¯m counting on you.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Ines replies a little dissatisfied; I¡¯m kind of afraid to go back. ¡°Is there anything inconvenient for you all?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very comfortable. Thank you for your efforts in navigating the ship, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Oh, Alessia-san, would you like me to explain the schedule for the trip to Palermo?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± ¡°Well, the ship will run from morning until sunset, except for meals and rest breaks, and we are scheduled to arrive in 17 days, right? We will be traveling on the open sea, not along the continent, as we will be subject to on-site inspections.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, may I have a word?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s alright, Dorothea-san.¡± ¡°The on-site inspection is certainly troublesome, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a risk worth taking to increase the chance of being attacked by monsters by moving through the open seas. You may be harassed, but it won¡¯t kill you, and you may not even have to undergo on-site inspections.¡± ¡°Yes, normally that would be the case, but this ship is surrounded by barriers. There won¡¯t be any damage from monsters, so the on-site inspection is more trouble than it¡¯s worth. The barrier is said to be strong enough to easily repel dragon breath, and the sea serpent¡¯s attacks have been completely ineffective.¡± ¡°Is that so? It¡¯s a unique skill, so it¡¯s possible, but it¡¯s hard to believe.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s true. I can only ask you to trust me until then because I will be able to confirm it when we are actually attacked by the monsters.¡± ¡°Ah, no, you have succeeded in the pepper trade twice, and I do not doubt you. I just can¡¯t imagine it. I am sorry.¡± ¡°No, no, don¡¯t worry about it. In fact, I was also worried about goblin attacks when I didn¡¯t know the effects of it. So I think it will be alright if you confirm it yourself.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much. You are not wearing any protective gear, are you, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Yes, wearing protective gear can be tiring, so it would be good for everyone to remove their protective gear after the check is complete to make it easier. At the very least, you can prove that you have had time to put on your protective gear.¡± ¡°You seem absolutely sure of your security. Have you really ever repelled a dragon breath?¡± ¡°No, but it is guaranteed by someone I trust, so I know I am not mistaken.¡± Since it is guaranteed by the Creator God, it should be fine, right? He had a slightly restless personality, but he is the Creator God, after all. ¡°I¡¯m wondering who guaranteed it. Can you tell me?¡± ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s a secret. If it¡¯s my secret, I can tell you to a certain extent. But in this case, I can¡¯t tell you if it¡¯s okay to talk about it.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯m sorry to ask such an intrusive question.¡± ¡°No, no, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± After talking for a while, Ines came to inform me of a monster attack, the usual gluttony shark. ¡°Everyone, the monsters are here; let¡¯s go outside, and I¡¯ll explain it to you in a real battle.¡± When we went outside, a gluttony shark was about to jump on us with its big mouth open. We¡¯re in a ship, and I¡¯m used to it by now, but if I weren¡¯t in a ship, I¡¯d be cowed. Girasole, being an A-rank adventurer, calmly assesses the situation. I wanted to hear a little scream or a cute voice, but they were instantly prepared to fight. They are beautiful but powerful and honestly scary. ¡°Amazing, a gluttony shark is usually a hopeless opponent when you meet one on a ship, but when it attacks the ship, I don¡¯t even feel the vibrations.¡± ¡°Yes, it repels attacks on the hull without a scratch.¡± ¡°Well, as you can see, it¡¯s a powerful barrier. Even with the sea serpent, the result will be the same as it is now. Then, after Rimu and I hit them with the bow and stone, Ines and Felicia took them down.¡± I ask the two of them to beat it after we hit it with the bow and the stone. ¡°Are we going to beat it? It¡¯s been a long time, and we¡¯re going to experience it sooner or later, so I¡¯d rather play the game now.¡± ¡°Ines, it¡¯s only the first day, and you don¡¯t have to rush so much¡­ I understand. Just wait until I finish explaining.¡± ¡°Ufufufu, okay.¡± Hmm, I¡¯m weak. ¡°And so, the two of them are playing a game of escape when the monsters appear as part of their ship-handling training. There is no danger of the ship being overturned, but it will be shaky, so if the ship starts to maneuver roughly, please assume it is an attack by monsters.¡± ¡°A game of escape?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a game where you have to navigate the ship without running away from the monsters that are chasing you while avoiding contact with the ship¡¯s barrier system.¡± ¡°Why would they do that?¡± ¡°It is embarrassing to say, but it is for training and to pass the time. It¡¯s a long voyage, and we have a lot of time to kill¡­ Well, we¡¯re going to play an escape game now, so you can experience how this ship works.¡± ¡°Yeah, okay, but you¡¯re in a situation where you¡¯re being attacked by a gluttony shark, and you really have a lot of time to spare.¡± ¡°Yes, you can go outside once you get used to it, but just in case, let¡¯s see it from inside the salon this time. Ines, Felicia, go inside and start in a little while.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go inside.¡± We all go inside and sit on the sofa, and the speed of the ship increases. The ship is swaying, and everyone is conversing without a care in the world. Does it look like there is no problem? Felicia enjoys the game of escape to the fullest when she has permission, too. I guess it¡¯s just that she likes to maneuver the ship, after all. ¡°Is everyone okay with the game of escape suddenly starting up like this?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a little startling when you¡¯re not used to it, but this level of swaying is not a problem.¡± Marina-san and Carla-san are enjoying the shaking, and the other members are relaxing, drinking tea and such. As expected of an A-rank party. After a while, Felicia came to call us to say that the monsters were tired. We all went outside, and once again, Rimu and I attacked it, then Ines and Felicia finished it off. I summoned a boat under the monster, took the magic stone, cut the monster into pieces, and then repatriated it. ¡°This is roughly how we deal with the monsters. I think it proved safer, at least for the time being.¡± ¡°Yes. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d end up feeling sorry for the gluttony shark, but I think it¡¯s safe enough. Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± I knew this method was pitiful, even if it was against a monster. I¡¯m glad there are people who sympathize with me. Ines and Felicia are happy to play the game of escape, so I thought I was an anomaly. ¡°No, I¡¯m glad you agree. Well, this is generally how we sail, so please relax and enjoy the voyage. Are there any questions?¡± ¡°May I?¡± ¡°Yes, Alessia-san, what is it?¡± ¡°Is it okay if I go outside if I want to do some exercise?¡± ¡°Yes, you may train outside on the forward and aft decks, but as I said before, please do not engage in any physical contact. If you do anything that could injure anyone on board, you will be thrown out from the ship, so please don¡¯t do that, even in training.¡± ¡°I understand. It¡¯s a really great ship.¡± ¡°Is there anything else?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Yes, Carla-san, what is it?¡± ¡°When will Wataru-san¡¯s special food be ready?¡± ¡°Would you prefer it to be sooner, Carla-san?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She¡¯s got a big smile on her face. Very cute. The pudding is confirmed; what should I make for the main course for dinner? I have milk and butter, and I¡¯d like to have a cream stew. I can make both before dinner, or I can make them now. ¡°Well, let¡¯s make them now, shall we? We can have them for dinner.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯ll help you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m counting on you. Claretta-san.¡± First, I¡¯ll make the pudding, which will take a while to cool, and then the stew. I¡¯ll have them put up with the food from the stalls for lunch. Put sugar and water in a pan and heat until the sugar turns brown. When it¡¯s ready, put it in a ceramic cup and add a little hot water. While the milk is warming, whisk the eggs in a bowl with the sugar, carefully mixing them together. Pour the warmed milk into the bowl and mix thoroughly with the egg mixture. Strain the pudding liquid through a fine-mesh cloth and pour it into the cup with the caramel sauce. Submerge the cup just before boiling water, cover, and heat for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it steep for another 10 minutes, then let it cool and put it in the refrigerator. ¡°Wataru-san, this is an unusual dish, isn¡¯t it? Is it good?¡± ¡°Hmm, it was very popular at the place I was at, so I think it will be fine here as well. Please look forward to it after dinner.¡± ¡°Fufu, I¡¯m really looking forward to it.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t want you to get your hopes up too high, so please be moderate.¡± ¡°Fufu, Wataru-san, please look behind you.¡± When I turned around, I saw Carla-san staring at me with a sparkling face¡­ things are expected of me¡­. but I can¡¯t help it anymore. I wish I had vanilla essence, at least¡­ The expectations are so heavy. Now let¡¯s make a white stew. I ask Claretta-san to peel potatoes, onions, and carrots and cut them into large pieces. Fry the chicken in butter, add the cut vegetables and saute with salt and pepper. Then mix in the flour, cheese, milk, and chicken broth. I wish I had consomm¨¦, but I don¡¯t. Can I substitute it with chicken broth¡­? ¡°Wataru-san, this is the first time I¡¯ve ever made a stew with milk. I¡¯m anxious, but it smells good. Is it safe to expect this one too?¡± ¡°I think it will be fine as long as the milk is acceptable. The rest is done if you cook it slowly over low heat. Thank you for your help, Claretta-san.¡± ¡°No, I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. I¡¯m looking forward to dinner. Oh, by the way, Wataru-san, I asked you before to teach me how to make mayonnaise.¡± ¡°Mayonnaise? I don¡¯t mind teaching you¡­ Oh, wait a minute. It might be dangerous to spread the recipe around.¡± ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°Yes, mayonnaise is easy to make if you know how to make it, although it takes a lot of energy. But the problem is that without the use of purification, you can¡¯t tell from the look of it. Purification isn¡¯t commonly used, is it?¡± ¡°Yes, the church has users, but it is impossible to use purification in everyday cooking¡­ I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll refrain from doing so.¡± ¡°Well, if it is made by the church, it might not be a problem. If the church sells it, you can trust it.¡± ¡°The church?¡± ¡°Yes, the church has priests who can use purification, and they also have an orphanage. It¡¯s hard work, and the orphans may resent you for it, but the priests do the purification, and the orphans do the stirring. If a portion of the proceeds went to the orphans, wouldn¡¯t that make everyone happy?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s a very interesting idea. The mayonnaise would definitely sell, and more people would come to the church. If the orphans can earn an income, they will be able to afford to start their own businesses. If it is successful, how much should they pay you, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need a payment.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the way it works.¡± ¡°Is that so? Then, please donate half of the money paid to me to the church and the other half to the orphanage.¡± It¡¯s a light novel rip-off, and I can make money with pepper. This is where I can get some good feelings from Claretta-san! Making mayonnaise at the orphanage is also a template, right? ¡°Is that okay? Wataru-san is a merchant, but you are a strange one.¡± ¡°Really? Well, it¡¯s not a success story yet, and I might regret it if huge profits are made. If that happens, I would like you to comfort me.¡± ¡°Fufu, I¡¯ll think about it when the time comes.¡± Oof, Claretta-san is a tough one¡­ Volume 4 - CH 2 Chapter 2 ¨C Reversi, Cream Stew, and Pudding I finished my lunch with something from a food stall and sipped a cup of tea leisurely. Tea is good, but I¡¯d like to have a cup of coffee. The ferry had canned coffee for sale, and I really wanted a ferry too¡­ I¡¯m troubled. Ines and Felicia are returned to maneuvering the boat, and Girasole has already taken off their protective gear and is relaxing to their heart¡¯s content. It¡¯s a bold move, isn¡¯t it? And once the protective gear is removed, everyone¡¯s breasts are more apparent¡­ It¡¯s so wonderful. When my heart was pounding secretly, Dorothea-san and Rimu, who were playing with Marina-san, came close to me. ¡°Reverse.¡± ¡°Hmm? Do you want to play reversi, Rimu?¡± ¡°Yes, Reversi.¡± ¡°I see¡­ let¡¯s all play together then.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Everyone, I have a game to play, and I¡¯d like you to join me.¡± ¡°A game?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a simple but profound game. Rimu can play it, too.¡± ¡°Rimu-chan can play it, too? Please teach me.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± Dorothea-san and Marina-san, who had been paying attention to Rimu, immediately took to the game, and while teaching them the rules, they played against each other, with the other members watching from behind. ¡°Can I put it here?¡± ¡°Oh, Marina-san, you can flip it over there, too.¡± ¡°Eh? Oh, it turns over diagonally, too.¡± Since the rules were so simple, both players quickly learned the rules and took turns placing stones on each other. ¡°It seems surprisingly simple. I don¡¯t know how deep it goes.¡± ¡°Alessia, you¡¯re the leader; you have to think this through.¡± ¡°Ilma, what did you find out?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all pretty simple. But there¡¯s still a lot we don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret. You won¡¯t know if you¡¯re right until you try.¡± ¡°Geez, come on, you can¡¯t just tell me and then not tell me.¡± ¡°Ufufu. Sorry, but it¡¯s a secret.¡± I see that both Alessia-san and Ilma-san are interested in this. Carla-san and Claretta-san have also discussed and confirmed the rules, and I think they will like it. The winner of this game was Dorothea-san. Marina-san is staring at the reversi board in frustration. I thought Marina-san didn¡¯t show much emotion, but I guess she hates to lose. ¡°Who would like to play next?¡± ¡°Rimu.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, Rimu wants to play. Can someone please be Rimu¡¯s opponent?¡± ¡°Then I will.¡± ¡°Dorothea, it¡¯s not fair that you play it in a row. I¡¯ll play with Rimu-chan.¡± Alessia-san will be Rimu¡¯s opponent. Rimu learned a lot yesterday. I think he¡¯s going to win¡­ I wonder if she¡¯s going to be okay with pride and all that. Hmm, well, you never know how things will turn out. ¡°Okay, then, Alessia-san, please.¡± ¡°Yeah, okay, I¡¯ll take it easy on you, Rimu-chan.¡± Oh, this is a pattern that Alessia-san will lose. Is this another flag? The game is progressing, and although Alessia-san has many white stones now, Rimu is clearly placing his stones with the latter half of the game in mind. Rimu, you are great, aren¡¯t you? Alessia-san just placed where many stones are turned over. She doesn¡¯t think anything of it¡­ Ilma-san also notices it and looks at Alessia-san with eyes that look at the poor child. ¡°Eh, wait a minute, why are you turning them over so much? Oh, Rimu-chan, hey¡­¡± As expected from the flag, Alessia-san lost¡­ ¡°Is Rimu a genius? That¡¯s amazing; Rimu won; Rimu is so strong.¡± ¡°Rimu genius? Rimu strong?¡± ¡°Yes, Rimu, strong.¡± ¡°Rimu strong.¡± As I was praising Rimu¡¯s victory over Alessia-san, Dorothea-san and Marina-san joined me, and the three of us praised Rimu a lot. The two are in sharp contrast: Alessia-san, who was easily upset in the second half, and Rimu, who is happy with his victory. ¡°No way¡­ I¡­ lost to a slime?¡± Alessia-san is given a pitying look by all the members except Dorothea-san and Marina-san. It¡¯s even more pitiful when she¡¯s so shocked that she doesn¡¯t notice the looks around her¡­ The members of Girasole seem to have decided to leave Alessia-san alone. The remaining members are repeatedly playing against each other. The strongest one is Ilma-san, the second is Dorothea-san, and the rest are side by side. Rimu is also mixed in there, looking happy and excited; I wish I had made at least two more sets. I went up to the flying bridge with a cup of tea to check on Ines and Felicia. ¡°Ines, Felicia, here¡¯s your tea. Shall we take turns now?¡± ¡°Thank you, Master, but we¡¯ll be fine until dinner.¡± Ah, this seems incomplete because the monsters didn¡¯t attack us. They are obviously waiting for the monsters to attack. ¡°Ufufu, Master, it looks like you¡¯re having a lot of fun inside.¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯re having a lot of fun playing reversi. I¡¯m glad it¡¯s going so well.¡± ¡°Reversi is fun, isn¡¯t it? Who is the strongest?¡± ¡°So far, Ilma-san is the strongest. But Rimu is getting stronger and stronger, and Ines and Felicia may not be able to do as well as you did against him yesterday.¡± ¡°That¡¯s scary.¡± ¡°No matter how much I like Rimu-chan, I can¡¯t lose to him.¡± Hmm, seeing Alessia-san¡¯s shock, I was worried about the two of them when they lost to Rimu. But I guess it can¡¯t be helped that they got upset and made Rimu sad. ¡°How do you think it will turn out? The day when the two of you lose to Rimu is an unexpected day¡­ Well, if you get tired, we¡¯ll take turns, so don¡¯t push yourself too hard.¡± I just say it and return to the salon. I hear something behind me, but it¡¯s probably just my imagination. I went back, and now it was Carla-san and Claretta-san playing against each other; both of them didn¡¯t really care about the game. They are having fun playing against each other; it¡¯s so relaxing. While enjoying a leisurely cup of tea, looking at the scene of beautiful women enjoying themselves and making noise¡­ It makes me happy. There was one monster attack, but it was dealt with without any problems. It¡¯s a little early, but I wanted to show the Hideaway while it was still bright, so I decided to stop navigating the ship early today. ¡°Everyone, we are going to anchor early today so that I can show you the ship where we will be resting for the night. I¡¯d like to take you there now. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Is there a separate ship where we can rest for the night? It seems to me that we can rest enough on this ship, though.¡± That¡¯s right. After enjoying life on the Luto, I thought about moving to the Hideaway, but¡­ The Jacuzzi was too much fun. If I can explain things to Girasole before they get used to the boat trip and my abilities and settle in, and if I can nudge them into the Jacuzzi after dark¡­ Might I be able to get in with them? There is also the calculation to do this. If things go well, the boat ride to Palermo should be a pleasant one. I¡¯ll do my best. ¡°Yes, I think Alessia-san is right, this ship will be fine, but I¡¯d rather move to the other one for the night so we can get a good rest.¡± ¡°Even this ship is great, but to have a ship where you can rest more comfortably than this one, Wataru-san, you must be so amazing.¡± ¡°Haha, well, it¡¯s my skill that¡¯s amazing. If that¡¯s not a problem, how about I show you around?¡± ¡°Oh, of course. Should we bring our luggage with us?¡± ¡°Yes, you should bring a change of clothes, the clothes you made in the store I showed you the other day¡­ called jinbei, your weapons¡­ and anything else you might need for the night.¡± ¡°Ok, can you give us some time so we can get ready?¡± ¡°Yes, just give me a call when you¡¯re done getting ready.¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks.¡± Yep, I¡¯m glad I could say that about Jinbei. I¡¯ll be back with more tea until everyone is done getting ready¡­ ¡°Thank you for waiting, Wataru-san.¡± Huh, already? ¡°No, I haven¡¯t been waiting at all. Everyone is getting ready so fast, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Is that so? Well, we¡¯re adventurers, after all.¡± Come to think of it, these people are beautiful, but they¡¯re also terrific adventurers. They are pretty and don¡¯t seem to have anything to do with fighting, but in fact, they are incredibly strong. Their level is scary, isn¡¯t it? ¡°T-then, let¡¯s go to the rear deck.¡± With everyone, we all go outside, and while being watched over, I summon the Hideaway. The members of the Girasole gasp at the large magic circle. ¡°Everyone, this is the Hideaway.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a big ship, isn¡¯t it¡­? This Hideaway? I wonder how great it will be once we get inside.¡± ¡­Huh? The reaction is different from Ines and Felicia. ¡­Oh, the ship was disguised. I know; it looks a bit like a strange mid-size ship on the outside now. Then it wouldn¡¯t surprise anyone¡­ I¡¯d like to start over. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s amazing inside. Let me show you around, and you can all hop aboard.¡± I gave permission to board, and we boarded the Hideaway. After crossing the outside of the disguised ship, Girasole is amazed at the unique design of the ship. ¡°Wataru-san, I think the atmosphere on the outside and inside is too different. May I ask why?¡± ¡°As Alessia-san said, both the Luto and the Hideaway are too conspicuous on the outside, so I¡¯ve changed their exteriors to make them less conspicuous through the power of my skills. I¡¯ll show you the real exterior next time.¡± ¡°I see; thanks for letting me know. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing the real exterior.¡± ¡°You might be surprised; it¡¯s pretty amazing. Well, let me show you the inside.¡± First, I showed them around the sundeck, and as expected, Girasole took a liking to the baths. ¡°Wataru-san, can we go in that bath?¡± ¡°Yes, you can, Alessia-san. It¡¯s a bit special, so I¡¯ll explain it to you after dinner.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± Girasole loved the bath on the island, too. They seem to enjoy looking at the bath. I¡¯m getting nervous. ¡°Next, I will show you inside.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After giving them a tour of the inside, I sat down on the sofa and took a break while drinking a cup of tea. ¡°This is about the general layout. Do you have any questions?¡± ¡°Well, there were some things I didn¡¯t understand, so can I ask you questions when I feel up to it? I¡¯m having trouble wrapping my head around it right now.¡± ¡°Yes, then you can ask me questions whenever you feel like it. Oh, we¡¯ll take two of the rooms, and you can use the other four.¡± ¡°Are you sure we can use four rooms? We can manage with just two rooms, can¡¯t we?¡± As expected, three people per room would be too small¡­ I¡¯m using it with Ines and Felicia, but that¡¯s another story. ¡°Since there¡¯s extra room, it¡¯s not good if you don¡¯t use it, so you can use all four rooms.¡± ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll use them.¡± ¡°Yeah, well, I guess it¡¯s time for dinner.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Carla-san¡¯s reply was quick, and she was already standing up. Guess she was looking forward to dinner. The side of the bar counter looks like a dining room, so we¡¯ll eat there. I move over and lay out the food. ¡°Everyone, we use milk, so if you don¡¯t like it or it doesn¡¯t suit your palate, I¡¯ll give you another dish, so please don¡¯t hesitate to tell me.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Then, itadakimasu.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Itadakimasu.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡± A dish made with milk? It¡¯s my first time.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°I like potatoes; they¡¯re soft and flaky.¡± After listening to everyone¡¯s comments, it seems to have been quite well received. I¡¯m glad it was accepted. Carla-san, who was looking forward to the dish the most¡­Yeah, she is eating wholeheartedly. She seemed to like it. Even though I made it in a big pot, everyone rushed to have another helping, and it was empty in no time. I was so happy. I have some pudding for dessert; can they still eat it? ¡°Everyone, I still have some dessert left. Can you still eat it?¡± They all said no problem. Aren¡¯t they worried about gaining weight or something? Well, with the amount of exercise adventurers get, I guess they can handle this much. I wanted to flip the pudding over and let them enjoy its softness, but I wasn¡¯t sure I could do it right, so I decided to serve it as it was. ¡°This dessert is called pudding. Please try it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s soft and has a very unusual texture. What is this?¡± ¡°I like this sweet sauce with a hint of bitterness.¡± ¡°Eh? What is it?¡± Good, it¡¯s well received. I think it lacks some aroma because of the lack of vanilla essence, but other than that, the taste is satisfying. Next time, I¡¯ll make more, so there will be more leftovers. Oh, Carla-san has finished eating and is looking at the cup with a sad face. There¡¯s no refill, you know. ¡°Carla-san, how was it?¡± ¡°Wataru-san, it was very tasty. Do you have another?¡± I asked her how she liked it, and she returned with a request for a refill¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t have any more. I will make a lot next time, so please be patient.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I made it with the minimal expectation that I would fail, and it backfired. I saw Carla-san still staring at the cup, and she would have been happy if I could have served her more pudding here. That was a mistake. The other members are disappointed when they hear there¡¯s no refill. But Claretta-san knew there was no refill after making it with me, so why was she disappointed, too? ¡°Well, please take a break so we can clean up a bit.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do the cleanup. Wataru-san and the others can take a break.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, Alessia-san. I¡¯m familiar with this kitchen, and we¡¯ll be done faster than you.¡± ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m sorry about all the help you¡¯ve been giving us.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Now, we have a lot of people here, and that¡¯s a problem. I¡¯ll help you.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Oh, really? Then please.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± After everyone has taken their dishes to the kitchen, I, Ines, Felicia, Claretta-san, and Carla-san wash the dishes and clean up afterward. ¡°Thank you very much, both of you.¡± ¡°No, we ate, so it¡¯s only right that we help, right, Carla?¡± ¡°Yes, I can help with the washing up. Also, I¡¯d like some more pudding¡­ lots of them.¡± ¡°Geez, Carla, you can¡¯t expect to be rewarded for helping out.¡± ¡°Because I want pudding.¡± ¡°Ahahahahaha, that¡¯s okay, Claretta-san. I made only a little today because I was afraid I might make a mistake, but next time I will make more so you can have another.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I¡¯ve been thinking for a while that Carla-san may look like a cool beauty, but she¡¯s a foodie character. I didn¡¯t expect that. ¡°Yes, I promise.¡± ¡°Sorry, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Claretta-san. It makes me happy to hear people say it¡¯s delicious and that they want to eat a lot of it.¡± ¡°I understand your feelings, but is this okay for an A-rank adventurer?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine? Even a great person would get tired if they had to worry about such things in their daily life.¡± ¡°Is that so? ¡­I guess that¡¯s what it is all about.¡± Back in the dining room, I finally explained the Jacuzzi¡­ I¡¯m nervous, but if things go well, it will be a mixed bathing experience. Sorry for the bad explanation. Volume 4 - CH 3 Chapter 3 ¨C Dream Bath and Thanks to the Creator God ¡°Everyone, I¡¯m going to explain about the bath, so could you please come and change into your jinbei?¡± ¡°Are we going to change clothes for the bath?¡± ¡°Yes, Alessia-san, those clothes were made for the bath.¡± ¡°Oh, that reminds me, you said it has something to do with the bath. So I shouldn¡¯t wear anything but a jinbei?¡± ¡°Yes, you will get wet, so it is better not to wear anything other than a jinbei. This jinbei is a bathrobe made for the bath.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll change.¡± Okay, let¡¯s go change my clothes, too. I went back to the room and changed into a jinbei. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting, Wataru-san, but you look strangely good in a jinbei. I feel like we are not quite right together.¡± Was it that? Is it the length of their legs? As Alessia-san said, Girasole doesn¡¯t really suit the jinbei in a subtle way¡­ especially Claretta-san¡¯s heaving breasts. But thank goodness, I¡¯m glad they didn¡¯t say, ¡°Why are you changing your clothes too, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Hmm, after all, these clothes were made in my homeland, so that might have something to do with it.¡± ¡°Oh, I thought I had never seen these clothes before, but I guess they are not from this country. Speaking of which, where is Wataru-san¡¯s homeland?¡± ¡°My homeland? It is a distant island country, so I don¡¯t think you all know about it. Then let¡¯s go to the baths.¡± I shouldn¡¯t mention my homeland or anything like that; I can¡¯t explain it. I changed the subject and headed for the bath. ¡°Well, let me explain. As you can see, this bath is located outside. It¡¯s not so much a bath where you go to wash your body, but rather a bath where everyone goes together to enjoy the hot water. It has various functions for enjoyment.¡± After saying that, I entered the bath and touched the control panel. ¡°The various functions of this bath can be operated using this control panel.¡± ¡°Control panel?¡± ¡°Yes, let me try to operate it first.¡± When I pressed a button, bubbles of air came out from everywhere, and the surface of the water was rippling. ¡°What is this? Is everything alright, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, Alessia-san. It¡¯s just that air is coming out of the many holes. You can feel it if you put your hand in. Try it yourself.¡± ¡°O-okay¡­¡± Alessia-san and the others put their hands in hot water with trepidation. I think it¡¯s scary when the water is boiling. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯d be pretty scared too. ¡°It¡¯s true, it¡¯s kind of ticklish, but it feels good. When I get into it, my whole body feels that way¡­¡± Everyone is talking to each other about what they think. I don¡¯t hear any negative comments. ¡°Ara, you¡¯re in there too, Rimu-chan.¡± Eh? When did that happen? Well, there¡¯s no problem, but¡­ you were being held by Dorothea-san just now; you¡¯re so quick, Rimu. ¡°Rimu, does it feel good?¡± ¡°Rimu feels good.¡± ¡°Fufu, Rimu likes taking a bath, doesn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m with Wataru.¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯re together.¡± Rimu strikes through my heart in many places. I¡¯m getting melted by him. ¡°Right. Now, we¡¯re running low on bubbles. You can still make more bubbles. Just try it out.¡± ¡°Oh, hold on, I¡¯d like to try it in this state.¡± ¡°No problem. Shall I get out?¡± I really don¡¯t want to leave, but I have to say it¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t mind. This is a bath for everyone to enjoy, right? That¡¯s what the clothes are for.¡± Oh, I¡¯m glad I made the bathrobe. I didn¡¯t know it would go so well. But what about me, who goes to all this trouble just to take a bath together? I¡¯d like to think that¡­ I¡¯m not just a pervert. It¡¯s the tearful effort of a man who is not popular¡­ ¡°I want you to know the difference, so I¡¯m going to turn off the air.¡± ¡°Yes, then I¡¯m going in. Oh, it¡¯s deeper in the middle. It¡¯s nice to be able to get into a comfortable position. And it¡¯s nice to have a big bath.¡± ¡°Yes, it is, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯ll let the air out.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± When I let out the bubbles again, Alessia-san made a little sexy voice, ¡°Mmm,¡± I was¡­ thrilled. ¡°How do you like it, Alessia-san?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a strange sensation, but I like it. Can I have more air?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± When I increase the amount of air, Alessia-san is deeply immersed in hot water with her eyes closed. She is fully enjoying herself. ¡°Alessia, how is it?¡± ¡°Dorothea, it feels so good.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, may I come in too?¡± ¡°Ufufu, I want to come in too.¡± ¡°Yes, Dorothea-san, Ilma-san, and the rest of you are free to come in.¡± Dorothea-san and Ilma-san also came to take a bath. It¡¯s like a dream. I¡¯m glad I bought the Hideaway¡­ ¡°Fufu, it sure tickles a little, but it feels good. Is Dorothea okay?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine. It feels really good.¡± Yep, both Dorothea-san and Ilma-san seem to be feeling good. But Dorothea-san, before I know it, she¡¯s holding Rimu in her arms. She never wavers, does she? ¡°Next, I¡¯ll make it so that hot water comes out together with the air.¡± ¡°Eh? Hot water?¡± ¡°Yes, it feels good. I¡¯ll start with the weakest one, okay?¡± ¡°Yes, okay. Please do.¡± Both Dorothea-san and Ilma-san seemed to like it, so I pressed the button. ¡°Wow, what¡¯s this? Bubbles and hot water hitting my back, waist, and legs, this is good.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good, isn¡¯t it? How strongly do you want it?¡± ¡°If Dorothea and Ilma are okay with it, I¡¯d like it stronger. How about you two?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with stronger. How about Ilma?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll join too.¡± ¡°Me too¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m joining as well. Oh, the rest of the Girasole members who had been watching came in. It¡¯s a little narrower, and I¡¯m happy to be in touch on both sides with Claretta-san and Marina-san. ¡°Wow, it feels so nice.¡± ¡°Yes, I like this bath.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a strange sensation, but it feels good.¡± Claretta-san, Carla-san, and Marina-san seem to be okay with it. ¡°Then I¡¯m going to make it a little stronger. Is that okay?¡± Everyone seems to like it, so I make it stronger. I hear subtle, sexy voices like ¡°Mmm¡± and ¡°Ahh.¡± I can¡¯t stop my heart from pounding. ¡°Finally, this bath can be lit up with various colors of light.¡± ¡°Light? I don¡¯t mind. What about everyone else?¡± I hear it¡¯s okay, so I turn on the light. This time, I chose blue. ¡°Isn¡¯t it beautiful?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very beautiful.¡± The blue light turns on, and the water in the dimly lit bathtub turns blue as if it has been colored. It is beautiful, but more than that, my eyes are glued to Claretta-san¡¯s G-cups floating in the blue light. The fabric is flattened by the hot water, and the bubbles and water currents make it sway¡­ Thank you, Creator God. (Master, your gaze is so blatant.) (Eh? Ah, thank you, Ines) I was unexpectedly entranced by the sudden sight. Claretta-san seems to be absorbed in the blue light¡­ Was it safe? Was I just missing it? ¡°Whew, the rest of you can enjoy it with another light, bubbles, and the strength of the water current. If you stay in the tub too long, you can get a little dizzy, so you can take a break on the sofa next to the tub, have a cold drink, and then get back into the tub.¡± ¡°I enjoy it very much, Wataru-san. Thank you.¡± ¡°I also enjoy your company, so please don¡¯t mind me. I¡¯m going to take a break. I¡¯ll serve you all juice.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Master, I¡¯ll help you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright since I¡¯m taking a break. Ines and Felicia can take a bath, too, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± I see eight beautiful women in the shining blue bath. I feel like I got the best result today. Now really, I¡¯d like to have a cold beer, but, well, the juice is good too. I summon the food storage ship, take out a glass of juice, and chug it down. ¡°Phew, that¡¯s great!¡± ¡°It looks delicious. Wataru-san, can I have some of that?¡± Alessia-san approached me after getting out of the bathtub. In the dim light, the silhouette of a bathrobe clinging tightly to the skin makes me nervous. ¡°I will distribute them to you now, so you can stay in the bathtub.¡± ¡°No problem, I need a break too.¡± After distributing juice to everyone, we take a break on the sofa. ¡°Wataru-san, this is a very luxurious time, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, it is, Alessia-san. Now let¡¯s go to the grill under that dome and enjoy a day in the hot tub while having a barbecue and playing games.¡± ¡°Fufu, that would be even more luxurious than what we have now.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± We repeatedly soak in the bath and take a rest, chatting as we go. ¡°I think it¡¯s time to call it a day. I have one more game I¡¯d like you to try.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m curious about the game, so let¡¯s go.¡± After leaving the bath, I lightly dried off and returned to the room. I will never forget the sight of these girls under the lights of the ship. ¡°Then, after we change our clothes, shall we gather in the living room?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± They went back to their rooms to change, and we returned to our rooms. ¡°Did you have a good time, Master?¡± ¡°Yes, very much.¡± ¡°Ufufu, that¡¯s good.¡± ¡°But, Master, Ilma-san totally noticed the way you were looking at her.¡± ¡°Yes, and she totally played you.¡± ¡°Yes, indeed. Because Master was acting so suspicious¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s because when Ilma-san was wearing her casual dress or soaking in hot water next to me, she would make strange, sexy noises. I¡¯m curious about that.¡± That bewitching is a crime. I can¡¯t even resist looking at her. ¡°Master, I think it¡¯s time to go to the living room.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that¡¯s right. Shall we go?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I put Rimu on my head, took Jenga, and headed for the living room, where I found a full complement of Girasole in their sleepwear. Thank you for that. Claretta-san, the Girasole No. 1 breast lady, lifted up her sleepwear and asserted that this was as good as it could get. It is the best other world, Creator God, and when I asked you why is it ship summoning? I¡¯m sorry to say, but thank you very much. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting.¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t waited that long; it¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Then let me start explaining the game. It¡¯s very simple.¡± After a brief explanation of Jenga, we started the game. Surrounded by beautiful women with big breasts after taking a hot bath, I enjoyed playing Jenga and reversi and spent a dreamy night¡­ The Jenga game was especially great because of the big breasts of the beautiful women who were fussing when it collapsed. ¡°It¡¯s getting late, and we should probably go to bed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Wataru-san; what time are we leaving tomorrow? We will travel on the Luto, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I think we should have breakfast at 6:00 a.m., then get ready and leave.¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll meet in the dining room at 6:00. Shall we prepare breakfast?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll be in charge of breakfast since it¡¯s easier to summon the ship to serve ready-made food.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true; please take care of it.¡± ¡°Okay, well, we¡¯re going to bed now. Good night.¡± ¡°Oh, Wataru-san, I¡¯d like to sleep with Rimu-chan. Can we do it today?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, Dorothea-san, I¡¯ll ask Rimu.¡± ¡°Please do.¡± ¡°Rimu, Dorothea-san wants to sleep with you, is it okay if Rimu sleeps with her?¡± ¡°Rimu, Dorothea, together.¡± ¡°Rimu said it¡¯s fine if you sleep with him. So, Dorothea-san, please take care of Rimu for me.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s sleep together, Rimu-chan.¡± Dorothea-san gently picked up Rimu and stroked him as she walked into the room. Rimu sleeps with Dorothea-san and Ilma-san. I¡¯m honestly envious. The room assignment at Girasole was divided into 1, 1, 2, and 2, without any particular decision, and they would take turns using a single room. I had planned to sleep after a light lovey-dovey, but it had been a stimulating day, so I ended up having a good and plentiful lovey-dovey. Good night. Volume 4 - CH 4 Chapter 4 ¨C Life on the Hideaway and Rimu¡¯s Victory Morning¡­ huh? After completing my morning routine, I get ready and head out of the room. Well, I was so excited last night that I felt kind of heavy. But Girasole is with us, so I¡¯m going to enjoy myself. When I went to the dining room, all the members of Girasole were already there. ¡°Good morning, everyone. Sorry for the lateness.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Good morning.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± I also greeted Rimu, who was approaching me. ¡°Rimu, good morning. Did you have fun?¡± ¡°Good morning, it was fun.¡± ¡°Dorothea-san, thank you very much for your help with Rimu. Did he cause you any trouble?¡± ¡°No problem, Rimu was a very nice child, and I had a good time with him.¡± ¡°I see. I heard that Rimu also enjoyed it, so thank you very much.¡± I wanted to ask Rimu about his night with Dorothea-san in detail, but I decided not to. I would pass over the perversity. Breakfast, as I said last night, will be ready-made. Claretta-san is going to cook lunch today; I¡¯m looking forward to it. ¡°Well then, we¡¯d better get back to the Luto. Are you ready?¡± ¡°Oh, wait a minute, I left my bathrobe hanging out to dry. Do you think I can leave it like this?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. If it is dry, you can leave it as it is, but if it is damp, it will not dry after repatriation, so it is better to dry it on the Luto.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san. I¡¯ll go check. Can you give me some time?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s alright, Alessia-san.¡± The other Girasole members also went back to their rooms to check. Ours were dry, so I think it will be fine as long as we hang them up when we get back to our rooms. ¡°Thanks for waiting, they were dry.¡± ¡°Well, shall we go?¡± A few moments after we switched to the Luto and departed, a group of monsters attacked us. Those are¡­ the first time I¡¯ve seen them, but what are they? They look like people, but¡­ I can¡¯t figure it out, so I go to the salon to let everyone know, hoping they¡¯re not mermaids. ¡°A group of monsters I¡¯ve never seen before attacking us. Can you please check them out?¡± ¡°¡­Those are merman. They¡¯re monsters that attack ships and eat people. Individually they¡¯re not that strong, but they attack in groups, so they¡¯re hated.¡± ¡°I see, Alessia-san; thank you very much. Can we get any materials from them?¡± ¡°No, only magic stones and the value of their magic stones is low.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯m glad they are not mermaids.¡± ¡°Mermaid? Mermaids don¡¯t look that ugly, you know.¡± ¡°Hahaha, that¡¯s right.¡± Good thing that they are not mermaids. Besides, the fact that they don¡¯t look ugly means that they could also be beautiful. It is possible that they could still be mammals, like dugongs or manatees. But I believe there is a paradise for beautiful mermaids. After all, this is a different world. ¡°Wataru-san, Wataru-san, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Eh? Ah, I¡¯m sorry, Alessia-san, I was just lost in thought. Then, for now, let¡¯s reduce it as much as we can.¡± The merman bounced back when they hit the barriers, but the members of Girasole, Ines, and Felicia were able to clear them away quickly and easily. ¡­My bow was bounced, and I never thought it would not work even against a weak opponent; it¡¯s an attack to gain experience with Rimu. My level has gone up a lot. Why can¡¯t I defeat it? ¡°Whew, that¡¯s a lot of work when there¡¯s so many of them.¡± ¡°Thank you very much for your hard work, everyone.¡± When I was resting after easily eradicating the merman, Marina-san came to talk to me. ¡°Wataru-san, I don¡¯t think that bow will work against sea monsters; why are you using it?¡± ¡°Eh? ¡­I bought it for practice, and just kind of used it as it was. If I may ask, is this bow no good?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I see; that¡¯s what I thought. It¡¯s a beginner¡¯s training bow and arrow, isn¡¯t it? Even if you don¡¯t need to think about it, it¡¯s no good because no matter what level you go up, a loose bow and arrow will never be strengthened, so there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll be able to defeat it no matter how long it takes, it makes sense. ¡°Well, I think I¡¯ll buy a new bow and arrow in the next town.¡± ¡°That would be good.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, I was also looking at him, but I was wondering, doesn¡¯t Rimu-chan use magic to attack?¡± ¡°Ah, Claretta-san, Rimu can only use purification. It seems that he cannot use offensive magic yet.¡± ¡°Is that so? Then, shall I try to show Rimu-chan some of the magic and see if he can use it?¡± ¡°Eh, is that okay? That would be very helpful, but would it cause you any trouble?¡± ¡°Fufufu, it¡¯s fine. Wataru-san was the one who taught me how to cook, so let me return the favor a little.¡± ¡°Thank you. Then, Rimu, Claretta-san is going to teach Rimu some magic; why don¡¯t you try learning magic?¡± ¡°Magic, Rimu, want.¡± ¡°Rimu said he wants to learn magic, too.¡± ¡°I understand. Rimu-chan, I look forward to working with you.¡± I returned to the ship, and Claretta-san was teaching magic to Rimu on the rear deck. The others seem to have returned to the salon, and I occasionally hear them laughing. After a while, Ines and Felicia come to take turns, so I return to the salon with Claretta-san and Rimu, who are going back to prepare lunch. ¡°Claretta-san, is Rimu going to be able to learn some new magic?¡± ¡°Fufu, Rimu-chan has already learned two new spells. Heal and Holy Ball, Rimu-chan is amazing; I¡¯ll find time to teach him again.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, Claretta-san. Thanks a lot for your time.¡± I was curious about the effect of the Holy Ball, so I asked her about its effect. She told me that it removes the miasma of monsters, and although it is not powerful, it surely damages the monsters. ¡°Rimu, you learned magic, that¡¯s great, that¡¯s great, show me later.¡± ¡°Rimu, happy. Rimu likes Claretta.¡± ¡°Claretta-san, Rimu said he¡¯s happy, and he also likes you, thank you very much.¡± ¡°Fufu, Rimu-chan, I¡¯m happy too.¡± The appearance of Claretta-san, smiling and patting Rimu, is divine. We had a delicious lunch prepared by Claretta-san and decided to make a large batch of pudding in the afternoon. Claretta-san and Carla-san are going to help me; I¡¯ll make a lot of them and store them on the ship. Rimu is playing reversi with the rest of the Girasole members. We make a lot of puddings while fighting off the monster attack, and while we¡¯re at it, we also prepare dinner. By the way, Rimu¡¯s Holy Ball damages the monsters but doesn¡¯t knock them down. But it was incredibly cute to see Rimu, who worked hard to send the ball of light flying while twitching his body. For dinner today, we made cheese chicken cutlets with the cheese I had on hand. I cut chicken breast into 1 cm pieces, seasoned them with salt and pepper, and put cheese between them. It would be delicious with some shiso leaves in between, but I didn¡¯t buy any, and I wonder if they sell them. ¡°It¡¯s getting dark, and it¡¯s time to move on to the Hideaway.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± We move to the Hideaway and gather in the dining room for dinner. ¡°This is good too. Fried chicken is good, but cheese chicken cutlet? I like this one too, the crispy batter and the melted cheese coming out from the inside, very tasty, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you liked it, Alessia-san.¡± Everyone else seemed to like it too, and all the extra cheese chicken cutlets I had made were gone. I made quite a few more, but there were none left over. I want to stock the leftover side dishes in the food storage ship¡­ Should I make more next time? What should I do if there are still no leftovers? ¡°Wataru-san, I want some pudding.¡± ¡°Yes, Carla-san, I know; I¡¯ll bring some right now. Do the rest of you want some pudding, too?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± I bring pudding for everyone and distribute it. Everyone is smiling; after all, pudding is great. I think Rimu is also eating it with a bigger portion than usual. ¡°Rimu, do you like pudding?¡± ¡°Rimu, pudding, like.¡± When I was talking with Rimu, I was poked and prodded, and when I turned around, Carla-san was looking at me with expectant eyes. Cute. ¡°This is the last pudding for today.¡± ¡°Too bad, can we have pudding again tomorrow?¡± ¡°Sure, but if you eat that much pudding continuously, you¡¯ll get bored, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No problem.¡± I put out more pudding and distributed it to the other people who wanted more¡­ Eventually, I distributed it to everyone. The pudding was very popular. After the meal was over, we gathered in the living room to drink tea. It¡¯s so relaxing. ¡°Hey, Wataru-san. I understand the bathroom in the room, but how do you use the shower?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. The shower comes down with hot water from above, and you can wash your body. Would you like to use it?¡± I let the shower explanation go by a little to get a mixed bath, but they noticed. I guess I can¡¯t take a bath today. ¡°Sounds interesting. Can we use it?¡± They were interested in it¡­ ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll explain then.¡± All the Girasole members are going to try to use the shower. Too bad¡­ Well, it¡¯s easier to wash your body in the shower because you don¡¯t have to wear a bathrobe. Soaking in the bathtub feels good, and it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to lose my chance, so that¡¯s good. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m up for another bath today. Are you two good?¡± ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡± I changed into a bathrobe and took a leisurely soak in the hot water while playing with Rimu. But I should take a shower as well as a bath in order to wash myself properly. After enjoying the bath, I return to the room. I change into my sleepwear and go to the living room, where I find Girasole all gathered together. They smelled kind of nice. Is it possible for six such beautiful women to smell so nice?¡¡What would happen if they got shampoo, conditioner, and body soap? ¡°Would you all like a cold drink?¡± ¡°Please.¡± I handed out juice to everyone and sat down on the sofa. ¡°Whew, it¡¯s delicious. Wataru-san, the shower feels good too. I like to take a bath to relax, but I also like to take a shower for a quick refreshment.¡± ¡°You are right, Alessia-san; if you just want to wash your body, a shower will be enough. A bath is a good way to warm up slowly and get rid of fatigue, but it takes a lot of time.¡± Let¡¯s mix in a little bit of the good aspects of a bath. ¡°That reminds me, I felt more tired after taking a long bath on the island, too. I was able to get a good night¡¯s sleep.¡± ¡°I guess baths have that effect, too. Well, you can use it according to your mood of the day.¡± ¡°Thank you. I didn¡¯t expect such a comfortable boat trip. Are you sure you only need an escort? It¡¯s more comfortable than a first-class inn.¡± ¡°Haha, well, that¡¯s fine. As I told you before, when I get paid, I tend to put a lot of thought into it, and I¡¯d appreciate it if you took it easy.¡± ¡°Fufu, I understand. But I think we can help you on land, so let me know if you have any requests.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I will ask for your help then.¡± I guess I¡¯m a bad person because I immediately think of something naughty when someone says something like ¡®request.¡¯ I want to be a person who can afford to be, how should I put it? We played reversi and Jenga with Girasole. It¡¯s still a wonderful sight. Rimu jumped on me and told me what he wanted to do. ¡°Rimu, strong.¡± ¡°Hmm? What is strong?¡± ¡°Reversi.¡± Reversi? I looked at the table where they were playing and saw that Ines was frozen. ¡°Did you beat Ines, by any chance?¡± ¡°Yes, Rimu, strong.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great; at first, you couldn¡¯t beat her at all, but now you¡¯re getting stronger.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so happy.¡± ¡°I see, you worked hard. I¡¯m so proud of you.¡± I patted Rimu and praised him a lot. Dorothea-san and Ilma-san would intentionally lose to Rimu, but Ines was giving it her all. She¡¯s going to be in shock because she really tried and really lost. Felicia is consoling her, but her face is all stiff. Felicia must be thinking about the possibility of losing because she¡¯s really competing with Rimu, too. It¡¯s kind of funny. Jenga and reversi¡­ I¡¯ll see what else I can come up with. As for me, I¡¯d like to make a twister or something, but I think the purpose is too obvious. Well, I¡¯ll think about it when I return to Southern City. Volume 4 - CH 5 Chapter 5 ¨C 10 Days Since Departure and Love Considerations Ten days after our departure, we are now being hit by a raging storm. When I woke up in the morning, the Hideaway was shaking. When I looked outside, I saw big waves and heavy rain being repelled by the barrier. That¡¯s one hell of a rainstorm; it makes you can see the shape of the barrier very clearly. ¡°We¡¯re totally caught in the storm. We can¡¯t do anything until the storm passes; otherwise, we¡¯ll get seasick. Shall we spend today sleeping?¡± ¡°Eh? Wait, Wataru-san, are you sure it¡¯s okay being so relaxed?¡± ¡°Eh? Ah, Alessia-san, don¡¯t worry. The ship will not sink. Even if we are swept away, we have a map, so we can get back to where we were immediately.¡± ¡°Wataru-san is calm and seems to be okay, but may I ask why the boat won¡¯t sink?¡± ¡°Yes, the ship I summoned has the characteristics of being indestructible and unsinkable. So this ship will not sink or break. It is very hard because it shakes a lot, but other than that, it is alright.¡± ¡°I-is that so? As expected of a unique skill, it is an unreasonable ability.¡± ¡°Yes, it is very helpful. So, everyone, please relax and enjoy yourselves. It¡¯s going to be shaky, though.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± ¡°Ufufufu, Master, I¡¯d like to try my hand at navigating the Luto in this storm.¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t do that. No matter how much it does not sink, there is no need to navigate the ship in a storm.¡± Ines, I know you¡¯re serious. If I allow you to do it, you¡¯re going to run full speed through this rough sea. You look like some excited schoolchildren during a typhoon. And Alessia-san, please don¡¯t look so disappointed. ¡°It¡¯s too bad, because this looks like fun.¡± ¡°Please give up.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I explained the current situation to everyone and decided to relax until the storm passed. I lay down on my bed to avoid seasickness and think about this voyage. So far, this voyage has been a success, right? I think I¡¯ve gotten along pretty well with the members of Girasole, but the fact that not a single lucky break has occurred doesn¡¯t add up. Even though I came to another world, I guess I couldn¡¯t become a protagonist¡­ Girasole didn¡¯t come from over there either; it¡¯s a situation where I¡¯m trying my best not to break off the relationship with them. If you are a protagonist, you should be able to have a harem naturally. But they don¡¯t hate me when I¡¯m in the bath with them, and I don¡¯t think they hate me¡­ I still feel like they don¡¯t recognize me as a man. I think I¡¯ve won the hearts of the ladies with my desserts. The other day I made ice cream. It all started with Carla-san, didn¡¯t it? ¡°Hey, Wataru-san, can you make any other delicious desserts?¡± ¡°Desserts? ¡­I don¡¯t know if it will work, but I know some. Do you want me to try to make them?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try, but please don¡¯t be mad if I fail.¡± ¡°Yes, but I want you to try as hard as you can.¡± Carla-san is really different from my first impression of her, isn¡¯t she? I think she¡¯s very cute, but I¡¯m afraid that her demands for food are becoming more and more straightforward. ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Hmm, I think I can make ice cream, so I put out the cream, sugar, and eggs and headed for the kitchen with Carla-san. ¡°Ara, Wataru-san, Carla too, are you going to make something?¡± ¡°Yes, I was thinking of making ice cream for dessert.¡± ¡°Ice cream? Can I help too?¡± ¡°I was going to ask you to do the purification, so that would be very helpful.¡± ¡°Fufu, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°Now, first of all, I would like you to crack the eggs, separate the yolks from the whites, and purify them both.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, Carla-san, please stir the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. I know it¡¯s a lot of work, but please do your best. If you get tired, switch places with Claretta-san.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°Here, add the cream, egg yolks, and sugar, and stir until the mixture is stiff peaks.¡± I tried my best, but I ran out of energy before Carla-san. Sorry, Claretta-san. ¡°Once both of the ingredients are mixed until they are combined, and the mixture is soft, do not mash the mixture. Put the mixture in a container and put it in the freezer, and when it hardens, it¡¯s ready.¡± ¡°The stirring is the hard part, but it¡¯s quite easy, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I can do it, too. I¡¯m so happy.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s the most traditional way to make it. I heard that it is difficult to find the right balance and quantity when mixing fruits and adding various flavors.¡± ¡°Is that so? I¡¯d like to try out a few different things.¡± ¡°Do your best.¡± When I served it after dinner, it was a big hit with the ladies. Everyone had lots of second helpings, and it was all gone. The next day, I was asked to make ice cream again, and I just kept stirring. When I decorated the pudding and ice cream with whipped cream and served it with fruit around it, the ladies went crazy¡­ and honestly, I was scared. I guess I¡¯ve learned that I shouldn¡¯t go overboard in my attempts to please them. But I¡¯d try my best to make them feel as good as possible. I managed to get them to agree that this was just a gorgeous dessert for a special occasion, though, and that helped. For the meal, I also made carbonara and gratin to evangelize milk. I think the ladies are now able to eat dishes made with milk without any discomfort. Since we don¡¯t have an oven, I asked Ines to cook the gratin with her flame magic, and it turned out to be a bit of a disaster, but she seems to have gotten the hang of it, and now the cheese is lightly browned and cooked to the perfect degree. With more free time on my hands, I taught the Girasole members how to steer the boat. They all enjoyed it, but Alessia-san and Marina-san have become Ines¡¯ equals. Now, when they have time, the three of them gather on the flying bridge. They wait for the monster to attack. Felicia is also happy to join them if they give her permission, so are they in the same boat after all? Recently, the girls have been talking about how they wish a sea dragon would attack us. I regret that I taught them how to navigate the ship. I wonder if they are under a lot of stress? After the four of them drag the monster around a lot during the monster¡¯s attack, the monster is slaughtered by everyone¡¯s all-out attack. The Sea Serpent was worth a platinum coin, but it was torn to shreds by the all-out attack. It was indeed a waste, so I requested that the valuable monsters be properly defeated in a way that would allow us to get the material. I really feel sorry for the monsters when I am on this ship. Well, it¡¯s funny that I feel sorry for monsters that I can¡¯t defeat, even if it takes me years to do so. I feel a strange sadness as if I were looking at a toy that had been thrown away because its owner had had enough of playing with it. The members of Girasole were overjoyed to see that their level of skill had improved considerably during this voyage. They said that it had been difficult to raise their level with the land monsters in their area of activity. I was curious to know their level, but I didn¡¯t want to ask them because¡­ I was afraid that I might get scared if I knew their level. The girls had gotten used to the ship and were no longer conscious of me as a man. Sometimes they are sitting on the sofa in revealing outfits. It¡¯s a sight for the eyes, but it makes me sad that they don¡¯t see me as a man. I want to ask them, ¡°Are you inviting me out?¡± But there is no sign of that at all, so I didn¡¯t ask them because it would only hurt my feelings. But I was happy when the monster attacked when they were more exposed. The breasts sway as if linked to the swaying of the ship, and when they go straight into battle, it¡¯s great to see them jiggling and so on. I think about this when I look at the swaying breasts. This is my personal opinion, but I can¡¯t tolerate a male protagonist who uses knowledge cheats to develop a bra in a light novel. I can understand it if it is a female protagonist, but why would a male protagonist make a bra? I want to say it out loud. I mean, don¡¯t you want to see the breasts swaying? Isn¡¯t the popped tip part of a man¡¯s romance? There may be reasons for this, such as breasts becoming misshapen, sagging, or swaying and hurting, but I want something magical to solve that problem because it¡¯s a different world. Well, the knowledge cheat is great, and I want to do it too, but I¡¯m not convinced about the bra. I don¡¯t know; I got passionate in a weird direction¡­ Claretta-san¡¯s magic class is going well. After Rimu learned the Holy Spear, Claretta-san tried teaching him life magic, and he mastered it easily. Now that Rimu has learned the Holy Spear, he can defeat the merman by himself¡­ If I don¡¯t get a new bow soon, I¡¯ll be put out of position¡­ But Rimu liked the life magic of being able to help more than the Holy Spear, adding water when the cup was empty and even offering water when he washed the dishes. I think the water that Rimu magically produces is better at removing dirt than the water that comes out of the tap. Cute. What I envy is that he rides on the shoulders of the women who come out of the shower or bath, blowing a light breeze. The ladies also adore Rimu, and he is very popular with them. I can¡¯t help but envy Rimu when I see him on their chests. After coming to the other world, the one I envy the most is Rimu. Well, it can¡¯t be helped because Rimu is too cute. Rimu¡¯s success is not limited to magic; he also humiliates Felicia at reversi. Ines and Alessia-san were happy that Felicia lost. Lately, I¡¯ve been wondering, do I have a chance with the members of Girasole? I know it¡¯s a high bar, but since we¡¯re living on board together, I hope there¡¯s at least a slight chance. Let¡¯s think about it. How about Alessia-san? She¡¯s the leader of Girasole, so we talk a lot, and I don¡¯t think we¡¯re on bad terms. But as far as talking to her as a leader and about maneuvering the ship, and since she got into the game of escape, she often comes to me to take turns while I¡¯m maneuvering the ship. Yeah, Alessia-san doesn¡¯t see me as a man at all. I feel like we are friends. What about Dorothea-san? We talked a lot, but what we talked about was basically about¡­ Rimu. After that, Dorothea-san also wants to get her tame skills, so what did I do before I could get my tame skills? We discussed how to get the tame skills. Conclusion¡­ Dorothea-san is Rimu¡¯s friend. What about Marina-san? She doesn¡¯t seem to be a very talkative person, to begin with, and only talks when she is interested? Marina-san also seems to like Rim and talks about him a lot. I don¡¯t think she hates me, but we need to get to know each other better; it¡¯s like before romance. What about Ilma-san? We talk a lot, and I think we get along well. She doesn¡¯t get angry when I look at her sexually. On the contrary, she increases that bewitching atmosphere and gives me a little service shot. It makes me want to get down on my knees and ask her if I can be her servant. I¡¯m ashamed of what I think, but I guess I¡¯m like an adolescent boy who yearns for a bewitching adult woman and an adult woman who enjoys teasing him. ¡­I¡¯m 20 years old, though. How about Carla-san? I think we get along pretty well. We talk a lot, and there is some skinship from each other. I think it¡¯s normal and hopeful, but I feel like¡­ no matter what I think, she thinks of me as someone who gives her good food when she asks for it. Carla-san, she gives me a sparkling look, but it¡¯s not about love or anything. It¡¯s like, do you have anything good to eat? Can you make me something delicious? I think it¡¯s a look that says that. What about Claretta-san? I think I get along quite well with Claretta-san, too. We talk a lot every day and cook together in the kitchen. We talk a lot about good food and what we¡¯re going to make for lunch and dinner. Conclusion¡­ cooking friends? I¡¯m kind of imagining it, but I feel like we¡¯re talking like good housewife friends. I¡¯ve tried to think of a relationship with all of them, but I don¡¯t see any elements that would lead to romance. To begin with, I¡¯ve never heard them talk about love or men before. Even when dealing with the employee, I didn¡¯t really understand them¡­ I wonder if they¡¯ve ever thought about love or something like that¡­ I don¡¯t think so. At any rate, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll even be recognized as a man until something drastic changes. Volume 4 - CH 6 Chapter 6 ¨C The Stormy Sea and Four People Going Out of Control ¡°Master¡­ Master¡­¡± ¡°Oh, Ines, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Ufufu. What were you thinking about?¡± ¡°I was thinking about this voyage. Is something wrong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost lunchtime, and it¡¯s so bumpy; I¡¯d like to have Master serve me something ready-made.¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost lunchtime. Let¡¯s go to the dining room, and I¡¯ll serve you a meal.¡± ¡°Please.¡± ¡°Everyone, it¡¯s very bumpy. Are you all okay with seasickness?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. How about everyone else?¡± Everyone answered that they were fine. But, as Rimu also answered, does slime also get seasick? I was surprised that no one got seasick in spite of the bumpy conditions, but I guess it¡¯s possible that the higher the level, the better one¡¯s semicircular canals are trained, and I haven¡¯t been seasick lately. I took out the food I had prepared and repatriated from food stalls, inns, and restaurants and laid it out on the table. ¡°Then, let¡¯s eat. Itadakimasu.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Itadakimasu.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°The food prepared by Wataru-san and Claretta tastes better than the food at the restaurant.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Carla-san.¡± ¡°Fufu, I wonder if my cooking has also improved since Wataru-san taught me how to cook.¡¡Thank you, Carla.¡± ¡°Yes, Claretta¡¯s food tastes so much better now.¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s glad to hear.¡± After lunch, we chat on the swaying ship. ¡°Wataru-san, do you know how long this storm will last?¡± ¡°Sorry, Alessia-san, this is the first time I¡¯ve been in a storm myself.¡± ¡°I see, but if it doesn¡¯t sink, we just have to endure the swaying. So, Wataru-san, I would like to try my hand at navigating in a storm.¡± Ugh, she was by Ines¡¯ side when I refused her request. Instead of giving up, she bided her time and asked for it in the presence of her allies. What a schemer. At Alessia-san¡¯s words, Ines and Marina-san are looking at me with a twinkle in their eyes in anticipation. Being stared at by these beauties, I almost gave them permission to do so. ¡°Alessia, don¡¯t be selfish.¡± ¡°Because, Dorothea, it sounds so interesting. Wataru-san, is that a no?¡± Wow, I¡¯ve never seen Alessia-san¡¯s cunning expression or anything like that before. Do you want to sail that much? ¡°Hmm, do you want to steer the ship that badly?¡± ¡°¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡± ¡°Hah, I understand. If you happen to fall down on the ship, you will get hurt, so please don¡¯t be too reckless.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡± ¡°Oh, Felicia, go with them and stop them if they start to do anything reckless.¡± She looked envious, and since she¡¯s somewhat calm, she¡¯ll be a good chaperone. ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Wow, that¡¯s a tremendous smile¡­ I¡¯m getting anxious. I summon the Luto and watch the four of them happily climb aboard. I look around and see the rest of the group smiling bitterly. I watch the Luto sail away from the Hideaway as it blasts off¡­ Huh? I can locate the ship, but are those four people able to locate this ship? ¡­If they don¡¯t come back by dark, I¡¯ll turn on all the lights on the Hideaway. They will be able to see us from some distance. ¡­It might be bad¡­ Well, if they get lost, I can pick them up, or I have enough money to buy a cruiser. I¡¯ll figure something out. But I wonder how bumpy it would be if we had to go on the smaller Luto, even though the larger Hideaway was swaying like this. ¡°Everyone, I¡¯m going back to my room to rest.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Rimu is coming too.¡± ¡°Is Rimu coming to my room, too?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡± I¡¯m so happy that Rimu is coming with me. Rimu jumped into my chest, and I carried him back to my room. ¡°Isn¡¯t Rimu getting sick even though the ship is swaying so much?¡± ¡°Rimu is fine.¡± ¡°I see, but if you get sick or something, just tell me right away.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Rimu is bouncing around as if it¡¯s enjoying the swaying. Even though I know it won¡¯t sink, I¡¯m afraid of it because of my timidness. But I think everyone is scared of storms. But Rimu is bouncing and rolling with the swaying¡­ He¡¯s so cute. I want to escape reality, but outside the window, a big wave is crashing and being repelled by the barriers. I guess I¡¯ll just have to give up on this and hold out until dark. I pretend to forget about the storm and concentrate on playing with Rimu. After playing with him for a while, Rimu asked for a snack, so we headed for the living room. ¡°Everyone, if you¡¯re not feeling sick or anything, why don¡¯t we have a snack?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±Itadakimasu.¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Since yesterday was ice cream, shall we have pudding today?¡± I hear pudding is fine, so I pass out pudding to everyone. ¡°Rimu, is it good?¡± ¡°It is delicious. Rimu pudding, like.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. You can have another one if you want.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, another refill, please.¡± ¡°Yes, Carla-san, this is the last one for today.¡± ¡°Mmm, okay.¡± ¡°Another refill.¡± ¡°Yes, Rimu, another refill. Dorothea-san, Ilma-san, Claretta-san, would you like a refill?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± ¡°Ufufufu, I¡¯ll take it. Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Me too, please.¡± We chat while eating our snacks. ¡°The ride is quite bumpy, but you all don¡¯t get seasick, do you?¡± ¡°Yes, our hometown is also a trading city, so we used to ride in boats for escort requests. We also ride in small boats when we are requested to go to the island.¡± ¡°Oh, that reminds me. We went to the island together, but I forgot about it. And there were also requests for adventurers to escort ships, weren¡¯t there? In a port town, adventurers have a lot of opportunities to board ships, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Most of the time, we were escorting fishing boats, but we also had a hard time at first because the boats would sway terribly when the weather changed suddenly, even on the coast of the continent.¡± There are other ships besides mine, and I¡¯m sure there are opportunities to ride on them. I¡¯m not thinking straight. We wait for the storm to pass while chatting. ¡°Wataru-san, can I ask you to play reversi with me?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± ¡°Fufu, I will win this time, okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to lose just yet. Dorothea-san, have you been able to beat Ilma-san?¡± ¡°Yes, sometimes. I¡¯ve improved a lot, so there is a chance that I can beat Wataru-san as well.¡± Everyone is getting stronger and stronger, Ilma-san was the strongest one, but Dorothea-san, you are able to beat her? I feel like I¡¯m going to be overtaken soon. We managed to have a good time on the bumpy ship and headed to the dining room for dinner. ¡°¡­Alessia and the others haven¡¯t come back. Is everything alright?¡± I have a vague idea where the ship is, but it¡¯s meandering and maneuvering, so I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a problem. If they don¡¯t come back by midnight, we¡¯ll assume they¡¯re lost and go get them. ¡°I can somehow tell where the boat is, but it¡¯s moving around, so I think it¡¯s okay. If they don¡¯t come back until midnight, let¡¯s pick them up. I¡¯ll turn on all the lights so that they will be able to see us, so I¡¯m sure they will come back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san. I apologize for the inconvenience.¡± ¡°No, no, I gave the permission, and Ines and Felicia are also there. There is no need for you to apologize, Dorothea-san.¡± ¡°Since Alessia was the one who suggested it¡­ it¡¯s a problem that they are playing so late even though they have permission to do so. I¡¯ll give her a good scolding.¡± ¡°Ahahaha, well, I didn¡¯t set a definite curfew, so please go easy on her.¡± Eventually, they returned when we had finished dinner and showered, and were relaxing in the living room. When I gave them permission to come aboard, they moved to the Hideaway with dizzy, unreliable steps, as if they were indeed tired. With a tired but satisfied smile, Alessia-san said, ¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± but her voice was hoarse. ¡°Wow, everyone¡¯s voice is so raspy¡­ Claretta-san, can a hoarse voice be cured with heal?¡± ¡­I wondered what could have made her voice so raspy when she was supposed to be maneuvering the ship. ¡°Eh? I don¡¯t know. Would you like me to give it a try?¡± ¡°Hmm, what shall we do?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not; it¡¯s a punishment for getting too excited. However, putting aside Alessia, did you have so much fun that even Marina was so excited that she lost her voice?¡± ¡°Hey, Dorothea, what do you mean by putting me aside?¡± ¡°I meant exactly what I said. I¡¯ve never seen Marina like that before. That¡¯s good.¡± ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing¡­ but it was fun.¡± ¡°I feel like you¡¯re treating me a lot differently than you¡¯re treating Marina.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just your imagination.¡± The members of Girasole are all very friendly with each other. ¡°Master, I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry, too.¡± ¡°Oh, are Ines and Felicia okay, too?¡± ¡°Ufufu. I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, but don¡¯t be too rash.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Well, I can¡¯t believe Felicia is like that. I told her to stop them if they were reckless¡­ Originally, going out into the stormy sea itself was reckless, wasn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t know what I would do to stop them if they did anything more reckless than that. I set the food on the table in the living room, and the four girls started to eat as if they were devouring it, probably because they were so hungry. The girls have been upgraded, and their bodies have been strengthened, so naturally, their throats should have been strengthened as well¡­ How excited they were to find out that their strengthened throats were withering away, that must make them hungry as well. After finishing their meal, I asked them what they were doing when they came out of the shower. ¡°Ines, Felicia, what were you doing on the Luto?¡± ¡°I was just maneuvering the ship, but we had some fun with some big waves coming in; I¡¯m sorry, Master.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master. I was having too much fun.¡± Well, it sounds like they both had quite a bit of fun¡­ I don¡¯t quite understand how it¡¯s fun to blast through stormy seas, but if it helps relieve some stress, I guess it¡¯s good. Yeah, I¡¯ll ask them how they returned. ¡°Didn¡¯t you two get lost running around in the storm? I only realized it after you sailed away. How did you manage to get back without getting lost?¡± ¡°Yes, one of us was sure of the location of the Hideaway, and when it got dark, the lights turned on so we didn¡¯t get lost.¡± Even though they were having a good time, they made sure to check their location properly. Is that what you call, as expected of an adventurer and a hunter? ¡°So that¡¯s how it was. Well, I¡¯m glad you made it back safely. Shall we go to sleep now?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Nchu. Good morning, Master.¡± ¡°Nchu, good morning, Master.¡± ¡°Ines, Felicia, good morning. Your voice is still hoarse. I¡¯ll ask Rimu to heal you later.¡± ¡°¡±Thank you.¡±¡± We headed to the dining room for breakfast. Hmm? The bumps are small; has the storm passed? I greet the members of Girasole and go outside. Oh, it¡¯s sunny, and the storm has passed. ¡­Well, when you get through a storm, you find an island or encounter some mysterious event, like in a novel, but¡­ I didn¡¯t see anything. It was just four people who liked to maneuver the boat a little too much, and they went out of control. Well, I¡¯m not a fan of too much stimulation, so I¡¯m glad there were no ghost ships or anything like that. I went back to the dining room, finished my breakfast, and asked Rimu to heal. ¡°Rimu, can you put a heal on Ines and Felicia¡¯s throats?¡± ¡°Heal? I can do it.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± Rimu¡¯s body twitched and glowed stronger. Then the light falls on Ines¡¯s throat. ¡°Ines, how is it?¡± ¡°Ah, ah, I feel better. Master. Rimu-chan, thank you.¡± ¡°Oh, Rimu, that¡¯s great. Can you do that to Felicia, too?¡± ¡°I can do it.¡± Rimu¡¯s heal is also placed on Felicia¡¯s throat. ¡°Ah, master, it¡¯s healed. Rimu-chan, thank you.¡± ¡°Rimu, did it. Am I great?¡± ¡°Rimu, that¡¯s very good. Thanks to Rimu, Ines, and Felicia¡¯s sore spots are healed.¡± The three of us praised Rimu and patted him around. Rimu was proud of it and bounced around; it was so cute. ¡°Wataru-san, can we ask you for help too?¡± I turned around at the sound of a rattling voice and saw Alessia-san and Marina-san standing side by side. ¡°Um, how about it? Ines and Felicia are fine with my decision. Can I use my decision on Alessia-san and Marina-san, too?¡± ¡°Eh? Is there any problem?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s heal, you could have asked Claretta-san to do it, but it¡¯s strange that you went to the trouble of asking me. That¡¯s what I thought.¡± ¡°¡­T-there¡¯s nothing wrong with that.¡± ¡°No, I can only assume there¡¯s a problem if you make such a blatant disapproving face.¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s not true.¡± ¡°That can happen, right, Alessia?¡± ¡°Dorothea, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Alessia, Marina, you¡¯re being punished for being excessive, and you can¡¯t just heal yourself like that.¡± ¡°Ugh, Ines and Felicia were healed, so why shouldn¡¯t we be?¡± Oof, Ines and Felicia are being called out. Did the storm bring the four of them closer together? Maybe if I had been there too, we would have gotten to know each other better. That would have been a shame. Well, if I had gone with them, we would have finished early, so maybe we wouldn¡¯t have gotten along. ¡°Hah, it¡¯s no good because you tried to heal yourself secretly. You should be a little more reflective. Come play with me, Rimu-chan.¡± Oh, Rim was taken away from me¡­ ¡°Well then, it¡¯s time to move on to the Luto, so please get ready.¡± I go back to my room to get ready to escape from the grim-faced Alessia-san and Marina-san. Although delayed a day by the storm, we are off to Palermo again. Volume 4 - CH 7 Chapter 7 ¨C Port City of Bergamo and the Merchant Guild Nine days after the storm passed, the port city of Bergamo, east of Palermo, came into view, even though we were two days behind schedule due to the storm. ¡°Everyone, may we discuss our plans for the coming days?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Then, first of all, my idea is to take a couple of days in the port city. I would like to make arrangements to go to Barletta, the capital of Palermo, and sell pepper to a large store. Do you, Girasole, have any plans or objectives?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have any particular plans in Bergamo, so we¡¯ll go with Wataru-san. Of course, we will escort you. So, are we going to Barletta in a shared carriage?¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought about carriages. A shared carriage would be fine, but it would be difficult to use the ship summoning, so if we can borrow a carriage, would it be better to do so?¡± ¡°That is right; it would be more convenient for Wataru-san to rent a carriage than to use a shared carriage. We can also be the coachman, so if you can rent a carriage, it will be fine.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I will think about renting a carriage. At that time, I would be grateful for your help.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Master, are you going to leave the ship in the harbor?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, yes. Shall we sail out before leaving for Barletta and meet up outside the city after repatriating? It would be useless to keep the ship anchored in the city all the time.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Oh, what about lodging? Do you want to stay on the ship or stay at an inn since it¡¯s your first time in the city?¡± ¡°Well, what should we do? The ship is more than enough, but it would be nice to stay on land after a long time.¡± After some discussion, we decided to stay at the inn, take a shower and have a meal on the ship. The shower was decided upon by all the women, and the meal was decided upon at the request of Carla-san and Claretta-san. ¡°What should we do about Rimu? On the southern continent, the security situation is not very safe, so I asked him to hide in the bag.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no chance of being targeted, but I hear it¡¯s a safe country, and since we¡¯re here, why don¡¯t we just go on as usual?¡± ¡°I understand. If something happens, I will be counting on you.¡± ¡°Yes, we can handle most things.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. We are leaving for Bergamo. We will be there very soon, so please be prepared.¡± Each of us packed our luggage and prepared to disembark. At any rate, the boat trip with Girasole has come to an end¡­ There were many wonderful sights. However, there was not a single lucky break. I was with six big-breasted beauties for almost 20 days¡­ After entering the harbor and paying two silver coins per day for anchoring, I paid six silver coins for three days anyway. It was expensive. I asked why the price was so different from the Southern City of the Latina Kingdom, even though they are on the same continent. I was told that even in the Southern City, if you went there for business, they would take about two silver coins. I registered with the merchant guild in Southern City, and since I was living there, I guess it was registered as my home base. I didn¡¯t know that. I could understand why it was so expensive. They say that the port will be in a state of flat shape unless the price is set high because many ships come to the port¡­ It makes sense after all this time; maybe it was the same in the southern continent. ¡°Fufu, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been on land. I wonder if I was still nervous when I was at sea? It¡¯s kind of a relief.¡± ¡°Ara? Alessia seemed a lot more relaxed.¡± ¡± You think so? Well, Ilma, that¡¯s good because that¡¯s how I feel.¡± ¡°Ufufu, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Alessia-san, I¡¯m going to the merchant guild now; what do you want to do?¡± ¡°Well, it would be more convenient if we stayed in the same place, so I¡¯ll go with you. After that, you will accompany us to the adventurers¡¯ guild.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± We headed for the merchant guild that we had been told about when we arrived at the port. But I reflexively replied that I would go with them to the adventurers¡¯ guild¡­ I might have made a mistake. Even now, walking down the street, we stand out. There were eight incredibly beautiful women, and among them, one dull man with slime on his head. If I went to the adventurers¡¯ guild in this condition, I feel I would definitely get into trouble. I should definitely not be alone. I enter the merchant guild and head for the reception counter. Everyone is beautiful, but I can¡¯t help but line up at the counter with the fox-eared lady. I guess I like fox ears, after all. I have been to many guilds before, but it seemed like there was always a fox-eared lady at the counter. I wonder if they all like fox ears. ¡°Thank you for waiting; how can I help you today?¡± ¡°Yes, my name is Wataru, and I am from the Kingdom of Latina. I would like to know if there are any reputable stores in this city that sell groceries and if you could point me in the direction of a good place to stay.¡± ¡°Understood. The Filippo Trading Company is of medium size but has a good reputation for honest business. I will provide you with a map. As for the inn, may I ask what your budget is?¡± Huh? I introduced myself, but she didn¡¯t give me her name¡­ It¡¯s the first failure of the self-introduction strategy; I¡¯m frankly shocked. I asked the members of Girasole what they would like for the grade, and they replied that they would leave it up to me. ¡°I don¡¯t want it to be too expensive, but I would like to stay in an upper-middle-class inn, safe and with good food, please.¡± ¡°Very well. If so, the Celis Inn is a good place to go. Here is a map of the Filippo Trading Company and the Celis Inn. Is there anything else I can help you with?¡± ¡°Oh, I am planning to go to Barletta soon and would like to rent a carriage. Where can I rent a carriage?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s to Barletta, there are shared-ride carriages available on a regular basis. The price is reasonable, but you want to rent a carriage?¡± ¡°Yes, we have a lot of people and a lot of luggage, so I think it would be better to rent a carriage.¡± ¡°Very well. You can also rent a carriage from the merchant guild. The cost is three silver coins per day and a deposit of 2 gold coins. The deposit will be returned with the return of the carriage. The carriages can be returned to any of the guilds, so you can return them in Barletta.¡± ¡°Is it possible to rent two carriages? Also, I don¡¯t know when I will be leaving. When should I apply?¡± ¡°Yes, you can rent two carriages. If there are no carriages available, we can accept applications on the day of the departure, but it would be better to confirm the day before the departure. Is there anything else I can help you with?¡± ¡°No, thank you very much.¡± I feel like I¡¯m being treated differently from other merchant guilds. Why is that? Is this normal in this country? Oh, maybe this is the normal treatment for F-rank members. Up until now, I could go to a special island, and maybe I was treated well in the southern continent because I bought a lot and took some precious spider silk and other things with me. But this time, it¡¯s only F-rank guild cards, so maybe it¡¯s only natural that there¡¯s a difference in treatment. In retrospect, the women were the center of attention in the merchant guilds as well. Let¡¯s get out of here. We left the merchant guild and headed for the adventurers¡¯ guild. Once inside the adventurers¡¯ guild, the women were the center of attention. I had to get rid of their attention. Huh? They are so focused on the women that they don¡¯t even pay attention to me. The members of Girasole don¡¯t mind the attention and head for the counter. I followed them stealthily, trying to keep my presence as low as possible. While the members of Girasole were talking at the counter, I stayed out of their line of sight. When the conversation is over, I head for the exit of the adventurers¡¯ guild. Oh, it looks like I¡¯m going home in peace this time. Ah, five rough-looking adventurers are standing in front of the exit. I smell a template, and I hope I¡¯m mistaken. ¡°Hey, ladies, I haven¡¯t seen you around here before. We¡¯ll introduce you to some good-paying jobs. Let¡¯s take the job together.¡± ¡°No, we have our own schedule. We¡¯ll take it another time.¡± Oh, Alessia-san, you¡¯re so cool. She looks about 30% more sharp than usual. Is she in adventurer mode? ¡°Oh, just leave those plans aside; we¡¯re the C-rank party, and we¡¯re the ones who invited you, so shut up and follow us.¡± It was a complete template; it¡¯s not me who¡¯s getting tangled up, though; it¡¯s the members of Girasole, but¡­ what¡¯s going to happen? ¡°What a bother, look at this.¡± Oh, Alessia-san showed her guild card, and the rough men¡¯s faces got pale. That¡¯s right, Girasole is an A-rank party. ¡°E-excuse us.¡± The bad guys ran away¡­ It looks like the vice general¡¯s sealed box*. The ladies got a lot of attention, but I didn¡¯t get any murderous intent from them. Maybe no one noticed me. I was able to leave the adventurers¡¯ guild in peace. [T/n: I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t understand this one.] ¡°I thought Wataru-san was going to drive them away in a cool way, but it¡¯s too bad.¡± ¡°Ilma-san, don¡¯t say reckless things out of the blue. If I get hit by those strong-looking people, I¡¯ll die.¡± ¡°Oh, is that so? But you can¡¯t stand by and watch as the women get into trouble, can you?¡± ¡°Eh, you mean you want me to stand in front of them and tell them not to mess with the women? I can only see an even more pathetic future¡­ where I get beaten up and have to be rescued by all of you.¡± ¡°Ufufu, it¡¯s too bad I would have nursed you gently if that had happened.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll try my best next time.¡± If Ilma-san is going to nurse me gently, I think I can endure at least one punch. There is also the barrier. ¡°Master, don¡¯t let Ilma-san deceive you. Even if you try your best, you will recover with heal, and that will be the end.¡± Eh? That¡¯s not true, right? I look at Ilma-san, and she¡¯s just smiling¡­ bewitchingly¡­ I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but there¡¯s a dangerous scent in the air. I can see a future of being toyed with. ¡­Ilma-san toying with me; that¡¯s awfully exciting if you put it into words. Well, when I calm down, there is not a single good thing that could happen. It¡¯s more likely that I¡¯ll just get a bad time. ¡°Master?¡± ¡°Thank you, Felicia. I¡¯ll stay hidden after all.¡± ¡°Yes, that would be the right thing to do, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s right to have it declared, is it?¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± That¡¯s true, too. I used to try my best to look good and show off a little. Lately, they¡¯ve seen through me to my true nature, so I don¡¯t hide it anymore, you know. I don¡¯t have to go out of my way to advertise my miserable ways, so I¡¯m going to tighten up a little more and hide the uncool parts. ¡°Well, now that everything is fine, let¡¯s head for the inn.¡± Following the map, we arrive at the Celis inn. ¡°Excuse me; we have nine people and a familiar slime. Can we stay here?¡± ¡°Welcome; we have single, double, and four-person rooms; how would you like them allocated?¡± ¡°The three of us will be in a four-person room, please.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take two four-person rooms.¡± ¡°Okay. How many nights will you be staying?¡± ¡°Three nights for now.¡± ¡°Very well, a four-person room will cost four silver coins per night, so that makes 12 silver coins per night and 36 silver coins in total for three nights.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, we¡¯ll pay for the room.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll pay since you¡¯re going to be my escort.¡± ¡°But since we asked you to bring us here, we¡¯d at least like to pay for our accommodations.¡± ¡°Eh, but it¡¯s too pathetic to be protected and then have you pay for lodging.¡± In the end, neither party would budge, and it was decided that we would each pay for our own portion. We settled into our room and relaxed until dinner. Well, I¡¯m going to take the rest of the day off. Tomorrow, we will go to Filippo Trading Company and negotiate with them to see if we can wholesale the pepper and sell it. I wonder how much and at what price we should wholesale? I know that the merchant guild offered me three platinum and 60 gold coins for one rubber boat. But Camille-san said it would be more expensive to sell it if we brought it to the store. I guess I should add the cost of shipping it here, but I¡¯m not sure¡­ I¡¯ve never been in this kind of business. Let¡¯s set it at four platinum gold coins, adding the cost of transportation and the higher price¡­ 40 gold coins seems like a rip-off, don¡¯t you think? ¡°Ines, Felicia, do you know the cost of shipping and how much more expensive it is to ship to a trading company than to a merchant guild?¡± ¡°I only know that I once escorted a merchant when I was an adventurer, so I don¡¯t know all the details. Does Felicia know?¡± ¡°I left my village for the first time when I became a slave, so¡­ I don¡¯t know about that.¡± ¡°I heard that pepper is an easy commodity to sell, so if I work hard, I should be able to get by, right?¡± Well, it¡¯s my first try, so I¡¯ll do my best to somehow get a wholesale price that exceeds three platinum and 60 gold coins. After chatting and playing with Rimu for a while to kill some time, we met up with Girasole for dinner. Hmm, to be honest, it¡¯s good, but the food is similar to that in Southern City, so there are no surprises. We¡¯re traveling by ship, so all we get are port cities. I guess I¡¯ll continue to eat at restaurants where the specialty is fresh seafood. I like seafood, but I get bored with the same kind of menu. I¡¯d like to try something like a lobster¡­ Oh yeah, I wanted to try the giant crab monster in Southern City. I forgot about that. I wonder what it tastes like; Girasole would know. I¡¯ll ask them. ¡°Everyone, I remember hearing about a big crab monster in the Southern City. Have you ever tried it?¡± ¡°Giant crabs? Oh, big crab, huh? Of course, I have. The meat is plump and tasty. But what¡¯s wrong all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Is that so? Thank you very much, Alessia-san. I was thinking of trying it and eating it when I get stronger in Southern City. I forgot about it and just now remembered.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll treat you to it when we return to the Southern City if that¡¯s the case. We can easily defeat them.¡± ¡°Really? I¡¯m sorry to be so forward, but please do.¡± ¡°Fufu, alright.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, can you make a nice dish with the big crab?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve never had the big crab, so I can¡¯t say for sure, but¡­ other than boiling and baking¡­ I can make crab-cream croquettes, I think. I haven¡¯t made croquettes since I¡¯ve been here. I¡¯ll treat you next time, Carla-san.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± After briefly deciding on tomorrow¡¯s plans, I returned to my room to rest. Volume 4 - CH 8 Chapter 8 ¨C First Business Meeting and a Higher Price Than Expected ¡°Nchu, master, wake up. It¡¯s time for breakfast with the Girasole.¡± ¡°Oh, thank you, Ines.¡± ¡°Chu, good morning.¡± ¡°Felicia, good morning.¡± Whew, that¡¯s right, I promised to have breakfast with them. When I got ready and went to the dining room, the members of Girasole had already gathered there. ¡°Good morning, everyone.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Good morning.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± We had breakfast while briefly reviewing today¡¯s schedule. Recently, Rimu has been going back and forth from table to table to get a little bit of food from Girasole and me after he finished his own meal. Cute. I feel sorry for the members of Girasole, but it is so cute to see Rimu moving around and being so happy to receive a share of the meal. Carla-san, who loves to eat, also shares some of her food with Rimu, even leaving a little bit for him. I am so happy to see that kindness, Carla-san, that I am touched by it. Among the members of Girasole, Dorothea-san, and Marina-san are also slime-loving companions, so I can understand them. But the sight of Alessia-san, Ilma-san, Carla-san, and Claretta-san all smiling kindly and sharing their food with Rimu was such a nice sight that the other customers in the dining room were glued to the table. By the way, when I told them that if they didn¡¯t have enough food, I would order more, they said, ¡°No thanks.¡± Apparently, they enjoy sharing their food with others. After breakfast, we rented a cart from the merchant guild and headed for the ship. I summoned a pepper boat on the ship and loaded one cart for the time being. ¡°Wataru-san is quite careful, isn¡¯t he? I had an image of you as more of a casual sort.¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m not cautious, Alessia-san, but timid. So when I think of the trouble I might have to go through if my skills were discovered, I¡¯m afraid to even try.¡± ¡°I see; you went to such lengths to tell me the secrets you hide. I am glad you trust me.¡± I feel like I¡¯ve gained some likability in a place I didn¡¯t expect. Since all the members of Girasole are beautiful women with amazingly large breasts, I¡¯ll take what I told you to my grave, having given in to my desire. ¡°N-no. I¡¯m indebted to Alessia-san and the others, and I¡¯ve worked with you many times. I knew you were trustworthy people, so it¡¯s no problem.¡± ¡°Fufu, thank you, that¡¯s very kind of you.¡± ¡°Well, now, let¡¯s go to the Filippo Trading Company, shall we?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Following the map and pulling a cart, we arrived at the Filippo Trading Company. ¡­I¡¯m nervous even after all this time. Is it possible to visit early in the morning without an appointment? While I was hesitating, a middle-aged man came out of the store and approached me. ¡°Good morning. How can I help you with our business?¡± ¡°Oh, good morning. I am Wataru, from the Kingdom of Latina. I have heard that this trading company deals in foodstuffs, so I came to have you look at my goods. May I have a moment of your time?¡± ¡°Oh, that would be my pleasure. We would like to see them. Please come into the store.¡± Was I doing it right? While I was nervously talking, they started to show me inside the store¡­ I was asked to leave my cart in the store and took a bag of pepper, and followed him. We are shown into a room and offered tea. I am greeted in a proper manner, which in turn, makes me more nervous. ¡°I apologize for the late notice. My name is Filippo, the president of this trading company. Pleased to make your acquaintance.¡± Oh, he¡¯s the chairman of this trading company¡­ Please don¡¯t be so polite to an F-rank merchant; it makes me want to go back home. ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure to meet you.¡± ¡°May I take a look at your goods?¡± ¡°Y-yes, this one, please.¡± I put the bag of pepper in front of the chairman of the trading company. ¡°Is this¡­ pepper, a rare one? May I taste it?¡± ¡°Yes, you may check it out.¡± ¡°Excuse me. Oh, this is wonderful. A full aroma, a pungent taste, a very good pepper indeed.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Is everything in the cart you brought with you pepper?¡± ¡°Yes, everything is pepper. You may taste it if you like.¡± ¡°Now, if you will excuse me.¡± We moved to the front of the cart, and Filippo-san seriously checked each bag one by one. I was nervous as if I were being graded on a test in front of me. ¡°All the peppers are first class. You seem to have a wonderful eye, Wataru-san. Even the freshest pepper is a precious commodity, but to have such a large quantity, all in first class, thank you for coming to the Filippo Trading Company.¡± I don¡¯t have a great eye or anything. I just used a cheat to stop time and transport them from their place of origin. It hurts my heart, so please don¡¯t praise me anymore. ¡°No, I am very glad you are satisfied.¡± We returned to the reception room and resumed our business discussion. ¡°Now, if we could discuss the price, would it be correct to assume that you would be willing to sell all of these goods wholesale?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then how much would you be willing to sell them?¡± Eh, am I supposed to be the one to decide the price? I just heard about first-class products, and I know what they are? How much should I add on top? I don¡¯t know¡­ Good grief, let¡¯s be frank. I can¡¯t negotiate, I¡¯ll just ask for a price, and if it¡¯s more than three platinum and 60 gold coins, then I¡¯ll sell it to you. ¡°Regarding that, I¡¯d like to discuss something with you. I have no experience in business negotiations, and I only have a rough estimate of the price of this pepper. I would like to ask Filippo-san to give me a price, and if the price is higher than my estimate, then I will sell it to you. How about it?¡± ¡°Fumu, are you saying it¡¯s a one-shot deal? I don¡¯t mind. Wataru-san, business negotiations are a time for merchants to show their skills, and it is not a good idea to show weakness.¡± I just have a merchant guild card, but I have never studied to be a merchant. I just thought being a merchant was better than being an adventurer. I¡¯m sorry. ¡°Thank you very much. I will keep that in mind.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s a very valuable pepper and a first-class one at that. To be sure of getting it, I have to pay a high price for it. If you are not accustomed to negotiating, this is a good way to go.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Filippo-san is thinking seriously. ¡°Wataru-san, I have to ask you, is this all the pepper you have here?¡± ¡°No, I still have some pepper because I intend to wholesale pepper in the capital as well.¡± ¡°I see. By the way, is it possible for our trading company to wholesale additional peppers?¡± Since I have a lot of pepper, I can wholesale it, but since I am walking around selling it to avoid being conspicuous, it makes no sense to wholesale it in large quantities. But for one cartload per trading company, I¡¯d have to do 495 business meetings¡­ that¡¯s a lot of trouble. And three more carts, for about three carts, would that be a problem? No, let¡¯s increase it by one more cart and have a total of 5 carts. If I tell him that I¡¯ll wholesale five carts even in the capital, he¡¯ll be convinced that he¡¯s getting half of what he wants. ¡°Well, I¡¯d like to do business in the capital as well, so¡­ I wouldn¡¯t mind adding up to four cartloads of pepper.¡± ¡°I see you have that much pepper, is the quality the same as the one you just showed me?¡± ¡°Yes, I can¡¯t say they are exactly the same, but I think they are of the same quality.¡± ¡°I see, I understand. How about four platinum coins and 50 gold coins for a cartload of pepper? If this price is acceptable, I would like you to wholesale the remaining four carts of pepper after confirming the price.¡± Oof, I was hoping that I could boldly go for four platinum coins. But now I¡¯m getting another 50 gold coins. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine, thank you.¡± ¡°Then, can I also check the remaining four carloads of pepper?¡± ¡°Yes, I understand. Can I borrow three carts so I can go back to the ship and bring them in?¡± After unloading the pepper we had brought, we returned to the ship with the women and the three employees that Filippo-san had sent out, pulling the carts. I summon the pepper boat to load four carts of pepper and return to Filippo¡¯s Trading Company. As I watch Filippo-san earnestly checking the pepper, I think about the price. I should have Filippo-san pay as much as he can with platinum coins, and the rest should go into the merchant guild. I want as many platinum coins in kind as possible. In addition, I¡¯ll withdraw 30 platinum coins from the merchant guild here as well. If I withdraw the platinum coins from each town, it will be less noticeable, and I can collect more platinum coins. ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯ve finished my checks. Everything is first class, I am sure of it. They will be 22 platinum coins and 50 gold coins. How would you prefer them to be paid?¡± ¡°As for me, I¡¯d like to take as much as you can afford in cash. For the rest, I would appreciate it if you could deposit it into my guild card.¡± ¡°I understand. The maximum amount of cash I can provide today is ten platinum coins. Would it be fine if the remaining 12 platinum coins and 50 gold coins were deposited into your guild account?¡± ¡°Yes, that is fine. Thank you very much.¡± Do you also have ten platinum gold coins? ¡­Can you find 10 billion in a normal store? ¡°Excuse me, may I ask you something?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°A 10 platinum coin is a lot of money, isn¡¯t it? Is it something you can get right away?¡± ¡°Most stores have a certain amount of cash on hand. Even though they are members of the guild, every trading company has a flow of funds and relationships that they do not want the merchant guild to know about.¡± Eh? Didn¡¯t he just tell me something scary? ¡°U-um, is it something that sounds a little shady?¡± ¡°No, no, there¡¯s nothing shady about it. There are unexpectedly many customers to whom we give special preferential treatment, valuable purchase routes that we don¡¯t want people to know about, and transactions in cash.¡± ¡°I-I see. I¡¯ve learned a lot. Now it is time for me to leave. Thank you very much for your time today.¡± ¡°No, no. If you ever find another good product, please feel free to contact us again.¡± ¡°Yes, I look forward to working with you then.¡± He says it¡¯s nothing shady, but it¡¯s kind of scary. After the business meeting, I left the store. Then I will ask the merchant guild to withdraw 30 platinum coins while I return the cart. ¡°Wataru-san, you¡¯re so rich. I envy you.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Ilma-san earns a lot of money, too, aren¡¯t you? I was envious just by imagining how much money all of the Girasole on that island was making. Just thinking about it makes me envious, you know?¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°You two, this is not the kind of thing you talk about on the street.¡± ¡°Indeed it is. Thank you, Dorothea-san.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s Ilma¡¯s fault.¡± Dorothea-san and I looked at Ilma-san, but her expression remained the same with a bewitching smile. Oh, Dorothea-san sighed and gave up. Ilma-san, you have a strong heart. We arrived at the merchant guild, returned the cart, and went inside. Since the fox-eared Onee-san was not there, I lined up at the cat-eared Onee-san¡¯s place. I was a little relieved because I felt a little depressed when the fox-eared girl was processing my application in a formal manner. ¡°Hello, I would like to withdraw some money. How long does it take to withdraw 30 platinum coins?¡± ¡°Please wait a moment. I¡¯ll check.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you for your patience; we can have the 30 platinum coins ready for you in a few minutes.¡± ¡°Eh? Oh, yes, please. It took several days at another merchant guild. But here, you can withdraw the coins on the same day, huh?¡± ¡°Usually, it takes us a few days. We recently closed a large transaction. Since the withdrawal was made when we had enough cash, we were able to get it to you right away.¡± Hmm, this Onee-san also doesn¡¯t have a ¡°nya¡± at the end of her words¡­ Is ¡°nya¡± at the end of words only an illusion in this other world? ¡°I see; thank you very much.¡± ¡°Phew, I thought it would take me a few days. Everything I wanted to do in Bergamo is done today. What shall we do?¡± Wataru said. ¡°Well, since we can¡¯t leave today, let¡¯s do some sightseeing and think about it at night.¡± ¡°Understood. Shall we do some free time then?¡± ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m worried about Wataru-san carrying a lot of money. I think it would be better to go back to the ship once and then go on our own.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that would be great. Thank you, Alessia-san. Funds. On hand: 26 gold coins, 78 silver coins, 32 copper coins. Guild account: 49 platinum coins, 0 gold coins. Savings ship: 66 platinum coins Pepper ship: 490 ships. Volume 4 - CH 9 Chapter 9 ¨C A Day in Bergamo and Departure to Barletta After returning to the ship, I put 40 platinum coins on the savings ship and repatriated it. That¡¯s 66 platinum coins in total, or 96 platinum coins if I can withdraw 30 platinum coins in the capital. The temptation to take the ferry is getting stronger. ¡°Hey, Wataru-san, if it¡¯s a secret, you don¡¯t have to answer me. Why do you have such a large sum of money in cash? Wouldn¡¯t it be more convenient to put it on your guild card?¡± ¡°Hmm, well, I¡¯ve told you most of the story, so I can¡¯t keep it a secret. My ship summoning skill can only summon ships that were purchased with cash. That¡¯s why I¡¯m setting aside cash now to buy my next ship. It¡¯s a secret, though.¡± All the women nodded. ¡°I think the Luto or the Hideaway is awesome enough, but you¡¯re still buying a ship?¡¡What kind of ship are you going to buy? When you buy it, will you let us on board too?¡± Huh? What do you think? Buying a luxury cruise ship or a ferry and taking the members of Girasole on a boat trip¡­ That sounds like a lot of fun. But, as expected, if people see a luxury liner or a ferry, they¡¯ll think it¡¯s too crazy or something. It¡¯s also full of otherworldly things, so they¡¯ll know I¡¯m from another world¡­ I¡¯ve told them about my unique skills, but is it safe to even tell them that I¡¯m from another world? When I watch anime and read manga, it is indeed impossible to hide the fact that I am from another world¡­ What should I do? But it¡¯s a dream¡­ to have a drink by the pool on a luxury cruise ship while enjoying the swimsuits of Ines, Felicia, and the members of Girasole. ¡°Um, Wataru-san, it¡¯s okay if it¡¯s no good. Don¡¯t force yourself¡­ It seems he didn¡¯t hear me; what should I do?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay; I think Master is thinking about what he¡¯s going to do after he gets you girls on board.¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t think there will be any problem, Alessia-san.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± A future when you play with beautiful big-breasted Onee-sans at the skating rink. A future that is happy to share good food with them¡­ There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to come to another world and throw away the possibility of seeing a scene like that myself. If not, I can just shut myself away. Then I should choose to be able to see swimsuits. ¡°Yes, of course, Alessia-san. There may be a few surprises, but you can look forward to an enjoyable cruise on that ship.¡± ¡°I-I will. Thank you, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, if you buy that boat, will I be able to eat more delicious food?¡± ¡°Yes, you will be able to eat a lot of food. You can look forward to it too, Carla-san.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± I made my choice on the spur of the moment, but I could see Carla-san¡¯s dazzling smile, so it couldn¡¯t have been a mistake. ¡°So, after this, you are free to do whatever you want. Do Ines, Felicia, and Rimu have anywhere they want to go?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have anywhere in particular I want to go; I¡¯ll leave that to Master.¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t have anything in particular either.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Well, we should go to the market and see the stores. I have to buy a bow. Let¡¯s go to the weapons shop first.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°And while we¡¯re at it, let¡¯s get Ines and Felicia some new equipment.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, if you want to buy new weapons, it would be better to buy them after we go to the capital.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, the best ones are gathered in the center of the country. The rest are in dungeon areas or production centers.¡± ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll go to the capital for the weapons shop and go to the market as planned.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Wataru-san, can I join you if you want to go to the market?¡± ¡°Can I come with you too?¡± ¡°Sure, Claretta-san, Carla-san, you can come with us.¡± Looking around the market, hmm, is it because it is a port city? The selection of goods seems to be the same as in Southern City. Is there anything interesting? ¡°Do you know what Palermo is famous for?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±I don¡¯t know.¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s not so different from Southern City, is it? What about souvenirs?¡± ¡°Um, Wataru-san, I think it would be better to look for souvenirs in the capital rather than here.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, that¡¯s right. Let¡¯s look for something tasty to eat today, shall we?¡± ¡°I want to eat something delicious.¡± ¡°Rimu too.¡± ¡°Haha, let¡¯s try a variety of foods.¡± We go around the market and food stalls and try to eat everything that interests us. The seasoning is a little different, and the herbs they use are different. After visiting all the markets, we returned to the inn. ¡°It was fun, but I didn¡¯t find anything that unusual.¡± There was nothing new, but how could I not enjoy shopping with four beautiful women? I was afraid of the stares of the people around me, though. ¡°Yes, there was some good food, but not much different from Southern City.¡± ¡°I have high hopes for the capital.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true. Shall we go to the food shops in the capital as well?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Rimu, too.¡± ¡°Rimu is looking forward to it too. Let¡¯s eat a lot like we did today.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll eat.¡± After a while, Alessia-san and the others came back. ¡°Wataru-san, I see you¡¯ve come back; what are you going to do for dinner?¡± ¡°I ate at the market, so I¡¯ll stop for the day. How about you, Ines, Felicia?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want any either.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine too.¡± ¡°I see; what about Carla and Claretta?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll eat.¡± Carla,-san, you¡¯re going to eat it again¡­? I had a feeling you would, though. ¡°Rimu, too.¡± ¡°Eh? Rimu wants to eat, too? You ate a lot at the market, didn¡¯t you? Can you still eat?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Rimu-chan, are you going to have dinner?¡± ¡°Yes, he said he will.¡± ¡°I see. Wataru-san and the others are not eating dinner, are they? Can I take Rimu-chan with me?¡± ¡°Wait a minute. Let me ask him.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Rimu, Dorothea-san said she will take you to dinner with her. Do you want to go with her?¡± ¡°Dorothea, together.¡± ¡°He says he¡¯s going with you, Dorothea-san. Can I ask you to go with him?¡± ¡°Yes, Rimu-chan, come here.¡± Rimu jumped from my arms into Dorothea-san¡¯s breast-sama, who opened her hand. He¡¯s cute, but I envy him. ¡°Oh, Wataru-san, after we finish eating, I have a favor to ask you. Can you wait in your room?¡± ¡°I understand, Alessia-san. I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± What is it? I went back to my room and was chatting with Ines, Felicia, and Claretta-san when Alessia-san and the others came back. I catch Rimu as he jumps on me. It heals me. ¡°Rimu, did you enjoy your meal?¡± ¡°It was delicious; I¡¯m happy.¡± ¡°Dorothea-san, Rimu is happy. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay; I had a great time too.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, please, I need to use the shower. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. Shall we go right away?¡± All the women were going to take a shower, so we all headed for the ship. ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san. But I¡¯m getting restless just because I haven¡¯t showered for a day. It¡¯s hard to be on a quest when you know that.¡± Hmm? That¡¯s right when I think about it. If you use a bath or shower every day, it would be painful to lose it. ¡­Since they use a lot of good stuff, and if they can¡¯t get away from me (ship summoning)¡­ Is it possible for that? Harem! ¡°Me too. I need Wataru-san to take responsibility.¡± Ilma-san¡¯s here, too, and I¡¯d gladly take the responsibility. I can only see a catastrophic future if I get in on the conversation here. ¡°Hey, Wataru-san.¡± Ilma-san started to put me on the spot; she didn¡¯t seem to want to let me go. If I don¡¯t give a safe answer, I¡¯ll be tossed around. ¡°Hahaha, is that so? I¡¯m glad you liked it so much. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m taking responsibility, but if you want to use the shower, just let me know. Whenever you can use it, it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad.¡± Did I make it through? Ilma-san is dangerous because she asks implied questions all of a sudden. And since she asks with a sexy tone of voice and a bewitching atmosphere, I feel dizzy and almost say something painful. We arrive at the Luto and take a shower in turn. ¡°Whew, I feel so refreshed. Showering feels so good.¡± Alessia-san¡¯s smile is the best as she says this while sipping the apple juice I offer her with a gulp. Girasole takes a flowing shower while spending her free time. While enjoying their sexy, steamy appearance, we discuss our future plans in the salon. ¡°You¡¯ve finished all your plans in this city, right, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m done.¡± ¡°Then, I wonder if we should leave tomorrow or just relax in this city for the amount of time we¡¯ve spent at the inn. Does anyone have any requests?¡± I asked Ines and Felicia, and they said they had nothing. ¡°Alessia-san, we¡¯re fine either way; we¡¯ll go with you all.¡± ¡°I understand. There is nothing in particular that we want to do either. It¡¯s been like a holiday so far, so let¡¯s leave tomorrow if we can.¡± ¡°Very well. Then let¡¯s stop by the merchant guild on the way home, and if we can borrow two carriages, we will depart tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go then.¡± We stopped by the guild and asked them about it. They told us that we could rent two carriages without any problem, so we made a reservation and paid for them in advance, and decided to leave tomorrow morning. When I returned to the inn and told the landlady the reason, she refunded the one night¡¯s lodging fee. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve traveled overland¡­ Have I ever traveled overland before? ¡­Yeah, I traveled overland until I got to the river when I was on my way to Southern City. We¡¯ve already decided to leave early tomorrow morning, so we¡¯re going back to our room to get some rest. Good night. Morning, huh? I wake up and take my time doing my morning routine. It¡¯s something I don¡¯t get bored with every day. I¡¯ve heard that you get tired of beautiful women in three days, but I don¡¯t get bored at all. Well, maybe that¡¯s because I haven¡¯t made it to the end. Well, we¡¯re leaving for Barletta today. I got ready and headed for the dining room. I greeted Girasole, who had already gathered there and had breakfast. ¡°Then, we will sail out by ship, repatriate it, and then wait for you at the gate. Can I ask you for the carriage?¡± ¡°Yes, sure. Wataru-san and the others will take longer than us, so we will leave the inn a little later.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much. Well, we¡¯ll be on our way, then.¡± ¡°Yes, please be careful.¡± When we returned to the ship and told the dock that we were leaving a day early, they refunded us one day¡¯s fare. If they¡¯re going to return it, I might as well pay more. I guess I should have checked first. We set sail and drove the ship to a secluded spot. Park it ashore, disembark, and then repatriate it. ¡°Phew, all we have to do now is head for the west gate where we¡¯re going to meet up with them. We¡¯ve come a surprisingly long way, and it¡¯s going to take us a while to get back, so let¡¯s hurry.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± When we arrived at the west gate after walking for about 30 minutes, Girasole was already waiting for us. ¡°Thank you for waiting, everyone.¡± ¡°Fufu, we¡¯re not waiting that long. We¡¯re going to split up and ride in the carriages, but Dorothea and Marina want to ride with Rimu-chan. May I ask you to take them?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. Then let¡¯s get going.¡± We quickly split into two carriages and set off. Ines is also able to be a coachman, so Ines, Dorothea-san, and Marina-san will take turns as coachmen in this carriage. Felicia is also going to take this opportunity to study to be a coachman. The rattling and shaking of the carriage make my buttocks sore after the first five minutes of the ride¡­ and I feel like breaking down. ¡°Wataru-san, you look like you are in pain. Are you okay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my first time on a horse-drawn carriage, and it¡¯s tougher than I expected. Is Dorothea-san okay with it?¡± ¡°Yes, you will get used to it after a few rides.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± At times like this, I need a knowledge cheat! ¡­ Was it a plate spring or a suspension carriage? I don¡¯t know where to plug in the plate spring. As for the suspension type, do I just need to¡­ hang it up? First of all, fluff, knowing all this, it¡¯s as if I¡¯m useless¡­ I¡¯ll consult with someone when I get a chance; I have to deal with the pain in my butt first. Fortunately, it¡¯s the merchant guild¡¯s horse-drawn carriage, with no chairs or anything to load the cargo, and the floor is flat. Let¡¯s summon a ship to do something about it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dorothea-san, but could you please stop the carriage? I¡¯d like to try something.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± I asked her to stop the carriage, and we went outside. Alessia-san and the others, who were behind us, also pulled over and came outside. ¡°Wataru-san, what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Alessia-san, it was my first time riding in a carriage, and the vibration was more than I expected, so I thought I¡¯d do something about it.¡± ¡°Something?¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯ll see.¡± I asked them to unload the carriage, buy a rubber boat with a place to sit in the flat space and summon it. We strapped it to the carriage so it wouldn¡¯t shift, and it was ready to go. When you sit on it, it is soft because it is an air-filled chair. This would reduce the damage to my buttocks, not to mention the swaying. ¡°Wataru, that¡¯s good. You really have great skills. Can you do this for our carriage as well?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± I set up a rubber boat for Alessia-san¡¯s carriage as well, and we set off again. ¡°Wataru-san, this boat is nice. It is soft and has a place to sit. It is very comfortable. ¡°Yes, I think I can handle it.¡± Three more days until we arrive in Barletta¡­ I feel I can make it. Volume 4 - CH 10 Chapter 10 ¨C Tame Skill and the Capital Barletta I check on Rimu while enduring the vibrations in the rattling carriage. Rimu is not bothered by the vibrations and is happily jumping up and down in the carriage, playing with Dorothea-san and Marina-san. So cute. He jumps to Marina-san. And jumping to Dorothea-san again. It looks like he is playing catch with Dorothea-san and Marina-san. We continue riding in the carriage until sunset, taking breaks along the way. Since it is the road connecting Bergamo and Barletta, there is a square or a village within a day¡¯s ride, and today it seems to be a square. In a secluded part of the square, we made a bonfire and prepared a ready-made meal from the food storage boat for dinner. ¡°Fufu, Wataru-san¡¯s skills are really amazing, aren¡¯t they? I¡¯m glad we¡¯re able to enjoy a nice meal in the carriage and in the camp as well.¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯ve helped me a lot too.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯d like some dessert. Is that okay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Pudding or ice cream?¡± ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll have ice cream today.¡± I handed the ice cream to Carla-san and handed out the pudding and ice cream to the other members, whichever they wanted to eat. After finishing our meal, we decide on the order of the guards over a cup of tea. I can¡¯t fight, so I¡¯m exempt from being on the lookout. ¡°Ah, there is a hut boat where we can sleep.¡± ¡°A hut boat?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll summon it now.¡± I summon three hut boats to a secluded place in the shadow of the carriage. ¡°These are hut boats? They are kind of cute boats, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Are they? I don¡¯t know if they are cute or not, but they are quite comfortable.¡± ¡°Can I look inside?¡± ¡°Yes. Oh, wait a minute, Alessia-san, you need my permission to go in there.¡± ¡°Permission?¡± ¡°Yes, the ship I summoned requires permission to enter. Did I not tell you that?¡± ¡°Yes, this is the first time I¡¯ve heard of it. Have you ever done so before?¡± ¡°Yes, I did, but¡­ oh, I was with you when you entered and exited the ship, so I gave you permission. You are free to leave but to go back in, you need my permission again.¡± ¡°Heh, I see. Can I try it without permission? Is it dangerous?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think there is any danger. There are barriers that block the monsters when they attack, aren¡¯t there? It¡¯s not that powerful.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Alessia-san fearfully brings her hand close to the hut boat. ¡­I can¡¯t see anything, so it¡¯s weird. ¡°Heh, amazing, I can¡¯t see it, let alone touch it. So there are barriers on this hut that can repel even dragon breath¡­ something about it?¡± Well, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t know what she means. It¡¯s only a wooden hut with a barrier of unbelievable performance, and that one hut is in tatters. ¡°Well, that¡¯s just the way it is. Shall we take a look inside?¡± ¡°Oh, of course. Please do.¡± I give permission to come aboard and let Alessia-san in. ¡°There is a lantern, a small table, shelves, a stove, and even tea utensils. You are right, Wataru-san; it does look very comfortable; it¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s my favorite. It¡¯s enough for sleeping.¡± The other women were shown the inside, and it was decided that they would use it. I¡¯m exempt from being on watch, but when the others take over the watch, I have to give them permission to enter the hut boats, which wakes me up. It¡¯s tough to be quiet. Hmm¡­ morning, I don¡¯t feel like I slept much because I kind of woke up at some point. Ines and Felicia are away on guard duty, which makes me lonely. I go outside to repatriate the hut boat. I went to where Ines and Felicia were and found only Claretta-san had woken up. ¡°Good morning.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Good morning.¡±¡±¡± ¡°I will prepare breakfast.¡± ¡°Yes, please. I¡¯ll go wake everyone up.¡± I take breakfast out of the food storage boat and have breakfast with everyone who has woken up. After repatriating the hut boats, I summoned the rubber boats and tied them to the carriages. ¡°Shall we depart, then?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± The same members of the team as yesterday get into the carriage and depart. I¡¯ve gotten used to the vibrations of the carriage and can now at least chat with others. We are scheduled to arrive at the destination tomorrow evening, so I think things are going to be alright. In the carriage, I played with Rimu. I had a heated discussion about slime with Dorothea-san and Marina-san. I also spent some quality time with Ines and Felicia, planning the new equipment we would buy in the capital. After lunch, Marina-san spoke to me. ¡°Hey, Wataru-san, I feel like I understand how you feel about Rimu-chan¡­¡± ¡°Marina too? I also understand what Rimu-chan is saying.¡± ¡°Could it be that both of you have acquired the tame skill?¡± The two of them looked downward with surprised expressions on their faces. They may be checking their status. But how is it possible for both of them to have acquired the tame skill at the same time? ¡°I have the tame skill.¡± ¡°I have it too.¡± ¡°Oh, congratulations.¡± ¡°¡±Thank you.¡±¡± Ines and Felicia peek out from the coachman¡¯s platform at the sudden commotion, and the two report that they have acquired the tame skill and rejoice with each other again. After a short fuss, they discuss how they got the tame skill. ¡°Well, Ines and Felicia have been with Rimu longer than the two of you, but they haven¡¯t learned the tame skill, though they both love Rimu very much.¡± ¡°The difference between Ines, Felicia, and us is that¡­ both Marina and I like slime, and we play with it in the forest.¡± ¡°Perhaps liking the species itself is also a condition. And since we learned it at the same time, the time we had contact with it may also have something to do with it.¡± ¡°Right. Marina and I spent most of our time together playing with the slime. We also played with Rimu-chan together, so time may have something to do with it.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s all we can think of at the moment. So, are you two going to tame slimes?¡± ¡°Yes, of course, I will.¡± ¡°Me, too.¡± ¡°But the question is, what kind of slime to tame? It could be ordinary slime. But we are adventurers, so we have to take them to dangerous places, don¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Oh, so they at least have to be able to protect themselves.¡± ¡°I would like to tame a slime that can use magic like Rimu-chan since there is a good chance we will be fighting together.¡± ¡°I would be happy if I could tame a slime that can use wind magic or dark magic.¡± ¡°Certainly, you are all A-rank adventurers. You go to dangerous places, so it would be better if it had special skills.¡± ¡°Yes, Marina has scouting skills, so both wind and dark magic will be useful. Since I am in the vanguard, I would like to tame a slime that can shoot magic from my shoulder. Is fire magic a good choice?¡± ¡°In that case, the best thing to do would be to get some information from the adventurers¡¯ guild and go find the slimes. Were there any other slimes on the island where you found Rimu who could use magic?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t seen any other slimes on the island except for Rimu-chan.¡± ¡°I think it would be more reliable to get information from the adventurers¡¯ guild, too.¡± ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m looking forward to it. Rimu will have some friends.¡± ¡°Friends?¡± ¡°Yes, Dorothea-san and Marina-san have learned the tame skill, so Rimu might be able to have more friends. Looking forward to it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Fufu, Rimu-chan said he¡¯s looking forward to it. It¡¯s nice when you understand the language.¡± ¡°I understand it too.¡± While the group was having a lot of fun deciding what kind of slime they would tame, it was time for a break. Dorothea-san and Marina-san reported to the other members that they had learned the tame skill. They cheered, and we joined them in congratulating them once again. While still fussing and cheering, everyone discussed the idea of going to the adventurers¡¯ guild to get information about slime after visiting the cathedral and then going to tame the slime.¡± We collect our thoughts and decide to discuss it again at night and depart. In the carriage, Dorothea-san and Marina-san talk to Rimu and are happy to hear back from him. Before nightfall, we reach the village and enter the inn. Although it is a small village, the inn is large and magnificent, so I asked about it and was told that it is because there are many people staying here since the village connects the capital and the port town. Even though many people stay in the village, they don¡¯t stay there and leave immediately for the capital or Bergamo, so the village is still small. It¡¯s complicated, isn¡¯t it? After dinner, we gathered in the room to discuss our plans. ¡°We will arrive at the capitol tomorrow evening, stay one night, and go to the cathedral with everyone else, and Claretta will go to the cathedral separately the next day. We¡¯re supposed to be Wataru-san¡¯s escort and also do some sightseeing at the same time. We¡¯d like to gather information about slime, and if we¡¯re in the area, we¡¯d like to go to tame the slime.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll buy new equipment, sell pepper, and go sightseeing. We can stay for a month or so, which is fine.¡± ¡°That should give us enough time. Shall we collect more information first?¡± We had a light chat and returned to the room. I was tired from the carriage ride, so after a light lovey-dovey session, I fell asleep. The next morning, after completing my morning routine with Ines and Felicia, I headed to the dining room. I greeted the members of Girasole, finished breakfast, and departed. The carriage ride goes peacefully without any particular incident¡­ I wonder if there will be any attacks by monsters or bandits? I don¡¯t really want to be attacked, but in a world where civilization is not advanced and monsters exist, is it normal not to be attacked even once? ¡°Dorothea-san, we haven¡¯t had a single attack so far. Is that normal?¡± ¡°It depends on where you are. In important roads like this one that connects the capital and port city, monsters and bandits are actively being defeated, so they hardly ever come out. On the frontier and in places where there is bad governance by the lords, monsters and bandits are more frequent.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you very much.¡± It¡¯s an important road, and security is maintained¡­ It¡¯s a different world, and I thought I would be attacked when I went on a journey. And since we are frequently attacked by monsters on the sea, I thought the same would be true for the land route. This conversation didn¡¯t raise any flags, and we arrived at the capital city of Barletta as expected. I show my guild card and go through the gate. I see a huge building in the back. I thought it was a castle, but it seemed to be a cathedral. Well, I heard that the Pope, the most powerful man in the country, lives there, so I guess it could be considered a castle. Claretta-san is staring at it with sparkling eyes. She is beautiful, isn¡¯t she? ¡°Whew, we¡¯ve arrived safely, haven¡¯t we? Would you mind if we continue on our way to the merchant guild, return the carriage, and ask them to introduce us to an inn?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to talk about your business?¡± ¡°Yes. There seem to be a lot of people here at this time, so I will come back to talk to them at leisure when I have more time. Alessia-san and the others should go to the adventurers¡¯ guild, too, right?¡± ¡°We can go tomorrow.¡± ¡°I see. Well, let¡¯s go then.¡± We arrive at the merchant guild, return the carriage, get a tag certifying that there is no problem, and head for the reception counter. I wondered if it was because many people were arriving in the capital at this time of the day. There were still many people. I decided to make it quick. After waiting in line for a while, I was greeted by a beautiful human female receptionist. ¡°Excuse me; I¡¯m from Bergamo. Can you help me with the return of the carriages and introduce me to an inn that serves good meals and is above the middle class?¡± ¡°Yes, sir. I see that the carriage is in good condition and was returned on time. We will return the deposit of 4 gold coins. As for the inn¡­ Solene¡¯s Inn has a reputation for good food, although it is a bit expensive for a middle-class inn. I can provide you with a map if you like.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± After receiving the map, I left the merchant guild and headed for the inn. ¡°Welcome. Are you staying the night?¡± ¡°Yes, can we have three rooms for four people?¡± ¡°Yes, we will charge you five silver coins per room for one night, including meals and warm water. Is that okay?¡± After confirming with Alessia-san, she said it would be fine, so I¡¯ll pay for ten days anyway¡­ It will be 500,000 Japanese yen, that¡¯s a crazy price¡­ Is it because there are four people in the room? Will the price go up if there are more people in the room? Alessia-san and the others paid one gold coin¡­ and the lodging fee was about one million yen, even though it was a middle-class inn¡­ I wonder if people in Japan who stayed overnight paid that much? The rich are awesome. I was shown to my room, rested a bit, and then headed for the dining room. All the members of Girasole were already there. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting.¡± ¡°We just got here too; let¡¯s order right away.¡± We asked the waitress what she recommended, and she told us that tomato-based dishes and wine are recommended in this country. Something like religion, wine, tomatoes¡­ Italy?¡¡But I thought tomatoes were not originally from Italy. I asked for their recommendation and was surprised to see that they have tomato sauce. They also have basil, which I¡¯m happy about; I¡¯ll buy some. The pasta dish itself was excellent, with beef, onions, and tomatoes simmered in red wine for a long time and topped with a sauce similar to Italian Ragu sauce. If the ingredients are similar, are the dishes similar too? I like it because it looks like Italian food. That is why it is a pity that cheese is not used in this inn as well. Why are they fixed with preserves when there is cheese? Could it be an opportunity for a culinary cheat? But I¡¯ve taught pizza, and there¡¯s no rice for Doria. ¡­Maybe gratin? And I¡¯d also like to try the lasagna. I can¡¯t think of anything too much¡­ Oh, we have wine, and I¡¯d like to try cheese fondue. It sounds fun and stylish. Let¡¯s try it next time. Let¡¯s ask the cook of this inn to develop a dish using cheese. I¡¯m looking forward to it. I returned to the room and wiped my body with warm water. ¡°Hmm, I really want to take a bath or shower.¡± ¡°I want it too. Master, can¡¯t you do something about it?¡± ¡°Hmm, if we can summon a bathtub in a secluded place, we might be able to get in. But not in an inn.¡± ¡°The hot water would spill, and that would be a nuisance.¡± ¡°Right, well, if we can find a good spot, we can take a bath.¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± After playing with Rimu for a while and having a lovey-dovey time with Ines and Felicia, I fell asleep. I wake up, ripe for a good morning routine, get ready, and head to the dining room. I greet the members of Girasole and discuss our plans for the day over breakfast. ¡­Claretta-san looks so sparkly. She must be so happy to be able to go to the cathedral already. For now, we¡¯ll go to the cathedral to pray, visit the merchant guild and the adventurer¡¯s guild, and maybe do some sightseeing. Let¡¯s go pray firmly to the Creator God. Volume 4 - CH 11 Chapter 11 ¨C The Cathedral and the Divine Realm Again We are finally heading off toward the cathedral. Claretta-san is unusually walking in the lead. She is taking a somewhat fast pace¡­ Perhaps the women know how Claretta-san feels, and they are kindly watching over her. The cathedral is getting closer and closer. It is huge. A huge stone building can be seen at the end of the square. As I get closer, I see that it is a beautiful building with exquisite workmanship, and I feel that it is a special building that has grown in stature over the years. After passing through the huge door, you will find an enormous space with a vaulted ceiling. Sparkling light pours down from the stained glass windows, and in front of the building are seven huge stone statues. ¡°I-it¡¯s amazing, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Y-yeah, it¡¯s overwhelming.¡± Just as Alessia-san said, we were simply overwhelmed by the huge space and the sacred atmosphere. We all stood there for a while in a daze. ¡°S-should we go and pray?¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right; let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Ah, Claretta-san. I wonder if you can tell me the name of the deity enshrined in the statue.¡± ¡°Eh? Yes. At the front is the Creator God. The statues on the left and right are the gods of light, darkness, earth, fire, wind, and water. It is unknown when this cathedral was built, but it is said that the statues enshrined in it were handed down by the Creator God when the cathedral was built.¡± ¡°I-is that so? Thank you, Claretta-san.¡± What about this? The statue in the front retains the image of the Creator God that I met, but the Creator God, who was supposed to be a boy, is now a young man with a sharp and dignified appearance. ¡­If it really is a statue handed down by the Creator God, then that¡¯s really impressive. He must have made up his own god statue to his liking, saying, ¡°This one is definitely cooler than.¡± My heart, which had been overwhelmed by the sacred atmosphere, rapidly cooled down. It¡¯s like I¡¯ve seen the inside of some famous character. Oh, if there is stained glass, there must be a glass workshop, right? Even if it costs a lot of money, I want glass cups and tableware. It would be nice if I could take a tour of the workshop. ¡°Master, are you not going?¡± ¡°Y-yes, I¡¯ll come right away.¡± While I was thinking, the members of Girasole were advancing to the front of the statue of the Gods. I hurriedly proceeded through the cathedral and knelt in front of the statue of God. I closed my eyes and reported with gratitude that I had come to another world, that I was very grateful for the help of my ship summoning skills, and that I was enjoying my life. ¡°You are welcome. It¡¯s been a long time, hasn¡¯t it, Wataru-kun?¡± ¡°Ah, Creator God-sama, it¡¯s been a long time.¡± This is the divine realm, isn¡¯t it? I thought he couldn¡¯t interfere too much in the lower world. Did I cause some kind of problem? ¡°Um, Creator God-sama, did I do something wrong?¡± ¡°Hmm? No, you are not causing me any problems; why is that?¡± ¡°No, you said you can¡¯t interfere too much in the lower world, so I thought I might have caused a problem.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s what you meant; that¡¯s fine. I have my own statue there, which I gave myself. In a sense, it is a sacred place. So it¡¯s okay for me to interfere.¡± ¡°I see. So what can I do for you?¡± ¡°Nothing in particular. You came to the cathedral, so I just called on you.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± It seems that I didn¡¯t cause any problems or get in trouble because of my boring behavior. I¡¯m glad to hear that. I wanted to ask him something. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Um, can I ask you something?¡± ¡°Hmm, what is it? I¡¯ll answer what I can.¡± ¡°Thank you. What about the money I spent on the ship summoning? If I buy a luxury liner, at least 500 platinum coins will disappear.¡± ¡°Oh, that money, huh? The money you spend is supposed to go to the God of Commerce. We don¡¯t interfere in the lower world, but I think it is used on rare occasions to sneak in a catastrophe or something like that. Sometimes we¡¯d flush it into a decent church, and sometimes we¡¯d turn it back into metal and bury it in the mines.¡± ¡°I see. Okay, thank you very much.¡± Hmm, is that good? It seems appropriate¡­ Well, if the God of Commerce is involved¡­ Well, let¡¯s assume it¡¯s okay because there won¡¯t be any financial crisis or anything like that. ¡°Speaking of which, why do the statues of the god in the cathedral and the Creator God-sama look so different?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, that¡¯s because, you know, that¡¯s cooler.¡± ¡°Is that all?¡± ¡°What do you mean by ¡®that¡¯s all¡¯? I¡¯m the God who created their world. Being cool is important. Which world would you rather live in, the one created by an old man with stubble or the one created by a fresh young man?¡± ¡°Personally, I would rather live in a world created by a goddess. But if it¡¯s between the two, I¡¯d rather live in a world made by a nice, fresh young man.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I mean.¡± I don¡¯t understand what he means, but is that what he¡¯s saying? Are we not talking about the same thing? ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Oh, by the way, you are with the Girasole girls now, aren¡¯t you? They¡¯re in trouble. I think you should help them. If you do so, the God of War and the others will realize the power of the ship summoning.¡± ¡°What kind of trouble? Is it dangerous?¡± ¡°Yeah, th-¡° ¡°You mustn¡¯t, Creator God-sama.¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s what she said.¡± ¡°Excuse me. It¡¯s nice to meet you, Wataru-san; I am the Goddess of Light. I will need a moment of your time.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± She¡¯s a stunning beauty with shiny blonde hair and great proportions. She¡¯s like a beautiful secretary who can do it all. But now, she¡¯s dragging the Creator God-sama behind her, delivering sermons. She looks so tired even though she is so beautiful. Ah, she made the Creator God sit down on the floor. This is a serious sermon. I¡¯m really curious about Girasole, but it seems like I¡¯m not supposed to ask the Creator God about it. But I am really curious about it. I was called to the divine realm, left alone, and saw the Creator God being made to sit on his knees by the Goddess of Light and receive her wrath¡­ may be a valuable experience, though I wonder what it will do for me. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting, and sorry for the abruptness of my visit.¡± ¡°N-no, thank you for your continued assistance. I¡¯m Toyomi Wataru. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Fufu, there is no need to be nervous. The Creator God-sama tried to tell you something that shouldn¡¯t be spoken, so I had to intervene. I¡¯m sure you are also concerned about it, but please be patient. And it is your choice to get involved in that matter or not. There is no need to help them because Creator God-sama told you to do so, so please make your own decision.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand. Thank you very much.¡± I¡¯m curious, but still, it¡¯s no good. ¡°Um, Goddess of Light-sama, now that I¡¯ve heard a little bit about it, should I go back to the Southern City as soon as possible? Do you think it will be a problem? Wouldn¡¯t I avoid the danger of Girasole if I moved where I am now?¡± ¡°Whew, it doesn¡¯t make any difference whether you stay in Palermo or go back to the Southern City. That¡¯s all I can say.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you for answering my insolent question.¡± ¡°No, then, I still have something to say to the Creator God, so I will return you to your place.¡± After being told this, my own vision was enveloped in light. The last sight I saw was Creator God-sama being made to sit on his knees with tears in his eyes. I come back to the cathedral from the divine realm. Should I give Girasole any advice? But I don¡¯t know anything concrete. What should I do? At any rate, I can¡¯t do anything with that information alone, so let¡¯s just wait and see. You girls, be careful because I hear you¡¯re going to be in trouble soon¡­ No, where¡¯s the psychic? At any rate, I followed Girasole, made an offering, and left the church. ¡°The place was kind of a purification of body and soul, wasn¡¯t it? What did you think of it, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Yes, the atmosphere was sacred and moving.¡± I answered that to Alessia-san¡¯s question, although, to be honest, I was impressed when I entered. A glorified statue of the gods, a future in which troublesome things are confirmed, I feel like I¡¯m missing out. Oh, I think I was lucky to meet the Goddess of Light. She was truly a goddess. She seemed to be having a hard time, though. Claretta-san is going to remain here and talk with the priest of the cathedral. We decided to go to the merchant guild and the adventurer guild. While exchanging our impressions of the cathedral, we went to the merchant guild. I enter the guild and quickly identify the fox-eared lady at the reception counter and naturally go to her counter. ¡°Hello, my name is Wataru from the Kingdom of Latina. I have a question I¡¯d like to ask you. Is that alright?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine. How can I help you?¡± Huh? The self-introduction strategy failed for the second time in a row. Is this strategy no longer working? Does Palermo not have a culture of responding to self-introductions with self-introductions? ¡°I would like to know about reputable trading companies that deal in groceries, and I would like to know about the specialties of this country.¡± ¡°Very well. For groceries, the Ciriaco Trading Company has a good reputation. It has been in existence for many generations, but it is a solid business and is well-trusted by the locals. As for specialties, we have wine and tomatoes, especially wine, which is very popular in other countries.¡± ¡°I understand, thank you very much. May I have a map of the Ciriaco Trading Company?¡± ¡°Certainly. Please wait a moment.¡± After receiving the map to the Ciriaco Trading Company, we headed for the adventurers¡¯ guild.¡± At the adventurers¡¯ guild, the Girasole was reporting on their stay and gathering information about slime, so I killed some time by browsing the merchandise at the store so as not to attract any attention. Hmm, wine¡­ I¡¯ve started drinking alcohol since I turned 20, but I don¡¯t really know what it tastes like. It was just fun to make noise and drink with others, and I¡¯ve never had an expensive alcoholic beverage. If the business meeting goes well at the Ciriaco Trading Company, I¡¯ll ask them to introduce me to some good wines, and I¡¯ll stock up and go home. But wine is fine for a man, but I¡¯m not sure if wine is fine for Camille-san as well. Oh, yes, I¡¯ll give her some pudding and ice cream, too, and I¡¯ll get her to praise me as promised¡­ ¡°Wataru-san, we¡¯re done. Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Oh, no, it¡¯s nothing. Shall we go?¡± Oh no, I had inadvertently attracted attention. By being spoken to by Alessia-san, I was exposed as a related party. The piercing stares from the adventurers were painful. After leaving the adventurers¡¯ guild, we still had some time left, so we decided to go around the market for lunch. ¡°Have you gathered any information on slime?¡± ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s not certain. We¡¯ll talk about it later in the evening.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± We went around the market and bought some things we were interested in at the stalls. Tomatoes are a specialty here, so I bought tomato soup, meat sauce, and even ketchup in bulk. For some reason, Rimu was positioned on top of Carla-san¡¯s head and begged me for something she was going to eat. It¡¯s okay, though, because he¡¯s cute. I wonder where all the food is going. After visiting all the food stalls and feeling full, we decided to relax at the inn for the rest of the day. Back in the room, I chat and play with Rimu. Claretta-san returned before sunset, so we all had dinner together. Claretta-san is very excited and explains how wonderful the cathedral is. I¡¯ve never seen Claretta-san like that before. Her bouncing breasts are distracting me, though, so I can¡¯t concentrate on what she¡¯s saying. After dinner, we gather in the Girasole members¡¯ room to organize information about the adventurers¡¯ guild. ¡°The information we¡¯ve gathered is all a bit vague. Slimes that can use magic are said to be found in places where the forces of nature are strong, such as volcanoes for fire and grasslands for wind.¡± ¡°The problem is that we have adventured in many places, but we have never met a slime that can use magic, except for Rimu-chan, so it is difficult.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Dorothea and Marina both said that slime is their favorite for taming, so it¡¯s not easy.¡± ¡°Hahaha. Sorry about that.¡± ¡°Fufu, yes, Wataru-san¡¯s love of slime has definitely influenced Dorothea and Marina. But, well, Rimu-chan is so cute, so it can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Rimu is happily jumping around on my head, being told how cute he is. ¡°So, there are no volcanoes around here. There seems to be a cave with strong winds about two days from here. It seems there are slimes there, so after Wataru-san¡¯s business meeting, why don¡¯t we go look for them?¡± Everyone agrees with Alessia-san¡¯s suggestion. It¡¯s not that far away, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. I got a light tug on my clothes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Carla-san?¡± ¡°I want to eat dessert. Also, Wataru-san, let¡¯s go together.¡± ¡°Dessert is fine, but you mean to go to the cave?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I distribute pudding and ice cream to everyone. ¡°I¡¯ll only slow you down if I go there, you know?¡± ¡°No problem. We¡¯ll all protect you.¡± ¡°Right; it would be very helpful if you could come with us in terms of food and shelter.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. I don¡¯t know how the business meeting is going to go, so I¡¯ll make a decision after that.¡± ¡°Alright, what about tomorrow?¡± ¡°Tomorrow, I will go to Ciriaco Trading Company and have a business meeting. After that, I plan to buy new equipment.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll see what happens. If you come, as Carla said, we¡¯ll do our best to protect you.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± After the discussion, we went back to our room, wiped myself off, had a lovey-dovey time, and went to sleep. Good night. Volume 4 - CH 12 Chapter 12 ¨C Business Negotiation, Equipment, and Lasagna Morning, huh? I complete my daily routine, get ready, and go to the dining room. Over breakfast with the Girasole members, I reconfirm today¡¯s schedule. By the way, Claretta-san is going to the cathedral separately. I feel lonely. I put the pepper out in my room, borrowed a cart from the merchant guild, loaded it up, and headed for the Ciriaco Trading Company, wondering if I could wholesale it for four platinum and 50 gold coins. Filippo-san said he priced it high, so I wonder if they will bargain a little. If they ask me the price, I¡¯ll start with four platinum and 60 gold coins. Arriving at the Ciriaco Trading Company, I spoke to an employee who was cleaning. ¡°Good morning; I have something to sell. May I have a word with the person in charge?¡± ¡°Good morning. If you don¡¯t mind, could you tell me what your product is?¡± ¡°Yes, the product is pepper.¡± ¡°Very well. Could you please wait a moment while I call the clerk?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The employee looked a little surprised, then showed me into the store and served me tea. Hmm, I knew pepper was precious. It was handled with care. After a little while, the employee came back with an older man. ¡°Nice to meet you. My name is Raimond, and I am the clerk of the Ciriaco Trading Company.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, and sorry for the sudden visit. My name is Wataru, and I am from the Kingdom of Latina. I look forward to working with you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s kind of sudden, but I heard that you can supply us with pepper wholesale. Is it okay if I confirm it?¡± ¡°Yes, all of the cargo on the carts is pepper, so please check them.¡± We moved to the cart, and Raimond-san was seriously checking the pepper. I¡¯ve seen this scene before, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll see it many more times until all the peppers are sorted out. ¡°That¡¯s a great pepper. Can you wholesale all of it?¡± ¡°Yes, I can unload this and four more cartloads of pepper.¡± ¡°Is it the same quality as this pepper?¡± ¡°Yes, it comes from the same place, so there should be no difference in quality.¡± ¡°Excellent.¡± We returned to the room and resumed negotiations. ¡°Wataru-san, how much can you give me for one cartload of pepper?¡± ¡°How about four platinum and sixty gold coins?¡± ¡°Hmm, isn¡¯t that a little high?¡± ¡°Is that so? In Bergamo, the price was four platinum and fifty gold coins. I think the price would be a little higher in the capital.¡± ¡°Hmm, it is true that it would fetch more in the capital, but it takes only three days to get here from Bergamo by safe road. Isn¡¯t ten gold coins for a cartload too much?¡± Ten gold coins for three days, that¡¯s about ten million yen¡­ I certainly feel like I overcharged him. ¡°Then, how much would you be willing to pay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a first-class pepper, so it¡¯s worth the high price, but¡­ how about four platinum and fifty-three gold coins?¡± ¡°Well, I would be satisfied with one more gold coin.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll give you four platinum and fifty-four gold coins.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you. What about the other four?¡± ¡°I will check them, and if they are first class, I would like to take them all wholesale.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± With the help of carts and men, four carts of pepper are brought in. Raimond-san is carefully inspecting each one. ¡°Wataru-san, I have confirmed that all of them are of first-class quality. It¡¯s for a total of twenty-two platinum and seventy gold coins, is that correct?¡± ¡°Yes, I would like the payment to be in platinum coins as much as possible. If there is not enough, please deposit the rest into my guild account.¡± ¡°Yes, I will do that. I can provide you with eight platinum coins today. Is it okay if I deposit the rest into your guild account?¡± ¡°Yes, please. I would also like to purchase some of the country¡¯s recommended wines, please.¡± ¡°Wine? Ciriaco Trading Company also handles it. What kind of wine are you looking for?¡± ¡°I would like a recommendation, a popular wine of medium quality and above, with a large variety, for five gold coins, please.¡± ¡°Yes, sir, that¡¯s quite a lot. How would you take it?¡± ¡°Would you mind taking it to the Solene¡¯s Inn?¡± ¡°Certainly.¡± Well, I feel like we had a good business negotiation this time. Well, it was more likely that I was being pushed around, but if I made twenty more gold coins, it was better than not making any money at all. I have a commodity called pepper which is quite advantageous for business negotiations, but I¡¯m sure people in normal business are negotiating harder and more fiercely than this pounding¡­ We left the Ciriaco Trading Company and headed to the merchant guild to return the carts. I return the cart and ask to withdraw thirty platinum coins while I¡¯m at it. They said I could withdraw it tomorrow, which is going well. ¡°Next, I¡¯m going to buy some new equipment¡­ Does anyone know a store?¡± ¡°Fufu, It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve already asked the adventurers¡¯ guild for some reputable weapon shops and armor shops.¡± ¡°Thank you, Alessia-san.¡± Alessia-san led us into the weapon shop first. I picked up each of the bows on the lineup and pulled them one by one¡­ It¡¯s kind of easy to pull. ¡°Wataru-san, did you find one you like?¡± ¡°Oh, Marina-san, they all feel light. I¡¯m at a loss as to what kind of bow to look for.¡± ¡°? Wataru-san, what is your level now?¡± ¡°Level, is it? Last time I looked, it was 182.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I don¡¯t think you can find it here. I¡¯ll ask the owner.¡± Marina-san looked a little surprised. I guess she was surprised at my unexpectedly high level. I¡¯m in a power leveling state while I¡¯m at sea, so I¡¯m only getting higher in level¡­ I¡¯ve only directly defeated horned rabbits and goblins yet. Marina took me to the store owner. ¡°Owner, I want you to bring out a strong bow.¡± ¡°Hmm? I¡¯m sorry, but there is nothing better than the bow you have in this store.¡± ¡°Not me. It¡¯s for him.¡± ¡°Hmm? For this guy? If he was using a beginner¡¯s bow, he should use the one I have lined up over there next. A beginner can¡¯t afford a better bow than that one, you know?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, the ones that are lined up over there seem light to me, so I¡¯ll need something stronger.¡± ¡°Hmm, I have some stronger bows over there, too, you know? But okay, just wait a minute.¡± I know what he meant; I guess a dull guy with a beginner¡¯s set doesn¡¯t look like he has that kind of power. The owner came back with a couple of bows. He made me draw the bows in turn¡­ ¡°Hmm? This is just right, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this guy a beginner? He doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s been through life and death; is he high-level? I don¡¯t really understand this guy.¡± He¡¯s almost right; I¡¯m a beginner, and I¡¯ve never been in a fight for my life, although my level is high. I try out a few bows and pick the one I like. Twelve gold coins, that¡¯s a lot of money. Ines and Felicia also got a new sword, bow, and small staff. It¡¯s for a total of 58 gold coins¡­ Or fifty-eight million yen, I¡¯m afraid. After that, we headed to the armor shop and picked out armor. I was honestly not sure what to expect, but I decided on my armor, and the ladies quickly decided on leather armor made of monster leather. Ines and Felicia are happily choosing their leather armor. It took about three times as long to buy Ines and Felicia¡¯s armor as it took me to buy mine¡­ I¡¯m not convinced. It cost me one platinum and thirteen gold coins at the weapon and armor shops. It¡¯s 113 million Japanese yen¡­ I¡¯m going to throw up; the soul of an ordinary man in me is rejecting an unbelievable amount of money. ¡°You all look like great adventurers with updated equipment.¡± ¡°Alessia-san, I¡¯m a merchant, though.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, Marina told me about you. You are at a very high level. Why don¡¯t you start being an adventurer again?¡± ¡°Even though my level has increased, I¡¯m still not very good at fighting. I only got to this level thanks to Ines and Felicia¡¯s help.¡± ¡°It is dangerous to have little combat experience, but having a high level is a great advantage. There is no harm in having little combat experience from now on. Our life in the sea has raised our level, and it will continue to do so in the future. We will continue to improve.¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t think my personality is suited for this. I¡¯ll take it easy and train, and if there are opportunities for actual combat, I¡¯ll gain experience little by little at that time.¡± ¡°Really? I feel like it¡¯s a waste, but¡­ in Wataru-san¡¯s case, there¡¯s no need to force yourself to fight.¡± ¡°Well, I have two guards and Rimu, and if I get the chance, I will do my best.¡± ¡°Fufu, well, I can¡¯t imagine Wataru-san forcing himself to fight, so maybe that¡¯s for the best.¡± Phew, I feel like I¡¯m going to be thought of as a pathetic guy, but¡­ if I say I¡¯m going to do my best in combat, she¡¯s going to say, ¡°I¡¯ll help you¡± and take me to some crazy place, so I¡¯ll consider this a good thing. We bought our equipment, so we went back to the inn, eating and shopping at the food stalls. Everyone else went back to their rooms to rest. It was late afternoon, and the dining room was empty, so I decided to try spreading cheese. ¡°Landlady-san, I¡¯d like to meet the cook of this inn.¡± ¡°Yes, he is here. Please wait a moment.¡± I hear a voice say, ¡°Darling, a customer wants to see you.¡± ¡­Is it a rule that the innkeeper is married to the cook? I think most innkeepers¡¯ husbands are cooks. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting. My name is Gino. How can I help you?¡± A slender, cool-looking Onii-san came out¡­ my motivation was rapidly withering. No, I shouldn¡¯t be in such a bad situation that I have to be jealous of a riajuu*. Let¡¯s switch it up. [T/n: Riajuu is internet slang for somebody who has a good life. It¡¯s typically used by otaku and such on message boards like 2chan to refer to people who have girl/boyfriends and are popular with their peers.] ¡°I¡¯ve got a few questions about cooking. If you¡¯re interested in what I have to say, I¡¯d like you to cook them for me.¡± ¡°That sounds interesting; I¡¯d love to hear about it.¡± I told him about the cheese and, incidentally, the milk. Cheese is a preserved and portable food in this country as well, and it seems only to be eaten roasted when camping. I offered him cheese and milk, saying that he would have to try it to understand. I asked him to make pizza toast and carbonara for a sample. ¡°I was amazed¡­ how such a simple dish could taste so good¡­ Pizza toast, wasn¡¯t it? You just spread tomato sauce on bread, put cheese on it, and bake it, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple, but it¡¯s delicious. I have something I¡¯d like you to make for me.¡± We had the meat sauce, so I showed him how to make the white sauce. I handed him the recipe for lasagna and threw it in. I¡¯ve never made lasagna because it seems like a lot of work, and I can¡¯t explain it very well, though, can I? But when I was thinking of a dish to spread cheese, I really wanted to eat lasagna. I¡¯m counting on the pros. If it turns out well, they will serve it for dinner. He said he would experiment with it, so I went back to my room¡­ I wondered if lasagna would be served for dinner. I brought the wine from the Ciriaco Trading Company to the room and repatriated it. ¡°Ines, Felicia, now that the pepper business is over and we¡¯ve bought the equipment, would you like to go with me to the cave to look for slime?¡± ¡°Ufufu, what does Master like to do?¡± ¡°Hmm, I want to see the slime, but I¡¯m worried about the fact that we¡¯re going to a cave. I have a feeling that creepy monsters might come out.¡± ¡°There will be bug monsters and stuff. But can Master refuse the requests of all the Girasole members?¡± ¡°Felicia is right.¡± ¡°Right. If they ask me to go with them, I think I¡¯ll answer that I will go. Ines, Felicia, would you be okay in the cave?¡± ¡°Master, I am an ex-adventurer. I am used to it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been in caves in the forest, and I¡¯ve been in them to exterminate goblins and such, so I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Really? Then let¡¯s go and try out our new equipment.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± It was time for dinner, so we headed for the dining room. I hope the lasagna is ready. I take a seat with Girasole and ask Gino-san for it. A few moments later, Gino-san himself came out with the lasagna. He put a large plate of lasagna on the table and cut it in front of us. The cross-section of the lasagna was a visual assault, with layers of meat sauce, white sauce, pasta, and cheese dripping from the top. We and the other members of Girasole were glued to the lasagna as it was being cut into pieces. The lasagna is served one by one in front of the ladies. ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Itadakimasu.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Everyone was crazy about the lasagna. The cheese is tender, the bread crumbs are crispy, and the rich meat sauce and white sauce are delicious¡­ intertwined with the pasta. ¡°How is it, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Gino-san, it¡¯s very tasty. I gave you the recipe during the day, but I¡¯m surprised it came out this perfect at night.¡± ¡°I was also surprised at how good this dish tasted when I tasted the sample. My wife and my employees loved it, and I would like to continue to study it.¡± ¡°Both the white sauce and the cheese can be used to make a variety of delicious dishes. I hope you will try them all.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡± While we were talking, the ladies and Rimu were working on their second helpings. I hurriedly ate my own lasagna and managed to secure a second helping, too. After the meal, we gather in Girasole¡¯s room. On the way there, I saw Gino-san in trouble with another customer who was pressuring him to serve that dish, and I thought to myself, ¡°Serves you right, Ikemen!¡± Funds on hand: 7 gold coins, 53 silver coins, 76 copper coins. Guild account: 63 platinum coins and 70 gold coins. Savings ship: 73 platinum coins. Pepper ship: 485 ships. Volume 4 - CH 13 Chapter 13 ¨C Conflicts Between Reason and Desire and Cave Exploration ¡°Ufufu, today¡¯s dinner was very tasty. Wataru-san was involved, wasn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Yes, it takes a lot of work to make, so I asked someone with more experience to make it. Did you enjoy it?¡± ¡°Yes, I enjoyed it very much.¡± Oof, Ilma-san¡¯s charm is 20 percent more bewitching. She really liked it, didn¡¯t she? ¡°Rimu likes it too.¡± ¡°It was delicious.¡± ¡°It was great. Please give me the recipe later.¡± Everyone seemed satisfied. Other customers were also curious and asked questions of the employees, so maybe this will help spread the word about cheese and milk a bit. ¡°Wataru-san, I want some dessert.¡± ¡°Okay, which would you like today?¡± ¡°Mmm, I¡¯ll have pudding today.¡± After distributing the desserts to everyone, we start discussing tomorrow¡¯s plans. ¡°Wataru-san, you¡¯ve finished all your plans, haven¡¯t you? Will you follow us to the cave?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be fine. But I have an appointment tomorrow morning to withdraw some platinum coins at the merchant guild.¡± ¡°Then, after Wataru-san¡¯s appointment tomorrow, we can go straight away and rent a carriage. Is that okay with everyone?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± It was decided to go without a hitch¡­ Felicia¡¯s readings were right. If it comes to this, let¡¯s make the trip as enjoyable as possible. Tomorrow morning, early in the morning, after withdrawing the money, we will leave for the cave in a carriage. I have to tell the landlady the reason and ask her to refund the money. When we returned, she made me promise to stay at this inn again and teach Gino-san about the delicious food. I enjoy my daily routine every morning, get ready, and go to the dining room. Girasole was eating breakfast in full equipment. They¡¯re in high spirits. We exchanged greetings and ate breakfast. I withdraw 30 platinum coins at the merchant guild, rent a carriage, and set off. After leaving the gate, we drive a little further, and in a discreet place, I summon a rubber boat and tie it to the inside of the carriage. This makes things a little better. In the carriage, Dorothea-san and Marina-san are talking with Rimu. They say they can barely understand a word, but they are happy. When I tell them that they will be able to hear more clearly if they sign a contract or raise their tame level, they hug Rimu happily. ¡°Attribute slimes are something that even you A-rankers haven¡¯t found before, except for Rimu, right? I hope you find them successfully.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we can¡¯t make a decision either. Until Marina and I became interested in the slime, we were hardly aware of it, so even if we had met it, I don¡¯t think we would have noticed it. We never had to fight them because they¡¯re not belligerent, even though slime itself is a monster.¡± ¡°I see; then it might be easier to find them than you think.¡± ¡°Fufu, I¡¯d be very happy if that were the case.¡± The horse-drawn carriage journey went smoothly, and after several rest stops, the night fell. After a meal, we decided to take a watch and were about to rest when Ines said she wanted to have a bath. ¡°Baths, you shouldn¡¯t do that here, as there might be monsters and bandits out there.¡± ¡°But nobody can come in because they¡¯re not allowed on board, so there¡¯s no danger, is there?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­ what do you think? Alessia-san.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯d like to have a bath too, but¡­ Wataru-san, it¡¯s embarrassing indeed, so can you wait for us in the hut boat?¡± ¡°Eh? Are you going in, too?¡± ¡°Yes, well, we¡¯ll escort you in turn, and it¡¯s safe and secured with barriers, so I think it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Everyone wanted to take a bath, and with quick coordination, the bath was heated. With Ines¡¯s flame magic, the stones are instantly set ablaze in red. The stones were thrown into the bath filled with water. Easily heated up the bath. What was all my hard work until now? I can¡¯t accept it. After that, it¡¯s just a matter of getting permission to board the hut boat. Even though there¡¯s a paradise on the other side of a single plank, can you be so sure of Donnino-san¡¯s work? There isn¡¯t even a gap in the hut boat, though. At times like this, I want to complain that they should at least make a gap. And because there is only one board as an obstacle, the voices can be heard very well. The voices I hear stimulate my imagination, and I can¡¯t stop imagining. ¡°Phew, it feels good,¡± ¡°Ufufu, Claretta¡¯s is so lovely,¡± ¡°Ilma¡¯s skin is so beautiful,¡± ¡°Dorothea, can you wash my back?¡± ¡°Carla, don¡¯t fall asleep.¡± ¡°Rimu-chan, are you feeling good in the bath?¡± ¡°Ah, where are you touching me?¡± ¡­Where are they touching it? I can¡¯t help wanting to know. Every time I hear a voice, my reason is being chipped away. In my head, I can¡¯t stop the pinkish scene¡­ With my level up, I feel like I can break through a board of this size. Should I go, should I go through it? If I break through, I can see paradise¡­ but¡­ what should I do¡­ ¡°Master, I¡¯m sorry to keep you waiting.¡± ¡°¡­Then I¡¯ll repatriate it. After that, summon the hut boat.¡± ¡°Master, your eyes are empty. Are you alright?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not okay. From now on, you are not allowed to bathe in the open air. My reason won¡¯t last.¡± ¡°Well, Master, it¡¯s hard not to have a bath and maybe even an occasional one.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Ines, Master¡¯s eyes are dangerous. Retreat.¡± What¡¯s so dangerous about my eyes? I was just fighting the devil in my mind that whispers to me that if I destroy the planks in front of me, I will reach paradise. Oh well, I¡¯ll give everyone permission to come aboard and return to the hut boat. ¡°Ines, perhaps we are being too selfish. What about slaves who leave their Masters behind to bathe? Maybe we are too indulgent to our Master.¡± ¡°Felicia, you are thinking too much. Master just used up everything he had to keep himself rational. In the morning, he¡¯ll be back to his old self.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m a bit nervous, so let¡¯s work on that now. We¡¯ll go into the hut boat.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ines and Felicia, who came into the hut boat, were very aggressive, even though Girasole was also around. Morning, huh¡­ ¡°Nchuu, good morning Master.¡± ¡°Chuuu, good morning, Master.¡± ¡°Hmm? Good morning, Ines, Felicia.¡± Somehow their kisses were longer than usual today, weren¡¯t they? Yeah, it¡¯s something good, isn¡¯t it? ¡°It¡¯s the usual Master, isn¡¯t it? Ines was right.¡± ¡°Ufufu, yes. But it was a bit scary, so let¡¯s not be too selfish.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± After breakfast, we set off in the carriage. ¡°Dorothea-san, will we arrive at our destination today?¡± ¡°Yes, we will arrive at the village in the afternoon. From the village, we will enter the forest on foot and reach the cave in about three hours.¡± ¡°Three hours¡¯ walk from the village? That¡¯s a lot closer than I thought.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a small village near the forest.¡± ¡°So we¡¯ll use the village as a base?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ll just leave the carriages and camp near the caves. The cave itself, I¡¯m told, won¡¯t take long to explore in its entirety, so we¡¯ll search for two days and return if we don¡¯t find anything.¡± ¡°Is it small? I heard it was quite windy, so I was under the impression it was a big cave.¡± ¡°Yeah, we don¡¯t know the whole area, but it¡¯s a narrow, intricate cave with water blocking the passage in places, so we can only explore a small area.¡± ¡°Can I summon a ship to go further?¡± ¡°¡­What do you think? If the passage is submerged, even a boat can¡¯t get through¡­ but if there is an open space above it, the area to be explored might be expanded. I¡¯ll discuss this with the others when we take a break.¡± While saying this, Dorothea-san and Marina-san also seem quietly excited. Is this what the Creator God said Girasole would have trouble with? ¡­I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s different or if the Goddess of Light said it wouldn¡¯t make any difference whether it was Palermo or in the Southern City. If it¡¯s about the cave, I won¡¯t get involved if I return to the Southern City. During a break, when Dorothea-san told us that there was a possibility that we could explore places we couldn¡¯t explore before by ship summoning, everyone¡¯s tension skyrocketed. Everyone¡¯s an adventurer, I guess, and they¡¯re excited just to hear that they¡¯ll be able to explore an unknown place. If they expect so much, I¡¯m afraid of the fallout when things go wrong¡­ Should I have kept my mouth shut? After a break, we set off again in the carriage. While playing around with Rimu, I ask Dorothea-san. ¡°Should I not have told you that the ship summoning would increase the scope of exploration? Everyone seemed to be expecting it. Wouldn¡¯t they be disappointed if nothing happened?¡± ¡°Well, they might be a little disappointed, but adventurers have had that experience many times. You shouldn¡¯t worry about it, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Besides, there¡¯s a chance you¡¯ll find something interesting.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll enjoy myself and trust that we¡¯ll find something interesting.¡± A little after noon, we arrived at a small village. We showed our guild cards and were let in. The gatekeeper was surprised that an A-rank adventurer had arrived. We went to the village chief¡¯s house and asked him to take care of our carriage. The members of Girasole are gathering information about the cave. I don¡¯t know much about it, so I take a leisurely stroll through the village. ¡°Wataru-san, we are leaving.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be right there.¡± I proceed in a formation flanked by the members of Girasole. I called out to Alessia-san, who was walking next to me. ¡°Alessia-san, what kind of monsters are out there?¡± ¡°In the forest, there are slimes, goblins, wolves, and orcs. But they say that except for slimes and goblins, most of them are deep in the forest and rarely come out. In the caves, there are slimes, goblins, giant bats, and giant centipedes.¡± Giant bats are big bats, right? What¡¯s a giant centipede? Let¡¯s hope it¡¯s not a bug type. Please, Creator God, please. ¡°Thank you. Alessia-san.¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s okay. We¡¯re more indebted to you than you are to us.¡± I was attacked by goblins many times when I was walking through the forest¡­ It was killed instantly by the members of Girasole. I wanted to try out my new equipment once, so I was allowed to fight, and my arrows went through the goblins¡­ I need a good weapon. This should be enough to take down the merman. Once I could use the bow, I was satisfied and walked meekly. After a while, we reached the cave. ¡°It will soon be dark. We¡¯ll go into the cave tomorrow, and today we¡¯ll get ready for the encampment.¡± We all prepare the camp, eat dinner and go to sleep. In the morning, Ines and Felicia, and I ripen our morning routine and leave the hut boat. The Girasole members were ready and waiting. For now, we served breakfast and got ourselves ready. ¡°Come on; it¡¯s time for adventure, everyone. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Alessia, calm down. Wataru-san, we will proceed with the same formation as in the forest. Leave the fighting to us, and we¡¯ll cross wherever we can by summoning ships, please.¡± ¡°Yes, Dorothea-san, I understand.¡± So the sub-leader Dorothea-san is following up on the outburst of the leader, Alessia-san, or has it been properly thought out? I feel that Dorothea-san is already the leader, but Alessia-san must have something to lead the party. I haven¡¯t seen it, though. We enter the cave. As I had heard, it is a narrow passage, and there is always a strong wind blowing. The monsters that come out are weak and are killed instantly by members of the Girasole. Giant bats are shot down by Marina-san the moment they approach. Goblins are killed instantly, and slimes are observed closely to check if they can use magic. ¡°Uhyah, I can¡¯t. This is impossible. I really want to go home¡­ Let¡¯s give up and go home.¡± ¡°Calm down, Wataru-san. What¡¯s wrong all of a sudden?¡± ¡°No, that seems impossible, so why don¡¯t we go home?¡± ¡°That? Ah, Giant Centipede, this level of monster can easily be defeated. So don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°No, oh, yes, I understand.¡± Giant Centipede¡­ was a big centipede, after all. It¡¯s seriously disgusting. It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t beat it or can beat it; it¡¯s just sickening. I guess my prayers to the Creator God didn¡¯t get through. A big centipede of about two meters attacks you with its many legs, wiggling around. I want to go home. But I can¡¯t say that, can I? I stifle my screams as best I can and follow the women who proceed to beat the giant centipedes with no problem. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m a male chauvinist or anything, but¡­ I think the roles are usually reversed. The ship summoning came into play a few times along the way, but when we crossed over by boat and continued on, we hit a passage that was completely submerged and had to turn back several times. For hours we search in the dark cave, relying on the magic light. As expected, everyone was getting tired, so we gave up for the day and decided to go back outside. When we managed to get back outside, the sky was red with the setting sun. We entered the cave around sunrise, so we must have spent half the day exploring the cave. At any rate, we got ready for camp and had dinner. It was quite hard work, and there was no harvest, so we were all exhausted, but the women were all in good spirits and making plans for tomorrow. I can understand those who are still experienced adventurers, but Felicia must have never been on an adventure or anything, so why is she so energetic? Today we were exploring the cave lucidly, but we couldn¡¯t go any further and had to turn back many times, so tomorrow, she says we will always go against the wind. If we go against the wind, we won¡¯t have to turn back at submerged places, which might be a good idea. I¡¯m tired today, so I want to go to bed early. I hope tomorrow will be an uneventful, good night. Funds in hand: 7 gold coins, 53 silver coins, 76 copper coins. Guild account: 33 white gold coins, 70 gold coins. Savings ship: 103 white gold coins. Pepper ship: 485 ships. Volume 4 - CH 14 Chapter 14 ¨C Underground Lakes and Wind Slime Morning, huh? I enjoyed my daily routine every morning, got ready, had breakfast, and immediately entered the cave¡­ I wonder why they want to go into a cave with a giant centipede attacking them with an excited face. We proceeded through the cave with the same formation as yesterday. We are going against the wind, which drains our strength, and the giant bats are attacking us, riding on the wind. The members of Girasole are killing them instantly, so it¡¯s not a problem, but the increased momentum is freaking me out more often. It seems that even if my level goes up, I can¡¯t get rid of my weakness. We continued to defy the wind and summoned a boat to go over a passage blocked by water. ¡°Phew, let¡¯s take a break here and have lunch.¡± We came to a slightly wider place, so we blocked the passage with the hut boat and had lunch. Rimu, who had been in my bag, also came out and went all the way to the windy place, rolling around in the strong wind. He seems to be having fun. ¡°It¡¯s really nice to have you here, Wataru-san. Being able to have a hot meal in the cave and a safe rest is terrific.¡± ¡°I myself am also helped by the ship summoning. Although it doesn¡¯t have any offensive power, it¡¯s a good ability.¡± ¡°Fufu, it¡¯s an enviable ability. But there are some S-rank people who have unique skills as well. Most of them specialize in combat. Being able to apply it to life in such a defensive role is very rare among the unique skills, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Is that so? But Alessia-san, I thought that everyone with unique skills hides them from the public, but are there people who make them public?¡± ¡°Yes, those who don¡¯t know how to use their unique skills hide them because they don¡¯t know what they can be used for. And those who know how to use them, their unique skills are so powerful that they stand out, and even if they try to hide them, they will still be exposed.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Certainly, unique skills related to combat will stand out, won¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why people with powerful but inapplicable unique skills are often surrounded by the state, while those of S-ranks have mastered their abilities and are capable of rejecting the state¡¯s offers to recruit them.¡± ¡± Heh, I didn¡¯t know there were people like that.¡± ¡°Fufu, Wataru-san, if you prepare your unique skills, you should be able to compete with the country. Do your best.¡± ¡°Ahahahaha, even if I end up doing okay in terms of ability, I won¡¯t have the heart to do it. If the country takes notice of me, I¡¯ll be holed up in the ship and won¡¯t come out.¡± ¡°The ship is so comfortable; I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll really come out.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s fun to go places, so I¡¯ll be careful not to get caught.¡± ¡°That would be nice. Well, shall we get going?¡± After taking a break, we proceeded through the cave against the strong wind. It seems to be a gradual descent, and the further we go, the more places there are filled with water. We were attacked by monsters many times, and we walked on and on with many breaks in between, but there was no end in sight. ¡°Fuh, this cave is much bigger than I expected, and it¡¯s already nighttime.¡± ¡°Right, Alessia, we have to decide whether to turn around or go on.¡± ¡°Dorothea, do you want to go on or go back?¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re at the end of the unreachable cave, so I¡¯d like to check it out, but since Wataru-san is coming with us this time¡­ we might as well turn around.¡± ¡°But we can¡¯t proceed to the back of the cave without Wataru-san¡­ Shall we ask Wataru-san¡¯s opinion? Wataru-san, do you think it¡¯s better to proceed or turn back?¡± Personally, I¡¯d like to get out of the cave as quickly as possible, but I guess if I were to read the air¡­ I should answer that we should proceed. ¡®The women want to go on, but Wataru-san seems to be having a hard time, so what should we do?¡¯ That¡¯s the mood we¡¯re in. ¡°Well, we¡¯ve come this far, and we have plenty of food and time to spare. Shouldn¡¯t we go on with our exploration a little further?¡± I¡¯m weak¡­ and can¡¯t say what I don¡¯t want to. I can¡¯t go against the mood of the moment. ¡°Right, then, let¡¯s find a comfortable place to camp, get a good rest, and continue our exploration.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± We went on for a while and found a slightly larger place to set up camp. We finish dinner, decide on the order of the watch, and go to sleep. ¡­Morning, huh? Since we are in a cave, I finish my morning routine lightly and leave the hut boat. We¡¯ll continue onward through the dark cave today¡­ or I¡¯ll have to at least try to keep my spirits up so as not to make the air feel bad. ¡°Then let¡¯s get going.¡± We continue through the dark cave, taking some breaks, and just when we can¡¯t stand the dark cave any longer, we see a light at the end of the road. ¡°Alessia, I see a light ahead of us. I¡¯ll go ahead and scout the area.¡± ¡°Okay, Marina, be careful.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I see a faint light at the end of the dark cave. I hope this will somehow yield results. Then we can leave the cave with a good feeling. ¡°I¡¯m nervous. What do you think is out there?¡± ¡°Fufu, well, no one has been here yet, so there might be something unusual in there.¡± Dorothea-san¡­ I thought you came here to look for slime, but I wonder if you forgot about it.¡± As we were discussing and imagining what lay ahead, Marina-san returned. ¡°Welcome back, Marina, are you injured?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. There was a big underground lake just up ahead. There was a hole on the other side of the lake, and it looked like strong winds and sunlight were coming in through it.¡± ¡°Were there any monsters in there?¡± ¡°As far as I can tell from my scouting, I don¡¯t think there are any monsters other than the ones we¡¯ve seen so far, but I don¡¯t know what¡¯s in the underground lake.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you, Marina.¡± ¡°Anyway, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any immediate danger that we can see, so let¡¯s proceed with caution.¡± We proceed cautiously to the underground lake, being even more vigilant about our surroundings. ¡°The Luto can be summoned at this depth. But the Hideaway seems unsafe. Shall I summon the Luto?¡± ¡°Yes, I think so. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s under there. Please do.¡± I summon the Luto, and we all get on board. ¡°Phew, now we can all relax. Now, what do we do? Should we go straight to the light?¡± ¡°I¡¯m interested in that place, but I don¡¯t know what¡¯s there. I think I¡¯d like to take a shower first.¡± ¡°Right, I agree with Ilma. Let¡¯s take a shower first.¡± ¡°Eh, they were so curious about the place, and now they want to take a shower here? Even though I wanted to go home, I was curious to see what was under that light¡­ I just can¡¯t understand the woman¡¯s mind. With everyone¡¯s warm and fuzzy appearance in my mind, I took a shower myself. After drinking some cold fruit juice and relaxing for a bit, we headed to the place where the light was coming from. ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be any big monsters in the underground lake¡­ I wonder if those little things are fish?¡± ¡°Yeah, a lake with a river running through it would have monsters, but there¡¯s no¡­ running through it either.¡± ¡°Yes, the water is clean, but is it drinkable?¡± We reached the other side of the lake and got off the boat. Carefully heading down to the light, we found a beautiful scene of blooming vegetation. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± In a vast space, on the side of a dark underground lake, bathed in the light pouring down from a huge hole, plants in full bloom. All of us were gaping at this spectacle. ¡°Hmm? I saw something shining over there.¡± ¡°Eh? Where is it?¡± As we cautiously approached the glowing spot, we found a green object buried in the ground. After digging it up and looking at it, we found¡­ what¡¯s this? A huge scale nearly two meters long came out. ¡°T-this is a dragon, and this magic power must be dragon scales.¡± ¡°Wow, are these dragon scales? They are huge.¡± ¡°No, it is not just a dragon; it is a Ryu. The magic power remaining in the scales is mixed with sacred power.¡± Ilma-san always smiles bewitchingly, but now her usual bewitching atmosphere is blown away by excitement. What does this mean? I look around and see that the women are frozen with expressions of surprise. It seems I¡¯ve somehow missed something. After Ilma-san calmed down, I asked her to explain. There are dragons and Ryu in this world, and even dragons have very few records of being defeated, so they have a very high value. And Ryu is completely different from dragons, with only one individual confirmed for each of the following attributes: light Ryu, dark Ryu, earth Ryu, fire Ryu, wind Ryu, and water Ryu, and they are said to have intelligence and are revered as messengers of the gods. There are also said to be thunder Ryu, ice Ryu, etc., although they have not yet been confirmed. I am getting confused with Ryu and the dragon, but I think things are getting serious. I want to go home and pretend this never happened. ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t it bad? If we stay here, we¡¯ll run into a Ryu that¡¯s that big?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Wataru-san; I don¡¯t think it has been back here for many years now. There are no traces left on the ground, and it might not have been back for hundreds or thousands of years.¡± ¡°So you can tell the magic even though the scales are that old¡­ amazing. ¡­So what are we going to do with it now?¡± ¡°Well, we can¡¯t afford to miss the chance to get our hands on the Ryu materials. We¡¯ll do a thorough search of the entire underground lake.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± They completely forgot about the slime¡­ Everyone scattered and began to search the surrounding area. I¡¯ll search too. After searching for a while, wading through the vegetation, something waved in the corner of my eye. Hmm? It¡¯s slime, isn¡¯t it¡­? And it¡¯s glowing light green¡­ like a slime that can use magic like Rimu. I looked around and¡­ saw no one. I approach it gently with a piece of fruit. It doesn¡¯t run away, so I give it some fruit. It seems fine, so I gently pet it. Rimu also comes out of my bag, and he and the light-green slime bump into each other. ¡°Rimu, is this child scared of us?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°I see; that¡¯s good.¡± I talk to the light-green slime while petting it. ¡°Hey, there¡¯s an Onee-san who wants to make a contract with you. Will you come with me?¡± The light-green slime looks as if it is talking to Rimu, who is twitching for a while. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll go¡­¡± ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll introduce you tonight. Can you wait in this bag until then?¡± ¡°¡­Yeah¡­¡± With that, the light green slime went into my bag. ¡°Rimu, thank you, you told it something, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Fun and tasty.¡± ¡°I see. Did you say that it can have fun and tasty food? Then I¡¯ll have to treat it to a lot of food. Of course, I¡¯ll treat Rimu to lots of food, too.¡± ¡°I like Wataru.¡± Then it went into my bag. They are playing with each other in the bag, bumping their bodies against each other. So cute. At any rate, I continued my search. I searched until sunset and came back to the ship. ¡°It¡¯s amazing that we found so many, and we haven¡¯t even explored all of them yet. Let¡¯s keep on searching tomorrow. Is that okay, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Yes, of course, Alessia-san. I was wondering, Claretta-san, you seem to be collecting a lot of plants. Are they good ones?¡± ¡°Yes, it is. This place is amazing, with precious medicinal herbs and even variants of those herbs.¡± ¡°I see. I will let you know if I find any rare plants too.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± ¡°And Marina,-san, I think this one is a slime with a wind attribute. What do you think?¡± I gently pick it up from my bag and hand it to Marina-san. Slowly, Marina-san also hugs the light green slime and converses with it. ¡°I¡¯m Marina; nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Yes, aren¡¯t you familiar with it?¡± ¡°Fruits? Do you like them?¡± ¡°Would you like to come with me?¡± Marina talked with a kind face; she was beautiful. By fruit, I assume she means the fruit I gave her. Will you come with me? At the same time as the words, a magic circle floats in front of the light green slime. We all watched with bated breath, and the slime, which had twitching, accepted the magic circle. It was like this at the time of Rimu; I was so happy then. And Marina-san¡¯s wonderful smile, it¡¯s a rare sight. ¡°Congratulations, Marina.¡± ¡°Congratulations, Marina-san.¡± Everyone congratulates Marina-san. ¡°Thank you, everyone. This child is a Wind Slime, a slime with a wind attribute. Her name is¡­ Fuu-chan. Since she is a wind attribute slime, I¡¯m going to call her Fuu-chan. Nice to meet you, Fuu-chan.¡± Yeah, it¡¯s a simpler and cuter name than I expected and somewhat unexpected. ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san. Thank you for finding Fuu-chan and bringing her here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad I was able to repay you in some small way for bringing Rimu to me. Rimu and I are looking forward to playing with Fuu-chan.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After the conversation was over, we decided to have dinner. It¡¯s so cute to see Rimu and Fuu-chan eating dinner side by side. When Rimu finished eating, he went to the ladies¡¯ place to get some food to share with them, and Fuu-chan followed behind him. Everyone is smiling as they share their meals with Rimu and Fuu-chan. It¡¯s cute, but next time I¡¯ll serve a little more food. Afterward, everyone had dessert and enjoyed playing Jenga and reversi. ¡°Wataru-san, Fuu-chan said she was so happy to have so many delicious foods; thank you.¡± ¡°No, no, Rimu is also happy to have a friend. Thank you.¡± Dorothea-san and Marina-san are playing happily with Rimu and Fuu-chan. But Dorothea-san was also wishing for her own slime as soon as possible. It¡¯s a rare sight, though it¡¯s cute. After all that had happened, I decided to go to bed early. Tomorrow we will start exploring again in the morning. Good night. Volume 4 - CH 15 Chapter 15 ¨C How to handle the Materials and Fear of Heights? Three days have passed since Fuu-chan joined the group. After exploring the surrounding area every day¡­ We found 9 Wind Ryu scales, 3 Wind Ryu claws, 1 Wind Ryu fang, and precious medicinal herbs. I can understand the scales, but how did the claws and fangs fall off? Will the claws and fangs grow back? We decided to discuss what to do with it anyway. ¡°Well, this is an incredibly valuable material, isn¡¯t it? Will there be a big fuss about it this time?¡± ¡°No doubt, there will be a big fuss. Not only in this country, but I think the royalty and nobility of other countries will be eager to obtain it.¡± ¡°Ah, so it will be a big deal after all. Since everyone wants to make armor out of this, we can¡¯t just hide it away. If we announce that we found it in this place, it will raise the question of how it got to the underground lake.¡± ¡°Yes, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to get there without Wataru-san¡¯s help. But Wataru-san doesn¡¯t want to be noticed, so we can¡¯t talk about it, can we?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. So, since I don¡¯t need the materials for the Wind Ryu, could you please pretend that you all descended from that big hole with a rope? I¡¯ll just pretend that I was waiting in the village.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not quite how it works. We can pretend that we went down from the big hole, but you¡¯ll have to accept the materials as well.¡± ¡°Well, if an F-ranked merchant happens to have the materials for the Wind Ryu, there will be a storm of trouble.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell them you have it. As long as it¡¯s all we¡¯re giving out, they won¡¯t know. Well, it will be harder to sell it for cash, so we might as well pretend we got some of it.¡± ¡°Once we pretend we got a little, we¡¯ll be in a lot of trouble.¡± ¡°But Wataru-san, you are traveling with us, and since the trouble is definite, I think it would be better to make it easier for you to cash it in.¡± ¡°Oh, that may be true, indeed.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s settled. Wataru-san¡¯s materials are four Wind Ryu scales and two Wind Ryu claws. Is that okay?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t need that many. Four scales and two claws are too many.¡± ¡°But we¡¯re getting the fangs, so that¡¯s what we¡¯re benefiting from, right?¡± ¡°Three scales and one claw is enough for me. So publicly, I will have one scale. All of you in Girasole, besides making equipment, will have to sell it somewhere to fit in, so please keep more.¡± ¡°Umm, okay, then I will give half of the money for the materials I sell to Wataru-san. That¡¯s decided.¡± ¡°Hah, I understand. I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± ¡°Fufu, it¡¯s turned out to be a hassle, hasn¡¯t it? But we are very happy with it. Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Well, when push comes to shove, I¡¯ll just shut myself in. So how are you going to use the materials?¡± ¡°Fufu, weapons made of Ryu material. The scales will be used for our armor and Carla¡¯s shield. The fangs and claws are big enough to make swords, spears, and knives, and the rest will be auctioned off.¡± ¡°Alessia, since they were found in this country, we must donate one to the cathedral.¡± ¡°Ah, Dorothea is right. Let¡¯s offer one of the scales. I think there will be a reward for it, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I think so.¡± ¡°In the first place, how much would the Ryu¡¯s material be worth?¡± ¡°I wonder how much it costs? Does anyone know?¡± ¡°Since it is impossible to subjugate Ryu in the first place, some heroes talk to them, and then they are made into armaments and kept as national treasures by a few countries.¡± ¡°¡­Is it okay for you ladies to make equipment out of such a thing?¡± ¡°Y-yes, I have a very bad feeling about it¡­ What should we do? ¡°As for me, the claws and fangs are too dangerous to reveal. I think it would be better to pretend we found two scales, donate one, and auction off the other.¡± ¡°Dorothea, you are not going to make weapons and armor?¡± ¡°A national treasure weapon and armor are more dangerous to wear. I think it would be better to have Wataru-san keep the rest and have it made in secret when we find a trustworthy craftsman.¡± ¡°It would be better if I didn¡¯t mention that I have one scale, too. Then, let¡¯s say that only two scales were found this time. It¡¯s a secret, everyone. It looks really dangerous.¡± ¡°Hey, Master, if it¡¯s so dangerous. Shouldn¡¯t everything be kept secret since we won¡¯t be making weapons and armor anymore?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, too. What shall we do?¡¡¡± ¡°Um, we can¡¯t keep it all a secret. The medicinal herbs that grow there are very precious. We have to ask the government to protect them.¡± ¡°Ah, there are medicinal herbs there.¡± ¡°If Ryu material is found there, it will raise suspicions about us, so I think it would be better to donate one of them.¡± ¡°Well, let me summarize. When we descended from the big hole with a rope, we found two Ryu scales and a cluster of precious medicinal herbs. Is that correct?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Then, we should go back. We also need to locate the big hole. How do we locate the big hole?¡± ¡°Since I know the direction, should we just try to find it?¡± ¡°Marina was probably right. Let¡¯s go back to the village, gather some rope, and go again.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Because of my selfishness, I¡¯ll have to bother you like this.¡± ¡°Fufu, it¡¯s okay. If it weren¡¯t for Wataru-san, we wouldn¡¯t have found this in the first place. Considering that, it¡¯s the same as if we didn¡¯t have to go through this much trouble, right, everyone?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Thank you, everyone.¡± But there¡¯s another thing that¡¯s hard to exchange for cash¡­ If I could exchange it all for cash, I could buy a luxury liner. Well, I¡¯ll just have to do my best to sell the pepper. We spent the next two days back in the village, gathered up the ropes, and set out in search of the big hole. Marina-san led us in the direction of the big hole. ¡°It was getting dark soon.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s make camp.¡± I serve dinner and summon the hut boat. We all eat together and decide on the order of the watch. As usual, I am exempt from being on watch. I am a little embarrassed that I can¡¯t fight even though my level is high. I could have accepted that it would be no problem if I were low-level. Lately, Rimu and Fuu-chan are always with me, which is cute to see, but I miss having Rimu on my head so much. I go into the hut boat and go to sleep, thinking about stupid things. ¡­Morning, huh? I do my morning routine with Ines and Felicia and leave the hut boat. I greet the members of the Girasole, prepare breakfast and eat it together. ¡°It¡¯s time to get going. Marina, please show us the way.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Marina-san, do you know the distance to the big cave?¡± ¡°I have a general idea, but the feeling of being in a cave is different from the feeling of going through the forest, so there will be a discrepancy in the distance. I know that if we walk for another hour or so, we will be close to it.¡± ¡°I understand, thank you.¡± Can we find it by the end of the day? It¡¯s that big hole; we¡¯ll know if we get close enough. After walking for a while, Marina-san told us to proceed with caution around. She said it could be anywhere from here to there. We proceeded, paying attention to our surroundings. ¡°I hear the wind coming from over there.¡± ¡°Marina, do you know how far away it is?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that far.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go there.¡± I can¡¯t hear it at all. Marina-san, you are a human, aren¡¯t you? Only Marina-san noticed that there, even though there were a lot of members with animal ears? That sounds like some kind of skill. As I proceeded in the direction Marina-san said, I began to hear the sound of the wind, but I couldn¡¯t find the big hole. ¡°I think it¡¯s in the middle of that cliff.¡± ¡°That cliff¡­?¡± When I looked at it, there was a pretty high cliff¡­ halfway up? How do we get there? ¡°Good, I can climb that high.¡± ¡°Yeah, we don¡¯t need any special equipment.¡± Eh? Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, what are you talking about? That¡¯s a cliff, isn¡¯t it? Am I the only one who thinks this is crazy? What should I do? I¡¯m the one who started the search for the big hole, and I¡¯m supposed to say I¡¯m too scared to climb it? ¡°Wataru-san, can you bring out the rope? Dorothea and Marina will climb up and hang the rope, so just wait for them.¡± I summon the storage boat for now and take out the rope. Dorothea-san and Marina-san are climbing up the cliffs with ease¡­ If they hang a rope, it means we don¡¯t have to climb the cliff with bare hands. But does it mean we have to climb the cliff with a single rope¡­? Do we have to do it? While I was thinking about it, Ilma-san and Claretta-san climbed up the rope. ¡°Next is Wataru-san.¡± It seems I have no choice but to do it¡­ ¡°Yes.¡± I grabbed the rope and started to climb. Maybe it¡¯s the effect of my level-up, but I¡¯m finding it surprisingly easy to climb¡­ I was a little too optimistic and looked down on the way up. The height is much higher than I expected, and my legs start to shake. Leveling up doesn¡¯t make my heart stronger¡­ I¡¯m scared stiff¡­ but I can¡¯t get scared and stuck in front of a group of women. The rest of the way, I climbed over the cliff, powered by the power of an unexplainable look. Climbing up to the middle of the cliff, I found a large space where there was a big hole sucking in the air. A strong wind was blowing into the hole. ¡°Can we climb down?¡± ¡°I think the rope is long enough; we¡¯ll try it when everyone else climbs up.¡± ¡°R-right.¡± Wow, going down into a hole that is several steps deeper than the cliff we came up to and in a strong wind? After everyone has climbed up, the rope is tied tightly to the rock and hangs down into the hole¡­ The rope is flapping around in the strong wind¡­ Are we really going to go down? Marina-san grabbed the rope and went down into the hole without hesitation¡­ It seems we are really going down. ¡°Alessia-san, does this mean we all have to go down?¡± ¡°? Oh, yes, I wonder. I don¡¯t know since Marina and Dorothea are already down there.¡¡Well, it looks like they are waiting for us below, so let¡¯s go down.¡± (Master, if you think you can¡¯t make it, you¡¯d better say so.) (Felicia is right. It would be very embarrassing if you got stuck on the way down and caused trouble.) (Y-yes, I can see the future of being stuck, so I¡¯ll wait here.) ¡°Alessia-san, since it doesn¡¯t look like I¡¯ll be able to climb up this hole, is it okay if I wait here?¡± ¡°Really? Then don¡¯t push yourself; just wait here; I¡¯ll call them both and come back.¡± I looked at Alessia-san as she was going down. She was hanging in the air, and the wind was blowing her around, but she was going down smoothly. That looks scary. I¡¯m really glad I stopped. ¡°Ufufu, are you afraid of heights, Wataru-san? ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. But I got very scared during the cliff climb earlier, so I don¡¯t have confidence that I can climb back up after going down this hole.¡± ¡°It is important to say what you can¡¯t do. That¡¯s great.¡± I should have said something pathetic, but Ilma-san praised me. I felt like I was getting something out of it. Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, and Marina-san returned. They said that this bottom was definitely the place where we found the Ryu¡¯s scales. After checking it out, we went down the cliff, and¡­ it was 100 times scarier to go down than to go up. If I had tried to go down to the big hole, I would have been stuck in the middle for sure. I was exhausted from the effort of going down the cliff, but I made it back to the village, feeling dizzy. We arrived at the village in the evening, but there was no place to stay, so we prepared to camp at the carriage. ¡°How do you plan to do things after returning to Barletta?¡± ¡°We will report to the guildmaster of the adventurers¡¯ guild about this place and the Ryu scales. Maybe we can ask him to inform the cathedral about the donation of the Ryu scales and about the auction plans?¡± ¡°I think Alessia¡¯s idea is fine. No matter where we report it, there will be a big fuss, and it would be faster to do it all at the adventurers¡¯ guild. But how should we report Wataru-san?¡± ¡°About me? As I¡¯m going to assume that I don¡¯t have the scales, is it too much to ask that I was a merchant who followed you on your adventures and was away from you when you got the Ryu scales?¡± ¡°If anyone asks about it in the village, they will immediately know, so you can just say that you were following us on our adventures, but you were just watching us. That would be fine.¡± ¡°Right, it would not have worked if we made up too much of a story. I think we should go with what Dorothea-san said.¡± ¡°Right, then, let¡¯s have dinner soon.¡± Dinner is served, and everyone eats together. After enjoying Rimu and Fuu-chan¡¯s sharing of the food, we get ready for bed.¡± Since we are in a village, we don¡¯t take a hut boat today. We set up our tents and rested. We were allowed to use one of the carriages, so we summoned a rubber boat inside and went to sleep. It¡¯s hard that I haven¡¯t been able to have lovey-dovey time lately. Good night. Volume 4 - CH 16 Chapter 16 ¨C Negotiations and a Better-Than-Expected Response Two days after leaving the village, in the early afternoon, we returned to Barletta¡­ inside the carriage, large scales were wrapped in cloth and propped up on top of a rubber boat. We walk through the gate and go straight to the adventurers¡¯ guild. ¡°I need to speak to the guildmaster. Could you please arrange for me to speak with him?¡± ¡°Is there an emergency?¡± ¡°No, but it¡¯s a big matter. I can¡¯t talk about it here.¡± Well, Alessia-san¡¯s nervousness increases when she comes to the adventurers¡¯ guild, doesn¡¯t it? She looks 20% more tense than usual. ¡°Do you mind if we go to another room and talk about the contents first? If it¡¯s not an emergency, I¡¯d like to ask you what it¡¯s about.¡± ¡°If this information leaks out, it will cause big trouble, and the fewer people who know about it, the better. If you can¡¯t make arrangements, I will go to the merchant guild or the cathedral, so either tell the guildmaster, or you can make the decision yourself.¡± ¡°I understand. I will go and tell him. Please wait a moment.¡± ¡°Alessia-san, is it not okay if we talk to the guild staff in the other room?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind talking to them to a certain extent. The guild staff is connected to other adventurers, and sometimes information is passed on to them. It would be a problem if this information gets out and the place is destroyed, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Is that possible? It¡¯s difficult to imagine.¡± ¡°Most of the guild staff are very serious about keeping secrets. But it is true that in the past, information has been passed on many times, and it has caused problems. This time it is important information, so we have to be careful.¡± While we were talking, the receptionist returned. ¡°The guildmaster says he will meet with you. Let me show you the way.¡± The receptionist led us into the guildmaster¡¯s room. A strong-vulgar-looking old man is sitting in front of a desk¡­ Is he the guildmaster? He looks like a yakuza boss to me.¡± ¡°I heard it¡¯s an important matter that you can¡¯t even talk to the guild¡¯s receptionist about? That made you doubt a staff I trust. I¡¯ll beat the crap out of you if it¡¯s a stupid talk.¡± Wow, scary! Is it okay for the guildmaster to be like that? ¡°What¡¯s with that lad there? He¡¯s not good enough for the A-rank party, is he?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a merchant. Can you please clear the people here so we can talk about it? If you don¡¯t want to listen, I¡¯ll go to the merchant guild. That¡¯s fine with me.¡± ¡°This is my trusted man here, and you¡¯re telling me you don¡¯t trust this guy too?¡± I told the receptionist that the less one person knows about it, the better. It is your choice to listen to what I have to say and tell your trusted man. But I don¡¯t personally know your man. Therefore I want to talk to the guildmaster alone.¡± ¡°Tsk, alright. You stay away from here.¡± Wow, Alessia-san is kind of scary. Is it that important? No, I heard that even the royalty and nobles of other countries are looking at it with bloody eyes. It¡¯s definitely important. ¡°You see, I¡¯ve sent him away. If you talk nonsense, I¡¯ll seriously crush you people.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay to threaten, don¡¯t worry; you¡¯ll be so busy you won¡¯t even have time to sleep.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m looking forward to it, so get to it.¡± Why is this guildmaster being so belligerent? ¡°I¡¯ve found a precious herb cluster. Claretta, please.¡± Claretta-san lays out the medicinal herbs she collected in front of the guildmaster. As the medicinal herbs are lined up, the guildmaster¡¯s face is tinged with surprise¡­ They must be quite precious. ¡°Oh, come on, are you serious? These medicinal herbs are in a cluster? What are you going to do? Isn¡¯t this important? Do you want me to call the pharmacists¡¯ guild? We have gotta set up some protection. Where are the exact locations?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not finished yet. I need you to hear me out.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re not done yet, huh?¡± I don¡¯t know how to say it, he looks like a yakuza boss, but he¡¯s a delinquent on the inside. It¡¯s hard to understand why he could be a guildmaster. ¡°Hah, you¡¯re the one who started all the fuss, so just shut up and listen to me.¡± Alessia-san is irritated. But is it really okay to be like that to the guildmaster? ¡°Hey, hey, you can¡¯t talk to the guildmaster that way, can you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too much trouble; let¡¯s go to the merchant guild. Wataru-san, please.¡± ¡°Eh? Do you want me to speak to them? I¡¯m just an F-ranked merchant, you know?¡± ¡°It¡¯s better than talking here. I can¡¯t talk to someone who doesn¡¯t understand when I say it¡¯s important.¡± With that, she quickly left the room. Well, what are we going to do with this atmosphere? Even the guild master is freezing up, you know? ¡°Ufufu, Master, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Eh? Ah, yes, I¡¯m coming.¡± As I walked out the door, I heard yelling and the sound of something being smashed. Is this okay? Aren¡¯t we making enemies with the adventurers¡¯ guild? Are Alessia-san and the others going to be alright? We got on a carriage and headed for the merchant guild. ¡°Dorothea-san, are you sure it is okay for us to go to the merchant guild? Aren¡¯t you making enemies of the adventurers¡¯ guild?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not good, but the guildmaster seemed to be in a bad mood, but that attitude is unbelievable. Alessia doesn¡¯t like that type of man, so I guess she couldn¡¯t stand him.¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t understand. But won¡¯t they harass you?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s alright if we go back to the Southern City. Please make the master of the adventurers¡¯ guild speechless with your negotiations from now on, Wataru-san!¡± ¡°As I said earlier, I¡¯m just an F-ranked merchant.¡± I still don¡¯t understand why I have to negotiate. I feel like I¡¯m the one who wants to say ¡°No¡± to them. I don¡¯t want to be involved in such an important matter. ¡°Fufu, please do your best. If you fail, it¡¯s okay because we¡¯re going to the cathedral.¡± Going to the cathedral means going to the center of the country. I don¡¯t want to go there. We arrived at the merchant guild. We went inside and talked to the woman at the counter, the one with fox ears. ¡°Excuse me. I have an important matter to discuss. May I speak to the guildmaster?¡± ¡°What kind of matter is it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s really important, and I¡¯d like to speak to the guildmaster alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we can¡¯t help you if we don¡¯t know what it¡¯s about. If you don¡¯t trust us enough, we can¡¯t refer you to the guildmaster.¡± ¡°Yes, well, I suppose that¡¯s true, but¡­ Then, can you please tell the guildmaster that this is a matter that could involve the whole country and cause a huge uproar?¡± I feel like we¡¯re making a big deal out of this ourselves. Suppose I can just tell her to show these Ryu scales to the guildmaster. I think that would have been good. ¡°If it is something like that, I will tell the guildmaster, but it shouldn¡¯t be a joke, okay? Is everything okay?¡± ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯d like to run away now, but unfortunately, I hear it¡¯s something that will cause a big fuss, so please pass the information on to the guildmaster.¡± ¡°Understood. Please wait a moment.¡± Wow, I really want to go home. I really want to go back to the ship. I want to hug and cuddle with Rimu and get my peace of mind back. ¡°The guildmaster will see you now. Let me show you the way.¡± I follow the fox-eared woman into the guildmaster¡¯s room. ¡°Hmm, I hear it¡¯s a story that will cause a great uproar throughout the country. Let¡¯s hear about it.¡± ¡°Oh, yes. Before that, could you please send the people away?¡± ¡°Hmm? He is a sub-master of a commercial guild and a trustworthy person.¡± Eh? Are we going to send away such a high-ranking person? How can I do that? ¡°Um, I didn¡¯t know he was such an important person, but I was told that the fewer people who know about this story, the better it is. If necessary, I would appreciate it if I could talk with the guildmaster only.¡± I don¡¯t know what to say. Even if I tell only the guildmaster, it is the people below who will eventually make a move, so I think it¡¯s okay to tell them, but is it really something we have to go this far to hide? ¡°Hmm, I understand. I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re going to have to stay back.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Now, can you tell me what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Yes, I have two things to tell you. The first is, Claretta-san, please.¡± ¡°This is, these are very rare medicinal herbs, right? Even the merchant guilds rarely deal in them. Is there something wrong with this?¡± ¡°Yes, we have discovered clusters of these medicinal herbs.¡± ¡°What did you say? Is that true? The value of these herb clusters is immeasurable.¡± ¡°Yes, they were discovered by the Girasole, an A-ranked adventurer party. There can be no mistake about it.¡± ¡°Hmm? Isn¡¯t that strange? If the A-rank adventurers discovered it, they should have gone to the adventurers¡¯ guild. I don¡¯t understand why they would go through you, an F-rank merchant, to talk to the merchant guild.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because we went to the adventurers¡¯ guild at first. The guildmaster was in a bad mood, or maybe he was belligerent, and we left before we could finish our conversation.¡± ¡°Hmm, that man is rough, but I don¡¯t think he would easily become belligerent.¡± ¡°No, he was belligerent from the moment we met him. But somehow, I felt he was displeased that we told him we couldn¡¯t even talk about it with the receptionist. Then, when we asked him to send his people away, he got in an even worse mood.¡± ¡°Ah, he¡¯s very considerate of his subordinates, so he must have been in a bad mood because he felt his trusted subordinate was being doubted. But it is normal not to talk to the receptionist about important matters¡­ so it¡¯s a bit of a problem.¡± ¡°So, let me get to the point here if you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Hmm? Is it more important than the precious medicinal herb cluster?¡± ¡°Yes, and so. May I bring in the related materials from the carriage?¡± ¡°Hmm, okay. Shall I send someone from here?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s okay. Ines, Felicia, please.¡± I give permission for Ines and Felicia to board the boat. ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t imagine that this would really involve the whole country. I will talk to the pharmacists guild and the government and promise to dispatch a security guard. The adventurers¡¯ guild will not be involved this time.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± We¡¯ve accomplished most of our goals, although I¡¯m not sure if the master of the adventurers¡¯ guild will be so upset. Ines and Felicia returned with the scales. They remove the cloth from their wrappings in front of the guildmaster. ¡°A-are these the dragon¡¯s scales?¡± ¡°Well, they are actually Ryu¡¯s scales. There were two of these Ryu scales buried on the side of the cluster.¡± ¡°Ryu, you say¡­? I can¡¯t believe it¡­ Do you have any proof of this? If they are Ryu scales, not only this country but also this continent will be in an uproar.¡± Wow, that¡¯s a really big deal¡­ Is he serious about the continent being in an uproar? ¡­He must be really serious. I seriously want to go home. ¡°Proof, is it? Um¡­ Ilma-san, please.¡± ¡°Those who can sense the magic of those scales will immediately recognize it. There is a sacred power mixed with the magic.¡± ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m convinced of your seemingly nervous response. So what are you going to do with these?¡± ¡°Yes, we will donate one of them to the cathedral. And the other one is going to be auctioned off.¡± ¡°I see. So you won¡¯t be turning it into your own equipment?¡± ¡°They say it will be a national treasure, so we decided it would be dangerous just to wear it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good decision. I understand. First of all, let¡¯s have the pharmacist guildmaster and the cardinal who can feel the magic power come here. I can¡¯t judge whether it¡¯s a dragon or a Ryu, but even a dragon is a big enough deal. I will only talk to the sub-master about this. I¡¯ll let him make the rest of the arrangements on his own, if that¡¯s all right with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡± Cardinal, or something, would come up, I¡¯m not sure exactly about the position, but I¡¯m sure he was a very important man¡­ What should I do? ¡°Umu, now, can you tell me more about it?¡± ¡°Yes, did you know that there is a cave about two days away from here where strong winds blow?¡± ¡°I believe you are referring to a cave near a small village of timber wholesalers.¡± As expected of a master of a merchant guild, he knows about small villages, which is great, but kind of scary. ¡°Yes, after exploring that cave and the surrounding area, Marina-san, the scout from Girasole, discovered the sound of a strong wind coming from the cliffside. When she checked, she found a large hole, and when she climbed down the hole after scratching out a rope, she found a cluster of medicinal herbs and scales. I could not go down there myself, so I waited outside. From then on, please ask the Girasole¡¯s leader, Alessia-san.¡± ¡°I understand. But first, I have a question. That area is not a place for A-rank adventurers to explore. Why did you explore such a place?¡± ¡°Yes, it was to find a slime that could use magic. It is said that slimes with magic attributes are found in places where the phenomena of their attributes are strong, so we searched for caves where strong winds blow and the surrounding area.¡± ¡°I see. I don¡¯t understand why she would be taming slimes, but the slime the woman is holding is the slime she tamed?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then, it was Alessia-san, wasn¡¯t it? Can you give me some information about the inside of the cave?¡± Phew, I¡¯m done. Alessia-san will take care of all the rest. The guildmaster in Barletta is kind of powerful and tiring. The guildmaster in Southern City is easier to deal with. After Alessia-san¡¯s talk was over, we were told to wait in a separate room. We were told that we could not leave for the time being. ¡°Then, I will show you to the room, so please wait there. It may take a little while, but I¡¯m sure we can get through this today.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± We entered the room that the fox-eared woman guided us to. I can finally take a break as she offers me a cup of tea. ¡°Alessia-san, were you sure that was the right thing to do?¡± ¡°About the negotiations we just had?¡± ¡°Yes. ¡°I think it was enough. If the pharmacists¡¯ guild master and the cardinal are coming, then the talks should go smoothly.¡± ¡°I see. I am glad to hear that. But I¡¯ll leave the negotiations to Alessia-san, okay?¡± ¡°Since you have negotiated this far, I think it would be better if Wataru-san continues.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, I think so too. The merchant guild master should have talked to the other party based on the premise of discussing with Wataru-san, so it would be a problem if the negotiating partner suddenly changes.¡± ¡°Ugh, I understand. I¡¯ll do my best. So how important is a cardinal?¡± ¡°In this country, the order is Pope, Cardinal, Archbishop, Bishop, Priest, and Deacon, right?¡¡Claretta.¡± ¡°Yes, Alessia is right. In the Church, it¡¯s a little more subdivided, but that¡¯s about right.¡± ¡°So, someone so important is called to come into the merchant guild today? In the first place, is it really worthy in the eyes of the public?¡± ¡°Well, the Ryu scales must be worth that much, right? It was a good thing we didn¡¯t make it into equipment. Besides, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll come here undercover, not dressed like he¡¯s a cardinal, right?¡± A merchant guildmaster, a pharmacist guildmaster, and a cardinal, why do I have to meet all those people? ¡­I have to bring the Girasole¡¯s achievement to the forefront. Volume 4 - CH 17 Chapter 17 ¨C Sub-master¡¯s Hard Work and Guidance to the Cluster After Wataru and the others were shown into the merchant guild¡¯s room. ¡«From the perspective of the sub-master of the merchant guild¡« A while after I was sent out of the room, I was summoned by the guildmaster. I guess this is the end of the story of what was said to be a big commotion involving the whole country. Well, some merchants try to take credit for something of little importance by exaggerating the story. I guess this was one of them. ¡°It¡¯s Enzo.¡± ¡°Come in.¡± ¡°Excuse me.¡± ¡°Enzo, what they said before was not an exaggeration but a story that could affect not only a country but an entire continent. It is of such importance that I would like to invite Cardinal Adolfo and the guildmaster of the pharmacists¡¯ guild here today to discuss it.¡± ¡°Today? Isn¡¯t that unreasonable, no matter how much it costs?¡± He suddenly started saying outrageous things. He is not a person who would do something meaningless, so what the F-rank merchant brought to him must have been of such serious importance. ¡°Yes, but if we do not take action before this story leaks out, we will be plunged into chaos. If we fall behind, countries will send their people to us. I don¡¯t like to ask a sub-master to do this, but I would like you to arrange everything on your own.¡± ¡°Can you tell me what it¡¯s all about?¡± ¡°Well, I won¡¯t bore you with the details, but they discovered a cluster of these medicinal herbs. Moreover, they say there are Ryu¡¯s scales buried in the ground beside them.¡± ¡°Ryu?¡± Even a cluster of these medicinal herbs would cause a commotion, but Ryu scales? That¡¯s ridiculous. ¡°Yes, I cannot determine whether it is a Ryu or a dragon, but I heard that the adventurers who found them would donate one to the cathedral. I would like you to ask the Cardinal to come to confirm this. Normally, we should be the ones to go, but it would be too conspicuous.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± ¡°Needless to say, you must keep this matter to yourself and discuss it only with the guildmaster of the pharmacists guild and Cardinal Adolfo.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± If it really is Ryu scales, it is something that only a few countries have. If there is a chance to get them, they will do everything they can to get them. If the information spreads, surely the whole continent will be in an uproar. It should cause a lot of nervousness. Well, let¡¯s head to the pharmacists¡¯ guild first. ¡°Oh, it is rare for the sub-master of the merchant guild to have a sudden visit like this, isn¡¯t it? Is there anything I can do to help?¡± ¡°I apologize, but it¡¯s an emergency. Could you please inform the pharmacist guild master? Please inform him that I would like to meet with him privately.¡± ¡°This is not a trivial matter, isn¡¯t it? I understand. Please wait a moment, and I will let him know.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Let¡¯s talk to the pharmacist guild master only about the area where the herbs grow in clusters and not about the Ryu scales. ¡°Thank you for your patience. He says he is going to meet you. I will show you the way.¡± Following the guide, I entered the room. ¡°It¡¯s been a while. I apologize for the unexpected visit.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been a long time. It¡¯s rare to see you who value procedure come up like this, isn¡¯t it? Is it really that serious?¡± ¡°Yes, for one thing, a cluster of these medicinal herbs has been discovered.¡± The pharmacist guild master¡¯s eyes change color¡­ when he sees the list of medicinal herbs that have been discovered. ¡°Hey, Enzo-kun, is this true?¡± ¡°Yes, I have heard that variants of those medicinal herbs have also been identified in that cluster of herbs.¡± ¡°Can you tell me more about it?¡± ¡°No, we have discovered something more problematic in the area. Can you please come to the merchant guild today and discuss the details with the guildmaster?¡± ¡°Today? Is it any more important than this? That sounds scary¡­ Can you just tell me a little bit about it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t do that. Can you please come as soon as possible today? I will come back later to negotiate with Cardinal Adolfo so that he can come as well.¡± ¡°Is it really necessary to call the Cardinal? I wonder what would cause such a thing to happen. I¡¯ll be on my way to the merchant guild after this.¡± ¡°Please do. Now, excuse me.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll see you later.¡± I managed it somehow¡­ Next is the cathedral, this one is more of a challenge. ¡°Do you have an appointment?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Then I can¡¯t help you. It would be a problem for a sub-master of a merchant guild to ignore procedures.¡± ¡°I understand, but it is an emergency. Please tell him that this is an important requirement for this country and that I would like to meet with him privately.¡± ¡°I understand, and I will let him know.¡± I hope we manage to meet. I¡¯m not good at tearing up side papers. It hurts my stomach. ¡°He says he¡¯ll meet with you. Please come this way.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I was shown to the Cardinal¡¯s room. ¡°I apologize for this sudden visit.¡± ¡°Fumu, I have been very busy, and some of them have been kept on hold because of your visit. It must be very important then, I presume?¡± ¡°Yes, I have determined that there is a possibility of disruption to the country.¡± ¡°Oh, let us hear what you have to say.¡± ¡°Today, the discovery of a valuable medicinal herb cluster was reported. The problem is that near it, scales were discovered that appear to belong to a Ryu. According to those who can sense the magic of the scales, there is a sacred power mixed with the magic from the scales.¡± ¡°Hmm, Ryu, huh¡­? That would certainly be a problem. Can we trust the word of the one who discovered it?¡± ¡°Yes, they are an A-ranked adventurer, so they are credible. It seems that the guildmaster also checked it out and said it was a wonderful piece, though he could not say whether it was a Ryu or a dragon and that one of the pieces would be donated to the cathedral by the adventurers, so he asked for your confirmation.¡± ¡°Hmm, you want me to go to the merchant guild to check it out?¡± ¡°I apologize, but the cathedral is a very public place, and we have determined that information would be leaked and cause a commotion. We must also urgently dispatch someone to protect the area, or else there is a possibility that our valuable property will be destroyed.¡± ¡°I understand. I will have to confirm this. There is one more matter that cannot be left out. After that, I will go to the merchant guild. You go back and make the necessary arrangements.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± Fuh, it was somehow taken care of. After this, I will report back to the guildmaster and¡­ It looks like I¡¯m still going to be busy. ¡«The merchant guild sub-master¡¯s point of view is finished.¡« After waiting for quite some time, I had some free time to play with Rimu and Fuu-chan. I can¡¯t see it, but it seems that when Rimu gets on my head, Fuu-chan chases after him and gets on top of Rimu. This is a big hit with the ladies¡­ I want to see it too. While I was killing time playing with Rimu and Fuu-chan and chatting with the ladies, it was getting late in the evening¡­ I wonder when it will be done. As I was worrying about dinner, we were finally summoned and shown to the guildmaster¡¯s room. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting. This is Cardinal Adolfo, and that is the guildmaster of the pharmacist guild.¡± ¡°No need for greetings. I guess we don¡¯t have much time, do we? Please show me the Ryu¡¯s scales at once.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± I remove the cloth and carry the scales in front of the Cardinal. ¡°Certainly, I can feel the sacred power; it¡¯s amazing, these are the Ryu¡¯s scales¡­ So you will donate one of these to the cathedral?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Fumu, it¡¯s such a big deal; the Pope should receive it when it¡¯s presented. We must do it in a big way.¡± Oh, the Cardinal is saying some disturbing words¡­ I have to get away from this somehow. ¡°Cardinal Adolfo, before we do that, we have to protect the cluster.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The land of precious medicinal herbs¡­ The cathedral will also send some knights. Is there any possibility that there are still scales buried there?¡± ¡°It seems that they have searched the entire area on the surface, so there is a possibility that the scales are buried in a deeper place, but it is a place where precious medicinal herbs grow¡­ so we must be very careful.¡± ¡°I see. Is there a place for the knights to rest?¡± ¡°No, although there is a small space in front of the cave. The large hole that leads down into the herb cluster is halfway up a cliff, so there is little space. There is a large space in the big cave where the light does not reach, though. The strong winds and the darkness make it unsuitable for an encampment.¡± ¡°Hmm, even if we let the knights camp outside¡­ we¡¯ll need some agile men, too. Hmm?¡¡By the way, is the master of the adventurers¡¯ guild not here?¡± ¡°Yes, since I heard that the master of the adventurers¡¯ guild had a dispute with these people, I didn¡¯t call him.¡± ¡°Is that so? Then I will arrange for the departure to the cluster site early tomorrow morning. I will ask you to lead the way. So I want you to be at the cathedral before sunrise.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± What was the long wait for? They hardly listen to us, and now we¡¯re supposed to start guiding them tomorrow morning. It¡¯s already a hassle. But I guess it will be more trouble if we run away¡­ As it was, we had to stay at the merchant guild. Did they know I wanted to escape? ¡°I¡¯m sorry, everyone. We¡¯ll be showing them the way tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Fufu, I know because I heard about it. Well, we don¡¯t want anyone else tearing up the place, so we¡¯ll just have to do it.¡± ¡°It turned out to be more important than I thought. He said something about presenting the scales directly to the Pope. At that time, I¡¯ll ask everyone at Girasole to take care of it for me.¡± ¡°Fufu, I guess it can¡¯t be helped, can it? If Wataru-san is the one to present it, it will be too conspicuous.¡± ¡°Yes, it would be too conspicuous for an F-rank merchant to offer the Ryu scale to the Pope. If all of Girasole presented it, it would be more glamorous and would be acceptable to an A-rank adventurer.¡± ¡°Is that so? Oh, and what about the Ryu scales? We can¡¯t ask Wataru-san to repatriate them. I guess we¡¯ll just have to ask the merchant guild to take care of them.¡± ¡°Yes, they are going to bring us dinner, so we can ask them then.¡± After dinner, we asked a staff member to give a message to the guildmaster, who came all the way to see us after dinner and agreed to keep it for us in the guild¡¯s private storage. The next morning, we took a carriage to the cathedral a little before sunrise, and everyone was already there. Since it was the advance party, they had a small group of 20 knights, 40 squires, and five members of the pharmacist guild¡­ A total of 65 people seems like a lot, though. All of them got on horses or carriages and departed. It was impressive that the five people from the pharmacist guild were so high-spirited and excited as if they were happy to be able to go to the place where the precious medicinal herbs grow in clusters. In two days, we reached the small village and left the carriage and horses in the village. The villagers are in a panic at the sudden visit of the knight. If it were not handled properly, the villagers would have to take care of more horses than they had, and they would be in chaos. Leaving the village in turmoil, we first headed for the cave. Here, five knights and ten squires split up. Marina-san led them to the cliff. I thought I didn¡¯t want to get into trouble with the knights. I was surprised to find that they were gentle and polite. It was unexpected that the staff of the pharmacist guild was more troublesome. The staff of the pharmacist guild were not bad people, but they just kept on asking us what was going on in the cave, the temperature, what kind of plants were growing there, and so on. We were about to see the cave, you know? They couldn¡¯t resist it. When we reached the cliff, it was getting dark, so we prepared to camp. One of the staff of the pharmacist guild is making a fuss about wanting to go inside for a bit and is making everyone angry. However, it is quite inconvenient because I cannot use the ship summoning skill when we are in a group. It seems that we have been relying on my skills quite a bit without realizing it. Especially since the meals were all portable food prepared by the merchant guild, and Carla-san was wilting so much that it was visibly noticeable. Rimu and Fuu-chan didn¡¯t like the portable food either. They told me, ¡°I don¡¯t like it,¡± via thought communication during the meal. I almost summoned the boat without being seen. I asked Rimu and Fuu-chan to put up with it on the condition that I would serve them lots of delicious food on the way home, but before I knew it, Carla-san showed up, and I promised her as well. The next morning, the nimble squire quickly climbed the cliff and hung a sturdy rope ladder from the top. Five knights, ten squires, and five people from the pharmacist guild would go inside. The others were to maintain the area. The squires carried the rope ladders up the cliff many times¡­ right, that hole is quite deep, isn¡¯t it? I thought we were going to be excused, but they wanted us to go inside with them the first time and explain. Of course, I had to stay. Alessia-san, Marina-san, and Claretta-san went in and explained. Later, Aletssia-san told me that the staff of the pharmacist guild, who had come down the rope ladder trembling, had fallen down when they got down, but the moment they saw the plants, they ran at them, screaming hysterically during the explanation of the surroundings, and it seemed that they were not coming back for a while. After the guided tour, we returned to Barletta, which took two days. Of course, we had plenty to eat on the way back, and I summoned a boat for the meal. Carla-san, Rimu, and Fuu-chan ate twice as much as usual, and the rest of us ate 1.5 times as much. Yeah, portable food doesn¡¯t taste good, does it? Back in the city, we went to report to the merchant guild. I reported to the guildmaster and was told that the matter was treated as a request and that we would be paid a commission, which was a generous one gold coin per person. I asked about the Ryu scales and was told that it had been decided that one of the scales would be presented to the Pope in person, carried along the main street while showing off the scale, but the timing had not yet been decided. At this time, I asked not to participate. He was a little reluctant because there would be no one from the merchant guild, but after I explained to him that it was not worth it for an F-rank merchant to show off on such a big stage, he somehow agreed. As for the auction, he asked me if I would be interested in putting it up for auction in the continent¡¯s largest auction to be held in seven months¡¯ time. The merchant guild will advertise it all over the continent and encourage the public to participate. The commission would be 10% of the winning bid, but I was told that we would not lose any money, so Alessia-san gave her permission. She said that if we couldn¡¯t come to the auction, they would still sell the items and transfer the payment to our guild account. After receiving the fee, we returned to Solene¡¯s inn. I got a room, so I got some hot water, wiped myself off, and took a leisurely rest. Volume 4 - CH 18 Chapter 18 ¨C Cheese Fondue and Wine After completing my morning routine, I got ready and headed to the dining room to have breakfast with Girasole. ¡°Wataru-san, may I have a word?¡± ¡°Ah, Gino-san, it¡¯s okay. What is it?¡± The lasagna that Wataru-san taught me is very popular, but¡­ it takes too much time and effort. Can you tell me something simple to make that can surpass the lasagna?¡± ¡°That¡¯s out of the blue, isn¡¯t it? Is it really that difficult?¡± ¡°Yes, I always make the white sauce and the meat sauce in layers after lunch.¡± ¡°Ahaha, I see. Well, I¡¯ll give it some thought.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Hmm, easy and tasty, isn¡¯t it¡­? Cheese fondue is okay, too. I want to eat it, and I think I¡¯ll have it made before lunch. ¡°Everyone, I¡¯m going to have Gino-san make a new dish for us before lunch. What do you think?¡± Everyone will eat it, and Claretta-san wants to watch from the kitchen, and Carla-san wants to observe, too. ¡°If you don¡¯t have anything to do after noon, you can try white wine, which I hear goes well with it.¡± ¡°Ufufu, do you mind if I have some too?¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re not going out today, so Ines and Felicia can have a drink too.¡± ¡°Ufufu, I¡¯m looking forward to it. Thank you, Master.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it; you always protect me. I¡¯ll give you the wine later.¡± After breakfast, I went to visit Gino-san. ¡°Gino-san, I have just remembered a simple dish that doesn¡¯t require much time and effort. It¡¯s a meal to be eaten slowly, so the customers may stay a little longer, but is that okay with you?¡± ¡°Yes, for the time being. I want to break up the lasagna situation for all of us, so please.¡± ¡°Then I will come back to make it before lunch. If we eat lunch here, I¡¯m sure some interested people will ask for it.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I had nothing better to do, so I went back to my room. Well, thinking about it, there is nothing more to do in this country. I wonder if I can sell pepper one more time. I think as I play around with Rimu. But the guildmaster remembers my face, so I think it¡¯s best not to sell pepper here. There¡¯s no need to take the risk when there are other places to sell pepper. ¡°Ines, Felicia, is there anything you want to do?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter all of a sudden?¡± ¡°I was wondering if there was anything you wanted to do until the Ryu¡¯s scale was donated. Is there anything?¡± ¡°Well, I can only think of sightseeing.¡± ¡°I think that, once the time for the donation is fixed, it might be a good idea to go to a big town where we can come back in time to sell the pepper.¡± ¡°After all, it¡¯s hard to move until we know the date and time of the donation, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Right, what are we going to do when the donation is over? Are we going back to Southern City? Or do we go to another country?¡± ¡°Ah yes, I¡¯m also concerned about the dark elf village, but we still have plenty of time to spare. Speaking of which, Felicia, how do we go about emigrating dark elves? We¡¯ve never met a dark elf on our travels yet.¡± ¡°Well, there is the problem of finding out the location of the village, so I think it would be better to discuss this with them when we meet them.¡± ¡°Ah, it would certainly be a problem to search for and locate dark elves in hiding.¡± ¡°It might be better to discuss it with the Girasole¡¯s people since they have their own convenience.¡± ¡°Right, let¡¯s go to Girasole¡¯s room.¡± ¡°Rimu, play with Fuu-chan.¡± ¡°So Rimu wants to play with Fuu-chan too. Then, let¡¯s go together.¡± ¡°Ara, Wataru-san, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I just wanted to talk about what we¡¯re going to do after we¡¯re done with the donation of the Ryu¡¯s scale. Do you have a moment?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that¡¯s just fine since we are all here. Let¡¯s talk about it.¡± When I enter the room, Rimu jumps out of my arms with a pop and bounces to Fuu-chan¡¯s place. It¡¯s cute, but I feel a little sad. ¡°Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Oh, excuse me. What will you all do after the donation of the Ryu scale is over? You can go back to the Southern City, or you can go to another country.¡± It was a long process from there, with everyone making a lot of requests about where they wanted to go and what they wanted to do. Before I knew it, Ines and Felicia were also in the circle, and the eight women were happily making travel plans. There is no room for me at all¡­ I guess women like to plan trips even in the other world. I was lonely, so I asked Rimu and Fuu-chan to play with me. In the end, I couldn¡¯t get into the conversation at all until it was time to make lunch. Even if I had, I would have been too scared to speak up in the heat of the moment, so I¡¯m glad I got to play with Rimu and Fuu-chan. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to be decided yet, but now it¡¯s time to make lunch, so please have some idea of what you want to do before the next time.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Oh, very nice reply. Ines, Felicia, Carla-san, Claretta-san, and I are headed to the kitchen¡­ Rimu is going to play with Fuu-chan¡­ I feel lonely. ¡°Gino-san, is it okay if I start now?¡± ¡°Oh, Wataru-san, it¡¯s alright, please.¡± ¡°Then first, please cut chicken, potatoes, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, and other ingredients into bite-sized pieces and boil them. After that, fry the bread and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Any food that goes well with cheese will usually taste good, so try different things.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Next, chop the cheese into small pieces and coat it with potato starch. Then put the wine in a pot and bring it to a boil to release the alcohol. Then add the milk and salt and heat it up.¡± There seems to be no problem. Carla-san said happily, but I doubted if she understood it. ¡°This is where I like to add powdered dried garlic. Remove the pot from the heat, add the chopped cheese, stir, and let it melt in the residual heat. And that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s surprisingly easy.¡± ¡°Yes, if you cut up a lot of the ingredients and boil them, you can serve it right away. You don¡¯t have a shichirin (Japanese charcoal brazier.) to keep it warm¡­ But you can always keep it warm by putting the ashes and two coals in another small pot and placing the pot of cheese on top of it. Now you can serve bite-sized pieces of the ingredients and eat them while dipping them in the cheese.¡± I move some of the cheese to another pot and taste it. ¡°Heh, you stick skewers through these ingredients and dip them in the cheese? Hmm, it¡¯s delicious. The rich cheese goes well with the bread, and oh, these mushrooms are delicious, too. It¡¯s so interesting because you can enjoy so many different things.¡± ¡°Yes, try different ingredients.¡± ¡°Carla-san, please don¡¯t look at me like that. It¡¯s ready to eat now, so please go get everyone.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I put two small pots with coals underneath on the dining room table, and then put another small pot on top of them and transferred the finished cheese from the pot to the small pot on the top. Now all that¡¯s left to do is to carry the plates with the ingredients, and we¡¯re ready to go. ¡°This is an unusual dish, Wataru-san; how do we eat it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll explain when everyone gathers, so please wait a moment. I see that Alessia-san has also prepared some wine.¡± ¡°Ufufu, it¡¯s nice, I haven¡¯t had a drink in a while, so I got excited. Dorothea, Ilma, and Marina all bought some.¡± ¡°Everyone bought that much wine? It¡¯s lunch, you know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright, we took the day off today, and we worked hard yesterday.¡± ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s been a hard day. But please don¡¯t drink too much.¡± ¡°I know, I know. Now that we¡¯re all here, please explain it to us.¡± ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s very simple. All you have to do is skewer the ingredients you want to eat and eat them with the cheese from the small pot. Please enjoy.¡± ¡°Then, itadakimasu.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Itadakimasu.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s delicious, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Ufufu, it goes well with wine.¡± Everyone seemed to like it, so they put their favorite ingredients on the cheese and enjoyed it with wine. I gave Ines and Felicia some wine, too, so we¡¯ve got quite a collection of wine¡­ Is this alright? ¡°Rimu, can¡¯t eat.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, Rimu. I¡¯ll put cheese on it right away.¡± I feed Rimu the ingredients with cheese on them¡­ It¡¯s bliss. ¡°Is it good?¡± ¡°Delicious.¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s good.¡± When I looked at Fuu-chan, I saw that Marina-san was happily feeding cheese fondue to Fuu-chan. Maybe because she was drinking some alcohol, she looked very sexy. Speaking of sexy, Ilma-san is also looking very sexy. Her cheeks are slightly reddish from the alcohol, doubling her sex appeal. ¡­Some of the customers who came for lunch were glued to the ladies. ¡°Huh? You don¡¯t drink, Claretta-san?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m thinking of going to the cathedral in the afternoon, so I¡¯ll refrain from drinking.¡± ¡°As expected, it is a problem for a priestess to go to the cathedral intoxicated.¡± ¡°Fufu, yes, that¡¯s right. But cheese fondue is delicious, so I would like to enjoy it while drinking next time.¡± ¡°Yes, and the next time would be better at night.¡± ¡°We might all drink till the night.¡± ¡°Hahahaha, well, maybe it¡¯s good sometimes.¡± Perhaps the sight of people happily eating and drinking has had an effect, but the number of customers ordering cheese fondue has been increasing. There are also some wife-like people who drink wine as well¡­ Is it okay? After finishing eating, Claretta-san goes to the cathedral while the others are still drinking¡­ they really are not going to drink until the night, are they? When we ran out of cheese and had to have another, I thought we were on course for the night, but we managed to get back to the room when we ran out of alcohol around 3:00, taking advantage of the opportunity. Well, they said they still wanted to drink, so they might be drinking in their room too¡­ Ines and Felicia didn¡¯t come back either. I played with Rimu and Fuu-chan, who evacuated to my room. Rimu seems to be acting like a big brother, maybe because his level is higher than Fuu-chan¡¯s. If Dorothea also tame a slime, I¡¯m sure there will be even cuter scenes to be seen. I¡¯m looking forward to it. In the evening, when I was wondering what to have for dinner today, a knock came at my door. When I answered, I saw that it was Claretta-san. ¡°Claretta-san, I see you¡¯re back; how can I help you?¡± ¡°Yes, um, everyone is collapsed in our room; what should we do about Ines and Felicia?¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. I was wondering if they were coming back, but they were busted. I¡¯ll go get them right away.¡± When I entered the room, Alessia-san was sleeping with a bottle of alcohol in her hand, and Dorothea-san and Marina-san were hugging each other for some reason. Ilma-san is sitting in a chair looking sexy even though she is collapsed¡­ That¡¯s amazing. Carla-san is sleeping properly in her bed¡­ It¡¯s surprising. How about¡­ Ines and Felicia? Ines is sleeping with Felicia¡¯s butt as a pillow. I wonder if this is¡­ ¡°Wataru-san, is something wrong?¡± ¡°No, I was just thinking how wonderfully ruined they all look. ¡°It is bad manners to stare at a woman sleeping, you know.¡± ¡°I beg your pardon. I¡¯ll take Ines and Felicia with me, then.¡± I picked up Ines and carried her to our room first, then Felicia, tucking them both into bed. I invite Claretta-san to join me for dinner. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll join you since everyone isn¡¯t up yet. I just have something to talk about.¡± I head to the dining room and order a regular meal because cheese is indeed hard to eat at night. When I asked for the recommendation, it turned out to be cheese fondue, which is hard to eat two times in a row. ¡°So, what do you want to talk about?¡± ¡°Yes, before we went to the cave, I taught the priest of the orphanage in the cathedral how to make mayonnaise. And when I went there today, I found that even the children were able to make mayonnaise.¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard work, but the kids are amazing.¡± ¡°Yes, they took turns frequently and worked very hard. So, they want to make sure that the mayonnaise is really good enough to sell.¡± ¡°Hmm? I don¡¯t mind. Please spread the word throughout the church.¡± ¡°Yes, the church leaders like mayonnaise and want to promote it throughout the church. It will be of great profit. Can we just donate the profit to the church and the orphanage, as you said before?¡± ¡°Ah, of course. Yes, since I am making good money, I don¡¯t mind if you donate it all.¡± I felt like it would be a waste, but I was also embarrassed to ask for the money after all this time. I was more interested in Claretta-san¡¯s goodwill. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Rimu and Fuu-chan were dissatisfied because there were only Claretta-san and I this time, so they could not go around asking people to share their food. After dinner, I got some hot water and returned to my room. I wipe myself off and go to bed. It¡¯s sad that I can¡¯t do some lovey-dovey stuff, but¡­ Good night. Volume 4 - CH 19 Chapter 19 ¨C Parade and Departure to Southern City Six days had passed since the day I made the cheese fondue. After that day, everyone except Carla-san was down with a hangover. Carla missed dinner and couldn¡¯t wait until breakfast time, so she came to my place early in the morning to get her food. When I answered the early morning knock to see what was happening, I was surprised to see Carla-san with tears in her eyes. I wondered what was wrong, but then I heard a thin voice saying, ¡°Food,¡± and a loud rumbling sound of her stomach. After giving her some food and listening to her story, I heard that she woke up in the middle of the night and somehow managed to endure until now. Should I praise her for putting up with it so well? Ines and Felicia are also down with hangovers, so I head to the dining room alone¡­ Claretta-san and Carla-san are already in the dining room. I greet them and take a seat. Carla-san ate at least two servings of food about an hour ago, didn¡¯t she? Is she going to eat breakfast too? Carla-san happily chewed on the breakfast that was brought to her. ¡­You eat like it¡¯s a matter of course, don¡¯t you, Carla-san? After that, I took soup to Ines and Felicia. I received a report from the merchant guild that five days later, a parade was to be held from the merchant guild to the cathedral to present the Ryu¡¯s scale to the public. The day ended with me taking care of the hangovers. The parade was originally supposed to be organized by the adventurers¡¯ guild, but they have been left out. I was afraid that if we neglected them too much, they would come back to us with a grudge. After that, I spent everyday sightseeing, lingering at the inn, lingering at the inn, going to the cathedral, and lingering at the inn. It was a kind of tiring five days without finding anything to do. Now I am watching the parade with Ines and Felicia. First, about 20 knights on horseback ride down the street. Next, a large carriage with a two-meter tall shiny green Ryu scale and the Girasole sitting around the scale passes by. Finally, another 20 knights on horseback proceed. They are going to go to the cathedral like that and present the Ryu scale to the Pope. The streets are full of people because the merchant guild had advertised all over the place that they could see the Ryu¡¯s scale. I heard later that the reason the Ryu scale was shining so brightly was because the mud had been removed before the presentation, and it had become shiny. I wondered if they had waxed them. ¡°Fuh, it was a huge crowd. It was even more spectacular than I thought it would be. It¡¯s not normal for a knight to accompany a gift from adventurers, is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s certainly unusual for an adventurer to be escorted by a knight to present a gift directly to the Pope. But if Master hadn¡¯t refused, you would have ridden in that big carriage, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I think so. The guildmaster didn¡¯t want Master to decline the parade. Maybe you were sitting right in front of the scale.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad I declined. If I had been there, I would have stood out from the crowd.¡± ¡°I would have liked to have seen it.¡± ¡°I wish I could have seen it.¡± ¡°You would have both laughed if you had seen it. The crowd was so big, let¡¯s go back to the inn. Rimu, it¡¯s not safe for you out here, so please go back to your bag.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡® ¡°I¡¯m going back.¡± We return to the inn and enter the room. Now everything that needs to be done in the capital is done. The rest depends on the plans of the members of Girasole. After sunset, I had dinner in the dining room and was relaxing in my room when Girasole returned. ¡°Thanks for your hard work; I saw the parade. Everyone was so beautiful, and the crowd was so excited.¡± ¡°Whew, I¡¯m exhausted. It was tougher than I thought to keep smiling through the whole parade.¡± ¡°That sounds really tough. Did the offering go well?¡± ¡°Yes, it was a little nerve-wracking because I was just following the rules, but I managed to get through it without a hitch.¡± ¡°Thanks for all your hard work. Would you like something sweet?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± After handing out the pudding to everyone, I handed some to Rimu and Fuu-chan and asked them to continue the story. ¡°Then, for the donation of the Ryu scale and the discovery of the cluster, we received 100 platinum coins, which we will give half to you later. They also offered us titles and land, but we turned them down. Is that okay?¡± Eh? A hundred platinum coins is ten billion dollars, right? Plus, a title and land? How extravagant is that? Even though it¡¯s a Ryu, it¡¯s still 10 billion for one scale. It scares me. ¡°If you Girasole members don¡¯t have a problem with it, it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t afford it if they give us titles and lands.¡± ¡°But 100 platinum coins¡­? I wonder what will happen at the auction¡­ Alessia-san, I¡¯m starting to get scared.¡± ¡°They think it¡¯s worth a title, land, and a hundred platinum coins. I can¡¯t imagine what would happen if countries were competing against each other at the auction.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t know what would happen if countries were competing with each other¡­ and with their own interests at stake.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess so¡­¡± ¡°The guildmaster of the merchant guild was very agitated. He said he¡¯s going to be leaking all kinds of information, right?¡± ¡°¡­Even if I were invited to, I wouldn¡¯t go to the auction.¡± ¡°Hahaha, you make a lot of money all at once, and a lot of people know about it, so all kinds of trouble will come pouring in.¡± ¡°If that happens, please evacuate us to Wataru-san¡¯s ship.¡± ¡°Of course, you are welcome. And what are you going to do tomorrow?¡± ¡°Well, since the capital is so awkward right now, should we go to Bergamo?¡± ¡°Well, speaking of which, shouldn¡¯t you try to improve relations with the adventurers¡¯ guild?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not like we¡¯re on bad terms with all the adventurers¡¯ guilds, and to be honest, I don¡¯t want to see that guildmaster again. Everyone is fine with that, right?¡± They didn¡¯t object to it either. They were really angry. I don¡¯t think I would have behaved like that either, but I didn¡¯t know they would hate it so much¡­ I¡¯ll have to be careful. ¡°Then, will it be okay if we leave tomorrow morning? Is it okay if you don¡¯t greet the people of the cathedral, Claretta-san?¡± ¡°Well, if you could delay our departure a little, that would be very helpful. The cathedral people are also up early in the morning, so I will just greet them and come back. Would you be okay if we leave after that?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t mind either.¡± ¡°Well, then, you must be tired today, so let¡¯s disperse.¡± ¡°Oh, wait. Yes, here¡¯s 50 platinum coins.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you. Good night.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Goodnight.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± But 50 platinum coins are about 5 billion yen. Is it really something that you would give to someone? I accepted it without hesitation, though¡­ I have 5 billion yen now. I just think of it in Japanese yen, and my common sense seems to collapse. Let¡¯s think of it this way: I just have 50 platinum coins in my pocket. I summon my savings boat, deposit the 50 platinum coins, and repatriate it. I¡¯m going to bed now. Good night. I finish my morning routine and have breakfast with Girasole. ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. You are leaving today, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Good morning, Gino-san. Thank you for taking care of me.¡± ¡°I am the one who has been indebted to you. Thanks to you, Wataru-san, we have more specialties. Thank you very much. You must come back again.¡± ¡°Yes, you can make various arrangements with the recipes I gave you, so please give them a try. Next time I come back, I hope to have a delicious dish that I have never tasted before.¡± ¡°Hahaha, next time you come, please make a reservation about a year in advance.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Yeah, it¡¯s nice to have a silly exchange between men¡­ Hmm? Is it possible that I came to another world and I don¡¯t have any male friends? No¡­ Like Guido-san¡­ no, I only have senior co-workers, escorts, and craftsmen acquaintances. Aldo-san and the others are like¡­ teachers¡­ I¡¯ll admit it, I don¡¯t have a single male friend. I feel like this is a problem. I was caught off guard and realized something shocking in the morning. Ines, Felicia, Girasole and Camille-san¡­ I¡¯ve come to another world, and all I¡¯ve thought about is women. After breakfast, I see Claretta-san off to the cathedral to say goodbye. When she returns, we¡¯ll be departing. Let¡¯s put the sad fact aside and prepare for our departure. I return to my room, repatriate the things I don¡¯t need for the travel, and summon the things I do need. As there is no need for much preparation, we soon run out of things to do, and while we are chatting, Claretta-san returns. We rented a carriage from the merchant guild and departed for Bergamo. In the carriage, Dorothea-san and Marina-san were playing with Rimu and Fuu-chan. They bumped into each other, and Fuu-chan was bouncing and rolling around. Something must be amusing because they repeat it over and over again. It¡¯s like a new apprentice who is repeatedly challenged by siblings in sumo practice, only to have them beat him back. I hope they enjoy it. Dorothea-san and Marina-san are watching with smiles on their faces. ¡°Marina-san was able to successfully tame Fuu-chan, and Dorothea-san is next. Are you looking for a slime that can use fire magic?¡± ¡°Right, I don¡¯t know. I kind of thought it would be fire magic, but what do you think?¡± ¡°Well, since you put it that way¡­ why don¡¯t you pick one that you want to be with, Dorothea-san?¡± ¡°Well, a normal slime would be fine, but¡­ there are battles to be fought, after all. So, I¡¯ll look for a slime that can use fire magic.¡± ¡°I see¡­when you say a fire, would you mean a volcano?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything else. First of all, we need to gather information.¡± ¡°Good luck. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll ask for your help then.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ The trip ends uneventfully. We spend one night in a small village and another night at an encampment on the way, and after a while of driving, the port town of Bergamo comes into view before the sun sets. There were no monsters, and I wondered what it would be like to spend three days and two nights just enduring the vibrations of the wagon. ¡°Master, is it alright if we continue into the city?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Felicia?¡± ¡°No, when we left this city, we sailed in a ship and joined each other later, didn¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Speaking of which¡­ would it be a bad idea?¡± ¡°I wonder¡­¡± ¡°¡­What do you think, Dorothea-san?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s fine to go into the city. But we can¡¯t use the ship in the city.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t everyone like to take a shower or something?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Then please stop the carriage. We¡¯ll go out to sea and enter the city by ship, right? We¡¯ll meet up with you at Selis¡¯ inn.¡± I got off the carriage and headed for the secluded shore with Ines, Felicia, and Rimu. But I completely forgot that we were leaving by ship. We went out to the shore, summoned a ship, and entered Bergamo. If we sailed earlier than scheduled here, we would get our anchorage fee back, so we paid 20 silver coins for ten days. Huh? There are members of Girasole in the port. What¡¯s going on? ¡°Everyone, is there a problem?¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s nothing wrong. I¡¯m sorry, but we were waiting here for you to let us use the shower. Ah, we already reserved a room for Wataru-san at Selis¡¯ inn.¡± I see; they wanted to use the shower. We had been just wiping ourselves with hot water for quite a long time. After finishing the shower, we relaxed in the salon and drank a cup of tea. ¡°Phew, a shower feels good after all.¡± ¡°Ahaha, I¡¯m glad you like it, Alessia-san. So what are we going to do now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t really have anything to do in Bergamo, and there was talk in town about the Ryu scale. It¡¯s going to get awkward, so let¡¯s get out of here early.¡± ¡°There are already rumors about it? Even though we left the capital the day after the parade.¡± ¡°Yes, maybe someone who arrived earlier than us told the story, but we were surprised too.¡± ¡°Well then, shall we stock up on provisions today and sail tomorrow? The question is, where are we going?¡± ¡°Well, it is said that there is some human supremacy influence around this country¡­ so it might be better to go back to the Southern City.¡± ¡°It is easier to gather information in the Southern City. If we go back and gather information and find information on slimes that can use magic, I would like Wataru-san to take me there again. Is that alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine as long as we go through a place where we can sell pepper, Dorothea-san. Besides, Rimu will be very happy to have another friend.¡± ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san. Then let¡¯s go back to Southern City and look for Dorothea¡¯s slime.¡± Oh, now I¡¯m with Girasole again. Even if I¡¯m like a man who has been used by women for his vehicle, I¡¯ll be fine if it¡¯s with big-breasted beauties. Deciding to return to Southern City, we headed for food shopping. I buy a lot of delicious-looking food at markets and food stalls and repatriate them. After securing enough food, I return to Selis¡¯ inn and go to sleep. In the morning, after completing the morning routine with Ines and Felicia, we head to the dining room. ¡°Good morning.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Good morning.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Can we leave after we eat?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡± Rimu and Fuu-chan¡¯s sharing trip is over, and we leave the inn. Well, since we¡¯re in a kind of different country, I think we should visit a few more places, but¡­ it¡¯s dangerous and a lot of trouble. Maybe we should go around a lot by the sea for a while. Go to the ship, get the anchorage fee refunded, and set sail. Funds on hand: 5 gold coins, 13 silver coins, 36 copper coins. Guild account: 33 platinum coins, 70 gold coins. Savings boat: 153 platinum coins. Pepper boat: 485 boats. Volume 4 - CH 20 Chapter 20 ¨C Croquette and Fuu-chan¡¯s Stone Throwing It¡¯s been a few hours since we set sail for the Southern City. The autopilot is working, and it should be a relaxing boat ride, but Ines, Alessia-san, and Marina-san have not been maneuvering the ship in a long time and are driving in high tension and meandering, even though there is no monster attack¡­ ¡°It¡¯s going to stay like this for the time being; let¡¯s wait until it calms down.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Wataru-san.¡± ¡°No, Ines is steering the ship too, so it¡¯s me who should apologize, Claretta-san.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s alright. They are just excited because it¡¯s been a long time, and they will calm down in a while.¡± ¡°But, Ilma, it¡¯s not like monsters attacked us, you know?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think too hard about it. Wataru-san will also be troubled if Claretta looks apologetic, you know?¡± ¡°Eh? Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, well, you don¡¯t have to worry so much. It¡¯s a long voyage, so take it easy.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll try not to worry too much.¡± ¡°Yeah, take it easy.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± By lunchtime, the three of them had calmed down and returned to the living room. After lunch, Carla-san approached me. ¡°Wataru-san, croquettes? When will you make them?¡± ¡°Croquettes? Oh, I understand. Shall we make croquettes tonight?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Right, I forgot about croquettes. I had promised to make croquettes for Carla-san based on the crab cream croquettes. She must have remembered it well. I¡¯m going to start preparing the food right away. ¡°Wataru-san, are you going to cook?¡± ¡°Yes, I was going to make the croquettes that I promised Carla-san.¡± I forgot about that. ¡°May I help you?¡± ¡°Yes, that would be great.¡± Let¡¯s see, the ingredients are potatoes, minced meat, onions, butter, milk, breadcrumbs, eggs, salt, and pepper, right? ¡°First, boil the potatoes until tender. While they are boiling, Claretta-san, could you chop the onions?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And Carla-san, can you break this bread into pieces like you did when we made the fries?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I understand that Carla-san is not very good at cooking, but she seems happy to help. ¡°I¡¯ll fry the minced meat and chopped onions with salt and pepper.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Next, okay, the potatoes are now cooked. Now peel these potatoes and mash them with butter, but be careful; they¡¯re hot.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Once the potatoes are mashed, mix them with the fried ingredients and a little cream. That¡¯s all for now. You can shape them before dinner and fry them like fries.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± Now that the preparation is done, I think I¡¯ll take a break. I made tea and handed it out to everyone. ¡°Whew, it¡¯s nice to relax on a ship like this, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Fufu, I guess so.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, I want some pudding.¡± ¡°Right, we still have some time before dinner.¡± After distributing pudding to everyone, they relax over their snacks. Ah, it¡¯s nice to be relaxed. I¡¯m tired from meeting with guild masters, cardinals, and other nerve-wracking people lately, so let¡¯s take it easy until we get to the Southern City. I leaned back on the sofa in the sky lounge sloppily, and¡­ my eyes met those of the Sea Serpent, who was looking down this way. ¡°¡­Everyone, look at that one.¡± ¡°Kyaa, that¡¯s a Sea Serpent. I¡¯ll be the first.¡± ¡°Alessia, this is Master¡¯s ship. Then I, as Master¡¯s slave, will be the first.¡± ¡°What kind of logic is that? We¡¯re your master¡¯s guests, so we should come first.¡± ¡°Ufufu, you girls are not guests.¡± ¡°First come, first served.¡± ¡°¡±Oh, Marina, wait!¡± With a wry smile, I watched as the three of them rushed to the flying bridge. ¡°Felicia, watch over the three of them, so they don¡¯t do anything rash, and Felicia can steer the ship, too.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± Felicia happily chased after them. The ship accelerated rapidly after a while; it took quite a while, and it must have taken a long time to decide on the order. Who would be the first? But I don¡¯t think you should scream with joy when you see the Sea Serpent, Alessia-san¡­ ¡°Fuu-chan can level up too. While we¡¯re at it, let¡¯s teach her to throw stones, shall we? Marina-san isn¡¯t here, but that¡¯s okay, right?¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do that.¡± ¡°I understand. Dorothea-san, would you like Rimu to show an example then?¡± ¡°That would be helpful, please.¡± ¡°Yes. Hey, Rimu, let¡¯s teach Fuu-chan how to stone-throw. Can Rimu show her how to do it?¡± ¡°I can do it.¡± ¡°Thank you, Rimu. Then throw this stone at that sofa.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Then he placed the stone on the curved part of his body, and then he threw it out with great force. The stone hits the sofa with a loud sound¡­ perhaps because his level has risen, it is a very powerful stone throw. ¡°Rimu, you were a whole lot stronger than you were before. You¡¯ve become very good at it.¡± ¡°Am I good?¡± ¡°Yes, very good.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so happy.¡± After praising Rimu, I looked at Fuu-chan. She flicked the stone, and the stone flew away. It¡¯s kind of nostalgic; Rimu was like that at the beginning. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Fuu-chan will be able to do the same thing as Rimu when her level goes up. That¡¯s enough for now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. You¡¯ll be fine when your level goes up. You can ask Rimu-chan about it.¡± Fuu-chan approaches Rimu with her chubby little body. They clung to each other and wriggled. So cute. After a while, Fuu-chan returned to Dorothea-san¡¯s place and resumed stone-throwing. Dorothea-san¡¯s face was so excited. It¡¯s a rare sight. ¡°Rimu, did you teach Fuu-chan?¡± ¡°Level up, great!¡± ¡°Yes, Rimu is very clever and a very good child.¡± ¡°Rimu is a very good child?¡± ¡°Yes, Rimu is very smart and a very good child.¡± I praised him again. He was so cute. Oh, by the way, I can try out my new bow, too. I wonder if I can damage the Sea Serpent? I¡¯ve only killed one goblin. I¡¯m looking forward to it. I looked outside and saw that the Sea Serpent was releasing its breath. Ines giggles and turns the wheel¡­ It¡¯s going to take a while. I sat on the couch, stroking Rimu and watching Fuu-chan practice. The other members are chatting and checking their weapons. They¡¯re completely used to this situation. Finally, the ship stops, and we all go outside. ¡°Ufufu, that was fun.¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t blow its breath when it was my turn.¡± ¡°Marina was the last one; she must have been tired. ¡°Next, I¡¯ll be the first.¡± ¡°Fufufu. It will be me.¡± ¡°Felicia will be the last.¡± Felicia, you were first even though you followed after them. I wonder how they decided. ¡°All four of you, we¡¯re going to take down the Sea Serpent. If you don¡¯t take it seriously, I¡¯ll ban you from navigating the ship.¡± At my words, they rushed back to the ship to get their weapons. There is still the Sea Serpent, but they are too careless to decide the next turn without even looking at it. The four of them return, and Fuu-chan performs her stone-throwing technique. The stone hits the Sea Serpent. Dorothea-san praises her a lot. And Marina-san is watching the scene with an astonished face¡­ considerably shocked. Then, Rimu and I shot arrows and Holy Spear. Oh, it stung. If it can hit the Sea Serpent, it will probably damage most of the monsters. After that, we will defeat the Sea Serpent with an all-out attack. I summon a ship to catch the Sea Serpent. Dismantle it and then repatriate it. What should we do now that we have accumulated enough sea monsters? When we returned to the living room, I found Marina-san frantically trying to keep Fuu-chan in a good mood. ¡°Dorothea-san, Marina-san is desperate. Is Fuu-chan mad at her?¡± ¡°No, she was happy to level up. Marina seems to be irritated because Fuu-chan has grown up while she was playing enthusiastically.¡± ¡°I see. Well, if Fuu-chan isn¡¯t mad, then it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s right.¡± Should I make croquettes after taking a short break? Leisurely watch Marina-san¡¯s effort. When I first met Marina-san, I thought she was a quiet and calm person. ¡°Ufufu, Wataru-san, don¡¯t grin at Marina.¡± ¡°Ilma-san, please don¡¯t speak like it¡¯s something bad. It¡¯s just a natural smile.¡± ¡°Was it? And what were you thinking? Don¡¯t think bad thoughts, okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to hear what you think of me, Ilma-san.¡± ¡°Ara? You want to know how I feel?¡± ¡°By all means¡­ I mean, it¡¯s not. I just think that Marina-san has changed a lot since we first met.¡± I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m being carried away by Ilma-san¡¯s pace again. ¡°Right, Marina is not the type of person who shows much of herself, to begin with, or so I think. She does show a little of her true colors when we get to know her. Well, I didn¡¯t expect her to like the ship handling thing and the slime so much.¡± ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m kind of sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. She seems to be having such a good time. It¡¯s a good change.¡± ¡°Does she look happy? She looks like she¡¯s trying desperately¡­¡± ¡°Well, yes. But she¡¯s being honest about her feelings, and that¡¯s a good thing.¡± ¡°Ilma-san, you¡¯re a lot kinder than you look, just like a kind Onee-san.¡± ¡°Ara, do I not look like a sweet Onee-san to you?¡± Yes, she looks like a sexy queen, and her sex appeal is outstanding. But it¡¯s not nice to say it as it is¡­ ¡°Right, rather than a king Onee-san, you¡¯re¡­ Right, I have to make croquettes.¡± I couldn¡¯t think of anything. Looking at Ilma-san. I can only think of words like bewitching and sexy. I wonder what a popular guy would say at a time like this. ¡°Ara, it¡¯s not the time yet. Just let me know how you see me.¡± (¡­You look like a beautiful and sexy Onee-san.) ¡°Ufufu, I can¡¯t hear you.¡± ¡°¡­You look like a beautiful and sexy Onee-san.¡± ¡°Ufufu, I see. Thank you.¡± Kuh, I was completely manipulated. And I¡¯m pretty sure she heard me and made me say it twice¡­ When dealing with Ilma-san, you can¡¯t let your guard down a little bit, and she¡¯ll toy with you. ¡°It¡¯s getting dark, so I think it¡¯s time to move on to the Hideaway. Oh, the Hideaway is not equipped with power, is it? The autopilot will be useless, so what should we do?¡± ¡°What is the autopilot, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Huh? Did I not explain it to you?¡± ¡°Have you talked about it? I don¡¯t remember. Does Dorothea know?¡± ¡°No. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard of it.¡± ¡°Really? I thought I had explained it. The autopilot is the ability to get to a place you¡¯ve been to once without having to do anything. Even if we don¡¯t do anything, it will get us to our destination much faster because it will keep us going while we eat or sleep.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a great ability. Once you get to a place, you can get there more than twice as fast the next time.¡± ¡°Yes, Alessia-san, you are right, but the Hideaway is not powered, so we cannot use the autopilot.¡± ¡°Oh, I see¡­ we¡¯re not in a hurry, so I¡¯ll just leave it to you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Let me think about it for a minute.¡± Hmm, I don¡¯t have a problem with the Lutto, and the Hideaway is fine for an occasional break, but what about pulling the Hideaway with the Lutto¡­ even though it might slow down. If it can pull it, it might be a good idea to go ahead. ¡°I¡¯ve got something I¡¯d like to try, so I¡¯ll summon the Hideaway, okay?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I summoned the Hideaway and tied it to the Lutto with two thick ropes I had used on the raft. The boat has indestructibility on it, and if it doesn¡¯t break, it should be fine. I moved the Lutto, and it started to move slowly. The problem is that if the ropes are cut by the monsters, only the Lutto will continue on its way. Well, if I repatriate the ship, it won¡¯t be a problem, will it? ¡°It worked. It¡¯s going slower, but we¡¯ll see how it goes today, okay?¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Once we docked the ship, we moved to the Hideaway. When we docked, the Lutto and the Hideaway made contact. It was a little scary, but perhaps it was the effect of their respective barriers, and they came to a stop with no impact. It was a very strange sight. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll go make croquettes for dinner.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, you are going to make croquettes, right? I will help you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll watch you.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± Claretta-san and Carla-san are so comforting. Let¡¯s do our best. ¡°Now, take this cooled mixture and shape it into a flat oval like this.¡± ¡°Like this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s difficult.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s good, Claretta-san. Carla-san, please don¡¯t be in a hurry. You can make changes. Calm down. Yes, you¡¯ve done it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s alright, as long as you don¡¯t rush.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°When everything is shaped like this, coat it with flour, dip it in beaten egg, coat it with breadcrumbs, and deep fry it. The ingredients are already cooked, so when they are crispy, you take them out, drain the oil, and they are done.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a nice color.¡± ¡°It looks delicious.¡± ¡°Yes, I will fry them all, so please prepare the meal. The freshly fried ones taste best, so let¡¯s eat them immediately after frying.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I summon the food storage ship and have them arrange everything except the main course in the dining room and take a pile of croquettes that have been finished frying. ¡°The croquettes go well with ketchup made from tomatoes. Then, itadakimasu.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Itadakimasu.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Delicious.¡± ¡°Really, they are crispy, and the potatoes inside are made with butter and cream, aren¡¯t they? It¡¯s so good, so crunchy, and the inside of the potato is buttery and creamy.¡± ¡°I prefer croquettes with a little bit of the potato left in the batter rather than having it mashed.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to try the mashed ones.¡± ¡°And ketchup goes well with them, too.¡± Hmm, ketchup is good, but I want Worcestershire sauce, too. I wish I could find Worcestershire sauce on the ferry. But croquettes are also popular. I made more, so I thought I could repatriate some, but it looks like I can¡¯t. Well, it¡¯s better than having a lot of leftovers. Everyone seems to be happy. The pile of croquettes was gone. ¡°Whew, they were delicious. It¡¯s different from fried or cutlet; the taste of potato, minced meat, onion, cream, and butter are all mixed together. I like croquettes.¡± ¡°You like it better than fried shrimp?¡± ¡°Eh? Hmm, fried shrimp is good too¡­ they are both the best.¡± ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m glad you like them, Alessia-san.¡± The other members also liked the croquettes, and Claretta-san is eager to make them next time. After finishing the cleanup, when I changed into my bath clothes and took a leisurely soak in the bath, Girasole came to soak in the bath as well. ¡°Wataru-san, may I come in?¡± ¡°Yes, come in.¡± ¡°Phew, a shower feels good, but it¡¯s nice to take a leisurely soak in the warm water, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Soaking in the bath is good for me, too, because it relieves fatigue.¡± I¡¯m glad I came up with the idea of tying up the boat. If we were on the Lutto, we would just take a shower, and that would be it. I¡¯m great. ¡°Marina-san, does Fuu-chan seem to be okay with the bath?¡± ¡°Yes, she says it feels good. Since Rimu-chan is in the bath too, she wasn¡¯t afraid of it.¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s good.¡± Rimu and Fuu-chan bounced around in the bath water, bumping into each other and bouncing back and forth. They seem to be having a good time. After a leisurely soak in the warm water, we return to our respective rooms; then, I spend some time doing lovey-dovey things with Ines and Felicia before falling asleep. Good night. Volume 4 - CH 21 Chapter 21 ¨C Purchasing a Ferry and Leveling Up the Ship Summoning Morning, huh¡­? I finished my morning routine thoroughly and carefully, prepared myself, and headed for the dining room. ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. There¡¯s a Gluttony Shark outside. It looks exhausted, but¡­¡± When I went outside, I saw a Gluttony Shark attacking the ship¡¯s stern. There¡¯s no sharpness in its movement. It¡¯s not attacking the Lutto, but the Hideaway. Does it know that there are people on board over here? Was it attacking the ship for quite some time? It sure looks tired¡­ Why doesn¡¯t it just give up? Is it because it¡¯s a monster? ¡°For now, I, Rimu, and Fuu-chan will attack it, and then I will ask you to take it down.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± I repatriated the Gluttony Shark, which was easily defeated. The fear of monsters diminishes when you¡¯re on a ship, and you have to be careful not to get used to it. ¡°Then, let¡¯s have breakfast.¡± I return to the dining room and set the meal on the table. ¡°Itadakimasu!¡± I¡¯ve had a light workout, and breakfast is delicious. After breakfast, we moved to the Lutto, repatriated the Hideaway, and relaxed in the living room as we pleased. ¡°Marina-san, how is Fuu-chan doing since she leveled up?¡± ¡°Yeah, I can understand her feelings better now. Fuu-chan is very happy.¡± ¡°I see; as your tame skill improves, you will be able to talk more.¡± ¡°Fufu, I¡¯m looking forward to it; I¡¯ll do my best. Wataru-san, when did Rimu-chan learn magic?¡± ¡°If I remember correctly, it was when we made mixed fries after seeing Claretta-san¡¯s purification, and he started to say that he could do it. If you show her some magic, she might be interested.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask Claretta to do it.¡± She immediately grabbed Claretta-san and asked her to do it. She¡¯s acting fast, isn¡¯t she? I relax and think on the sofa. Hmm, what should I do, buy a ferry or hold out until the luxury liner? Now that I have the money to buy it, I¡¯m even more worried. I want to eat rice, I miss soy sauce, and I want to sip miso soup¡­ If I didn¡¯t have a contract with Ines until the end, I¡¯d buy the ferry in an instant. Cup noodles and snacks, beer and one cup, canned coffee and carbonated drinks¡­ Ahhhhhh, I¡¯m so troubled. ¡°Master, Master!¡± ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong, Ines?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Master suddenly started writhing in agony, so I called out to you out of worry.¡± I looked around and saw that people were looking at me with a kind of drawn-out look¡­ It¡¯s embarrassing¡­ ¡°So, is everything alright, Master?¡± ¡°Eh? Yes, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m sorry for the trouble I caused.¡± ¡°I wonder what Wataru-san was thinking? You can¡¯t be imagining things in the morning, can you?¡± ¡°No, Ilma-san, I wasn¡¯t imagining anything. I was thinking about the next ship I¡¯m going to buy.¡± ¡°Ara, you want to buy another ship?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m still thinking about it. There are two ships I want, and I¡¯ve saved up enough money to buy the cheaper one. Do I hold out to buy the more expensive one first, or should I just buy the cheaper one¡­?¡± ¡°If you end up buying both, wouldn¡¯t it matter if you bought the cheaper one first?¡± ¡°Well, yes, but the more expensive one has some special offers, so I think I¡¯d like to get it sooner, but¡­¡± ¡°Ufufu, special offers, huh¡­?¡± Yes, that¡¯s right, just as Ines thinks. ¡°Ara, I wonder if Ines knows what the special offers are?¡± ¡°Ufufu. I do, but it¡¯s a secret. I can¡¯t even tell Ilma-san.¡± ¡°Ara, I¡¯m curious. Hey, Wataru-san, are you not going to tell me? I¡¯m so sad.¡± Oh, don¡¯t be so sullen. You¡¯ve got it right. I¡¯m inclined to tell you, but it¡¯s a privilege to end up with Ines. I can¡¯t say that. Everyone¡¯s looking at me. ¡°N-no, it¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°Ara, that¡¯s too bad. What is it that Wataru-san, who told us about his unique skill, keeps secret? I¡¯m very curious.¡± ¡°Ilma, you mustn¡¯t pry.¡± ¡°Ufufu, yes, I understand.¡± Thank goodness, I don¡¯t know what I would have done if Alessia-san hadn¡¯t stopped her¡­ ¡°Master, it still takes time to buy an expensive ship. Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to just buy it than to wait and agonize over it until then?¡± Ah, maybe so. I feel like I¡¯m worrying endlessly until I buy a luxury liner. I don¡¯t like the idea of worrying even when I¡¯m almost ready to buy a luxury liner¡­ Let¡¯s just buy it. The members of Girasole are going to find out that I¡¯m from another world, but¡­ If people find out about my unique skills when I tell them, I¡¯ll just shut myself away, so it won¡¯t make a difference. More importantly, it would be fun to live on the ferry with the members of Girasole, in addition to Ines and Felicia. As the Creator God said, don¡¯t let your desires stop you from using your power. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll buy it. If I work hard, I can buy a more expensive ship.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Hey, Wataru-san, will you take us on board too?¡± ¡°Of course, everyone in Girasole will enjoy the ride, as I¡¯m sure there will be plenty of unusual things to see.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Then shall I buy it right away?¡± I have no problem because I know which ferry I want. To be honest, I don¡¯t know much about ships, so I chose the one I prefer for its onboard facilities. At any rate, I summon my savings ship and take out 100 platinum coins. I select the ferry on the ship purchase screen and put each platinum coin into the coin entry slot¡­ It¡¯s kind of like putting coins into a vending machine¡­ It¡¯s 100 billion yen, though¡­ ¡°It¡¯s kind of simple, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Alessia, look closely. That¡¯s a platinum coin in there.¡± ¡°Eh? ¡­That¡¯s true. You said it was the cheaper ship, right?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡­..¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°When Master said he would buy the cheaper one, he didn¡¯t say the cheaper one was the cheaper ship, did he?¡± ¡°Felicia, it¡¯s confusing to hear you say that. Well, I understand that he¡¯s buying a considerably better ship. The Lutto and the Hideaway are both great, but what kind of ship is it?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll just have to wait and see. I think Alessia will be surprised.¡± ¡°Does Ines know what kind of ship it is?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen one in person. I¡¯ve only been given a little information about it. But still, I was surprised.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± I¡¯m going to buy it¡­ Now, I just spent 100 billion yen at the touch of a button¡­ I¡¯m freaked out when I think about it calmly¡­ Let¡¯s check it out. ¡°Okay, everyone, I¡¯ve made the purchase, but please wait a moment so I can check the contents.¡± ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m very nervous.¡± Ship Summoning Level 4 (NEW) You can summon the ship you purchased. +3 (NEW) You can keep the purchased ship in the best condition and control it at your disposal. Can purchase a new ship from the purchase screen. Autopilot Linked to the mapping system, if a place has been mapped, you can set a destination, but only on the water, and it will be reached automatically. Mapping Places you have been to are automatically mapped. Ship disguise You can change the appearance and texture of the ship without changing its performance. Ticket Issuance (NEW) You can select a ship you own and issue a ticket for a set period. You can board the ship as many times as you like within the time limit. The issuer can cancel the ticket at their discretion. If a person is designated, only that person can use the ticket. If a room is designated, only that room can be used except for shared spaces. Staff Appointment (NEW) When a staff member is appointed, they will be able to perform tasks in the assigned area. Set the price (NEW) You can set the room rate. The shipowner can add a fee to the base rate for the ship¡¯s facilities. The room charge and the additional amount will belong to the shipowner. Initial Rowboat (Wooden) Capacity 2 Characteristics: Unsinkable, Indestructible, Boarding Rejection Purchased: Rubber Boat, Maximum number of people: 2 (Bath boat) x 1 (Food Storage Boat) x 12 (Trade Goods Warehouse Boat) x 515 (Dragon Materials) x 1 Characteristics: Unsinkable, Indestructible, Boarding Rejection Purchased: Big Fishing Rubber Boat: Capacity 4-5 (Hut Boat) x 3 (Warehouse Boat) x 1 Characteristics: Unsinkable, Indestructible, Boarding Rejection Purchased: Japanese-style boat: Capacity 12 Characteristics: Unsinkable, Indestructible, Boarding Rejection Purchased: Exult 45 (Lutto): Capacity 15 Characteristics: Unsinkable, Indestructible, Boarding Rejection Purchased: Orsos (Hideaway) Characteristics: Unsinkable, Indestructible, Boarding Rejection Purchased: Ferry: Capacity 632 Characteristics: Unsinkable, Indestructible, Boarding Rejection Yes, it is purchased. The level of ship summoning has been raised as well. The number of ships that can be summoned at the same time has increased by one, to a total of four, and. Boarding Ticket Issuance¡­ This is convenient. If I issue a ticket, I don¡¯t have to give permission to board every time. I guess this is used when you have a lot of people on the ferry. That way, I don¡¯t have to give permission every time to board the ferry. Well, it¡¯s just Girasole and us. Let¡¯s try¡­ Yeah, all the ships I have are eligible for this. So, a food storage boat, a rubber boat, a hut boat, a bath boat, the Lutto, the Hideaway, a ferry, specify a person for this, no room assignment, issue tickets indefinitely, and ten tickets. Ten tickets came out with a light. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s kind of amazing.¡± ¡°Master, what is it?¡± ¡°This is a newly available ability with the level-up ship summoning. With this ticket, you can go in and out of the designated ship at any time.¡± ¡°Then, even if we leave the ship, as long as we have the ticket, we can return without causing Wataru-san any trouble, right?¡± ¡°Yes, you are right, Claretta-san. Even in the city, if a ship has been summoned, you can use it freely. Oh, I wonder if it is possible to steer the ship as well? Shall we try it later?¡± ¡°That¡¯s very convenient. Can I use the showers at my leisure?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. That would be very helpful.¡± ¡°Here is your ticket. Please take the one with your name on it. Fuu-chan¡¯s ticket is also issued, so please keep it with you, Marina-san.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°What about Rimu?¡± ¡°Of course, I have one for Rimu, too. Here, I¡¯ll keep this one.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°This ticket gives you unlimited access to the food storage boats, rubber boats, hut boats, bath boats, the Lutto, the Hideaway, and the ferry. If you lose it, please let me know, and I¡¯ll get it issued right away.¡± ¡°But if we lose it, does that mean the person who finds it can enter without permission?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s alright, Alessia-san. Only the person whose name is on the ticket can use it.¡± ¡°I see, but I¡¯ll be careful not to lose it.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± ¡°¡­But Master, what about taking the ticket into the bathtub?¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s true too. Well, I¡¯ll give you my permission for the bath.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I still have a few more checks to do, so please wait a little longer.¡± Well, the next step is staff appointment, which is¡­ I see, although I can steer the ship freely. If others want to move it, can the ship be moved by appointing staff to all the places needed to move it¡­? How many people do I need to move the ferry and so on? There are too many to appoint ¡­ Also, I need a lot of staff who don¡¯t know what kind of work they do¡­ Well, this is a capability that will probably never be used¡­ I doubt that it will ever be used. Next, pricing, huh? Is it taking a room charge from the other party when you issue the ticket? Add it to the base rate for the facility? Come to think of it; the Creator God did say that. Will that money be added to the amount I decide on, and the added amount will be my profit? It¡¯s just us and Girasole who get on this too¡­ It¡¯s not like I¡¯m ripping off the members of Girasole. The increased ability this time around is basically the ability I¡¯d need if I used the ferry for business. I can use the ticket-issuing one, but I doubt I¡¯ll have a chance to use the others. Now I¡¯ve got it mostly confirmed, right? Now it¡¯s time to summon the ferry. I¡¯m kind of nervous. ¡°Thank you for your patience, everyone; I¡¯ve finished the confirmation.¡± ¡°It took you quite a while. Did you get a lot of new abilities?¡± ¡°Certainly, there are more, but they are all for the business of transporting people by ship. To be honest, I doubt if I will ever have a chance to use them.¡± ¡°Ara, well, that¡¯s too bad.¡± ¡°Yes, but I am very happy that I can now summon a new ship.¡± There should be rice to eat, soy sauce, and sauces. Cup noodles, alcohol, juice, DVDs, mini-theater, there¡¯s too much to look forward to. I won¡¯t be able to sleep tonight. ¡°Now, I¡¯ll summon it. Let¡¯s go to the forward deck.¡± Everyone was excited and gathered on the forward deck. ¡°It¡¯s about time.¡± ¡°What kind of ship is it?¡± ¡°It must be a great ship since it was purchased with a lot of platinum coins.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right; I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± The hurdle is getting higher and higher. Normally, I would be scared to lower the bar, but like the Hideaway, I¡¯m confident this time around. I¡¯m going to surprise everyone. ¡°Ship Summoning.¡± Eh? What is that? This huge magic circle of light suddenly overwhelmed me¡­ In front of me floats a huge ship that can only be described as gigantic¡­ Eh? Are ferries this big? When I looked around, everyone was stunned. Well, I guess it¡¯s a success because I got everyone¡¯s jaws dropped, right? ¡°Wa-Wataru-san, what the heck is that? Didn¡¯t buy a ship? Hey, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°H-hey, Alessia-san, please calm down. That is a ship.¡± ¡°Really? It looks many times bigger than most ships, you know? And it¡¯s not made of wood.¡± ¡°Yes, Dorothea-san is right. It¡¯s not made of wood; it¡¯s made of metal.¡± ¡°Metal doesn¡¯t float. It sinks.¡± ¡°Marina-san, I don¡¯t understand the theory either, but it floats.¡± ¡°Ufufu, that¡¯s amazing. I¡¯ve never seen anything like that before that I didn¡¯t believe with my own eyes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s really amazing; it¡¯s not a dream, is it?¡± ¡°Big.¡± ¡°Ufufu, Master, it¡¯s even more amazing than I thought it would be. I would have made a contract with this ship too.¡± ¡°Ines, don¡¯t tell me that now; it will only make me feel worse.¡± ¡°Master, you really are amazing.¡± That¡¯s more of a reaction than I expected. What¡¯s going to happen when we get inside? ¡°Well, shall we get in?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°¡­Where is the place to enter this one?¡± Volume 4 - CH 22 Chapter 22 ¨C Quiet Talk: The Crisis of the Creator God and the Guildmaster¡¯s Aftermath ¡°The Otherworlder-kun is looking good these days, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°What¡¯s up with you all of a sudden, God of Entertainment?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just saying that the Otherworlder-kun is looking good.¡± ¡°Yeah? Did something change? God of Magic, do you know something?¡± ¡°Umu, the God of Entertainment is pleased. It must be about the reversi and the Jenga.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. I thought you¡¯d gone all battle-crazy when I wasn¡¯t looking.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Reversi and Jenga are so simple yet so fun. It will definitely spread all over the world. But since Otherworlder-kun left after teaching them¡­ that shipbuilder won¡¯t sell them until he gets permission from Otherworlder-kun, and I hope they spread quickly.¡± ¡°Well, I guess it will take some time. But the otherworlder is not fighting even though his level has increased.¡± ¡°Umu, his magic power has increased, and he can learn magic¡­ but is it because he¡¯s already become a merchant?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible. He found a way to make money outside of fighting.¡± ¡°Yes, but I¡¯d be happy if he¡¯d spread more amusements like Jenga and Reversi. And the God of Gastronomy was very pleased with pizza, pudding, and ice cream. Finally, the milk and cheese will get some light.¡± ¡°The otherworlder this time really is plain¡­¡± ¡°Well, wait a minute, the otherworlder is getting caught up with women, and his behavior is gradually becoming more flashy. We may be able to expect more flashy behavior from him in the future.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope so.¡± ¡°Oh? The Creator God has summoned the otherworlder again. Wanna take a peek?¡± ¡°Yeah, I think the Creator God is going to say something stupid again. We¡¯ll just have to wait and see.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s hear it.¡± ¡°Hmm? God of Light, how¡¯s the otherworlder?¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s just talking nonsense. There¡¯s no problem.¡± ¡°He¡¯s really talking nonsense.¡± ¡°Yeah, who gives a shit about the image of the Creator God?¡± ¡°Ahahaha, well, it can¡¯t be helped. I can understand his concern from his point of view as an otherworlder.¡± ¡°Yeah, I see. The Creator God is modifying his own image as a God, after all.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯d be happy too if there was a reason other than it¡¯s cooler this way.¡± ¡°Well, there isn¡¯t one.¡± ¡°God of Light, the Creator God is¡­ She¡¯s gone already. She¡¯s having a hard time, too.¡± ¡°Yeah, but how could he give up the information so easily¡­?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a shameful thing.¡± ¡°Hahahaha, he won¡¯t be able to sleep tonight for getting a preach.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Creator God-sama, is there something you would like to say?¡± ¡°Well, um, I didn¡¯t do it on purpose, you know? I just kind of blurted it out as I was talking.¡± ¡°Creator God-sama, please sit down.¡± ¡°Eh? Yes.¡± ¡°You are sitting in a different way. In this case, you are supposed to sit on your knees, aren¡¯t you? Don¡¯t say you don¡¯t know what it is, Creator God-sama?¡± ¡°Y-yeah.¡± ¡°Then, please explain from the beginning why we should not interfere with the lower world.¡± ¡°Eh? It¡¯s a long story, and since Wataru-kun is here, too, we¡¯ll talk about it another time¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right; I¡¯ll send Wataru-san back. Creator God-sama, you will remain sitting on your knees. If you move¡­¡± ¡°I know; I¡¯m sorry; I won¡¯t run away.¡± ¡°Then I will be right back.¡± ¡°Y-yeah.¡± ¡°Creator God-sama, when I sent Wataru-san back, I was asked what would happen if he changed his actions in the future based on the information you had leaked to him. So I answered that fortunately it was almost the same whether he changed his action or not, but what do you think?¡± ¡°Y-yeah, I accidentally leaked it, so it was a close call, but I¡¯m glad to hear it stayed about the same.¡± ¡°Almost the same means that there will be some changes. Now, please recite over and over again why we should not interfere in the lower world until it is engraved in your mind.¡± ¡°Eh? Why is there an increase?¡± ¡°Shall I engrave it directly on your body?¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s fine; I will recite it until it is engraved in my mind.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Hmm, God of War, do you think he¡¯ll be a little saner if it is engraved in his mind?¡± ¡°God of Magic, don¡¯t ask me things you already know.¡± ¡°Hahaha, I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Oh, he bought a ferry, well buying one before the luxury cruise ain¡¯t a bad option either.¡± ¡°Well, he found the Ryu scales, and his behavior is getting more flashy.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m surprised the ship summoning is so useful in the cave.¡± ¡°Umu, no one comes there to explore, and it hasn¡¯t been changed for hundreds of years. I thought it was a waste of Ryu material. I guess the ship summoning is useful now and then.¡± ¡°Yeah, but he bought a new bow, but in the end, he only killed a goblin. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about that; let¡¯s just be happy that there is movement.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, and the God of Gastronomy also wants to give him some skill or blessing. He praised him highly for the lasagna and the cheese fondue. And he gave the recipe to the restaurant. He¡¯s overjoyed. He¡¯s also very interested in the cuisine at the ferry.¡± ¡°For now, the only influence that the otherworlder has had is in cooking and entertainment, so I guess we¡¯ll see what the future brings.¡± ¡°Speaking of which, what¡¯s up with the Creator God? Whenever the otherworlder is active, he comes to boast about it to the point of annoyance.¡± ¡°Hahaha, he¡¯s still repeating why we shouldn¡¯t interfere in the lower worlds. His eyes were nice and dead.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great. Do you want to see it, God of Magic? Let¡¯s bring something to the God of Light to cheer her up. Oh, can¡¯t she just kill him?¡± ¡°Umu, let¡¯s go check it out. I want to bring something energizing to cheer her up.¡± ¡°Oh, God of Light, we are here to cheer you up. Eat this and get some strength. Good luck.¡± ¡°Umu, it looks like he is broken down nicely. Keep up the good work, God of Light.¡± ¡°Wow, he¡¯s broken. He¡¯s even more broken than before. Hahahaha.¡± ¡°Thank you, God of War, God of Magic, God of Entertainment. But his response was getting sluggish. I was thinking of ending it soon.¡± ¡°Ah, the God of Light¡¯s words brought light back to his eyes. That means that he can still go on. Keep up the good work, God of Light.¡± ¡°Is that so? Well then, Creator God-sama, let¡¯s try again.¡± ¡°Ukya, ukya, ukya, ukya, ukya, ukya, ukya, ukya, ukya, ukya, ukya, ukya, ukya, ukya, ukya, ukya, ukya.¡± ¡°Oh, he¡¯s broken.¡± ¡°Umu, just as the preaching is about to end, just as he¡¯s about to get out of his current situation. The preaching starts again. He¡¯s broken. God of War, can we kill him now?¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s more severe than usual because he¡¯s already broken. You never know what kind of attack he will make. He could destroy the world.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not good¡­ If the God of Light keeps preaching like this, won¡¯t he kill himself?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a good idea. Please, God of Light.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say whatever you want. If the Creator God disappears, we will be in trouble. Are you sure you want to do that?¡± ¡°¡±That¡¯s fine.¡±¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of this. If you guys are here, the Creator God will not come back. Go back already.¡± ¡°Is that so? It might be easier to just stay like this, right?¡± ¡°Well, wouldn¡¯t it be easier for the God of Light just by not doing anything extra?¡± ¡°¡­..That¡¯s not true.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve given it a lot of thought, though.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± ¡°No, both of you. The God of Light is in trouble, and we should be thankful that it is the God of Light who is holding back the Creator God.¡± ¡°Umu. Sorry, God of Light, do your best in dealing with the Creator God.¡± ¡°Oh, God of Entertainment is right. I¡¯m sorry, do your best.¡± ¡°I cannot honestly accept the words of the God of Magic and the God of War, but thank you, God of Entertainment, for your words. Your words make me very happy.¡± ¡°Hehe, see you later. Do your best, God of Light.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ After the adventurers¡¯ guildmaster in Barletta. ¡°Guildmaster, A-rank adventurers have discovered Ryu scales and a cluster of precious medicinal herbs, yet no information or requests have been circulated to the adventurers¡¯ guild, and there have been voices of doubt.¡± ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t expect it to be Ryu scales, and the whole thing completely backfired on us.¡± ¡°Why did you start all this trouble in the first place?¡± ¡°I thought they were exaggerating, saying they couldn¡¯t even talk about it to the receptionist or that they wanted my men to leave. I was pissed off, so I started a fight.¡± ¡°Oh, and then you got into a fight with them for a high price¡­ Isn¡¯t it common knowledge that important information may not be told to the receptionist or others?¡± ¡°I know that much because all the information I¡¯ve ever heard from anyone who¡¯s said that to me has been exaggerated and adapted to increase their rewards. I was sick and tired of dealing with them.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s still information from an A-rank adventurer, so you¡¯ll just have to put up with it and listen.¡± ¡°I knew it was an important report when I heard about the medicinal herb cluster, but I couldn¡¯t resist.¡± ¡°That would make Girasole very angry. It¡¯s incomprehensible that they came to make such an important report about the Ryu scales and then got into a fight with the guildmaster.¡± ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right.¡± ¡°So what are you going to do about it?¡± ¡°Well¡­ the merchant guild, the pharmacist guild, and even a cardinal are excluding the adventurers¡¯ guild after hearing about what happened.¡± ¡°Whew, that¡¯s harsh. If we can get precious medicinal herbs from that cave, we¡¯ll have more escorts, more transport, and more requests. We¡¯ll have to repair the relationship somehow.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know, I feel bad, but I guess they owe me an apology.¡± ¡°No, this time it is 100% the guildmaster¡¯s fault, you know? They didn¡¯t overreact or try to inflate their rewards. It was the guildmaster who ruined an honest adventurer¡¯s important information by picking a fight.¡± ¡°Even so, they wouldn¡¯t just say they can¡¯t talk to me or something and leave, would they?¡± ¡°No, from what I¡¯ve heard, I think Girasole has put up with enough. They even gave you information about the colony, but it¡¯s unbelievable that the guildmaster remains in a bad attitude.¡± ¡°Hmm, alright, I¡¯ll go and apologize to them tomorrow.¡± ¡°Please do so. Also, you need to greet the merchant guild, the pharmacist guild, and the cardinal as well.¡± ¡°Hah, alright. I¡¯ll go and apologize to all of them.¡± ¡°Please do.¡± The next morning, Solene¡¯s inn¡­ ¡°The Girasole has already left a few hours ago.¡± ¡°What? Isn¡¯t the parade over just yesterday?¡± ¡°Yes, but they said they were leaving the capital because they were too conspicuous and might get into trouble.¡± ¡°I-I see; I¡¯m sorry.¡± That¡¯s not good¡­ what should I do¡­ Volume 4 - CH 23 Chapter 23 ¨C Christmas So today is Christmas eve¡­¡± ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Eh? Ah, today is a celebration called Christmas eve in my hometown. It¡¯s kind of a big event where I¡¯m from.¡± Yes, it¡¯s a happy event when you¡¯re a kid, but when you¡¯re an adult, it¡¯s a sad event where the riajus shines¡­ Why do lovers flirt with each other to celebrate the birthday of a great man? It¡¯s wrong, Japan. ¡°Is that so? Then shall we celebrate here too?¡± ¡°That sounds good. Master, let¡¯s celebrate.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess we can celebrate too. Let¡¯s prepare lots of good food and have a good time.¡± ¡°Food?¡± ¡°Fufu, Rimu, we¡¯re going to watch a movie tonight, eat lots of food, and have lots of snacks. Looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Lots and lots of fun.¡± I know, when I was in Japan, it was a sad Christmas party with my male friends. Now I have Ines, Felicia, and Rimu. It would be a loss not to celebrate. We¡¯ll eat good food and have all the lovey-dovey fun we can handle. Yes, let¡¯s take a table to the mini-theater, lay out a feast, and enjoy watching a movie. It¡¯s fun to act differently than usual, isn¡¯t it? ¡°¡±Yes.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get the treats ready. And buy lots of drinks, food, and snacks from the vending machines and stand corners. Let¡¯s bring it all to the mini-theater and make some merry while watching a movie.¡± ¡°Ufufu, that sounds fun.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± Ines and Felicia will be in charge of the preparations at the mini-theater. ¡°Ines, Felicia, I¡¯ll summon the storage boat in front of the vending machine and the stand corners. Come and let me know when you¡¯ve finished loading the purchases.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Let¡¯s get ready for a feast. The Fortress has an oven, and although we don¡¯t have a turkey, I¡¯ll make a whole roasted bird and a whole roasted rabbit. ¡°Master, I bought a lot of food. Please repatriate them.¡± ¡°Yes, it will be fun.¡± A few moments after Ines returned, Felicia also returned. ¡°Master, please repatriate them.¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m still cooking, so please help me.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I made salad, soup, french fries, mixed fries, and any other dishes I could think of and repatriated them. Oh, I don¡¯t have any gifts¡­ money is too tasteless, and there are no gifts at the store on the Fortress. Hmm. I have a ship that would make people happy, but as I said, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m buying a ship as a Christmas present for them. Is there any millionaire in Japan who would do such a thing? Unfortunately, no gift this time. I¡¯ll give them an allowance as a special bonus. ¡°Whew, I think that¡¯s enough.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of food. Do you think we can eat it all?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. But it makes me happy to have a lot of food on the table. If there is too much left over, Master can repatriate it, and we can eat it later.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll eat a lot.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, as long as I repatriate the food, it won¡¯t be a problem. Let¡¯s eat as much as we can and drink as much as we can.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Now, most of the preparations are over, but we¡¯re all sweating. Let¡¯s all take a bath before the party.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Phew, it¡¯s nice to have a big bath after all.¡± ¡°Fufu, Master, you say that every time.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Is that so? Well, maybe so. I think so every time.¡± Having a lovey-dovey time with a big-breasted beauty in a spacious bath. With a Jacuzzi and champagne, it¡¯s like something out of a Hollywood movie. I wonder if I need a cigar too? Let¡¯s do it on the Hideaway, though I don¡¯t have a cigar. I get my head and body washed and soak in the warm water with Rimu in my arms, sandwiched between the two of the girls. I¡¯m so happy. After soaking slowly, I drink a beer after the bath. ¡°Phew, now all that¡¯s left to do is to put the food on the table and have a party. Looking forward to it.¡± We set the dishes on the table in the mini-theater room one after another. There is a gorgeous array of food, drinks, and sweets that we surely can¡¯t possibly finish. I couldn¡¯t prepare the Christmas cake, though. Other than that, I think it¡¯s a perfect score. ¡°Ufufu, it¡¯s fun just to look at them. Thank you, Master.¡± ¡°Fufu, yes. It makes me very happy. Thank you, Master.¡± ¡°Rimu loves Wataru, too.¡± ¡°It is embarrassing. Well, it¡¯s a party now. Let¡¯s have a lot of fun.¡± Oh no, I was about to cry. ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± What movie shall we watch? Hmm? Best ten movies to watch for Christmas¡­ Ship summoning is really terrific¡­ Isn¡¯t it connected to Japan via the internet? I want to surf the net too. Hmm, if I were to watch, I¡¯d probably watch this and this. But Miracle on 3x Street is a very good movie, but it needs to be explained properly, like the trial, the miracle, Santa, and the takeover. I don¡¯t think Ines, Felicia, and Rimu will be able to understand how good the movie is. Then maybe this one? It¡¯s a comedy, so it¡¯s impossible to get a mature vibe or anything, but it¡¯s fun to watch, and even if you¡¯re not very familiar with the movie, you¡¯ll enjoy it. Okay, let¡¯s go with a double feature: Home Al*ne and Sister A*t. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve decided on a movie, let¡¯s take our seats. Let¡¯s have a toast to Merry Christmas, please.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Then, Merry Christmas.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Merry Christmas.¡±¡±¡± We cut up a whole roasted fowl and a whole roasted rabbit, and while enjoying the feast as we pleased, the movie was screened. I eat and drink while explaining the parts of the movie that they don¡¯t understand. They laugh at the stair sled, look in amazement at the supermarket, are distracted by the colorful ice cream that appeared in the film, and are impressed by the real pizza. In the main part, where he fights off the two thieves, they are amazed at the quick thinking of Ke*in, and they are delighted and admire the way the thieves are beaten up. Good thing they¡¯re hooked, but I¡¯ve seen it a few times before, and it¡¯s still funny. When Ke*in is cornered and captured by the thief, they seriously worry about him. After all, it¡¯s more exciting, thrilling, and enjoyable when you don¡¯t know about happy endings and such. The old man with the shovel saves him, and they are surprised that he isn¡¯t a bad guy? Then, they were surprised and happy to see Ke*in reunited with his mother. ¡°It was very interesting.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I laughed a lot.¡± ¡°Rimu loves interesting things.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you enjoyed it. After a short break, we¡¯ll go to the next movie.¡± ¡°Well, are we going to watch another one? Usually, that¡¯s all it takes.¡± ¡°Really? I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Rimu so happy.¡± ¡°Yes, we have more drinks and treats to enjoy. And since we¡¯re being more extravagant than usual, we¡¯ll have to splurge on another movie.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± ¡°Thank you. Master.¡± ¡°Rimu, loves, Wataru.¡± Rimu¡¯s words made me blush, and after a quick trip to the bathroom and a few drinks, we plunged into the second movie. They are amazed at DeL*ris¡¯s eccentric costume and watch the murder scene in a normal way. I explain about the sisters, but the movie¡¯s still not that biting. But here¡¯s the thing. It¡¯s my favorite movie, and I hope they enjoy it if they can. I snicker at the first choir song. Get emotionally involved with the choir as they get better and better. Rejoice at the chanting at mass. Resentment at the gang. Rejoice at the rescue in the nick of time. And he is thrilled by the success of the concert in front of the Pope. ¡°I love this movie. It was a wonderful song.¡± ¡°I was moved too. I want to see it again.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you liked it because it¡¯s my favorite movie too. Both Home Al*ne and Sister A*t have the sequel. Let¡¯s watch them tomorrow. ¡°So there¡¯s a sequel? That¡¯s great¡­ But are we still going to have a party tomorrow?¡± ¡°Yes. Today is Christmas Eve, and tomorrow is Christmas. That¡¯s the real event.¡± ¡°We can enjoy two days in a row, can¡¯t we? I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re going to have a lot of fun.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I repatriated the rest of the feast. We went back to the room and had more lovey-dovey time than usual. TL Note: I apologize if there are any mistakes in the movie story. Volume 4 - CH 24 Chapter 24 ¨C Quiet Story: Hideaway and Barbecue A few days after the storm, we decided to have a barbecue on the Hideaway to refresh ourselves after the long voyage. It all started last night with a conversation Alessia-san had with me. ¡°Wataru-san, the Hideaway isn¡¯t what it really is now, is it? What kind of changes have been made?¡± ¡°Well, the inside hasn¡¯t changed¡­ but the parts that can be seen from the outside have been changed to look like a medium-sized ship, so it¡¯s hard to say in words what part of the ship has been changed. Shall I summon it tomorrow at noon and remove the ship disguise?¡± ¡°Is that okay? It¡¯s such a big ship; it would take a lot of work, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°No, it won¡¯t take much time since it¡¯s just an image. And while we¡¯re at it, why don¡¯t we take tomorrow off and have that barbecue we talked about the first time we took a bath on this ship?¡± That was well said, wasn¡¯t it? I had always wanted to have a barbecue with everyone and enjoy the Jacuzzi or relax on the sundeck, but my motives were impure, so it was hard to say. ¡°Taking a day off? This voyage itself is so comfortable, I feel like every day is a vacation, but a barbecue would be nice.¡± The other women who had been listening around us seemed interested and gathered around. ¡°Wataru-san, can we eat something tasty?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s to your liking, Carla-san, but we just grill meat on skewers and fresh seafood over a charcoal fire, and I think it¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°Mmm, like when you¡¯re camping?¡± ¡°Camping? I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve never done a proper campsite before, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s different because we do a lot of preparation.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°What Carla is talking about is just sprinkling salt on the meat of the animals you hunted during your hunting and roasting it on a bonfire, isn¡¯t it? Wataru-san, if you need help with the preparation, please let me help you.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re roasting it over a bonfire; that sounds delicious. Claretta-san, even if you say you want to help me, it is only to skewer the meat and vegetables and season them. Is that alright with you?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± ¡°But, Wataru-san, are we going to take the day off? I don¡¯t mind if we take the day off, but if it¡¯s a barbecue, we can finish it at noon, can¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right, Dorothea-san, there¡¯s no need to take the day off if it¡¯s just for the barbecue, but I thought it would be nice to spend the day relaxing on the sundeck, taking a bath, playing games, drinking, and so on.¡± ¡°That sounds like fun. But we didn¡¯t buy any alcohol, so it¡¯s Wataru-san¡¯s, isn¡¯t it? I feel bad about that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no problem, Alessia-san. There are barrels of ale and a lot of liquor that I bought up from the southern continent. I can¡¯t drink it all.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t those your commodities?¡± ¡®No, I could sell them if I wanted to, but I have enough pepper to sell. Since the civil war was about to break out, I just bought up all the specialty alcohol. So please let me treat you.¡± ¡°Umm, well, it¡¯s not nice to just be treated to a meal, so will you let us at least pay for the alcohol?¡± ¡°Is that so? I don¡¯t mind it being free¡­ but it¡¯s also a problem if you can¡¯t enjoy it because you¡¯re too reserved.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°No, no, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s right to be thanked for being paid.¡± ¡°Fufu, you¡¯re probably right, but thank you.¡± Alright! When alcohol is involved, happenings are more likely to occur. I hope something fun happens¡ªespecially a lucky slip or something. ¡°Haha, so, do you want to have a day off like that tomorrow?¡± ¡°Well, it sounds like fun, so let¡¯s have a day off tomorrow.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Yeah, well, I¡¯m going to go do some prep work.¡± Taking Ines, Felicia, Claretta-san, and Carla-san with me, I headed for the kitchen. ¡°The preparation is very simple. First, cut the meat into two bite-sized pieces and stick them alternately with the onions on these iron skewers. Then, put the chicken and green onions on the skewers in the same way, alternately. Is that clear?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡± Hmm, how do you season it¡­ It¡¯s simply salt and pepper. Next, I¡¯d like to have it spicy with chili peppers, either tangy or very spicy, and then I¡¯d also like to have it with plenty of garlic. ¡°Claretta-san, is everyone okay with things like lots of garlic or hot and spicy with a lot of chilies?¡± ¡°Well, everyone eats garlic, so it¡¯s fine. As for spicy food¡­ I wonder about it. I¡¯ll ask them.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll be back in a minute.¡± According to what Claretta-san told me, they have never had very spicy food. If so, I think that the very spicy one would be too much, so I¡¯ll try spicy and medium spicy. I only need to grill the shellfish and prepare the fish and shrimp, and if there are any leftovers, I can just repatriate them, so I should do as much as possible. Oh, I also need to chop vegetables. I have four people to help me finish the preparation. The rest is¡­ liquor and ale should be chilled in the fridge as much as possible, and distilled spirits are dangerous if left as is, so we¡¯ll mix them with ice and juice. I¡¯ll have to make some ice¡­ yeah, that should work. ¡°Whew, thank you all so much.¡± ¡°You made a lot, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s enough for one day; it would be sad if we ran out, and if there is a surplus, it won¡¯t go to waste as I will repatriate it.¡± ¡°Right, I envy you so much just for your ability to keep food from spoiling.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s very convenient. It helps me a lot, too.¡± ¡°And we get to eat good food, too, so that¡¯s a big help.¡± ¡°Hahaha. I guess you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then, let¡¯s get some rest. Looking forward to tomorrow.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡± I¡¯ll take a good night¡¯s rest today. Good night. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Morning, huh? I woke up with a routine kiss to get me fired up. Let¡¯s work hard on the barbecue. I head to the dining room, full of energy. ¡°Good morning, everyone.¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. I see you¡¯re in high spirits.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a little fired up. I¡¯m looking forward to the barbecue.¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m looking forward to it too.¡± ¡°Right?¡± Everyone is smiling, the weather is nice, and I hope it will be a fun day. After breakfast, we get ready for the barbecue. With everyone¡¯s help, I got the tables and chairs out on the sundeck and brought the beach chairs from the lower deck. Rimu likes the beach chairs and repeatedly rolls off the slanted back part of the chairs. Fuu-chan joined in and started rolling with him. It is a very wonderful sight. The grill provided was not enough, so I also brought out two simple charcoal rings that I used on the island, with ash in the pot and charcoal in the bottom. Hmm, what else is there to do? We can have a drink before we start, and there¡¯s nothing else to do until we get started. There¡¯s plenty of time left, everyone¡¯s getting too excited, and we need to calm down. ¡°Whew, we are almost done with the preparations, everyone. Let¡¯s start the barbecue a little before noon.¡± ¡°We have quite a bit of time, Wataru-san; how about starting a little earlier?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that¡¯s right. Alessia-san, how about starting around 10:00?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s about right. I¡¯m looking forward to it, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Since we¡¯re going to be drinking today, we¡¯re going to do some light training until the barbecue starts.¡± ¡°Ah, yes.¡± You train even on holidays, huh¡­? Can it still be called a day off if you train? They always had to train every day on this voyage, so let¡¯s assume that¡¯s how it is with an A-ranked party. ¡°Shall we train too?¡± ¡°Yes, I think it¡¯s good to get some physical exercise while we can.¡± ¡°Then we will each train until it¡¯s time to start.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I¡¯ll review the basics that I learned at the guild. I¡¯ve been training quite a bit, but since it¡¯s only the basics and I haven¡¯t experienced any real combat, I don¡¯t feel like I can fight even at a high level. Well, if I have the chance, I would like to try fighting at least an orc. ¡°Master, it¡¯s about time.¡± ¡°Hmm, okay, thank you.¡± Well, let¡¯s get the drinks out and start grilling anyway. I¡¯ll ask Ines to start the coals. It only takes a moment with the flame magic, and then we put the meat and seafood on the skewers and place them on the grill. The sound of the meat grilling is great, isn¡¯t it? The Girasole have gathered, and the meat will be ready soon. We should start soon. ¡°Then, let¡¯s get started. All you have to do is grill the meat and seafood here as you like and drink the liquor of your choice. If we run out of something, please let me know, and I¡¯ll add more. Most of what we¡¯re grilling right now is ready to eat.¡± ¡°It smells so good. Wataru-san, itadakimasu.¡± After saying, ¡°Itadakimasu,¡± they start to eat their favorite dishes. I grilled the one with garlic on the skewer at the furthest heat, and the grated garlic was slightly burnt, but that was not a problem. I bite into the hot meat skewer and pour in some ale¡­ It¡¯s delicious. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°This is spicy.¡± ¡°The garlic is amazing.¡± They eat it while sharing their thoughts and impressions. The medium-spicy flavor is not so popular, but Marina-san seems to like it. ¡°Yes, everyone, there is a distilled spirit from the southern continent in this barrel. It is a harsh liquor, so please drink it with juice.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, how much is a good amount to drink?¡± ¡°It depends on each person, but at first, you should try adding a little bit of the liquor to the juice to find the consistency you like best.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try it right away.¡± Alessia-san added a little bit of the distilled spirit to the orange juice. She tasted it a few times and found the thickness she liked. ¡°Master, I¡¯ll take turns grilling.¡± ¡°Yes, but just as you see fit. You can grill what you want.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I give up the front of the grill to Ines and Felicia and eat what I want. Oysters¡­ are delicious, but I want soy sauce. ¡°Which one do you like, Rimu?¡± ¡°Mmm, Rimu, the meat.¡± ¡°Which of the meats?¡± ¡°This one.¡± ¡°I see; Rimu likes spicy food.¡± ¡°I love it.¡± We enjoy eating meat and seafood and drinking light alcohol while having a lot of fun. It¡¯s time to take a bath. Ines, Felicia, and I returned to the room and changed into bathing clothes, then took a warm bath and soaked in the bathtub with ale in one hand. Well, since it¡¯s a Jacuzzi, I thought champagne would be better than ale, but I guess it can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯ve never actually had champagne. I hit the switch, let out a stream of water and air bubbles, and relaxed while sipping my drink. Thinking about it, I¡¯m acting like a rich man who suddenly got a lot of money¡­ Well, it¡¯s okay; we are all the same, floating around with a lot of money we never thought we¡¯d have. Enjoy the moment. ¡°Ara, Wataru, you¡¯re already taking a bath.¡± ¡°Yes, how about you, Ilma-san? It feels a little luxurious.¡± ¡°Hmm, well, I¡¯m going in too. I¡¯ll go and change.¡± ¡°Good for you, Master. The plan worked.¡± ¡­Ines has completely discovered my desire. ¡°Ines, is it that obvious?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very easy to understand. But it¡¯s good that she¡¯s coming with you, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡­That¡¯s right, she¡¯s coming along with me, so that¡¯s good, isn¡¯t it? From then on, we enjoyed the whole day off, eating and drinking as much as we wanted, soaking in warm water, playing games at the table, and so on. The BEST 3 things that made me happy at Wataru¡¯s barbecue. No. 1 In the latter half of the barbecue, the women who were drunk from the alcohol combined with the baths rushed into the baths at once, making me very happy. No. 2 The fact that I was able to imprint in my mind¡¯s eye the women who spent their time in wet bathrobes because they had to take many baths. No. 3 When I was feeding Rimu, he climbed up on my shoulder and rubbed against me. Volume 4 - CH 25 Chapter 25 ¨C Quiet Story: Ilma¡¯s Concerns When we met Wataru-san, he was an ordinary young man who had a small magic boat that could go to the island, and although his life was in danger, he was somewhat carefree. After several requests to the island, living conditions were improved, a tent raft was built, and a bathing raft was built. It became possible to eat delicious meals, and on the bath raft, I found out that Wataru-san was a bit H and had a weakness for women. He is an unusual young man who is a little bit H and loves slime for some reason¡­ The other members also became fond of Wataru-san and began to ask him whenever there was a request on the island. After a while, I was surprised that Dorothea and Marina started loving the slime together with him. When we found a holy slime on the island, Dorothea and Marina insisted on it as a souvenir for Wataru-san. I was beyond surprised and uneasy when the serious Dorothea and the taciturn Marina said that they were willing to use it for someone other than their member, even if it weighed only a small amount during the quest. Now I can understand that it was simply loved for the slime. But at the time, I seriously wondered if Wataru-san had brainwashed them. Well, no matter how I observed him, he was not the type of person who could do anything nefarious, and the misunderstanding was cleared up. After a while, I felt his eyes on my chest, teased him a little, and he hurriedly looked away. Such a young man said he was going to try the pepper trade. I was worried, but he seemed determined, and the next thing I knew, he was off to the pepper trade. The others were worried, too, but Alessia heard him say that he had a secret and confidence in his ship. After a while, he came to visit with souvenirs from the southern continent in a strange way. I was surprised to see her with two beautiful and skilled slaves, but the two slaves seemed to enjoy themselves and seemed to have a good relationship with each other. He has survived a dangerous voyage and has two beautiful slaves with him. Normally, I would not be surprised if things were getting better, but he was still carefree and vulnerable to women, and he promised to treat Carla to a cooking session. The next day, when he came to cook, he got into trouble with the successor to the innkeeper. I felt sorry for him, but when he learned how genuine Alessia and the others were, he looked at me with sympathy, so I decided to have him help Alessia and the others correct their perceptions. It was like he thought that Ilma was a sensible person, and it was not that I got angry at his surprised look and decided to involve him. Our party was made up of childhood friends, so there were no men in the group. Perhaps it was because we had been fighting off the advances of the ill-mannered adventurers, but we had no interest in men and, except for myself, had little awareness of our own appearance. I would say that we are a party with a very high level of good looks. However, the other members of the party have grown tired of being repeatedly approached by male adventurers and have only built superficial relationships with men, so they are indifferent to their good looks. I think our relationship with Wataru-san is a kind of miracle created by his harmless atmosphere. I expected that he would become a little more aware of the opposite sex, but¡­ he¡¯s not good at fighting, good at cooking, and a little H but none of the masculine atmosphere, so we have created a relationship that is almost the same as dealing with a female friend. It hurts my head. It helped that Wataru-san explained that the innkeeper¡¯s successor problem was caused by a man¡¯s possessiveness, which made the members a little more aware of the situation. The mixed fries that he cooked after cleaning up the innkeeper¡¯s problems were very tasty. In terms of food, Claretta and Carla were completely watered down. When we asked him what his next plans were, he said he was going to go back to the pepper trade. Repeating dangerous voyages over and over¡­ he seems cautious and timid, but he says he¡¯s going on another dangerous voyage. Either I¡¯ve misjudged the man, or the ship¡¯s secrets are that trustworthy¡­ He seems to be a simple man, but he has a lot of depth. He came back from the pepper trade easily and visited us with souvenirs, still as carefree as ever. He told us that he had bought a lot of accessories and that we could choose whatever we liked, something I wondered how he would do as a man. When we asked him about his future plans, he said he was going to Palermo, which made Claretta gasp. Well, she had always wanted to see the cathedral, so it was no wonder. We had tried to go there, too, but we were hesitant because of the troublesome countries we had to cross on the way, both by land and by sea. He asked us to let him think about it because of the secrecy of the ship, but we got the OK the next day. We prepared for the voyage, went shopping, and were shown to the ship. I look at the interior and am amazed at the atmosphere, which I have never felt before. Then I am dazzled by the secret he told us. Is he OK when he so easily tells us that he has a unique skill? Somehow, I can see through his thinking that he thinks he can just run away if it becomes a problem without thinking too deeply. I wonder if he realizes that his ability to store large quantities of food, for example, is an ability that would definitely be surrounded if the country found out about it. I can only imagine his anxiety. We learn the secret of the success of the pepper trade when we are attacked by monsters. I think it¡¯s a cheat. The unreasonable performance of unique skills frightens me. I felt sorry for the monsters who were played until they were tired and easily defeated after the escape game was over¡­ I was surprised at the Lutto, but the Hideaway is also a ship of unbelievable level. I¡¯m worried about him easily revealing a ship that could have been kept hidden. Perhaps, but I somehow understood the reason because he seemed to be enjoying himself in the bath. He seems to have so much fun when we get in there together. Well, it is a wonderful bath, and we enjoy it very much. If we are in first, he doesn¡¯t come in later out of concern. He¡¯s a little H, but I think he¡¯s a gentleman. (Maybe he¡¯s just a bit wimpy¡­) When we arrived in Palermo, we were helped on land by hut boats and food stores and saw where he makes huge profits by selling pepper. His skills got us through a cave with strong winds where we could not go on. His skills are not strong in limited situations, but they are rare skills that can be used in a variety of situations depending on how they are used. Despite having the Ryu scales, he was more afraid of standing out than gaining fame and refused to show himself as much as possible. I am horrified that he, an ordinary young man with a weak will, is endowed with a powerful unique skill that, depending on how he uses it, can fight with the nations. He is a good man, a likable young man, but he is carefree and vulnerable to women¡­ If he were to be used by the empire or a human supremacist country, it would certainly cast a shadow over the future of the beastmen. It is even scarier that he could be taken advantage of by a beautiful woman without even knowing what she means¡­ I think that we should not let him go. Fortunately, he likes us, but other than me, the other members of the group are considered only good friends. Should we discuss this among ourselves? Or am I just thinking too much¡­? Volume 5 - CH 1 Chapter 1 ¨C Ferry Information and Observation Bath ¡°¡­I¡¯m not sure where to board from, so let¡¯s just take the Lutto for now and circle around the ferry.¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s not locked, right?¡± ¡°Hahaha, sorry.¡± Good grief, when I say let¡¯s get on board, I don¡¯t know where to get on¡­ Alessia-san¡¯s dumbfounded look at me gives me the chills¡­ As I move around the ferry, I am again amazed at the size of the ferry. 192 meters long and 27 meters wide. I knew this from the purchase screen, but the real thing feels much bigger than I imagined. It¡¯s like a steel fortress¡­ I decided to name the ferry the Fortress. ¡°I have decided. The name of this ferry will be the Fortress.¡± [T/n: He said it in English.] ¡°That was sudden. So, Wataru-san, what does it mean?¡± ¡°It means ¡®fortress.¡¯* Since we don¡¯t know how to get in, don¡¯t you think it fits? Alessia-san.¡± [T/n: In Japanese.] ¡°¡­It fits perfectly. But first, let¡¯s find out how to get into that fortress.¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± We look for the entrance to get in and proceed ahead. Oh, there¡¯s some kind of bridge in that dented area on the right side. I think we can get in if we drop it down, and maybe that¡¯s where the car will get in. I¡¯m afraid to try it from the outside, so I¡¯ll try it later. The exterior of the ship will be disguised as a wooden ship later. It will be noticeable because of its size, but wood is still better than metal. ¡­Yeah, Fortress is a perfect name. I don¡¯t see how we¡¯re going to get on board. It can¡¯t be helped, so let¡¯s repatriate it and get on top of the magic circle when we summon it again. ¡°Everyone, I will summon it again, so when the magic circle appears, please get on top of it.¡± ¡°Get on top of the magic circle?¡± ¡°Yes, you can get on top of the magic circle when the ship is summoned. Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± We can get on the magic circle wherever we want, right? Let¡¯s just remind everyone for now. ¡°Then, after repatriation¡­ summons¡­ everyone, please jump on.¡± When everyone jumped on top of the magic circle, we were surrounded by light. I notice that there is an information center in front of me, and next to it is a store. ¡°Wooo, there are cup noodles, juice, snacks, ice cream, white lover, instant miso soup, toothbrushes, T-shirts, woooo©`©`¡± ¡°Master, Master, I know you¡¯re excited, but everyone¡¯s in trouble.¡± ¡°Eh? Oh, sorry Ines. I¡¯m just so excited to have something in front of me that I had given up on, thinking I might never get it again.¡± ¡°Yes, I know it can¡¯t be helped, but there are people from Girasole here, so please calm down and show them around. We have a lot of time, so let¡¯s take our time and have fun.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯m sorry, everyone. I will show you around the ship now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I don¡¯t know about this, but I¡¯m sure you saw something you missed, didn¡¯t you? You can show us around at your own pace, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Thank you, Alessia-san.¡± Let¡¯s calm down; since the thing I wanted appeared in front of me, I was at once caught up in an unexplainable excitement¡­ As Ines said, there¡¯s plenty of time to enjoy everything. I¡¯ll take my time now and show them around. ¡°Now, here is the store. It¡¯s small because it¡¯s on the ship, but you can buy things here if you pay for them. Let me demonstrate.¡± I take a black carbonated drink from the juice section of the kiosk and place it in the cash register¡­ 2 copper coins are displayed in the cash register. 2 copper coins¡­ Where do I put them? Ah, here it is; there was a coin slot on the coin tray stand next to the register; I put in the two copper coins¡­ and the register was accounted for¡­ I don¡¯t know how it works, but it¡¯s creepy, to be honest. I¡¯ve seen videos of unattended cash registers. I can understand that one somehow, but this one, I don¡¯t understand at all. ¡°Now, I¡¯m done paying. If there is something you are interested in, you can buy it. If you don¡¯t understand something, please ask me, and I will explain it to you.¡± At my words, the girls began to look around the store. They were very curious and asked me questions about various items. Most of the things they couldn¡¯t understand even if they saw them, which is true because they are from another world. I explain the drinks, then the snacks, T-shirts, toothbrushes, etc. I bought some and let them try them. The white lover was very popular, and when it came to the cup noodles, they froze in shock. I was relieved to see that they seemed to like the taste. I also almost cried when I ate a cup of noodles that I shared with everyone. The soy sauce flavor, the seafood flavor, the curry flavor, and the udon broth flavor. It was the best. Incidentally, I asked Ilma-san to try some of the Donbei Kitsune Udon¡­, and she just smiled bewitchingly at me, saying it was delicious¡­ Which is it? I wanted to know if it was effective for the fox-eared beauty, but I couldn¡¯t be sure. If she liked it, I would have given it to Camille-san for extra points. All of them wanted to buy cup noodles in bulk to take with them on their adventures, so I asked them to hold off until later because I had to give them directions. I bought ice cream for everyone and handed it out. The girls, who had only known the milk ice cream I had been making, were eating it with gusto, cheering each other on and commenting on the taste. Rimu and Fuu-chan were also excited about the various foods. I was happy to hear them say ¡°delicious¡± and ¡°love it¡± over and over again. ¡°There are so many more things I want to introduce, but let¡¯s move on.¡± ¡°Oh, Wataru-san, let me buy this one thing.¡± ¡°Oh, me too.¡± They picked up one famous chocolate candy after another and paid for them. They are already used to it¡­ but even so, chocolate is very popular even in the other world¡­ It¡¯s amazing. I hope there won¡¯t be a war between mushrooms and bamboo shoots, though¡­ [T/n: There are biscuits covered in chocolate in the shape of mushrooms and bamboo shoots in Japan, and there seems to be some rivalry among their fans.] ¡°I want one.¡± Rimu also carried a box of chocolates on his head; well done, Rimu is a bamboo shoots guy. ¡°Rimu, you can¡¯t take anything here unless you pay for it. If you want something, you have to tell me from now on.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s move on.¡± We headed to the next room with the ladies, who were making a lot of noise with the snacks they had gotten. ¡°This is the economy room.¡± ¡°Wow, it¡¯s a big room. Is it a shared room?¡± ¡°Yeah, that mattress, blanket, and pillow make up one person¡¯s space.¡± ¡°Wow, what¡¯s this mattress called? It¡¯s soft. It¡¯s amazing that you have this in a shared room.¡± Mattresses. It looks like this would be a good idea to set this up on a hut boat¡­ If I repatriate the Fortress, will the mattresses disappear? Hmm¡­ it¡¯s the ship¡¯s furnishings, so it¡¯s going to disappear like the oars. As for the goods, we¡¯re paying for them, so they¡¯re not going to disappear, are they? ¡°Next, this way. These are standard rooms; there are two-person rooms and four-person rooms.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not very big, but the beds are nice and soft.¡± ¡°Yes, we have different types of rooms, so if you¡¯re interested, you can have a look around. And here are the shared toilets, that one is for men and this one is for women. The rooms you will be staying in have their own toilets, so you may not use them.¡± ¡°The room we are staying in has a toilet?¡± ¡°Yes, they are of a higher rank than the rooms we have seen so far, so they have a bath and a toilet. There are many rooms, so each person can have one room.¡± ¡°Wow, what are the rooms like?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t take away the best room, you know. It¡¯s an owner¡¯s perk.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s true. But let¡¯s see the room.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Hey, Wataru-san, why are the stairs moving?¡± ¡°That is an escalator. It¡¯s hard for people with weak legs to move around so many times, so if you get on it, you can be carried without moving.¡± ¡°I see. If it makes things easier, that¡¯s great.¡± ¡°Next, let¡¯s look at this one. This is called an elevator. Push the button for the floor you want to go to, and it will take you to that floor. If it¡¯s too much trouble, you can take the stairs.¡± ¡°It¡¯s great that the elevator carries you up and down, but are there that many people with weak legs?¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know. Well, some people may have trouble walking as they get older, so I guess that¡¯s the reason.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right.¡± What was the actual reason in Japan? I guess it is for people with weak legs, but I think it is simply because stairs are troublesome for them. ¡°Let¡¯s take a ride, then. But if we all ride together, we¡¯ll be limited to a certain number of people. Let¡¯s split up and ride together at once. Let¡¯s go to the bottom parking lot and split up into four people.¡± The part where they split up, curious and happy, somehow makes me think they are adventurers. It¡¯s a weird place to realize that. We split into two groups and moved to the parking lot. Emerging into a dimly lit, dark space, they are quite surprised at how the scenery has changed even though they haven¡¯t moved themselves. ¡°Wataru-san, I understand the elevator, but what is this place? Seems like it¡¯s just a large, dimly lit space.¡± ¡°Yes, this place, well, is it a place to park carriages? There is another floor above, which is also a parking lot, but there is a big door there so that carriages can go in and out.¡± ¡°It¡¯s such a big place, and yet there¡¯s another one up there, well, it¡¯s a big ship, so when it¡¯s full, do they need this many people?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, Alessia-san. Well, I don¡¯t intend to put anyone else on board, so it might be a good place to exercise when it¡¯s raining or when we can¡¯t go out on deck.¡± ¡°It¡¯s certainly spacious enough, maybe too spacious.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s move on.¡± There¡¯s not much to see in the parking lot. ¡°This is one floor up from where we started. The rooms we¡¯ll be staying in are on this floor. First of all, there are 20 deluxe rooms. You are probably used to the Western-style rooms, but please be careful in this Japanese-style room because you have to take off your shoes.¡± ¡°Are we free to use these rooms as we please?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine. You can choose your room later; we will continue with the tour. This is the only suite on the ship. I guess this is our room.¡± ¡°Wow, it¡¯s kind of nice.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty nice. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Fufu, I envy you.¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t give it to you. Alessia-san.¡± ¡°Fufu, I know. Let¡¯s move on.¡± ¡°Yes, the next one is¡­ This is the game area. I will explain how to play later.¡± ¡°What is this, Wataru-san? It¡¯s cute.¡± ¡°Eh? Oh, it¡¯s called ¡®Ufo catcher.¡¯ Inside is a stuffed toy.¡± ¡°A stuffed toy? I want one. Wataru-san, what should I do?¡± ¡°Please calm down, Claretta-san. Just watch me, okay? First, put in one copper coin. Then press this button to move this crane. Next, press this button to move the crane vertically. Now, will the crane be able to catch the stuffed toy that you want? Oh, it didn¡¯t work.¡± Damn, if I had caught it here, I could have given it to Claretta-san¡­ Damn it. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s unfortunate, but I understand. I¡¯ll try to get it.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s wait until after the tour. We can do it again later.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± ¡°Hey, Wataru-san. What are those boxes with drinks we bought at the store?¡± ¡°Ah, those are called vending machines. There is a place where vending machines are gathered on the next floor, so I will tell you there.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Let¡¯s explain the theater room as I show them the movie. It will be completely obvious that I¡¯m from another world, so it depends on the time to come. ¡°This is the casual room. It¡¯s a four-person room with curtains that can be closed to protect your privacy. You probably won¡¯t use it.¡± ¡°Yes, the deluxe room would be more comfortable.¡± ¡°Well, no doubt about it. And here¡¯s the bathhouse, which is one of the reasons I bought the ferry in the first place.¡± ¡°Wow, it¡¯s a big bath. How many people can fit in there? It looks so nice.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s the amazing part. The things in these containers are called ¡°shampoo and body soap.¡± Compared to the hard-to-clean powder you¡¯ve been using up until now, this one will definitely make your hair and skin cleaner. It makes your hair and skin smooth and shiny.¡± Oh no, the women¡¯s eyes have changed¡­ ¡°Wataru-san¡­ how do you think it works?¡± ¡°Yes, you just put this shampoo on wet hair, wash it, and rinse it off in the shower. For the body soap, you can buy a towel at the store, lather it up, and then scrub it on your body.¡± ¡°Do you mind if I get in right away?¡± ¡°Wait a minute, let¡¯s get ready to take a bath first. There are some things to prepare and some things I need to explain to you.¡± I can¡¯t lose here, I want them to change into yukata after getting out of the bath, and I haven¡¯t explained about the yukata yet. I would love to see the ladies in yukata after taking a bath. ¡°Let me just make the necessary preparations for the bath. I will show you the rest after the bath.¡± Under intense pressure, I prepared towels and explained how to put on the yukata. I manage to get them to understand and send them off to the bath. Oh, Ines and Felicia have gone too. I wanted to go in with them, but¡­ I head to the men¡¯s bath alone and lonely. Well, when I explained about the shampoo, their eyes changed color. I was really scared. ¡°Ahhhh, it feels so nice to have a big bath.¡± My soliloquy echoed in the bathroom, but I didn¡¯t care. I had been taking showers and baths frequently, but I guess I hadn¡¯t cleaned up all the dirt. With shampoo and body soap, I feel much cleaner than usual. I take a leisurely soak in the warm water and look at the scenery. It¡¯s a beautiful day, soaking in the spacious bath while looking at the blue ocean¡­ It¡¯s bigger than the Hideaway, and the viewpoint is higher, and it¡¯s nice and luxurious to have it all to myself. Hmm? ¡­I wonder if the Hideaway will be useless? It has a big bath and one room for each of us¡­ Yikes, I feel like we have much less chance to take a bath together. ¡­I need to do the barbecue and other events we did before on the Hideaway and create some opportunities. When I left the bath, the ladies had not yet come out. I waited for the ladies to come out, looking forward to seeing them in their yukatas after the bath. After a while, the ladies came out¡­ Thank you, Creator God-sama. They had been more than beautiful enough up to now, but seeing them like this, I realized that they were not quite there yet. Their skin is glowing, and their hair is silky and smooth. Is this what you get with shampoo? I wonder what would happen if they used a high-end product that contains moisturizing ingredients? It¡¯s terrifying. And the most amazing thing is the women¡¯s breasts. Everyone¡¯s wonderfully sized breasts are lifting up their yukata and showing off their cleavage¡­ Once again, thank you so much, Creator God-sama. Volume 5 - CH 2 Chapter 2 ¨C Vending Machine Corner and UFO Catcher ¡°Wataru-san, Wataru-san, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Ah, eh? No, you were all so beautiful¡­ Ah, um¡­¡± Oh no, I was so shocked that I said something outrageous. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re so out of the blue; it¡¯s a little embarrassing.¡± ¡°Ufufu, Wataru-san, you can say such a thing, too, huh?¡± ¡°But my skin and hair have become so smooth. It makes me happy when people compliment me.¡± I-I have to change the subject. ¡°Everyone, after taking a bath, it¡¯s time for a beer.¡± I handed out the beer I had bought to the ladies. I show them how to open the pull-top, and they drink the beer with gusto right in front of me. Some might say milk, coffee milk, or fruit milk after a bath, but I decided on beer because¡­ something is more likely to happen when you¡¯re drunk. ¡°Phew, it¡¯s the best. Beer for a dry throat after a bath. You should all try it.¡± ¡°Puhah, it¡¯s delicious. Beer, huh? It¡¯s more like ale, but it¡¯s cold, sizzling, and delicious.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Alessia-san.¡± Seeing this, the other ladies also gulped down their beer in one gulp¡­ They all seemed to like it. I would be happy if the beer in a yukata after taking a bath is now firmly established. ¡°Phew, then, let¡¯s rest a bit, and I¡¯ll show you around the ship, okay?¡± ¡°Yes, please do. But the beer tastes good, so please let me rest a little longer.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± While taking a break, I look at the ladies who are sharing their impressions of the baths; they are all happy. They look good in their yukatas, and it makes me glad I bought the Fortress. ¡°Master, that shampoo and body soap is amazing. I feel so refreshed.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re pleased.¡± (Uufufu, let¡¯s have a nice, relaxing lovey-dovey night tonight, shall we?) (Yes.) I was going to watch a movie or play the slots tonight, but I guess I¡¯ll have to change my plans. I¡¯m so full of energy. ¡°So, shall we get going?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve seen most of this floor, so let¡¯s go upstairs.¡± I walk with the big-breasted beauties in yukata in tow. But I can¡¯t see them because they are behind me¡­ I want to see their cleavage, though. ¡°This is the vending machine corner. Various vending machines are gathered here. This is juice; this is beer; this is shochu-highball; this is one cup. This one serves food like the one in the picture. You can see the cup noodles, right? Then this is ice cream.¡± Wow, there is manga on the bookshelf in the vending machine section. I want to jump on it, but I have to hold back¡­ Since I won¡¯t be able to stop reading it once I start. ¡°You put a copper coin with the price written on it in this slot, press the button for the product you want, and the product will come out in this slot. We will have dinner at a restaurant, so why don¡¯t we have lunch at this vending machine? ¡°Sounds fun.¡± ¡°First of all, since it is a meal, please choose what you want to eat from the three vending machines and the cup noodles.¡± The meal vending machines have a pretty good selection: roasted pork fillet onigiri and fried chicken, grilled onigiri, hot dog, takoyaki, fried potatoes, karaage, edamame, taiyaki, jambalaya, Neapolitan, Chinese-style fried rice, mapodon, soft cutlet sandwich, mince meat curry, sweet and spicy pork yakiniku donburi, hamburger set, and more. The menu is quite extensive. I gave Ines and Felicia three silver coins each as their allowance for the time being. ¡°Ufufu, thank you, Master.¡± ¡°Thank you, master.¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s for the vending machine; use the money changer over there.¡± The money-changing machine is also of otherworldly specifications and even accepts platinum coins¡­ Platinum coins, huh? ¡°Wataru-san, what are these onigiri?¡± ¡­That¡¯s right, there¡¯s no rice around here. How can I explain rice? ¡°Well, it¡¯s the staple food where I live. You have to try it to understand how it tastes.¡± ¡°Fufu, well, I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± ¡°Well, maybe we should all buy different ones and taste them for each other.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, let¡¯s all give it a try.¡± They would each buy a different one, taste it, and then make a full-fledged selection. When I look at the vending machine to make my choice, too, my doubts turn to certainty. All of them have gone up in price. Probably the price of the ferry plus the lack of money in ten-yen units, so it¡¯s rounded up¡­ Well, it can¡¯t be helped, I can buy things from another world, this level of price increase is rather on the cheap side, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Oh, Dorothea-san, wait a minute.¡± ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s the matter, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°The one that Dorothea-san was just going to buy is a dessert, you know.¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s in the shape of a fish, though?¡± ¡°Yes, well, I don¡¯t know why either, but it¡¯s sweet, so if you want to try it, you¡¯d better buy it after dinner. By the way, I like it.¡± ¡°Fufu, I¡¯ll try it after dinner.¡± I said and chose another menu item. I asked Rimu what he wanted to eat, too, and he chose the roasted pork fillet onigiri, fried chicken, and Donbei kitsune udon noodles. Rimu said he also wanted the minced meat curry. I showed the ladies how to open the containers, and we all shared. I wanted to eat my first Donbei and roasted pork fillet onigiri in a long time, so we went our separate ways. I slurp up the udon, chew on the onigiri, and wash it down with the soup¡­ It¡¯s the best. It¡¯s cheap, but it¡¯s the nostalgic taste I¡¯m used to living alone. I was so excited that I could not stop eating the udon and onigiri. ¡°Master, as expected, it¡¯s bad manners to make so much noise.¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, Felicia, you¡¯re right. But when you eat noodles in this soup, it is good manners to make noise. It tastes better that way.¡± Wow, everyone is looking at me with super skeptical eyes. ¡°It¡¯s true; by slurping vigorously, the soup goes into your mouth together and tastes better. Try it, and you¡¯ll understand¡­¡± The stares hurt. Then Carla-san slurps the noodle with her fork. ¡°Delicious.¡± Carla-san, you are really a goddess; everyone¡¯s skeptical gazes loosened. Then the ladies resumed eating. Sharing the food, they bought new dishes for themselves and ate the ones they liked. ¡­Huh? Is everyone drinking beer? Oh, and shochu too, even one cup of shochu is¡­ ¡°Um, everyone, it¡¯s lunchtime, so please drink in moderation.¡± ¡°Ufufu, I¡¯m sorry, but the beer Wataru-san offered us was so good.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear, but the dinner is a buffet. I think it¡¯s better to enjoy the drinks slowly after dinner.¡± ¡°What do you mean by a buffet?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good question, Claretta-san. A buffet is basically an all-you-can-eat meal with a variety of dishes on display. You can eat as much as you want until you leave the restaurant during dinner time.¡± Oh, Carla-san¡¯s and Claretta-san¡¯s hands stopped moving. ¡°No matter how much I eat, the price stays the same?¡± ¡°Yes, the price stays the same, so the more you eat, the more you get. You have to be in good shape before you go to the buffet.¡± ¡°Is it delicious?¡± ¡°Yes, a variety of dishes, some you may like, some you may dislike, but you will be satisfied with the food. By the way, Alessia-san, you can also eat all the fried shrimp you like, you know?¡± ¡°That sounds like a lot of fun, but let¡¯s not drink now. Is that okay with you girls?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Alessia-san is truly a leader, and she is keeping everyone together. I¡¯m wondering if Ines and Felicia are following suit, too¡­ Both of you, don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re my slaves, okay¡­? ¡°Well, when you¡¯ve finished eating, I¡¯ll show you the rest.¡± I wait a little while until everyone has finished eating and continue guiding them. ¡°Let¡¯s go then, though there isn¡¯t much more to go.¡± ¡°Fufu, I didn¡¯t expect to walk so much on the ship tour. It is amazing that there are still places to visit.¡± ¡°Haha, it¡¯s a big place, isn¡¯t it? At the back, there is a restaurant. We will have dinner there. You can buy tickets from this vending machine. By the way, this restaurant serves a buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so if you are so inclined, give it a try. By selecting breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or each two of them, you can get a discount. Of course, you don¡¯t have to eat here every time, so please use the vending machines or the food in my pantry ship.¡± ¡°Um, so if I buy two in a set, I save a little money?¡± ¡°Yes, Alessia-san is right.¡± Well, for Girasole, who is an A-rank adventurer, a few copper coins are just like a margin of error. ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯ll go out on the deck next.¡± ¡°Wow, it¡¯s amazing. It¡¯s windy but very spacious.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really spacious. Wataru-san, is it okay if I use this place for training?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine. There are several decks, so you can use anyone you like. But, Dorothea-san, please don¡¯t try to fight with each other because you will get into trouble.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve given you a rough but general description of the facilities. Dinner will be at 6:00 PM. Please do not be late. After you decide on your room, you are free to do as you please, okay?¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do that. Let¡¯s all choose our rooms.¡± After all, everyone seems to have chosen a Western-style room that they are used to. I hope they will have a chance to get used to Japanese-style rooms. Isn¡¯t it nice to be in a Japanese-style room with beautiful women in yukata? Carla-san and Claretta-san are sharing a room because they feel lonely alone. ¡°Wataru-san, when we¡¯re free, is it okay if I take a bath again?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, I want to buy a stuffed toy. Will you join me?¡± ¡°The ufo catcher, right? I can¡¯t say I¡¯m good at it myself, but I can help you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± We moved to the game corner and tried playing the ufo catcher game. ¡°Which stuffed toy do you want, Claretta-san?¡± ¡°They are all cute, so¡­ I want all of them if possible.¡± ¡°¡­It will cost quite a bit of money, you know. And I don¡¯t know if it will be the same here, but the contents of the ufo catcher are changed regularly. If you get hooked, you could end up with a room full of stuffed toys.¡± ¡°I want that.¡± If it¡¯s what she wants, it can¡¯t be helped, can it? ¡°Well, let¡¯s start with the basics. Think about what is easy to pick up, the center of gravity of the stuffed toy, where it is likely to get caught, and whether the crane can reach that far.¡± I heard that there are various techniques, such as three-point hooking. I can only say the obvious. I¡¯m sorry, Claretta-san. ¡°Okay, then, how about this one?¡± ¡°Well, the stuffed toy on the side is in the way, and the arm doesn¡¯t seem to go all the way in¡­ Then, you might get it if you aim at the neck of the stuffed toy over here.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± After several failed attempts, the crane finally lifts the stuffed toy¡­ and everyone watches breathlessly. Slowly, the stuffed toy is carried into the hole by the crane. ¡°Kyaa, I got it, I got it, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy for you, Claretta-san.¡± I didn¡¯t know that a ufo catcher was such a wonderful thing. Every time Claretta-san earnestly checked the position of the crane and the location of the stuffed toy, her chest¡­ jumped with joy when she got the stuffed toy; it was the best. ¡°I¡¯m getting the hang of it. Carla, check the depth position, please?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± In the end, Claretta-san didn¡¯t give up until she got all kinds¡­ I tried to stop her when she ran to the money changer, but she didn¡¯t stop. Let¡¯s hope they don¡¯t replace the stuffed toys. No, no, let¡¯s hope there will be a change of stuffed toys¡­ at least once in a while; otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to see this spectacle anymore. Holding twelve stuffed toys, including the duplicate ones she had taken, Claretta-san asked with a smiling face. ¡°When is the stuffed toy swap going to take place, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t really know much yet about this skill.¡± ¡°I see, so we just have to wait and see. Wataru-san, you have seen other stuffed toys, haven¡¯t you? What kind of stuffed toys have you seen?¡± ¡°Eh? Well, as I recall¡­ there was a large stuffed bear and various kinds of animals, dolls, things, and most things that can be made into stuffed toys.¡± ¡°Fufu, is that so? If it is changes frequently, I can fill my room with stuffed toys.¡± ¡°It would cost a lot of money, so you shouldn¡¯t do that.¡± If Claretta-san were in Japan, her room and car would be overflowing with stuffed toys. ¡°I¡¯m an A-level adventurer. This is nothing for me.¡± ¡°I-I see.¡± ¡°Fufufu, that¡¯s right. Thank you for helping me, Wataru-san.¡± After saying that, she returned to her room with Carla-san; it seemed that she would arrange the stuffed toys in her room¡­ ¡°Master, is everything okay?¡± ¡°What does Felicia think?¡± ¡°I think the amount of money is okay, but that addiction is dangerous.¡± ¡°I agree, but I don¡¯t know how to deal with it.¡± ¡°I guess we¡¯ll just have to wait and see.¡± ¡°Ines is right.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Shall we rest in our rooms until dinner?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Author Note: The ferry I referred to does not have a vending machine corner. I like vending machine corners, so I set them up on the ferry, and I hope you will forgive me if some of you find it strange. The roasted pork fillet onigiri on the vending machine menu has now been replaced by something else, but I liked it so much that I decided to put it there. Also, I changed the alcohol vending machine so that it is available after 11:00 p.m. I have also added a few new products, so there may be some discrepancies, but I appreciate your understanding. Volume 5 - CH 3 Chapter 3 ¨C Viking and a Long-awaited Cigarette ¡°It¡¯s almost time for dinner, a buffet; I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Ines, Felicia, shall we get going?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± When we arrived in front of the restaurant, all the Girasole members were there. Carla-san, in particular, looked like she couldn¡¯t wait to get going and glanced around the restaurant. It looks like Alessia-san was taking a bath, as she said. She¡¯s looking so hot. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we buy the meal ticket?¡± We each bought a meal ticket from the ticket machine and entered the restaurant. We decided to buy a meal ticket for Rimu and Fuu-chan as well since they eat a lot. When we entered the restaurant, there were many tables, and we could see a lot of dishes lined up at the back of the tables. Thinking calmly, I wonder how those dishes were made and how they were served¡­ It makes me scared, so I switch my attention to the dishes. ¡°Everyone, there are a lot of plates here. All you have to do is take a plate and choose one of the dishes lined up over there. First, you should take a few different dishes and find something you like. If you have any questions or concerns, just let me know.¡± As soon as I say my words, they pick up their plates and scatter to choose their dishes. Alessia-san doesn¡¯t hesitate to secure more fried shrimp. Roast pork is also popular. ¡°Wataru-san, do you pour the liquid on the side of this salad?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. There are many different flavors, so please find the one you like best, Dorothea-san.¡± ¡°Fufu, there are many kinds of sauces to put on salads, aren¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Oh, everyone, this area is for dessert, so it is better to eat it last.¡± It seems that hearing the word ¡°dessert¡± has conversely caught their interest. Although they don¡¯t take it, they check the dessert to eat it later. They¡¯ve got a strong sweet tooth. I teach them basic eating manners, and I start to eat my own meal. First, white rice, miso soup with pickles, sashimi, fried shrimp, teriyaki tsukune, roast pork¡­ it¡¯s extravagant. I prepare the same food for Rimu and take my seat, excited to have white rice after a long while. I take a bite of the pickles and eat the white rice. After chewing it well, I sip the miso soup¡­ Ahhhhh, I like cup noodles, but I also feel that proper Japanese food is heartwarming. Sashimi with soy sauce and wasabi, and then I eat it¡­ Mmm, I can¡¯t get enough of it. ¡°Ufufu, you look so happy, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Yes, Ilma-san, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve had a taste of my hometown, so I¡¯m very happy.¡± ¡°I see. But that¡¯s raw fish, right? Are you okay with that?¡± ¡°Yes, I know it¡¯s a little strange. In my hometown, we are thoroughly concerned about freshness and safety, so you can eat it safely and deliciously.¡± Huh? Is it okay to eat the sashimi that comes from a skill? I feel uneasy about a lot of things, but I¡¯ve already eaten it, let¡¯s enjoy the food. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m curious but scared. Is eating with those two sticks normal in Wataru-san¡¯s hometown?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s called chopsticks, but once you get used to it, it¡¯s easier to eat with them.¡± ¡°Wataru-san¡¯s hometown must be a strange place.¡± ¡°Maybe so.¡± Yeah, I think Ilma-san suspects a lot of things. Well, that¡¯s what happens when you see the facilities on the ferry. The members of Girasole know a lot of things, so it¡¯s a little late for that, isn¡¯t it? If they ask, I¡¯ll just answer. Unusually, I¡¯m not distracted by Ilma-san¡¯s sex appeal and continue eating. The teriyaki is delicious. The roast pork is delicious, too. What should I eat next? ¡°I guess there¡¯s nothing I can say right now. Let¡¯s talk about it next time, okay?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Now I¡¯m going to pick out some more dishes. Did Rimu like anything?¡± ¡°I liked everything.¡± ¡°You liked them all; that¡¯s good. What do you want to choose now?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just go with Wataru.¡± Next¡­ we¡¯ll have a salad. I¡¯m not sure about the dressing, Japanese or Caesar dressing, but I¡¯ll go with Caesar dressing. I¡¯d also like to try the seafood gratin and some soft bread. Mmm, yummy, and I definitely prefer the softer bread. After finishing all the things I was interested in, I looked around. Most of the members are eating bread. I guess they feel strange eating rice. But Carla-san is having a ¡°mapo-don¡± (a bowl of rice topped with bean-curd soup) with rice. It looks like something the Japanese would do. Claretta-san seems to be taking her time to taste a small portion and think about how to make it. ¡°Ines, Felicia, is the meal suitable for your palate?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very tasty. Especially this miso soup? It tastes good once you get used to it.¡± I¡¯m kind of glad that miso soup has been accepted. ¡°Master, I think it¡¯s delicious too. I like the salted yakisoba noodles.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m glad you like it. Eat a lot.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯d like to enjoy some drinks.¡± ¡°Hmm? Please wait a minute¡­¡± What should I do? There is no staff and¡­ I look down at the counter, which is usually where the staff is. Whoa, there¡¯s alcohol, there¡¯s a slot to put in the fee, and we can buy it here. There¡¯s beer, cold sake, and wine in the cold storage. Beer is also in bottles. There¡¯s a difference in the details. ¡°I think you can buy it here, Alessia-san. It looks like you have to pay for it and take it out from here. They have beer, wine, and cold sake.¡± ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san. Dorothea, Ilma, Marina, what do you want?¡± ¡°Ufufu, there are so many different dishes; let¡¯s buy all of them and try each one.¡± ¡°I agree with Ilma.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s do that. Let¡¯s have a lot of snacks and a lot of drinks.¡± They immediately returned to their seats, and Alessia-san and the others started drinking beer with deep-fried octopus¡­ I wonder if people in this world eat octopuses? They also ate takoyaki, so it¡¯s okay, right? Hmm, in my opinion, alcohol is not a thing at a buffet, but I guess it¡¯s different when you can afford it. If anything, I feel closer to Carla-san, who is going back and forth between the food and the table. Claretta-san has the eyes of a researcher, something different. While I was choosing the dishes, Fuu-chan came up to me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do you want to eat with us, Fuu-chan?¡± ¡°¡­Eat¡­¡± Marina-san sat down and started drinking, so she decided to eat with us. This is quite a good decision. ¡°I see. Do you mind if it is the same thing as Rimu? Is there anything you want?¡± ¡°¡­The same¡­¡± I took the same things as Rimu and put them in front of Fuu-chan. At the table, Rimu and Fuu-chan are trying their best to eat their food¡­ Cute. After a few more bites, the remaining time is 20 minutes, so I call out to them. ¡°Everyone, it¡¯s almost time. If you want to eat something or have dessert, please go get it.¡± I call out to them and go get dessert myself. The ice cream, waffles, and cut cakes are a big hit with Ines, Felicia, Rimu, and Fuu-chan. Carla-san, seated next to me, is also eating dessert with a twinkle in her eye. She was even more delighted when I showed her how to make the classic waffle with ice cream on top. ¡°Wataru-san, do you know how to make this cake? It is very delicious, and I would be very happy if you could teach me.¡± ¡°A cake¡­? I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the original one. I don¡¯t have the ingredients for home use either, and I don¡¯t know the quantities. If you don¡¯t use the right amount of ingredients, it will be a mess, after all¡­¡± ¡°Is that so¡­? That¡¯s unfortunate.¡± Wow, she looks so sad¡­ Can¡¯t I do something about it? Ah, I wonder if there is a recipe in a magazine or something? And I think the luxury liner also had a library and a bookstore¡­ ¡°Claretta-san, it¡¯s not going to happen anytime soon, but maybe we can work something out sooner or later?¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, I can¡¯t say for sure, but do you remember how I said I wanted a more expensive ship?¡± ¡°Yes, because I thought this ship was expensive enough.¡± I think you are absolutely right. Five hundred platinum coins are 50 billion yen. In fact, I think I could build a mansion or something in this world and hire a lot of maids. It would be nice to live in a mansion with a beautiful, big-breasted maid who will gently serve you¡­ but it seems that Creator God-sama is expecting a luxury cruise ship. Yes, I should hire a maid on a luxury liner. ¡°Wataru-san, is something wrong?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. Hahaha. Well, on that expensive ship, there is a bookstore or library. If there is a cookbook there, it might be listed.¡± ¡°Really? Can I have a look?¡± ¡°Yes, but it would take a while to buy one, and I can¡¯t say for sure that there are cookbooks there¡­¡± Well, it¡¯s been a long voyage, and there are a lot of people who enjoy cooking, so I¡¯m sure there are. Even if there aren¡¯t cookbooks, there could be a cooking section in a women¡¯s magazine. If I could find more to look for, there would be at least one cake recipe. ¡°Thank you. I look forward to it.¡± ¡°It might not be there, so please don¡¯t get mad at me when it happens, okay?¡± ¡°Fufu, of course, I won¡¯t be angry. I might cry because of sadness, though¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pray so that we can find it. It¡¯s about time. Everyone, please get ready to leave.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Wataru-san, can I have a drink at the vending machine corner after this?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san. Everyone, Wataru-san said we can have a drink at the vending machine corner after this.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. They have a good selection of drinks and snacks there.¡± ¡°I like shochu.¡± Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, Marina-san, and Ilma-san seem to want to drink more¡­ Well, I only drank alcohol occasionally¡­ but I wonder if it will be okay from now on¡­ I kind of have an image of an uncle drinking alcohol at the vending machine corner. If these beauties were drinking alcohol at a vending machine corner in Japan, there would be a crowd. It would be the highest-selling vending machine corner in Japan. We sat down at a table in the vending machine corner right after we left the restaurant and started drinking happily. I hear that Carla-san and Claretta-san are going to have a drink this time, too. ¡°Ines and Felicia want a drink too?¡± ¡°¡±Is it okay?¡±¡± ¡±Yes, but don¡¯t drink too much, okay?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I wanted to be lovey-dovey with them tonight. I felt sorry for them when they looked like they wanted to drink like that. I¡¯ll have a few drinks, too, then we¡¯ll take a walk around the ship. I bought beer and edamame and put them on the table. ¡°Wataru-san, these are delicious.¡± ¡°Grilled onigiri, huh? I like it, too. Did the food at the restaurant and the vending machine suit your palate, Carla-san?¡± ¡°Yes, it was very tasty. Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you liked it.¡± But after eating so much buffet food, she still eats grilled onigiri¡­ ¡°Wataru-san, this ship is amazing; the rooms are lovely, the bath, the food, and the drinks are great.¡± ¡°Hahaha, but, Alessia-san. Be sure you don¡¯t drink too much.¡± ¡°I know, I know. I¡¯m fine.¡± Saying that, she gulped down one cup¡­ That¡¯s not good. There are going to be a lot of people with hangovers tomorrow. The women¡¯s yukatas start to get disheveled as they drink and frolic¡­ Let¡¯s not worry about getting a hangover; they can drink more¡­ I also drink my beer slowly, enjoying the sight before me. With the revealing chest and the visible cleavage, I thought I was in heaven. After two beers and a bottle of shochu, I feel light and comfortable, so I put Rimu on my head and take a walk on the ferry. The ladies are still going to drink more. As I wandered aimlessly around the ship, I saw a vending machine¡­ I wanted a cup of coffee, but I completely forgot about it. I bought the canned coffee, and now I saw a cigarette vending machine¡­ What should I do? I used to be a light smoker, only smoking two or three cigarettes a day, and I¡¯d completely forgotten about them since I came to another world¡­ Canned coffee and cigarettes¡­ It would be delicious if two things I haven¡¯t had in a long time overlapped. I easily give in to desire and buy cigarettes. I go out on the deck and light a cigarette with the daily life magic¡­ It¡¯s kind of cool, isn¡¯t it? I feel the smoke of a cigarette that I haven¡¯t had in a while seep into my brain¡­ It¡¯s so good. I enjoy my first smoke in a long time with a can of coffee. Basking in the sea breeze, smoking a cigarette, it¡¯s a scene that looks like something out of a movie. The dark sea and the sound of the waves give it a hard-boiled atmosphere¡­ I think. Though, I have a slime on top of my head. It was good, but I¡¯ll have to wait for the next smoke for the time being. Even though there are people who dislike the smell, and there are some beastman in the ladies¡¯ group, too, I have to be careful with the smell. Oh, I can watch a movie now, what kind of movie can I watch? It¡¯s getting exciting. Volume 5 - CH 4 Chapter 4 ¨C Five Days on the Ferry and Lots of Monsters Excitedly, I headed for the movie theater. ¡°Rimu, we¡¯re going to see something interesting; you should be looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Interesting?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s called a movie. You¡¯ll understand when you see it.¡± ¡°Looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Well, how do we watch it?¡± I thought about how to play the movie, and a menu screen appeared in front of me. Anything is possible¡­ I got myself back on track and looked at the list of movies. Oh, there are quite a variety of movies, anime, classical Japanese, and foreign. I¡¯m getting excited. If it¡¯s a luxury cruise ship, will there be more? I¡¯m excited. Most of the famous ones are available. Oh, there¡¯s the Blues Brothers; I loved that one. I¡¯m glad, even though it¡¯s a very old movie. But since Rimu is also here, let¡¯s save the Blues Brothers for another time and go with the anime. Maybe the classic ghibli? Let¡¯s go with Totoro. Let¡¯s play it. ¡°Rimu, it¡¯s starting. Can you see it?¡± ¡°I can see it.¡± Oh, it¡¯s in Japanese. Can Rimu understand it? ¡°Rimu, do you know the meaning of the words you hear?¡± ¡°Rimu understands.¡± ¡°You can understand it? That¡¯s good.¡± Does it come with language understanding? Let¡¯s ask Ines and Felicia next time. After watching the moving images, he sent me a strange intention for a while, but from halfway through, he seemed to have understood and sent me an enjoyable intention. Does the famous scene have the power to excite even Rimu? In the scene where a tree buds with an umbrella and becomes a big tree, it feels like it is moving on your head. Rimu is also growing up. It¡¯s adorable. The cringing will fly in the scene of the girl who is excited about the Catbus and crying. Rimu is so into the scene. ¡°That was fun, wasn¡¯t it? How was it, Rimu?¡± ¡°I love it; I want more.¡± ¡°You want to see more? But it¡¯s time to go to bed. Let¡¯s watch it together again next time.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Well, I haven¡¯t watched Totoro for a long time, but I like it. Rimu seems to like it too, so what should we watch next time? Before going back to the room, I go to the vending machine corner to see what¡¯s going on. Yeah, it¡¯s totally done¡­ Carla-san and Claretta-san aren¡¯t there, though. ¡°Ines, Felicia, time to go back. Alessia and the others, too, let¡¯s go to bed.¡± ¡°Hmm? Wataru-san is here. Do you want a drink, too, Wataru-san?¡± Yeah, I don¡¯t think we¡¯re on the same page here. ¡°Ufufufufu, Alessia is wrong. Wataru-san likes it here.¡± Ilma-san came close to me, and then she held my head and hugged me to her disheveled chest¡­ T-this, this feeling is Ilma-san¡¯s raw breast. ¡°Uufufufu, Wataru-san loves it, ufufufufu.¡± It¡¯s pafupafu¡­ pafupafu, isn¡¯t it¡­?* [T/n: The act of burying one face between a woman¡¯s breasts.] I need to concentrate all my nerves on my face¡­ ¡°Oh, Dorothea, I want some of that too.¡±¡­ It¡¯s Gone. Too bad. Is this the power of alcohol? Is this what you call a lucky draw? But thank you. ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave you to it. Good night.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±Good night.¡±¡±¡±¡± I give up trying to persuade them and return to my room with Ines and Felicia. Let¡¯s have another drinking session. I vow to do so and return to my room to sleep. ¡°Morning¡­ Hmm? I don¡¯t get the routine kiss¡­ I look both sides and see Ines and Felicia still sleeping. That¡¯s unusual; they usually prepare themselves before I wake up. Oh, I can smell the scent of alcohol. I¡¯ll let them sleep for a while. I get ready and¡­ Now, where shall we have breakfast? ¡­In the meantime, let¡¯s go to the vending machine corner. I put Rimu on my head, and when I got to the vending machine corner, I found Carla-san and Claretta-san sitting there. ¡°Carla-san, Claretta-san, Fuu-chan. Good morning.¡± ¡°¡±Good morning.¡± ¡°¡­Morning¡­¡± ¡°Where is everyone else?¡± ¡°Fufu, they were drinking until late, so they are still in bed. Must be a hangover.¡± ¡°They must have had a lot to drink.¡± ¡°Yes, it was already late when Carla and I returned to our room first. I think they continued to drink after that.¡± ¡°When I checked on them, they were pretty drunk, but they must have had a lot more to drink. Then let¡¯s have breakfast first. Where would you like to eat?¡± ¡°Wataru-san, I want to eat at the buffet in the morning.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine with me, but is it okay with you, Claretta-san?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Then we have a little time before the restaurant opens. Shall we wait a bit?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We chat over a canned coffee. With Carla-san and Claretta-san, we basically talk about food. Such as, ¡°That was delicious; how do you make that?¡± Or something like that¡­ I guess the two of them are more interested in food than in romance. The restaurant opened, so we bought a meal ticket and went inside. Well, first, it was Japanese food, and then Western food with a refill. To start with, there was rice, miso soup, grilled fish, grated radish, soaked spinach, chilled tofu, and natto. Is this what a typical Japanese inn breakfast would be like? It looks delicious. I took the same thing for Rimu and took a seat. Carla-san and Claretta-san seem to be going for Western-style food. ¡°Then, itadakimasu.¡± ¡°¡±Itadakimasu.¡±¡± First, pour soy sauce over grated daikon and take a mouthful of rice with grilled fish¡­ chew it thoroughly and slurp up the miso soup. Mmm, it¡¯s a blessing. Next is natto. ¡°Um, Wataru-san, those beans are stringy, aren¡¯t they? Are you sure it¡¯s okay?¡± As I was stirring the natto, Claretta-san called out to me¡­ I know, there are a lot of Japanese people who don¡¯t like natto, too, but it¡¯s scary when you see it for the first time. ¡°Yes, this is called natto. Um, it¡¯s a fermented food, like cheese. It tastes good, but there are many people who don¡¯t like it because of the way it looks or smells, so I don¡¯t think you two should force yourselves to eat it.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Hmm, but I am interested in it¡­¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Really? Then try a little of this.¡± ¡°Well, I can¡¯t get used to the smell, but I can taste the beans, the soy sauce¡­ and the pungent taste.¡± ¡°I like it a lot.¡± ¡°So you both are okay with it, huh? Natto goes well with rice, so you can try it if you like.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± By the way, Rimu and Fuu-chan were fine with it too. Next up is Western food. Bread, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, and corn soup. It¡¯s a lot to eat in the morning, but when it¡¯s a buffet, you go for it. But I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever experienced two consecutive buffets, even in Japan. Carla-san and Claretta-san immediately tried natto; both of them are challengers, right? After finishing the Western-style food, I finished up with rice porridge, braised burdock root, and pickles. I was so full. Rimu ate the same amount of food as I did¡­ but he was happy to receive a share from Claretta-san, who ate more than I did. Although Claretta-san and I finished eating, Cara-san, Rimu, and Fuu-chan seemed to be able to eat more. In the end, they kept eating until it was time to go. That¡¯s amazing. After leaving the restaurant, Carla-san and Claretta-san were going to check on the other members, so I went back to my room to check on Ines and Felicia. When I entered the room, they were awake but holding their hands to their heads to endure the headache. Yeah, they are totally hungover. ¡°Ines, Felicia, you¡¯re awake.¡± ¡°Sorry, Master, I overslept.¡± ¡°I apologize, Master, I overslept.¡± There¡¯s no energy in their voices¡­ It sounds pretty bad. ¡°Well, it¡¯s just an occasional thing; that¡¯s alright, but be careful.¡± ¡°¡±Yes, we¡¯re sorry.¡±¡± ¡°I¡¯m not telling you not to drink alcohol, but don¡¯t drink it recklessly. Here, it¡¯s water, drink this, and then you can take the rest of the day off so you can go back to sleep.¡± ¡°¡±Yes, thank you. Master.¡±¡± I put them back to bed and take a walk on the Fortress with Rimu. Remembering the manga, I head to the vending machine section. While reading the manga, I¡¯ll have a soda and pick up some french fries. ¡°Oh, Carla-san, how were the others?¡± ¡°They said their heads hurt; they¡¯re all asleep, so I came here.¡± ¡°Ines and Felicia were hungover too. They shouldn¡¯t drink too much.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± But Carla-san, why do you have two cups of noodles and an empty container of grilled rice balls after eating the breakfast buffet? Eating too much isn¡¯t good either, you know? Since Carla-san is here, I stop reading my manga and start chatting with her. Five days passed with such a relaxing voyage. All of us have become accustomed to life on the Fortress, and each of us has developed a favorite place, favorite food, and something to look forward to. We tried various items from the stores and decided on which one was the best ice cream. No, the best ice cream is the chocolate chip ice cream from the vending machine. I was relieved that the war between mushrooms and bamboo shoots did not break out over chocolate. And there was one tremendous change in the last five days. The girls liked the T-shirts from the store and started wearing them as nightwear and during training. It is unfortunate that they don¡¯t like the restrictions on their movements by the yukata and only wear it occasionally, but the no-bra T-shirts have more than made up for that. After baths and training, the girls wear T-shirts and pants for the rest of their days. Frankly, it was too exciting, and I felt like I was going crazy. Ilma-san, in particular, could see when I was upset and would sometimes stand up straight in front of me with her chest outstretched. She sometimes stretches her back with her arms crossed in front of her and lifts them up, keeping my eyes glued to her and teasing me. The effect is great because it reminds me of the feeling I had at that time. At the moment, the only way I can think of to counter it is to shut my eyes. At that moment, I forgot to shut my eyes and just watched. So far, I¡¯ve lost all the games. Will there ever come a day when I can win? And even if I do win, what does that mean for me as a man? I am troubled by this. Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, Marina-san, and Ilma-san are still drinking from the vending machine corner every now and then, despite the terrible hangover they had on the first day. Claretta-san is busy checking to see if the stuffed toys in the crane game have been replaced. I also found a massage chair on my walk. It¡¯s coin-operated by the hour, but it¡¯s the best way to relax. Ines, Felicia, and the rest of the Girasole team were surprised at first, but the massage chairs were so comfortable that they gradually melted away. It was also awesome, a T-shirt, no bra, massage chair.. is the best. I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off it, especially when it was vibrating. Well, it¡¯s been a generally trouble-free voyage, but there are two things I want to discuss, and I¡¯m going to start that discussion in the vending machine corner now. ¡°Thank you all for coming.¡± ¡°Fufu, you seem to be acting strangely, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Is that so? Well, let¡¯s start normally, shall we, Alessia-san?¡± ¡°Yes, and what is it that you want to discuss?¡± ¡°Two things. One is about sea monsters.¡± ¡°Well, we haven¡¯t fought any monsters since we got on board the Fortress.¡± ¡°So now the monsters are gathering around the ship.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. We are quite far from the sea¡¯s surface, so we were unaware that sea monsters were gathering. When I saw them, they were fighting with each other.¡± ¡°Are there that many of them?¡± ¡°Yes, sea serpents, gluttony sharks, kraken, merman¡­ maybe, but I think the number of monsters gradually increased over the course of five days. I guess some of the monsters gave up or lost the fight, but I think some of them have been following us all along.¡± I went out on deck to have a cup of coffee and smoke after a long time, and I heard a struggle in the sea, and I looked over and saw a sea serpent eating a gluttony shark. ¡°Does that mean that if we keep going, we¡¯ll end up taking them all the way down to the Southern City?¡± ¡°I think it probably will.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡± Following Alessia-san¡¯s words, we went out on deck to check the sea. ¡°Wow, there are quite a few of them. It¡¯s not good to take this many with us. Wataru-san, can you stop the ship? We¡¯ll think of a countermeasure.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± We returned to the vending machine corner, bought some drinks, and resumed our discussion. ¡°So, what do you think, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°As Alessia-san said, it would be bad to take them with us, so I think we should either lower the boarding ramp on the starboard side and repel them from there, or summon the Lutto ship from there, jump over and fight them off.¡± ¡°I think it would be better to summon the Lutto.¡± ¡°¡±Agreed.¡±¡± ¡°Alessia-san, Marina-san, Ines, you¡¯re not thinking that it would be fun to maneuver the ship in the middle of that group of monsters, are you?¡± ¡°¡­Don¡¯t you think it would be good for a little bit?¡± ¡°¡­Of course not. If you do that, it won¡¯t be over by the end of the night, will it?¡± ¡°¡±¡±It¡¯s just a little bit.¡±¡±¡± ¡°You¡¯re perfectly in sync. What should we do, everyone?¡± ¡°Ufufu, summon the Lutto and let these girls steer the ship?¡± ¡°There are that many of them; it¡¯s going to be an intense maneuver. It is likely that we will miss some attacks or go on without retrieving the monsters we have defeated.¡± ¡°Since there are so many of them, it will be difficult to recover the monsters.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that¡¯s certainly true. Then should I summon the Lutto from the boarding gate and fight them off?¡± ¡°Hmm, I wonder if it will be alright. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll lose because of the boarding rejection, but I¡¯m worried about the three of them running out of control. ¡°¡±Yay.¡±¡±¡± They¡¯re so happy¡­ ¡°It¡¯s decided, Wataru-san; let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Alessia, calm down. Besides, Wataru-san said he had two things to discuss with us.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, Dorothea, of course. I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san, but what is the other one?¡± ¡°Oh, no, the other one can wait until later. We¡¯ll discuss it again when we get more time.¡± With everyone so excited, I¡¯m honestly afraid to propose the problem of overeating. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go then¡­ Wataru-san, where should we go?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the parking lot I showed you before. We¡¯ll jump onto the Lutto from the boarding gate there.¡± ¡°I understand. Okay, everyone, let¡¯s go.¡± Well, the three of them are excited, and the others seem to be having fun too¡­ Only Rimu and Fuu-chan seem to understand my feelings. ¡°Rimu, magic.¡± It¡¯s just my imagination, isn¡¯t it? Volume 5 - CH 5 Chapter 5 ¨C Confronting a Group of Monsters and Reflection Now that we¡¯ve discussed it, we¡¯ll take the elevator down to the parking lot to defeat the monsters. From here, I lower the boarding gate. With the ship summoning ability, I can easily lower the door, but if it¡¯s a real one, it must be hard to do safety checks and such¡­ Can the door be opened when there is no land nearby in the first place? As the door slowly descends and the light comes in, I think about things I don¡¯t even understand. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s great; I didn¡¯t expect it to open like that. That gives us quite a bit of space.¡± ¡°Yes. Now, could you please shoot some magic into it and scatter the monsters? I¡¯ll summon the Lutto there.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± The member who can use magic shoots magic into the designated space. At the moment the monsters are scattered, I summon the Lutto and get on board. ¡°Oh, we can¡¯t go on if there are so many monsters coming close to us. Wataru-san, can I force through? We won¡¯t get hurt if we run into the monsters, will we?¡± ¡°W-wait a minute. Everyone, please cast a spell on the monsters in front of us. Alessia-san, please go forward after that.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Certainly, it is fine if we bump into it, and it doesn¡¯t hurt us. I¡¯m just worried that the tension is rising, and it seems to be uncontrollable. The two people around me are getting even more agitated, and I¡¯m afraid that once they start running, they won¡¯t be able to stop. Why do these three people change their personalities when it comes time to steer the ship? Are they the same type of people whose personalities change when they get behind the wheel of a car? I never met any of them in Japan, but I never thought I would meet three people like that in this world¡­ When magic is shot into the group of monsters in front of us, before the steam has even cleared, the ship sped off and plunged into the water. A merman is bounced out of the steam. Wow, we¡¯re moving forward, bouncing off monsters. I can hear happy laughter coming from the flying bridge, and there¡¯s no point in stopping now. I wonder what will happen to our experience if we beat them with the ship? I look behind me and see the monsters that have been gathering, coming after us. Five, no, six Sea Serpents. More than ten Gluttony Sharks, and I¡¯ve lost count of the Merman, who¡¯s been eaten by the Gluttony Shark by accident. Why didn¡¯t they just run away? Hmm? Where did the Kraken go? I¡¯m pretty sure it was there when I saw it from above, but¡­ I wonder if it couldn¡¯t keep up with the ship¡¯s speed? We took up a position on the rear deck and fired our bows at the monsters that were chasing us. I was able to pierce the Merman with my new bow. After the Horned Rabbit and the Goblin, I finally have more new monsters I have defeated. I am glad I bought a bow. I can damage the Sea Serpent and the Gluttony Shark, but I can¡¯t slow them down. I¡¯ll have to think of some way to attack them. Also, the two people who are making noise on the flying bridge who are not in control of the ship should join in the attack. Rimu and I will aim at the Merman, and Fuu-chan will throw rocks at it. The other members of Girasole are taking down the big ones. The two who aren¡¯t steering the ship are just laughing happily¡­ Isn¡¯t that unreasonable?¡¡We¡¯re all doing our best and¡­ I¡¯ll put it on the topic when we discuss it. Since we¡¯re circling the Fortress, the monsters that were on the other side and the ones that didn¡¯t come after we attacked from the front, this is where the Kraken came in. It looks like it just couldn¡¯t keep up with our speed. Every time we avoid the monsters attacking from the front, the laughter from the flying bridge gets louder. I wonder if their throats will dry up again. We¡¯ve been defeating them quite a bit, but I don¡¯t think they¡¯ve decreased much. But it¡¯s amazing what an A-rank party can do. The number of monsters is so great that they are using skills they don¡¯t usually use. When Dorothea-san thrusts out her spear, it makes a hole in the monster even though the spear doesn¡¯t reach it. Is it a skill? Even though my level is higher, I can¡¯t see through an attack like that. After all, I have to be careful on land. Every time Carla-san swung her sword, the monsters were chopped into pieces even though the sword didn¡¯t reach them. I thought Carla-san was a defensive specialist since she is usually equipped with a large shield, but she is amazing with a sword as well. Ilma-san and Claretta-san are also releasing magic and defeating the monsters. ¡°Ilma-san is using fire magic¡­ Is she a foxfire? Also, when Ilma-san uses some kind of magic, the monsters fight each other¡­ Is it some kind of hallucinogenic magic? It¡¯s something fox-like. Maybe Ilma-san is like that coincidentally, or maybe fox beastmen are good at fire magic and hallucinogenic magic or something. Claretta-san taught Rimu how to use the big Holy Spear, and she is floating several of them and shooting them out with great force to defeat the monsters. It would be great if Rimu could use magic like that when he grows up. When the glowing spear runs out, the spear is replenished from the magic circle¡­ Is that automatic replenishment? The magic circle doesn¡¯t disappear; it remains. Such magic exists, too, huh? I thought it would be great if Rimu could do it, and I looked at Rimu. Before I knew it, he had moved to Claretta-san¡¯s side. I guess Rimu wants to learn too. Rimu is so aggressive. Rimu with a big glowing magic spear, shooting wildly¡­ That¡¯s a man¡¯s romance¡­ isn¡¯t it? But I¡¯m getting pretty tired. It¡¯s time to suggest a break. ¡°Dorothea-san, I¡¯m getting pretty tired, so why don¡¯t we take a break?¡± ¡°Is that so? Hmm, I don¡¯t feel comfortable taking a break while surrounded by monsters, but¡­ it looks like it will still take a while; let¡¯s take a break.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡± The attacking team returned to the living room to have tea. In the meantime, I also asked the ship¡¯s crew to join us, but they said they didn¡¯t need to take a break. They said they would do it carefully so as not to spill the tea on the swaying ship. Are those three going to stay off the flying bridge until it¡¯s over? Are they having so much fun that they don¡¯t even feel tired? ¡°Whew, but I don¡¯t think the number of monsters has decreased too much.¡± Looking out the window, I see monsters everywhere I look. When we were on the Lutto, the monsters didn¡¯t come this close to us, but I guess the bigger size made it more noticeable. Until the day before, I was thinking of taking the ferry to the Southern City, but maybe it would be better to switch to the Lutto from about two days ago. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Because Alessia and the others are driving around the ferry, so it¡¯s just that the number of monsters are gathering on the Lutto, and it doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s decreasing.¡± ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how it is; they¡¯re constantly being replenished. We just have to keep on killing them.¡± ¡°Well, Dorothea, Carla, and Claretta still have plenty of energy left, so they¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Oh, Rimu and Fuu-chan, aren¡¯t you tired? Are you okay?¡± ¡°Rimu, fine.¡± ¡°¡­Fine¡­¡± ¡°I see. Rimu and Fuu-chan are okay too. Let¡¯s do our best together.¡± ¡°Rimu, do my best.¡± ¡°¡­Yes¡­¡± I pet Rimu, and Dorothea-san pet Fuu-chan. Come to think of it, Marina-san left Fuu-chan alone last time and apologized to her later, and she left her alone again this time. I wonder what she¡¯s going to do if Fuu-chan becomes fond of Dorothea-san? If it were me, I¡¯d be shocked beyond recovery. ¡°Well then, Wataru-san, shall we resume soon?¡± ¡°Yes, Dorothea-san.¡± When we went out to the rear deck, the monsters were still chasing us in groups. And the flying bridge is as lively as ever. It looks like they are secreting a lot of drugs in their brains. We resume our attack to reduce the number of monsters. While taking several breaks, we steadily defeat the monsters. After a few hours, the number of monsters decreased, and the ship¡¯s crew, who had calmed down, joined in the attack. ¡°Whew, that was fun. The thrill is doubled when there are so many monsters.¡± ¡°It was fun.¡± ¡°But Alessia and Marina were trying to hit the monsters instead of avoiding them, weren¡¯t you? That¡¯s not good.¡± ¡°Ines was trying to hit them, too.¡± ¡°Alessia and Marina seemed to be having fun, so I gave it a shot.¡± The conversation was escalating. They were trying to hit it, not avoid it¡­ I thought it was difficult to handle the ship since there were too many monsters, but they were doing a lot of crazy stuff. Alessia-san and the others joined us, and we were taking out the monsters that were swarming around the stopped boats. It is easier to defeat monsters from stopped ships than from running ones, and if there is a chance, we can collect them. Before the sun sets, we finish defeating the monsters. I repatriated the Fortress, re-summoned it, jumped on the magic circle, and made it back to the Fortress. ¡°Whew, that was quite a day.¡± ¡°Alessia was just doing it at the end, and the rest of the time, you were just frolicking around.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Hahaha, well, that¡¯s fine; let¡¯s just go to the bathhouse. Dorothea and Ilma want to take a bath, too, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped. Wataru-san, can we go ahead and take a bath first? After we get out, why don¡¯t we go to the vending machine corner and discuss the rest?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m tired, so let¡¯s soak in the bath and then discuss.¡± ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go.¡± The women are entering the bath in a hurry¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say. When Alessia-san is in charge, the two who are supposed to be my slaves also follow along without any discomfort¡­ I don¡¯t like to think about it, but are they forgetting me? Moreover, even Rimu was carried by Marina-san with Fuu-chan and taken away by me¡­ something seems strange. Oh well, I¡¯ve been drawing my bow for a few hours; I¡¯ll relax in the observation bath too. The ladies have a long bath, so I¡¯ll relax in the massage chair after I get up first. I soak slowly in the large bath on the observation deck and rub my tired arms. After getting out of the bath, let¡¯s enjoy a beer. The beer soaks into my body after the bath. It¡¯s delicious. I sit down on the massage chair, put in a copper coin, and let myself fall asleep in the massage chair. ¡°Master, Master, everyone has come out of the bath.¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, thank you, Felicia.¡± ¡°No, they¡¯re all waiting in the vending machine corner.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll be quick.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Oh no, I fell asleep. I rushed to the vending machine corner. ¡°Excuse me, everyone. Sorry to keep you waiting.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay; let¡¯s get started. Do you want to discuss the other issue, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Yes, and I¡¯d like to discuss some of the problems we¡¯ve been having in the battle before.¡± ¡°In the battle before? Is there any problem, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°No, Alessia-san, it¡¯s not a problem; it¡¯s a request. If something like that happens again, I¡¯m not asking you to stop operating the ship, but instead of three people on the flying bridge, the two people who are not operating the ship should participate in the attack.¡± ¡°I see. I agree with Wataru-san¡¯s opinion. If they don¡¯t come down when we call them, we should immediately forbid them from steering the ship.¡± ¡°Dorothea, wait a minute. If we are on the flying bridge, there are times when we don¡¯t even notice when we are called, so you can¡¯t just suddenly ban us from steering the ship.¡± ¡°Really? But I¡¯ll go to the flying bridge and call you, so you won¡¯t miss it. If you get called, you can come down immediately, and there won¡¯t be any problem.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°You have the same conditions as Alessia-san and the others, Ines. Be careful.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Well, I hope they keep their promise¡­ because they are very excited when they are operating the ship. Volume 5 - CH 6 Chapter 6 ¨C Chubby Measures and Movies I managed to get Alessia-san and the other ship handlers to promise to participate in the attack when they were not maneuvering the ship. I¡¯m still a little uneasy about it, but we¡¯ll see how it goes. ¡°So, Wataru-san, what are you going to discuss with the rest of us?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Before that, I have one more thing to tell you. I was planning to change to the Lutto one day before reaching Southern City. Since it would be bad to take the monsters to the sea near the Southern City, so we would switch to the Lutto two days before, which means the day after tomorrow, okay?¡± If we¡¯re going to move two days in advance, we can use the Hideaway. I¡¯m glad it wasn¡¯t wasted. ¡°Right, we can¡¯t take that many monsters around the city, can we? I understand.¡± ¡°Next, a word of advice, or rather a reminder. You are all eating too much, drinking too much, and it¡¯s bad for you.¡± ¡°¡­Is that so? But we train every day, and we have to eat a lot to keep up, don¡¯t we?¡± ¡°I understand that, but you all frequent the buffet and also eat snacks, juice, ice cream, alcohol, and snacks from the vending machines, don¡¯t you? And you always have something from the stores, too. You eat too much, I think.¡± ¡°When you put it that way, it does seem that way¡­¡± At first, I didn¡¯t mind. When I went to the vending machine corner, there was always someone drinking and eating. I was curious to see what was going on, and they didn¡¯t stop binge drinking, you know. ¡°Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, Marina-san, and Ilma-san, you drink at the vending machine corner almost every night, don¡¯t you? You didn¡¯t drink that much before, but if you suddenly start drinking every day, you will destroy your body. And you also eat and drink a lot of snacks and juices.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, Claretta-san and I don¡¯t drink that much.¡± ¡°You are fine, but Carla-san, while not drinking, you are a full participant in the buffet, and in between, you are always eating and drinking something at the vending machines or at the store, aren¡¯t you? You eat too much.¡± With a look of dismay on her face, Carla-san turned her head down. Ugh, my heart aches. But if the members of Girasole become chubby because of me, I can¡¯t repent even if I regret it. Also, I might be seriously threatened by the fans of the Girasole members. I think it¡¯s known that we traveled together, so it¡¯s even dangerous, but if they come back as a chubby girl¡­ even if I¡¯m not responsible, it¡¯s going to be horrible. ¡°But it would be a shame not to eat it when it¡¯s there. There are so many delicious foods here.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re all happy too. The only problem is that you drink every day and eat too much, like not drinking the day after you drink. In Carla-san¡¯s case, instead of eating all the time except for three meals a day, you should limit the amount of money you are allowed to spend in a day or something like that. That sounds good.¡± ¡°Hmm, I get it. You¡¯re right, we drank every day, and from my point of view, Carla ate all the time. Let¡¯s moderate ourselves too.¡± ¡°Yeah, I enjoyed drinking every day, but sure, we need to moderate a little.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be patient.¡± ¡°Thank you for understanding. I thought it was unnecessary, but thank you in advance.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°But, Wataru-san, since we had a hard day, you don¡¯t mind if we drink tonight, do you? We won¡¯t drink tomorrow.¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± A diet starts tomorrow. A song? Commercial? Somehow, it started playing in my head¡­ I wonder if it¡¯s okay? After all, you don¡¯t drink every day for some reason, do you? I decided to have dinner at the vending machine corner, have a quick drink, and then go to the massage chair. Alessia-san and the others said they would drink until late, saying they couldn¡¯t drink tomorrow¡­ Are they going to drink until tomorrow? Maybe my request for moderation was meaningless? Somewhat uneasy, I headed for the massage chair. ¡°Master likes the massage chair, huh?¡± ¡°Yes, it feels good, and Ines and Felicia like it too, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I love it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± While I was sitting in the massage chair leisurely, Claretta-san came running to me with great excitement¡­ Breast-sama is also very excited. I am very excited too. ¡°Wataru-san, Wataru-san, the stuffed toy in the ufo catcher, has been replaced. Can you help me?¡± I see; she went to check after that. Alessia-san and the others were drinking, so she came to ask me to help her out. But was today the day for replacing the stuffed toys, or was it because I repatriated the ferry? ¡°Wataru-san, is it no good?¡± ¡°Hmm? No, it¡¯s totally fine. I was just wondering about the conditions for replacing stuffed toys. I¡¯ll be happy to help you.¡± ¡°Thank you. The conditions for replacing stuffed toys, huh? ¡­Might have something to do with repatriation?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know yet, but I thought it might have something to do with the fact that the replacement happened after the repatriation.¡± ¡°I think it might be. Let¡¯s try it tomorrow.¡± Wow, she looks so sparkly, like when Carla-san asks about the food. ¡°I guess so. But time may have something to do with it, so don¡¯t be disappointed if it¡¯s not right.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Shall we go then?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll take all kinds of stuffed toys this time because they were so cute.¡± You¡¯re really going for it, Claretta-san. I guess she really won¡¯t give up until she gets all kinds¡­ When I arrived at the game corner, I saw that the prize of the ufo catcher had been replaced by a plush toy of a yokai¡­ It¡¯s certainly cute, but is it¡­ okay? ¡°It¡¯s cute, isn¡¯t it? I will definitely take all kinds. Wataru-san, please take care of the depth, okay?¡± ¡°Oh, yes.¡± Claretta-san is operating it with a lot of tension. ¡­..In the end, Claretta-san got all kinds of stuffed toys with the financial power of an A-rank adventurer. Even when other stuffed toys were in the way, and she couldn¡¯t get the one she wanted, she didn¡¯t hesitate to throw in a copper coin, take it or move it, and get it without giving up. Claretta-san ran to exchange money again this time¡­ Claretta-san is like a god-like customer from the game center side. No, a goddess¡­ That goddess is holding all kinds of stuffed toys, and she is smiling. ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯m going back to my room to put the stuffed toys in order. Thank you for today. Good night.¡± ¡°If the replacement of stuffed toys continues at this rate, Master, it looks like Claretta-san¡¯s room will be filled with stuffed toys¡­¡± ¡°I guess so. Well, since we have extra rooms, we can turn one room into a stuffed toy room, so I don¡¯t see any problem with that.¡± ¡°I hope it¡¯s only one room¡­¡± ¡°¡­Well, it¡¯ll be fine¡­ I guess.¡± Let¡¯s just think about it when one room is occupied. ¡°What are you going to do now, Master?¡± ¡°Well, my massage was halfway through, so I think I¡¯ll go back to the massage chair, and then we¡¯ll go see a movie.¡± ¡°A movie?¡± ¡°Yeah, roughly like a drama, I guess. Well, it¡¯s very different, but you¡¯ll know it when you see it.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We took our time to relax and then headed for the mini-theater. What should we watch? Ines and Felicia are both new to this, and it¡¯s good to know that they¡¯re both easy to catch on to. ¡­Let¡¯s just rely on ghibli again, or maybe we¡¯ll go with Castle of Cagliastro. Ines and Felicia gasped in surprise as the movie began. ¡°Ines, Felicia, do you understand the language?¡± ¡°Eh? It sounds like a normal language to me?¡± ¡°It sounds like my normal language to me, too.¡± ¡°Oh, to me, it sounds like the language of my hometown¡­ If that¡¯s not a problem, let¡¯s continue.¡± Is there some kind of language understanding attached to the video? It¡¯s a unique skill¡­ with high performance. When the movie resumes, Ines, Felicia, and Rimu are all very excited. There seemed to be a lot they didn¡¯t understand about cars, auto gyros, guns, etc. They seemed to understand somehow and were concentrating on the screen. They showed interest in the bridal gown, got excited about the tower jumping, laughed at the battle of the gears, were on edge on the clock, and were on edge at the last word from the inspector¡­ Ines, Felicia, and Rimu seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed themselves. ¡°It was so much fun. Are these paintings?¡± ¡°Yes, I heard that if you show a lot of pictures in a row at a very fast pace, they look like that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°Master, are there many stories like that?¡± ¡°Yes, the one we saw today was an anime, which is made of many pictures. There are also many movies with human actors.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. Can we see it again?¡± ¡°Yes. I want to see them too, and when we have time, we will see a lot of them.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Rimu, love anime.¡± ¡°Rimu liked anime, huh? I¡¯m glad you enjoyed it.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± It looks like he understands the language, and everyone had a good time. I¡¯m looking forward to my life on the Fortress from now on. ¡°Then, let¡¯s return to our rooms and rest for the day.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Volume 5 - CH 7 Chapter 7 ¨C Exposure and Shark Fin Morning, huh¡­? I finished my daily kiss and headed to the vending machine corner. It looks like they drank late last night, but I wonder if everyone¡¯s here¡­ which seems impossible. Sure enough, the only ones who were there were Carla-san, Claretta-san, and Fuu-chan. ¡°Good morning, Carla-san, Claretta-san, and Fuu-chan.¡± ¡°¡±Good morning.¡±¡± ¡°¡­Morning¡­¡± ¡°Are the others drinking too much?¡± ¡°Yes, I apologize, even though you warned them not to.¡± ¡°Haha, well, they won¡¯t be drinking today, so I think they¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Fufu, I hope you¡¯re right.¡± We decided to have a buffet breakfast and spent time chatting and watching Rimu and Fuu-chan play with each other until it was time to go. It¡¯s quite a meaningful time, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Thank you very much for the meal. Phew, what are you two up to today?¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s see. I¡¯m going to relax and take care of Alessia and the others.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help too.¡± ¡°Okay, well, we¡¯ll relax too. Ines, Felicia, I¡¯m taking it easy today, so you two are free to do whatever you want. Do you have enough allowance?¡± ¡°Fufu, thank you. I have enough.¡± ¡°Yes, we just got it. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Oh, I won¡¯t be moving around much, and I¡¯m sure Rimu will be very bored, so take him with you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Let¡¯s leave everyone and read the manga that¡¯s been on my mind for a while. Before that, I need to get ready¡­ I just ate dinner, but I¡¯ll buy potato chips, soda, and chocolate. No one else can read manga, so let¡¯s take it to my room and read it carefully. I picked out a manga I¡¯m interested in¡­ ¡°T-this is¡­ a manga about an old man from Hakata who has a protruding chin cooking*¡­ Ah¡­ This one has recipes on it, right? There¡¯s also a manga about an epic parent-child fight with an ultimate and supreme feel to it.¡± [T/n: Cooking Papa?] ¡­Win, win with this. Eating in Another World¡­ I¡¯ll be a winner. Hmm, I¡¯ll have to check out what¡¯s in it and see if the old man from Hakata has a recipe, and it looks like it can be made. The ultimate one is just ultimate, and I don¡¯t think I can handle it. Anyway, before reading the manga, let¡¯s check the table of contents for menus that I might be able to make. ¡­There are a lot of delicious-looking menus¡­ I hope I can make them with the ingredients I have¡­ Hmm? Shark fins¡­ Can I make it with Gluttony Shark fins? I¡¯ll try to find out the method of preparing shark fins. Hmm, it¡¯s not listed¡­ but the shark fins that the old man from Hakata uses come with the tail fin skin, and the ultimate one has the skin peeled off. I can¡¯t tell at the drying stage anymore. Hmm, I¡¯ll have to give it a try since I have a corpse of Gluttony Shark. I changed my plan to leisurely read manga and head for the kitchen. ¡°Ara, Wataru-san, are you cooking?¡± ¡°Yes, Claretta-san, that¡¯s right. I¡¯ve got something I¡¯d like to try, but I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll succeed.¡± ¡°It sounds interesting. May I help you?¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll get the ingredients out.¡± ¡°Are you going to use Gluttony Shark? It¡¯s not tasty, is it?¡± ¡°Yes, unfortunately, I¡¯m assuming it will fail. Is that okay?¡± ¡°I understand. What Wataru-san does is strange, but the results are always great, so I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Hahaha, this one will take months to complete, so I don¡¯t even know how it will turn out.¡± ¡°Months? I¡¯m not sure, but I will help you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I summoned a boat with a Gluttony Shark on it, and then I cut off its fins. It¡¯s different from Japanese shark fins in term of size, but¡­ well, let¡¯s give it a try. Since I don¡¯t know much about it, I clean off the excess meat and dry it as it is, and lightly boil it with hot water. I make one with the skin removed. As for the skinned ones, are you supposed to take off the bones as well? ¡­Should I save them? ¡°¡­Whew, thanks for the help. All that remains is to dry these in the sun until they are dry.¡± ¡°It was quite hard work, wasn¡¯t it? But using fillets instead of meat is very unusual. If you succeed, will it taste good?¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know. I have never had it because it is a luxury item where I am from. But since it is made from shark fins, I gave it a try.¡± I have eaten shark fin buns before, but¡­ can I say that I have eaten shark fins with that? ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to seeing the finished product.¡± ¡°Yeah, I hope it turns out well. Shall we dry it anyway?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I hung them on a string to dry, and Ines and Felicia came by to help me, so it didn¡¯t take long. ¡°Thank you very much, Claretta-san.¡± ¡°No, no, it was fun. Please let me know when you finish it.¡± ¡°Yes, I will. I¡¯ll eat it with you then.¡± ¡°Fufu, I¡¯m looking forward to it. I¡¯m going to take a bath now. See you later.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Master, you said you were taking a day off, and now you¡¯re cooking with Claretta-san¡­ I¡¯m jealous.¡± ¡°Haha, I suddenly found something I wanted to make. I met her in the kitchen, and she helped me.¡± ¡°Um, Master, I hate to tell you this, but you smell like fish. Would you like to take a bath?¡± ¡°Is that so? Let¡¯s go take a bath. I said you were free to go, but will you come with me?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We take our time doing lovey-dovey in the bath, and then we get out of the bath. Let¡¯s spend this time reading manga. I part from everyone, prepare lunch and drink snacks from the vending machine, and return to my room. I read manga while eating lunch and then read manga while lying on the bed, enjoying snacks. It¡¯s not the most appropriate thing to do. But I am happy. When it was time for dinner, Ines and Felicia came to call me. When I went to the vending machine corner, everyone was there. Alessia-san and the others had recovered from their hangovers, and they were having dinner at the vending machine corner today. We had dinner while chatting. Alessia-san insisted on having only one beer, but Dorothea-san stopped her, saying that she had to keep her promise. That¡¯s what a sub-leader is for, huh? She was hungover, too, though. As we continued to enjoy our meal, Ilma-san approached me. ¡°Wataru-san, I have a question for you.¡± ¡°Hmm? It¡¯s okay, Ilma-san. What is it?¡± ¡°Thank you. You don¡¯t have to answer if you don¡¯t want to, but can I ask you about where you¡¯re from?¡± Oh, now that I think about it, I had told Ilma-san that I would tell her next time¡­ Well, I guess she almost knows, so let¡¯s just tell it. ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t mind. But it would be embarrassing if I misunderstood, so I¡¯ll just answer Ilma-san¡¯s question, okay?¡± It would be too embarrassing if it were something completely different from what I¡¯ve had in mind. ¡°Yes, I get it. Then I¡¯ll ask you¡­ Wataru-san, are you from another world?¡± Huh? Everyone but Dorothea-san and Marina-san are surprised¡­ I didn¡¯t even remember if they had any doubts? I¡¯m not so sure about that¡­ ¡°Yes, I¡¯m from another world.¡± ¡°Whew, I knew it. Well, I know you didn¡¯t really want to hide it, but was it really okay to say it so clearly?¡± ¡°Yes, well, I was afraid that if someone boarded this ship, they would find out. But you will keep my secret, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Eh? Wait a minute, Ilma, Wataru-san¡­ You¡¯re saying something terrific just now. Is it true that you¡¯re from another world? I mean, Ilma, you should talk to me before asking Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Ufufu, I¡¯m sorry. But if I tell Alessia, you¡¯ll probably ask him about it with great vigor. A few days ago, Wataru-san said he would answer my question, so I asked him directly. If it didn¡¯t seem to work, I would have decided not to ask him.¡± ¡°Hmm, well, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll want to ask him, but I won¡¯t force him into it.¡± ¡°But Alessia, you love stories about sage and heroes and people from another world, don¡¯t you? Could you stand not to ask him?¡± ¡°Ugh, okay, I get it. Enough about this. Let¡¯s hear what Wataru-san has to say.¡± Alessia-san, you were easily put down. But you love to talk about people from another world¡­ I hope this flow will lead you to love this Wataru-san, who is from another world, too. ¡°Well, I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m from another world. As I said before, please keep it a secret.¡± ¡°Yeah, even though I¡¯m indebted to you, I¡¯m not going to reveal your secret. But can I ask you a story about another world?¡± ¡°Yes, as long as you keep it a secret.¡± ¡°What kind of place is the place you were in, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Well, the place where I was, huh? It is a country called Japan, but there are no monsters, and there is no magic. It was generally a peaceful country. It¡¯s hard to explain with words, so I¡¯ll show you a video later.¡± If it¡¯s a video, people might misunderstand me because of the flashy action and so on. I¡¯ll rent a drama about love and show them. I¡¯d be happy if they were interested in romance. ¡°A peaceful country where there are no monsters and no magic. I can¡¯t imagine what you mean by video. Can we see Wataru-san¡¯s country?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s just like Alessia-san said. Well, it is a story, like a drama, but it shows Japan.¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t really understand it, but I¡¯m looking forward to seeing it. When can we watch it?¡± ¡°Right, maybe after dinner. Let¡¯s buy snacks and juice and watch it on the Hideaway. We can watch it in my room, but it will be easier to watch it on the Hideaway.¡± ¡°I understand. Fufu, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Um, Wataru-san, I read in a book that people from another world can receive skills from God¡­ Is it possible that Wataru-san¡¯s ship summoning was given to you by God?¡± ¡°Yes, I think so. As Claretta-san said, I received it from the Creator God.¡± ¡°I-is that true? Have you met him before?¡± ¡°Y-yes, I have met him. In this world, don¡¯t you sometimes meet God? I often hear stories about contracts and divine punishment and God.¡± ¡°No, there are times when God only exercises His power, such as in contracts, but there is no one that has met God in person. You are amazing, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Eh? Oh, is that so? Maybe it was a valuable experience.¡± What¡¯s it like being friends with a celebrity and being awesome? She¡¯s looking at me with sparkling eyes, but what is this¡­ is it something to brag about? ¡°What did he look like? Are the God statues in the cathedral accurate?¡± Hmm? Can I say this? No, I can¡¯t tell her that the statues of the god are exaggerated. ¡°Yes, well, I think they are roughly the same.¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°Claretta, calm down. Sorry about that, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°No, thank you. Dorothea-san.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san. I got excited.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Well, the meal is over, Wataru-san. Let¡¯s see the video? I mean, let¡¯s look at it.¡± ¡°Yes, sure, Alessia-san.¡± I went to the counter to borrow a DVD. Let¡¯s see, how do I do that¡­? A menu appeared, and the list came up. What a convenient thing this menu is, isn¡¯t it? Let¡¯s see, let¡¯s see what¡¯s good¡­ Oh, there¡¯s a DVD of a very popular drama that¡¯s escaping, embarrassing, or helpful¡­ It seems to be coming out on DVD fast, but is that because it¡¯s God¡¯s specification? Well, this is good, it¡¯s a very popular drama. We buy snacks and juice and summon the Hideaway to come aboard. We watched a DVD on the big TV in the basement. The DVDs seem to be in the same language. They were interested in the unfamiliar scenery, cars, costumes, and various other things but gradually became absorbed in the drama and watched it absorbedly. ¡°It¡¯s getting late, everyone. Shall we head back now?¡± ¡°Wataru-san, just a little, just a little more. Please.¡± ¡°I know how you feel, but it¡¯s no good. There is more to come, so if we don¡¯t stop now, we won¡¯t be able to sleep. Let¡¯s do it again tomorrow.¡± ¡°Uh-huh. Is that so?¡± ¡°Yeah, so let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°I understand. But Wataru-san, the drama is so interesting. Let¡¯s watch it again tomorrow, okay?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± We returned to the Fortress and went to sleep. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Four days after the drama, the Southern City came into view; it took an extra day because we moved to the Lutto three days earlier and took the Hideaway at night, but it was an enjoyable bath and drama life, so I don¡¯t regret it. Other than that, in order to find out the conditions for replacing the stuffed toys, we moved to the Lutto and tried to repatriate and re-summon the Fortress. When we returned to the ferry, Claretta-san ran with a smiling face¡­ After a while, Claretta-san came back tottering. Yes, it was no good; that¡¯s easy to understand. I wonder if the replacement is done by time or by summoning the ferry after time has elapsed? I comforted Claretta-san and returned to our room. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Everyone, the Southern City is now in sight. We will arrive in less than an hour. Would you like to confirm the schedule once we arrive?¡± ¡°Yes, I understand. What are you going to do, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°We are going to stay on the Lutto, go to the merchant guild, and then distribute souvenirs, and there are two places we want to go, so we would like to stay in the Southern City for about a month.¡± I thought about staying at the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s Inn, but I¡¯m sure the Girasole fans would come crowding in, and it would be uncomfortable. Besides, there¡¯s still plenty of room, but I want to visit the island of the Dark Elves. ¡°Well, we could go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, gather information on slime, and then get a room at the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s Inn.¡± ¡°Okay, well, please call me when you have gathered more information.¡± ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± I¡¯m going to be separated from Girasole for a while¡­ That¡¯s right; I need to give Ines and Felicia some time off too. We¡¯ll make plans after we¡¯re done handing out souvenirs. Besides, I¡¯ll bring Camille-san some pudding and ice cream. It should get me some compliments. I¡¯ll have to get them ready. Volume 5 - CH 8 Chapter 8 ¨C Souvenir Distribution and Contract After arriving at the Southern City, I docked the ship at the mooring. ¡°Thank you very much, Wataru-san. Thanks to you, I was able to go to the cathedral I wanted to visit.¡± ¡°Haha, Claretta-san, I was originally planning to go to Palermo. You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± ¡°Yes, but thank you very much.¡± I was a little touched that Rimu and Fuu-chan were saying goodbye to each other. And also cute. We parted ways with Girasole and headed for the merchant guild with Rimu on top of my head. ¡°Master, are you giving out the same wine to both men and women this time?¡± ¡°Yes, I couldn¡¯t find any other specialties to use as souvenirs. Besides, Camille-san is the only woman to whom I will give the souvenirs. So I¡¯ll be giving out the pudding and ice cream to her as well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so delicious; I bet she¡¯ll love it.¡± ¡°Right. But it¡¯s going to melt, so I hope Camille-san is around¡­ Let¡¯s hurry up a little.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We hurry to the merchant guild and look for Camille-san. ¡°Camille-san, it¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°Well, Wataru-san, welcome back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m back. Camille-san, I don¡¯t have much to say, but may I have a few minutes of your time?¡± ¡°Yes, this time is fine. Would you like me to show you to the room?¡± ¡°It would be very helpful.¡± I entered the reception room with Camille-san and was offered a cup of tea. ¡°So, Wataru-san, what can I do for you?¡± ¡°Yes, first of all, this is for you. We talked about milk before, and you told me about the village of Siena. Do you remember?¡± ¡°Yes, you said you had something you wanted to make. Is this it?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. The ice cream will melt after a while, so could you please try it first?¡± ¡°Is it milk food¡­? I¡¯ll try it.¡± It makes me feel kind of bad when she looks so anxious¡­ She picked up the spoon and scooped the ice cream. After a little hesitation, she put it in her mouth and froze¡­ After restarting, she doesn¡¯t say anything and takes her time tasting the ice cream¡­ After finishing the ice cream, she drinks a cup of tea and starts eating the pudding in silence¡­ What¡¯s that? I¡¯m so nervous¡­ When they ate the pudding and ice cream, Ines, Felicia, and the members of Girasole, all smiled and said how delicious it tasted. What did I miss? ¡°Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± The quiet but powerful voice freaked me out¡­ Huh? I thought that here, she would smile and praise me, saying that ¡°It¡¯s delicious, Wataru-san.¡± Did I fail after all? Her eyes are sharp, crisp, and powerful. It¡¯s not the usual gentle Camille-san. ¡°This food is very wonderful¡­ What kind of food is it?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s ice cream and pudding.¡± Wasn¡¯t that a mistake? If it¡¯s so wonderful, I¡¯d like you to praise it with a smile. ¡°Ice cream and pudding? Did Wataru-san develop these two?¡± ¡°No, I just tried to make a dessert from my hometown¡­ Was there any problem?¡± ¡°No, it was the first time I had ever eaten it, and it was very good. So how many of you know this recipe?¡± Ah, it rang a bell. This was Camille-san¡¯s face when she was doing business. I wish I hadn¡¯t seen it; I needed my sweet Camille-san back. ¡°I think it¡¯s just us, Claretta-san from Girasole, and Carla-san.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Do you plan to sign up with the merchant guild to spread the recipe?¡± After all, she has a business face, but what are we going to do? ¡°Well, what would be the terms of the contract?¡± ¡°Well, in this case, Wataru-san and the merchant guild will sign a contract for the God of Commerce. Then, the store that wants to use the recipe and the merchant guild will sign a contract for the God of Commerce, including a confidentiality agreement. I think 3% of the sales will go to Wataru-san and 2% to the guild.¡± ¡°Um, aside from ice cream, pudding is a dessert that can be easily made at home, but won¡¯t that be a problem?¡± ¡°If it is easy to make, many stores will be able to make it. There is no problem. By making it widely and in large quantities, dairy farmers, stores, merchant guilds, Wataru-san, and many other people will be enriched. And if pudding and ice cream can be eaten anywhere, people will be happy. It¡¯s a good thing.¡± Is it possible to make money with pudding and ice cream? I gave up the mayonnaise by choice¡­ But Camille-san¡¯s talk sounds like the talk of a religious person or a pyramid scheme¡­ is it okay? ¡°Is there some kind of punishment for not selling?¡± ¡°No, there is not. In such a case, the merchant guild and the store that didn¡¯t have the eyes to see it would cry. Ah, is not having money coming in your punishment, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± What shall I do? ¡­If I¡¯m going to get paid even if I¡¯m sleeping, should I do it? ¡°Wataru-san, speaking of which, there is a thing called pizza that is popular in Siena village¡­ Are you involved in it?¡± ¡°Yes, I taught it to them.¡± ¡°Whew, Wataru-san. Recipes are also an asset. You could also contract for pizza through the merchant guild.¡± ¡°Haha, but won¡¯t it be a problem if I register a dish from my hometown?¡± Actually, it¡¯s from a different country than my hometown. ¡°If it is already registered, it will be rejected at the time of the contract.¡± ¡°I see. For example, pudding, what happens if someone makes pudding on their own after signing the contract?¡± ¡°If it is an individual, there is no problem. If they make it for business, it will be reported to the merchant guild, so it will not be a problem. Also, if a person knows of the existence of pudding, imitates it, and spreads the process, they will be punished by God.¡± Creator God-sama said that he could not interfere too much in the lower world, but the God of Commerce is interfering quite a bit, isn¡¯t he? What should I do about it? ¡°Thank you. I understand now.¡± ¡°No, then, Wataru-san, will you sign the contract?¡± ¡°I understand. Please do.¡± I went to the contract room, which was also located in the slave trading house, declared the contract, wrote down the recipe for pudding and ice cream, and gave it to Camille-san. Since there was no freezer for ice cream, I decided on a recipe made with ice and salt. ¡°Thank you very much. The contract amount will now be transferred to Wataru-san¡¯s account. Also, please tell Claretta-san and Carla-san about the contract and tell them not to spread the word.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± By the way, are the dishes I taught Claretta-san and Gino-san also patentable? If I ask Camille-san, she might get angry, so I¡¯d better not. After finishing the contract, we returned to the room we had just left. ¡°So, here¡¯s a souvenir for you. It¡¯s a set of Palermo¡¯s famous wines, red and white. Also, this is for the guildmaster, please.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. The guildmaster will be very pleased.¡± ¡°No, I am the one who is indebted to you, so please don¡¯t mind this much.¡± ¡°Fufu, is that so? But thank you.¡± After chatting with Camille-san for a while, I asked her to call Dino-san and Enrico-san and give them the souvenirs. I heard that Guido-san and the others were all out on the island on a request, so I asked Camille-san for the souvenirs and left the merchant guild. But I didn¡¯t want to see Camille-san¡¯s merchant face; I found out that a fox is a predator. It was a little scary. ¡°Master, are we going to Donnino-san¡¯s place after this?¡± ¡°Yeah. Donnino-san¡¯s place will be the last one. After we¡¯re done, how about we have lunch at that seafood place?¡± ¡°Sounds good.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± ¡°Rimu eat, too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s decided. Then let¡¯s go to Donnino-san¡¯s place.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We¡¯re going to Donino-san¡¯s place. Restaurants and vending machine corners are great, but fresh seafood grilled on the grill is good anywhere. And I have a secret weapon. Let¡¯s hurry up; I¡¯m getting hungry. ¡°Hello, Donnino-san. I brought you a souvenir.¡± ¡°Oh, Wataru, I¡¯ve been waiting for you. The toy you left behind is very interesting. I¡¯d like to sell them with my apprentices to earn some extra money.¡± ¡°Oh, you mean reversi and Jenga? That¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Okay, then, let¡¯s go to the merchant guild.¡± ¡°Eh? Why?¡± ¡°Master, it¡¯s to make a contract with the God of Commerce.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Thank you, Felicia. Donnino-san, wait, please, after you receive your souvenirs.¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, that¡¯s right. Thank you, Wataru.¡± After handing over the souvenirs, we left everything with the young people and were to return to the merchant guild again. When I told the reason to Camille-san at the merchant guild, she gave me a dumbfounded look and headed for the contract room. It¡¯s funny; I used to get creeped out when people gave me a dumbfounded stare¡­ I wonder if she¡¯s recovered from her change? ¡­I think the fear got the better of me because I saw scary Camille-san. After completing the contract, Donnino-san returned to work, so we parted ways and left the merchant guild. ¡°Whew, the contract was finalized before I knew what was going on. Is that okay?¡± I ask as we head to a restaurant that serves delicious seafood. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; even if it doesn¡¯t sell at all, your life will be the same as it is now. If it sells, you¡¯ll get an extra income. I think that¡¯s about right.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s basically the same as it is now, then there¡¯s no problem.¡± Let¡¯s stop thinking about difficult things and concentrate on seafood. Check-in at the restaurant and grill the seafood. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got something for it.¡± ¡°Is that soy sauce?¡± ¡°Felicia, you are right. I found some portable seasonings at the ship¡¯s store, so I bought some. Grilled seafood with a little soy sauce on it is the best, you know.¡± I drizzle soy sauce and lemon juice over the grilled oysters. Suck the meat out of the shell along with the extract of the hot oyster. The flavor and deliciousness of the oyster in my mouth, combined with the soy sauce and lemon juice, is so delicious that I shudder. Ines, Felicia, and Rimu are also very pleased with the oysters, and the area is filled with the delicious smell of burning seafood and soy sauce. I found myself the center of attention¡­ I made Alessia-san and the others promise not to show it to anyone else, but I did something conspicuous myself. I quickly eat the rest of the seafood and walk away before anyone calls out to me. It was a close call; the thought of having soy sauce dripping on my seafood from the grill made me unable to think of anything else. ¡°Sorry, we didn¡¯t get much to eat. Do you want to go to another restaurant or eat back on the ship?¡± ¡°The smell of burnt soy sauce is a good one; it was very tasty, and no wonder it stands out. I¡¯d rather continue our lunch on the ship.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather eat on the ship, too.¡± ¡°Rimu also wants onigiri.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s go back then. Let¡¯s have another barbecue on the Hideaway, shall we? Now that we have more condiments and alcohol, it¡¯ll be even grander than before.¡± ¡°Ufufu, that sounds great. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Fufu, yes. Master, do you mind if we drink a lot?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a barbecue, so let¡¯s have fun.¡± ¡°¡±Thank you very much.¡±¡± ¡°Rimu will barbecue too.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, Rimu, let¡¯s have a barbecue together next time.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Let¡¯s go back to the ship to continue our lunch. Volume 5 - CH 9 Chapter 9 ¨C The Dark Elf Island and Village We returned to the ship and finished lunch. ¡°Whew, thanks for the meal. I¡¯m thinking of showing up at the dark elf island after this; what do you think?¡± ¡°Master, my father said it would be fine for six months. I think it will still be alright.¡± ¡°Felicia is right, but they are just starting to build the village. They might need something. And if we go on a trip somewhere, we might not be able to come back for a long time, so let¡¯s show our faces when we can.¡± ¡°I agree. You never know what¡¯s going to happen. We¡¯d better go when we can.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master and Ines. May I ask you for it?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s part of our agreement, so don¡¯t worry about it. After this, let¡¯s go gather food and buy things that may be needed to build the village.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I went to the market and stores to buy food that would last a long time, medicine, tableware, clothes, carpentry tools, and anything else I could think of and asked them to deliver it to my ship. ¡°Is there anything else you think that might be needed?¡± ¡°I wonder. I think it¡¯s good enough. Felicia, do dark elves have any special needs?¡± ¡°No, we were originally mostly self-sufficient in the forest. With this kind of support, I think they will be able to make a good living.¡± ¡°Then, I guess it will be fine. Since we could go on autopilot, we could leave after this, or we could take a day or so off.¡± ¡°I have no problem either way. Whichever is easier for you will be fine.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s get going. I think we should inform the merchant guild and the Girasole. Let¡¯s stop by the merchant guild and then go to the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s inn.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± At the merchant guild, I tell Camille-san that I¡¯m going out for ten days. Thinking about it, today was the third time I came to the merchant guild. I didn¡¯t expect to come here with Donnino-san, though. If I had planned my schedule properly, I wouldn¡¯t have had to go at this time. I have to think ahead and act properly. I arrived at Black-tailed Gull¡¯s and asked the proprietress to make an appointment. I wondered if the word had already spread that Girasole had returned to the inn, and I found a group of men I had seen before sitting in the dining room. Have they been staying here the whole time? Or is there an intelligence network being built? Something seems scary either way. ¡°Wataru-san, is something wrong?¡± ¡°No, Alessia-san, I just thought I¡¯d let you know that I¡¯ll be leaving the Southern City for about ten days.¡± ¡°Ara, really? Thank you for taking the trouble. We will be collecting information for a while since Dorothea is working so hard.¡± ¡°Hahahaha, since Dorothea-san has learned the taming skill, she must want to tame slimes as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Fufu, yes, that¡¯s right. She said she wanted to tame cute children like Rimu-chan and Fuu-chan. Even now, in the guild¡¯s archives, I have a feeling that the purpose has changed.¡± ¡°Dorothea-san has been taking good care of Rimu and Fuu-chan. I¡¯d be happy if Rimu could have more friends.¡± ¡°Please help her at that time, will you?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Are Claretta-san and Carla-san here?¡± ¡°Sorry. Claretta is at church. Carla is out too. I wonder if there was something you wanted to see them about? Can you leave a message?¡± ¡°I see¡­ then please pass them the message. I have signed a contract with the merchant guild for pudding and ice cream, and I don¡¯t mind if they make it, but could you tell them not to tell anyone?¡± ¡°Okay, they¡¯re both delicious, they¡¯ll be very popular, and I¡¯ll be sure to let them know.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± After a brief chat, we leave the inn. I asked the proprietress about the Girasole fans. She said there are both those who have been staying there all along and those who came back after Girasole returned. I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t stay at the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s Inn. It¡¯s like guaranteed to be uncomfortable. We returned to the ship and loaded up the delivered luggage. ¡°Then we¡¯re off. We¡¯ll go out to the open sea and change to the Fortress, okay?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I sit leisurely on the edge of the Lutto. The sun was shining, the sky was clear and blue, the clouds were white, and the sea was blue. Yes, it¡¯s really good. ¡°Master, you look awfully happy; what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Oh, Ines. I wanted to try drinking a can of beer on a ship in the sea like this.¡± ¡°Ufufu, so you were very happy. Was it good?¡± ¡°Yes, it was very good.¡± I always had an image of cruisers and canned beer as a set. The influence of TV is amazing, isn¡¯t it? After finishing the bottle, I returned to the living room, satisfied with the beer. ¡°It¡¯s about time to change to the Fortress, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We boarded the Fortress and entered the observation baths. I wash my body and soak in the warm water while having a lovey-dovey time with Ines and Felicia. I play with the floating Rimu and leave the bath after having had enough. I drink my second beer of the day, put on my yukata, and fall asleep in the massage chair. I feel so happy. After the massage, we enjoy a buffet dinner. We watch a movie, have some lovey-dovey fun, and fall asleep. I guess I like this kind of life better than going on an adventure to a cave or something. In the morning, I get my routine down, make breakfast, and make plans. ¡°Today, we¡¯ll stay on the Fortress until mid-afternoon, then transfer to the Lutto and continue on to the Dark Elf Island, okay?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be reading manga at the vending machine corner. Ines and Felicia are free to do as you please.¡± ¡°¡±Thank you very much.¡±¡± ¡°Oh, I won¡¯t be moving much, so you¡¯ll have to take care of Rimu, too.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I go to the vending machine corner alone and put the manga I want to read on the desk. I buy fries, fried chicken, and cola, and I¡¯m all set. ¡°Master, it¡¯s almost lunchtime; what would you like to do?¡± ¡°Hmm? Already?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± On the desk, there is a stack of manga that I have finished reading¡­ I guess time flies when you read this much. I read my favorite manga, so I got carried away. ¡°What do you want for lunch?¡± ¡°Master, I want curry.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s eat at the restaurant.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± At the restaurant, we enjoyed curry, pasta, and coffee jelly. Watch over Rimu, who is still eating. ¡°Wataru, I want curry.¡± ¡°Hmm? Okay, I¡¯ll put some vegetables on it, too, okay?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I put Rimu, who enjoyed curry, hayashi rice, and pasta until the time was over, on my head. I operated the newly discovered ramp and brought him down. I thought the ramp was external, so I didn¡¯t know it was on the ship side too. Now it¡¯s easier to transfer to the Lutto. We move to the Lutto and repatriate the Fortress. The monsters that were around the Fortress gathered to the Lutto. ¡°As expected, the monsters are still coming. They don¡¯t swarm like at the first time.¡± ¡°Yes, I think it¡¯s because we had the monsters with us for five days that they came in such large numbers.¡± ¡°Yes, one day is only a few monsters unless we are spotted by a swarm.¡± ¡°Master, do you mind if I steer the ship?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll stay in the living room and leave you two in charge.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I took Rimu in my arms and went back to the living room. Felicia also likes to steer the ship. Well, it¡¯s better to have some fun and relieve stress after a long time; let the two of them have fun. I think that if they are in a good mood, the nighttime lovey-dovey service will be better. In the early afternoon of the third day after leaving the Southern City, we arrived at the island of the Dark Elves. ¡°Wataru-san, it¡¯s been a long time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Village Chief-san. Is there anything troubling you?¡± ¡°Thanks to your help, the village is taking shape smoothly.¡± Yes, everyone seems to be in good spirits, and there really don¡¯t seem to be any problems. The people around are smiling, and everything seems to be going well. I¡¯ll need them to work hard. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to finish things with Felicia. ¡°Well, that¡¯s good to hear. I bought a bunch of stuff. Could you carry it, please?¡± ¡°Thank you again. I appreciate it.¡± ¡°Never mind, I¡¯ll get them off the ship, and you can take care of the rest.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± We unloaded the food, tools, and wine we had bought. The village chief and others will carry them away. After carrying the last of the luggage, we go with the village chief to the village on top of the hill. ¡°Wow, things are going really well. The number of houses has increased a lot. Is that wood cut from the forest?¡± ¡°Yes, although the houses still need some work on the interior. More than half of us have houses. We have a few people working in the forest and cutting the wood. If we run it down from the river, it takes less labor, so we have a steady supply of lumber, and it helps. Well, it still needs to be dried before it can be used.¡± ¡°I am amazed that half of the houses have already been completed. Are the people in the forest doing okay?¡± ¡°Yes, they are the ones who specialized in hunting in the previous village. According to the report, the forest is rich, and no strong monsters have been found so far.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. It looks like things are going to be okay.¡± ¡°Yes, the villagers are working well. The village people are happy that they can live their lives without worrying about being seen. Thanks to you, Wataru-san. Thank you so much.¡± ¡°You should be thankful to Felicia. I am only helping you for my own reasons.¡± It is really an assistance for my own desires. I¡¯m more than a little embarrassed when I¡¯m thanked in earnest, but I feel sorry. Yes, how about a festival or something when the house is built for all of them as a break? And then Felicia and I will¡­. it might be good, it might be very good. ¡°Village Chief-san, when all the houses are built for everyone, why don¡¯t we have a festival as a break? At the pace you are going, it can¡¯t be that far off, can it?¡± ¡°A festival, huh? I¡¯m sure the villagers would love that. At the current rate, we should be able to build a house for everyone in six months.¡± ¡°That sounds good. If it is possible for me to come at that time, I will bring a lot of drinks and treats. Let¡¯s make a lot of noise.¡± ¡°No, no, I can¡¯t take that much of your hospitality.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m involved in the immigration, and I want to make a big fuss anyway. Don¡¯t mind the booze and the feast; it¡¯s a celebration.¡± ¡°A big fuss¡­ Yes, we don¡¯t have to worry about being seen anymore. It is possible to make a big fuss about it. Wataru-san, I¡¯m sorry to be so brazen, but I¡¯m asking you to take care of this.¡± ¡°Yes, leave it to me.¡± We had a light chat and parted ways with the village chief. I went to see Cecilia-san. ¡°Well, Wataru-san, it¡¯s been a long time. Is Felicia any help to you?¡± ¡°It has been a while. Felicia has been helping me a lot.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you very much.¡± Cecilia-san looks happy to see Felicia after a long time. Felicia looks embarrassed, though. ¡°Felicia, you should help Cecilia-san with something. Ines, shall we go for a walk?¡± ¡°Wait, Master; we¡¯ve been in trouble before when we went for a walk like this, haven¡¯t we? Who was it again?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, I think it was Romano-san. Cecilia-san, how is Romano-san doing?¡± ¡°Romano? Romano has caused trouble for Wataru-san, so his father is living in the forest with him for an education.¡± ¡°In the forest?¡± ¡°Yes, he is going to re-train him strictly, so Romano has never come back from the forest.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you very much.¡± Then we can rest assured. ¡°Then, Ines and I will take a walk in the village.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± We took a look around the village, and even though there were only a few of them, we could hear the sound of hammering here and there. There are more houses and open spaces. When the houses of the people who are now pitching tents are completed, it will be a small village. But there aren¡¯t enough people. It would be nice if we could meet some dark elves. Come to think of it, is it possible for a dark elf living in hiding and me living in the sea to meet? ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Ah, it¡¯s Wataru-sama!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Oh? It¡¯s been a long time. How have you been?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±We¡¯re fine.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Wataru-sama, can you tell us a story?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s good, but can you just call me Wataru-san or Wataru-niichan?¡± ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t Mother and the others call you Wataru-sama?¡± No, well, it¡¯s great to be called ¡°Master¡± by a beautiful woman. However, when a child and an uncle call you ¡°Master,¡± it kind of turns me off. ¡°Hmm, well, I guess it¡¯s because I¡¯m happier to be called Wataru-san or Wataru-niichan. ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Alright.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Yeah, I like the energy. But a story, huh? I¡¯m basically hiding in the back when it comes to stories that kids might enjoy, so I don¡¯t have anything to say. So I¡¯m going to expand on the story of the cave. ¡°Wataru-niichan, you¡¯re not fighting, are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a merchant, so I don¡¯t fight. But Ines, Felicia, and Girasole are strong, so that¡¯s good, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡± ¡°And you know what¡¯s going to happen next?¡± ¡°Are you going to fight?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to fight.¡± ¡°Boo.¡± After the story was over, we left the children and went back to the village chief¡¯s house. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the children have been happier if Master had fought, too?¡± ¡°Maybe so, but¡­ But if I make up such a story, it will be talked about in this village for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°Ufufu, you¡¯re right. You will be a great hero.¡± ¡°I would be too embarrassed to come to this village.¡± We returned to the chief¡¯s house, had dinner, and returned to the ship. ¡°The village seems to be in good hands. Did Felicia have anything on your mind?¡± ¡°No, from what my father and mother told me and from what I saw in the village, there didn¡¯t seem to be any problems.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to know. Then I hope we can bring the dark elf migrants when the village settles down¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I hope we can meet them somewhere.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t look for them too flashy since they live in hiding, and we¡¯ll try our best to persuade them when we get the chance.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Felicia, can we make the festival in six months to mark the end of one of the migration plans for this village? Of course, the migration of dark elves will continue in the future.¡± ¡°Yes, I think Master has fulfilled our contract well enough. Well, I, uh, look forward to working with you.¡± Ugh, Felicia nods shyly; so cute. If this doesn¡¯t cause any problems, in six months, I¡¯ll be with Felicia until the end¡­ Isekai Banzai. ¡°Ara, it¡¯s impossible to get a luxury cruise ship by six months from now¡­ Felicia is going to beat me to it. Master, don¡¯t be satisfied with Felicia, and forget about me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ve worked so hard to get this far, and I will never give up on Ines.¡± ¡°Fufu, good, then.¡± We will definitely do something fun together. There is no way I can give up. For the next three days, we helped build the village, played with the children, and explored the island. Exploring the island. We had a good time. The talk of the festival spread throughout the village, and the village became even more lively as they looked forward to the festival in six months. The next time I come to this village¡­ no, I won¡¯t leave it unattended for six months, as expected, so I¡¯ll come back one or two more times. With these thoughts in mind, we returned to the Southern City with plenty of lovey-dovey fun. Volume 5 - CH 10 Chapter 10 ¨C Routine and Troublesome Thing Back to the Southern City from the Dark Elf Island, we spent a leisurely day. I gave Ines and Felicia the day off and had a pretty good time reading manga. We also went to the village of Siena to see how things were going. What surprised me was how fast the villagers acted. They put up a big signboard along the river, built a stone oven, and handed out pizzas on the spot when small boats came by. Is this some kind of river version of a drive-through? It seems to be very popular. ¡°Hello, Village Chief-san.¡± ¡°Oh, Wataru-san, it¡¯s been a long time. Thanks to you, Wataru-san, the village has come to life.¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing. The pizzas you sell by the river seem to be very popular. But if you sell them by the river, won¡¯t people come to the village?¡± ¡°We only sell one kind of pizza at the river, which is quick and easy to make. While the pizzas are baking, we advertise that you can go to the village and have an elaborate pizza.¡± ¡°Wow, so people are interested in coming here.¡± ¡°Yes, and the cottage cheese salad you taught us about is also very popular.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to know. So, I would like to stock up on cheese, milk, and eggs. Do you have any to spare?¡± ¡°Yes, no problem. How much do you need?¡± ¡°Well, I need a block of cheese, two barrels of milk, and about 50 eggs. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll get them right away. Do you want me to bring them to the front of the ship like the last time?¡± ¡°Yes, please. In the meantime, can I have one of your popular pizzas?¡± ¡°Yes, I will guide you.¡± As it turned out, it was quite good. The basic pizza I taught them is the one with meat on it, but the popular one is served with wild rabbit, chicken, egg, tomato slices, and a variety of other things on it. They¡¯re experimenting with customers¡­ They didn¡¯t accept my money for my purchases. I told them that it would make it harder for me to come back next time to buy something, so I¡¯ll have to ask them to sell it to me at a discount. This time, I¡¯ll gratefully take it and leave. If Camille-san knew about this, she would be appalled. After that, I talked with Camille-san. I went to see Guido-san and the others. I also had a business meeting about wholesaling wine. I¡¯m feeling pretty content. Is this what it means to be satisfied? As we were discussing the countries we would like to visit in the future, Alessia-san jumped in. ¡°Wataru-san, please lend me your strength.¡± ¡°W-what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Please, I will pay you as much money as I have. If it is not enough, I will do whatever you want.¡± ¡°C-calm down, please. I don¡¯t understand.¡± Normally, this would be an attractive proposition, but I¡¯m too desperate, and my skepticism is not piqued. All the members of Girasole are looking serious. Is something troubling happening that Creator God-sama said? ¡°Alessia, calm down. Wataru-san, excuse me; let me explain the situation.¡± ¡°Oh, Dorothea-san, please.¡± ¡°The receptionist in charge of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild called us to the guild just now, and when we went to the guild, we were taken to the guildmaster¡¯s room. There, he told me that our hometown, the trading city of Lucca, was under siege by the Empire.¡± ¡°The empire is mainly fighting with the Beast Kingdom, right?¡± ¡°Yes, but it seems they have turned their attention to Lucca. The Imperial warships were discovered, and Lucca shifted to a state of warfare. The merchant ships and fishing boats in the harbor were evacuated from Lucca.¡± Later, information from ships that went out to Lucca to scout the area, as far as could be seen from the ships, the city was surrounded by imperial soldiers. There were also rumors that the imperial army had invaded the kingdom of Brescia at once. ¡°¡­They were ambushed, weren¡¯t they? I know this is hard to hear, but can Lucca withstand it?¡± ¡°¡­Lucca is an important trade port for the Kingdom of Brescia. There are many talented people there. If they have shifted to a wartime system and held off the imperial army behind fortified walls, they should be able to hold out for a while. So, Wataru-san, please help us. We have lots of family and friends.¡± Wow, Creator God-sama said that trouble is coming to Girasole¡­ So that trouble is war. That¡¯s not the level of trouble, is it? What am I going to do? People are coming to me with anxious looks on their faces. I can¡¯t abandon them, but I¡¯m also afraid of war. What should I do¡­? What should I actually do? To be honest, I¡¯m probably too scared to attack, so if it comes to a fight, I¡¯ll just summon a ship and play the role of a wall? And then watch all the killing going on in front of me? No way, I¡¯d throw up for sure, and I wouldn¡¯t be able to eat afterward. I can¡¯t play the role of a hero, and if I¡¯m not involved in a war or something, I¡¯m the type of person who can¡¯t see, can¡¯t hear, and can get away with it. Creator God-sama, isn¡¯t it funny that the first hero-like event is a war? There should be more steps to it. ¡°I know it¡¯s a terrible request, Wataru-san, to get you involved in a war. Just like Alessia, I¡¯m willing to do whatever you say, so please, can¡¯t you do that for us?¡± Oh, I¡¯d like to stay cooped up. Run away? Well, I guess I can¡¯t. I don¡¯t even dare to refuse. I¡¯ll just have to decide on a line I can¡¯t compromise on and help out. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s alright, Dorothea-san. I will help you as much as I can. But there are a few conditions.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. What is it? Anything you want.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not difficult. First, I will not make any attacks. Also, please keep me, Ines, and Felicia absolutely secret. If we get involved with someone important in Lucca, I will not be the one to negotiate with them. Please do not force me to do anything I don¡¯t want to do. I can help you with defense and escape. As for the fee, it should be as much money as you can reasonably afford.¡± ¡°Will that be enough?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Thank you. Is it okay if we leave now?¡± ¡°We will need at least some coverage. We are going to show up at the Merchant¡¯s Guild now and leave, though. Everyone from Girasole, please come out of the gate and walk to the seaside. We will meet up there and depart. It¡¯s suspicious, but it¡¯s better than nothing.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Oh, and it might be better to sign a contract this time since we couldn¡¯t talk because of the contract. I hope that will convince the other party. Is there any way to make sure the contract is really signed?¡± ¡°Yes, there is. There is a possibility that it could be a lie, so some of the larger organizations have magic circles that confirm contracts.¡± ¡°Well, then, let¡¯s make sure we have a proper contract. Can I add to the previous conditions that my information will not be divulged as well?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I headed to the Merchant¡¯s Guild with the members of Girasole. We signed the earlier promise between the contracts. After that, I told Camille-san that I would head to Palermo again. What a gaping hole in my alibi. On the way back, I bought three hooded robes. With these on, my face wouldn¡¯t be visible, and I¡¯d pass as a suspicious mage. Back to the ship, and off we go. ¡°Hey, Master. They said they¡¯d do whatever you say, right? I wonder if money was all you wanted.¡± ¡°Ines, don¡¯t ask such nasty questions. If I had asked them for their bodies, they might have agreed to it, but they wouldn¡¯t have been able to do it under the circumstances.¡± ¡°Ufufufu, that¡¯s true.¡± I thought about it, I thought about it, but I couldn¡¯t say it out loud. Everyone in Girasole was coming to me with desperate looks on their face, asking me to do something for them. And then ask them to let me hold them? That¡¯s impossible. I had to have the mental strength of a monster to say it. There was no way I could say it. We¡¯ll wait on the shoreline for a while. We¡¯ll meet up with the Girasole team. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting.¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re leaving now. We¡¯re going along the coast, so we¡¯ll take the Lutto. Is that alright?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Since the autopilot is not working, we¡¯ll talk at night.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I go up to the flying bridge and sit in the control seat. After a while, Ines comes up to me and offers me a cup of tea. A while later, Ines came up with a cup of tea. ¡°How is everyone doing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a situation they have no choice but to be in, but they don¡¯t seem to be able to afford it. They¡¯re trying to talk it out, but it¡¯s spinning out of control.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Ah, I hadn¡¯t thought about war. I¡¯d love to be able to dash in like the hero of a novel and pull the war back and forth, but it¡¯s impossible. I maneuvered the ship, taking turns with Ines and Felicia, until the sun went down and then returned to the living room. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s begin our discussion. First, could you tell me about Lucca?¡± ¡°Yes, Lucca is one of the largest cities in the Kingdom of Brescia, with a population of about 20,000 people. It is a trading city surrounded by huge walls and has a large port.¡± Twenty thousand people, that¡¯s not much in Japan, but in another world, it would be a big city. But 20,000 people, I wonder how many people can fit on the Fortress in a tight space? ¡°How long does it take to get there from here?¡± ¡°It takes 22 days to get to Lucca by regular magic boat.¡± ¡°Well, if we go at full speed from morning until dark, we can get there in about 20 days.¡± ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it if we could get there sooner.¡± ¡°Well¡­ if it¡¯s me, Ines, Felicia, Alessia-san, and Marina-san, we can get there in less than ten days if we drive through the night.¡± ¡°¡­I know it¡¯s a lot of work, but is that okay with you?¡± Well, if five of us take turns, that¡¯s less than five hours a day per person. ¡°I understand. I will do my best. Alessia-san, if it looks like we can defend, we will help with the defense. If we need to escape, I¡¯ll help with the escape, okay?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If it is for defense, I can only serve as a wall by taking the ship out of harm¡¯s way.¡± It would be tremendously powerful if I could summon the Fortress and bring it down against the imperial forces, though. I don¡¯t want to get that deeply involved. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°In case of an escape, is it acceptable if the goal is to take at least your family and friends with us?¡± ¡°Yes. If possible, we would like to rescue the beastmen as well.¡± ¡°The empire was human supremacist, wasn¡¯t it?¡± It¡¯s a common story, but when it concerns me, it¡¯s troublesome. ¡°Yes, I believe they will be dropped into terrible circumstances¡­¡± I guess it¡¯s slavery, and it¡¯s illegal, too. I feel sorry for them, but I¡¯m no hero; I¡¯ll think about it then when I can afford it. ¡°Is there any way to get into Lucca?¡± ¡°The land part is tough when it¡¯s surrounded. I think the harbor is blockaded with ships because the entire port can be attacked from the top of the walls. If we can break through the blockade of ships, I think we can get inside.¡± ¡°I understand. So the first thing to do is to break through the blockade of ships and get into Lucca?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°In the worst-case scenario, we can break through by taking the Fortress, but I¡¯d like to sneak in if possible. It depends on the situation. If it is possible to sneak in, we will use a rubber boat, but if not, we will use a ship that fits the situation. If we can get to the gate, can we go in?¡± ¡°Yes, until we reached the C-rank, the base of Girasole was in Lucca. I know some of the soldiers, so I think it will be fine. But it is wartime, so I¡¯m sure Wataru-san and the others will be checked out.¡± ¡°We will wear these hooded robes. Our faces will be hidden, so it will look suspicious, but please don¡¯t tell anyone about us at all. We are the people you have hired for this purpose, and because of the contract, please do not tell them anything about us.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If they don¡¯t let us in, we¡¯ll return to the ship. Please go through the talk alone with all of you. I¡¯ll be moving into the port the next night, and we can share the information there.¡± ¡°But if we had a hard breakthrough the day before, wouldn¡¯t it be impossible for you to go in?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they can build a siege in one day that will stop my ship from breaking through.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°I also don¡¯t like to be called by my name, so please call me Mage. Ines and Felicia are my followers; is that clear?¡± ¡°Yes, Mage-sama.¡± ¡°Alessia-san, you don¡¯t have to add ¡®sama¡¯ on it, do you?¡± ¡°Yes, because Mage is a position. Even though we hired you, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s right to call you by just your name.¡± ¡°I understand. However, you can only call me Mage-sama when I am wearing a hooded robe. So if they let me in, are we going to go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡± ¡°Perhaps we will be called by the lord, but if not, we will be in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡± ¡°What kind of person is the lord?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a marquis. I¡¯ve never met him, but I¡¯ve heard nothing bad about him. The town is growing, so I think he is an excellent man.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you.¡± Marquis is a very important person, isn¡¯t he? I would prefer not to have a chance to meet him, but if a party of A-rank comes, they might be invited, right? I hope we won¡¯t be invited. ¡°I understand. The rest depends on the situation. I will think of various things I can do. Since we¡¯ll be running all night, let¡¯s decide on the order in which we¡¯ll steer the ship.¡± The five of us decide on the turn of the shift. Alessia-san and Marina-san were willing to take turns at midnight, but we were worried that they seemed distracted, so we decided that we would take over at night. ¡°Those of you who don¡¯t have plans, let¡¯s take turns taking a shower and go to bed. If we don¡¯t stay in shape, we won¡¯t be able to do anything when we get to Lucca.¡± Volume 5 - CH 11 Chapter 11 ¨C Cigar*tte 46 Rider and Strategy Meeting The atmosphere on board the ship heading to Lucca is not pleasant. Is there any better way to get there? Is Lucca safe? There was impatience and anxiety floating around the ship. I thought about it a lot, and I wondered if it would be possible to escape. I came up with the idea that we might be able to escape. The question was, would it be doable? Even if we could, where would we take the people who escaped? I was not sure about the future. We discussed this with the members of Girasole, but in the end, we came to the conclusion that without knowing the situation in Lucca, we would not be able to talk about it. I want to lighten the somber atmosphere as much as possible. I heard that the port was under siege, so I decided to buy a new ship that might be useful. Even if it is not useful, it will relieve some stress. The price is 81 gold coins or 81 million yen for a powerboat. I will buy a Cigar*tte 46 Rider. If I can drive it well, I will buy two more boats of the same type. If I buy a different one, it might cause trouble¡­ The Cigar*tte 46 Rider is a powerboat that can go up to 210 km/h on the surface of the water. There were other boats for racing that could do 300 km/h, but I stopped when I saw the numbers. I thought even 210 km/h was unbelievable, but 300 km/h was beyond me. The port of Lucca is blockaded with warships. There are military ships and magic ships, right? If we can go 210 km/h, we can beat the hell out of a warship, and with this, we can at least scratch around. It can¡¯t be wrong. If we disguised it as a wooden structure, it would be fine in size, and it would draw attention with its speed, but it would be better than ramming it with the Fortress. ¡°Everyone, I got a new boat, and I¡¯m going to practice on it. Could you please come out?¡± ¡°Master, is it a new boat?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a great boat. I heard that the port of Lucca is closed. If we can master this boat, we can disperse the military ships that are blockading the port.¡± ¡°Really? Wataru-san!!¡± ¡°Whoa, calm down, Alessia-san.¡± ¡°Eh? I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll summon it, and we¡¯ll give it a try.¡± Alessia-san and the others look different from usual. I¡¯m sure they are anxious about it. ¡°That¡¯s so cool.¡± ¡°I think so too, Ines.¡± It¡¯s a different color, though White hull, silver lines. The cockpit is cool, too, like a spaceship? It has a unique coolness. The seats are also black and white, how do you say, racey? But it stands out, so I¡¯ll disguise it as a wooden ship. ¡°It¡¯s definitely faster than any ship you¡¯ve ever seen, so brace yourself.¡± We were divided into two groups, and I taught them how to steer the Cigar*tte 46 Rider. Everyone was surprised at the unprecedented speed. But secretly, I was the one who was the most scared. I was seriously scared. I teach the four people who like to steer the ship how to steer the Cigar*tte 46 Rider. At the same time, the four who don¡¯t steer the ship are practicing their attacks at speed. Everyone is ready to sink an Imperial warship. If they attack using the ship I summoned, will I be an accomplice too? I guess I will be, well, I can¡¯t help it. It seemed okay, so I bought two more boats and re-issued the tickets. By the way, I bought three boats for two white gold coins and 43 gold coins. The level of ship summoning did not go up. I think the amount of money I bought will be covered by the rewards from Girasole, so it should be fine. The name of the Cigre*tte 46 riders are¡­ I¡¯d prefer the Raider already, but it seems kind of dangerous, so I¡¯m not going to do it¡­ Hmm, name¡­ I guess I¡¯ll go with ¡°Galette,¡± as it sounds better. It¡¯s the ¡°Galette.¡± From that day on, we usually use the Galette when we go on and head for Lucca while training. When we take a break or drive at night, we use the Lutto. The atmosphere on board softened a little as if everyone in Girasole was distracted by the training. As a result of the blast-off on the Garrett, Lucca came into sight, having shortened the trip from 22 days to eight. I summoned the Lutto for a strategy meeting in the living room. ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure since I only saw it from a distance, but there were a lot of ships blockading the bay, weren¡¯t there?¡± ¡°I think Wataru-san was right. That means Lucca hasn¡¯t fallen yet.¡± A look of relief comes over the members of Girasole. In the meantime, we¡¯re no longer occupied about didn¡¯t arrive in time when we got there. ¡°We made it in time, but what do we do now? Is it alright if I take charge of it?¡± ¡°Yes, Wataru-san is probably calmer since he is not directly involved with Lucca, so I would appreciate it.¡± I¡¯m glad to hear that. The current members of Girasole are going to come up with a crazy suicide plan if they are in charge of it. We have a contract that they can¡¯t force me to do anything I don¡¯t want to do, but it¡¯s easier mentally to avoid being the divider than to deny a summarized opinion. ¡°Thank you, Alessia-san. So, once again, what shall we do now?¡± ¡°First, scouting?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. But it¡¯s tough to scout in the light of day, so if we go, it will be in the middle of the night.¡± ¡°Marina and Ilma have good night vision.¡± ¡°In that case, divide the group into two groups, one for scouting and the other for standby. The scouting group will approach with two rubber boats and investigate. Marina-san, Ilma-san, and the rest of the people who will assist them. The standby group will stay on the Galette, and if one of us is discovered, we will go and pick up both. ¡°And the one who has not been found?¡± ¡°Yes, either way, we will pick them up on the Galette, and we have to get out of there. We can¡¯t leave them behind.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°You can leave the rubber boat behind. I can repatriate them from afar.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Ines and I will be standing by. Felicia is said to have good night vision, so take her with you. I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± As a result of the discussion, it was decided that the scouting group would be made up of Alessia-san, Ilma-san, Carla-san, Dorothea-san, Marina-san, and Felicia-san. The standby group would be me, Ines, and Claretta-san. ¡°It¡¯s mostly decided now, isn¡¯t it? It is a little early, but let¡¯s have dinner. Let¡¯s take a nap and get up in the middle of the night.¡± We all set out the food and began to eat. For the time being, everyone¡¯s appetite has returned, perhaps because they are relieved that Lucca is safe for the moment. I seriously wondered if Carla-san had no appetite or if she was okay. I ate enough food, took a shower, and took a nap. ¡°Master, it¡¯s about time.¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, okay, thank you, Felicia.¡± I go to the living room and find everyone gathered there. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. Everyone just couldn¡¯t wait.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Shall we begin?¡± Hidden behind the land, I summoned two rubber boats and one Galette. Repatriate the Lutto and summon the second Galette. It¡¯s troublesome to summon a full limit. ¡°¡±Then we¡¯ll be off.¡±¡± ¡°Take care.¡± It¡¯s a rubber boat, so it¡¯s quite a distance, and it¡¯ll take a while. I hope they come back without being found. ¡°Master, do you think they¡¯ll be alright?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s different from the usual scouting, so let¡¯s keep an eye on them so we can pick them up when they¡¯re discovered.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± How many hours did we wait? I hugged Rimu and Fuu-chan, petting them as I waited. When we got tired of waiting, Alessia-san¡¯s group returned, and about 20 minutes later, Dorothea-san¡¯s group also returned. The rubber boat is repatriated, and the Lutto is summoned. We gather in the living room and listen to the results of the scouting. ¡°Alessia-san¡¯s group will start, please. How did it go?¡± ¡°Well, there is one large magic ship, two medium-sized ones, and ten small ones. The rest were galleys and many sailing ships. Even at night, all the ships had several lights working, so there were many lookouts. It must be difficult to get through in a rubber boat without being spotted.¡± ¡°Well, it would have been nice if we could sneak through in a rubber boat, but I guess it would be difficult. How did Dorothea-san and the others fare?¡± ¡°Most of them are the same as Alessia¡¯s group. The Empire was also on the lookout for ships trying to escape or infiltrate the port, and there were a few small magic boats patrolling the harbor area.¡± ¡°I see. It seems impossible to sneak in.¡± ¡°Yes, we could swim in, but we would be discovered on the way up to the harbor. It would be difficult.¡± Eh? It¡¯s impossible to swim, Alessia-san. Even if you had increased your physical strength with the level-up, it would be a daunting task to swim that distance while avoiding the warships. ¡°If we can¡¯t sneak in, we¡¯ll have to force our way through by ship?¡± I wish we could have sneaked in. It¡¯s going to be rough. ¡°Yes, I think it¡¯s possible with Wataru-san¡¯s ship.¡± ¡°May I have a word?¡± ¡°What is it? Dorothea-san.¡± ¡°Rather than forcefully breaking through, I think it would be better to sink the Imperial ship first. After a forceful breakthrough, the guards will be even more on high alert. And it is easy to be discovered because you have to move around the port and summon a ship to leave Lucca by boat. I think we should stay on the seaside and reduce the number of military vessels during the first round when our presence isn¡¯t known.¡± A more wild suggestion came up. What should we do about it? I should have read more war stuff. ¡°Can a warship be sunk? They seem to have some kind of barrier or something.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about any other type of ship except for small boats. But if the small-boat-type magic ships, sailboats, and galleys can be sunk, the siege will not be possible. Replenishment may come, but it should take some time.¡± ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m curious about the galleys; they are imperial vessels, so it¡¯s likely that they are rowed by beast slaves. What do you think, Dorothea-san?¡± ¡°I think you are right, Wataru-san, but I would like to think about Lucca first. I am sorry for the slaves, but I can only hope that as many of them as possible will make it to land.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Hmm, I¡¯m curious, but there¡¯s nothing I can do about it. I don¡¯t know what kind of command to rescue them, and I guess it¡¯s also no good if we don¡¯t attack the galleys. Because the next time, they¡¯ll be all lined up. ¡°For now, we have two options: force our way to the gate or attack the warships to reduce the number of ships. That¡¯s the two ideas. Is there anything else?¡± If possible, I¡¯d like to see some ideas that we can slip in easily. ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡­..¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± No? ¡°Well then, those are the two ideas. As for me, I prefer the forced entry, as long as all we have to do is ram it, but what are your opinions?¡± ¡°I think it is better to reduce the number of warships. Whether defending Lucca or escaping, it is that much easier to move if the port is open, even if we arrive at the gate with a forced breakthrough. It would take a long time to get inside. If the imperial army comes after us, it will be troublesome.¡± The other members of the group seemed to agree with reducing the number of ships. We signed a contract that they wouldn¡¯t force me to do anything I didn¡¯t want to do, so I¡¯ll just make a hard breakthrough. And I guess that¡¯s okay. But it¡¯s also troublesome to be chased to the gate. If the later is more advantageous, would the strategy of sinking the ship be better? But, you know, if we sink the ship, the lord or something will definitely take notice of us. They might ask for unreasonable requests or something. And I¡¯m wondering, don¡¯t the members of Girasole intend to protecting Lucca with all their might? I would like to fulfill the requests of the Girasole members if I could. I don¡¯t want to get involved in the war. I have to talk to them properly. ¡°Umm, I understand. Shall we go with the strategy of reducing the number of warships? But there is something I would like you all to hear. It seems to me that everyone¡¯s purpose is to fight to protect Lucca.¡± ¡°Eh? Wataru-san, we want to protect Lucca, though.¡± Oh? She is back to her normal Alessia-san. After what happened with Lucca, everyone was in work mode. It¡¯s hard to relax, isn¡¯t it? ¡°I understand that Alessia-san and the others want to protect Lucca. But the agreement is that if it is possible to defend, we will cooperate on the defensive. If not, then it was to help the people of Girasole, their families, and friends escape, wasn¡¯t it? Am I wrong?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s what we asked you to do.¡± ¡°This mission will certainly be effective for both defense and escape, so I agreed to it. But it seems to me that you are deviating from your original promise.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I am not capable of defending a major city. I can not repeat this difficult situation. If we reduce the number of warships in this operation, the lords will definitely take notice of us. I don¡¯t want to be used to protect Lucca at that time. Please keep to the contract properly.¡± ¡°Yes, Wataru-san, I am sorry.¡± I don¡¯t like it. I¡¯ve lowered the tension among the members of Girasole. But if I didn¡¯t say it, I would have found myself stuck in a war, and I couldn¡¯t help it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for interrupting the discussion. Shall we continue with the strategy meeting? We are going to be noticed anyway, so let¡¯s aim for maximum effect.¡± The strategy was decided surprisingly easily. At midnight tomorrow, we will each board one of the three Gallete boats. Taking advantage of the ineffectiveness of the other ship¡¯s attack, we will approach the ships rapidly. By attacking the ships at close range, we will make a big hole in one ship and go to another ship. The first target was decided to be a large magic ship. We can deal with the sailing ships and galleys later. I don¡¯t know if we will be able to defeat them, but we will approach the large mage ship with all three of our boats and focus our maximum firepower on a single point. If we could sink them, we would continue. If not, we will change the target to a medium-sized magic ship. The order of attack will be large, medium, small, and small boats, and finally, sailboats and galleys. The groupings are. Wataru group¡­ me and Ines. Waiting on the Lutto. Felicia¡¯s group¡­ Felicia and Carla-san. Alessia¡¯s group¡­ Alessia-san and Claretta-san. Dorothea¡¯s group¡­ Dorothea-san, Marina-san, and Ilma-san. As for me, I chose the Gallete because I thought I could scratch around. All the others are going to sink the ship. I wonder if it¡¯s the difference between the otherworlders and the Japanese or if I¡¯m just soft in my thinking? ¡°Now that we¡¯ve decided on a plan, let¡¯s rest away from Lucca so that we won¡¯t be found bypassing it.¡± By the time we anchored at the place we had moved to, dawn had begun to break. We took turns taking showers and falling asleep, pushing away the anxiety of the battle. Volume 5 - CH 12 Chapter 12 ¨C Acting and Naval Battles When I woke up, the sun was much higher. I must have slept until late afternoon. I finish my usual routine with Ines and Felicia. I go to the living room. I greet them with a strange greeting and have lunch instead of breakfast. It¡¯s kind of confusing. The members of the Girasole are all fired up for a midnight battle. Felicia also seems more excited than usual. It seems I¡¯m the only one who feels like throwing up from nervousness. I¡¯m going to change the shape of the Lutto and the Galette. I¡¯ll also change the color of the wood to make them look different. ¡°Oh, Master, did you change the appearance of the ships?¡± ¡°Yes, it looks like a different ship, doesn¡¯t it? I think there might be people in Lucca who know my ship. Does it look different from Ines¡¯s perspective?¡± ¡°Yes, it looks like a completely different ship. ¡­Oh, by the way, we¡¯re going to wear robes, right? What should we call each other? And Rimu-chan will stand out too.¡± ¡°That reminds me. I¡¯m going to ask Rimu to stay in the bag. The members of Girasole are going to call me Mage, Ines and Felicia are the followers. The followers can call me master without any problem, so the problem is how to call Ines and Felicia. What do you have in mind?¡± ¡°In my case, would it be Shea? I don¡¯t think people will notice if someone calls me by a different name.¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯d be Ness then. Not much has changed. What do you think, Master?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s almost exactly the same, but I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°I guess so. Basically, we don¡¯t talk much when people are around, and we only use it when we really need to be called out, don¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Is that how it is? Hmm, but if it¡¯s a completely different name, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to make a mistake in responding to you.¡± ¡°I think the problem will disappear if Ines uses honorifics for Master after that.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s true that if a follower talks to the mage in an honorific way, it might leave a strong impression on the other party. Is Ines going to be okay?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll probably be fine.¡± That¡¯s kind of an uneasy reply¡­ Well, we¡¯re planning to do very little talking, so it¡¯s alright. ¡°Ines, please use proper honorifics. Master, Ines, why don¡¯t we get used to the situation when we enter Lucca now?¡± ¡°I guess that would be better. Then, Ness, Shea, we will act as if we are in Lucca from now on.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We decide what we are going to do and have some free time before the operation starts. I¡¯m a wait-and-see group, but I¡¯m nervous; why are those people so unconcerned? I hug Rimu to stabilize my spirit. ¡°Wataru?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Rimu is so cute.¡± ¡°Rimu is cute?¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re very cute.¡± ¡°Rimu happy.¡± ¡°Rimu, I¡¯m sorry, I have to ask you to stay in the bag in Lucca. Can you endure that?¡± ¡°Rimu is fine.¡± ¡°Thank you. We¡¯ll have a lot of fun tonight.¡± ¡°Rimu, happy.¡± It¡¯s so relaxing¡­ It¡¯s not like there¡¯s a war or anything. It¡¯s like a luxury cruise ship with lots of maids. Also, I¡¯d like to make a lot of contracts with slimes. I want to live a life of self-indulgence. Thinking about meaningless things, playing with Rimu, training. I spend the day deceiving my nervousness. Finally, it¡¯s time for dinner. Time seems to move slowly. I eat quickly and force myself to take a nap until it¡¯s time. It¡¯s getting dark, and we head for the shadows of the land where we hid yesterday. ¡°Are you two all right?¡± ¡°Master, don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be fine. We need to change into our robes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I forgot. Thank you, Shea.¡± Well, I¡¯m so nervous and acting that I¡¯m losing my mind. I¡¯m more worried about myself than I am about others. I put on a robe and pulled the hood over my eyes. ¡°Can¡¯t you see my face?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Most of it is hidden.¡± Well, my right arm feels like it¡¯s going to hurt. My vision is not good either. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be dressed like this in Lucca¡­ It¡¯s a hassle, but it¡¯s better than having my face exposed. ¡°Oh, Shea, before you go, please put a barrier on Master.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s almost time to go, so I¡¯ll do it now.¡± After applying the barrier, I returned to the living room. ¡°Mage-sama, I¡¯d like you to summon the ship now.¡± ¡°It feels strange to be addressed like that by Alessia-san, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Fufu, is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll summon the ship now. Please be careful, everyone.¡± The seven of them reply in a high-spirited manner¡­ I¡¯m worried that they¡¯re going to run out of control, but as expected, they wouldn¡¯t do so in a situation like this, would they? Galette No. 1, Galette No. 2, and Galette No. 3 roar with explosions and fly off¡­ Is it really going to be alright? ¡°Master, would you like me to make you a cup of tea?¡± ¡°Ness, thank you.¡± We wait for the girls to return, having an uncomfortable conversation. I drink tea while holding Rimu and Fuu-chan and try to calm down, but¡­ I can¡¯t. We are at war, so killing each other can¡¯t be helped. I wonder if it¡¯s human nature, but there¡¯s nothing I can do about it, so I force myself to accept it. I am honestly grateful that the women were concerned and let me stand by here. I don¡¯t consider myself complicit in the war because I wasn¡¯t there in person. It¡¯s also true that I don¡¯t want to see the fighting firsthand and go through unnecessary trauma. I know you¡¯re going to hate me, but please don¡¯t give me a break because I want to make offerings to the best of my ability. I¡¯m seriously scared, especially since it¡¯s a different world, for the possibility of them attacking me as zombies or skeletons. As I was somehow making excuses and keeping my peace of mind, I saw the light at the harbor. I went out on the deck¡­ where it started and stared at the harbor. More lights are popping up, maybe the lights of military ships? Loud lights mixed in by accident, and the sound is probably everyone attacking. ¡°It has begun, hasn¡¯t it? Master, you don¡¯t have to worry so much.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s alright, but it does bother me. Ines, don¡¯t you worry about it?¡± ¡°I do worry a little, but it¡¯s harder to lose on Master¡¯s ship. Rather than that, you called me by my real name.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, it is. Thank you, Ness.¡± It¡¯s hard to act until a time like this, but if it¡¯s said that it¡¯s important to be able to act properly in an emergency situation, I have to do my best. I didn¡¯t even know how much time had passed because I was so nervous, but magic was launched continuously into the sky above us. It was a signal to join the group. ¡°Is everyone alright?¡± It looks like they¡¯re alright, but it¡¯s just a matter of courtesy. But there are a few military ships anchored on the shore and about ten sailboats and galleys gathered on the Lucca side. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s alright. Do you mind if we move over there?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine, but wouldn¡¯t it be better to move on to Lucca?¡± ¡°The Lucca side is probably aware of this, but fortunately, they¡¯ve eliminated all but the military ships that have surrendered. I think it would be less troublesome to just deliver the message to the gate and head for Lucca when it¡¯s light out.¡± They really did wipe them out; I thought, maybe¡­ ¡°Is that so? Oh, let¡¯s talk in the living room. I¡¯ll make you some tea.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± We gathered in the living room and listened to the conversation. ¡°Mage-sama, I¡¯ll ask Dorothea and Marina to go to the gate to give a message. Is that alright with you?¡± ¡°Eh? Yes, of course, please.¡± However, I feel very uncomfortable being called ¡°Mage-sama¡± in a situation like this. I feel like I want to stop doing it, but I guess they just tell me it¡¯s important to get used to it in these situations. I saw Dorothea-san and Marina-san off and decided to listen to what they had to say. ¡°Alessia-san, first of all, what are you going to do about the surrendered military ship?¡± ¡°I told them not to move from that spot. When the sun comes up, we will deal with them on the Lucca side.¡± ¡°I see. Then, can you tell me about the battle?¡± ¡°Yes, first of all, we attacked the large ships as planned, laying in wait for them and attacking them all at once. The barriers were broken, but they were repelled by the protective magic on the hull itself. Then we scratched it a second time and made a big hole in it a third time.¡± ¡°Is it protective magic?¡± ¡°Yes, it is said to be a magic that was already in place when the ship was discovered, a magic that protects the ship from deterioration and impact.¡± ¡°It is said? You don¡¯t know much about it?¡± ¡°Yes, the mechanism of the magic ship itself is still unknown. I think the same is true for the protection magic.¡± ¡°I see that you attacked the ship three times, but there was no counterattack?¡± ¡°There was, but I knew we had a powerful barrier from fighting monsters at sea, so we continued our attack. Bows, ballistas, and magic all bounced back easily, so we were able to aim and attack well.¡± I did say that it can repel even dragon breath, and I¡¯m sure they felt the effects of it in combat. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any reason to keep getting attacked as it is, though¡­ ¡°I-I see; please continue.¡± ¡°Yes, we wrecked the large magic ship, then we all attacked the medium size magic ship and up to the first of the small magic ships. We could sink the small magic ship even if we split up, so from there, we dispersed and attacked the medium and small magic ships, then the sailboats and galleys.¡± ¡°I see. How did the other warships respond?¡± ¡°We rushed into them with a roar of explosions, and the warships around immediately noticed and attacked us with magic, bows, and ballistas. The ships all repelled the attackers, so we did not think about defending ourselves, but just laid into them and attacked, making a big hole in them.¡± ¡°I see; so you sank all the ships except the ones that surrendered?¡± ¡°Some of the ships pulled ashore and ran into the imperial lines, but other than that, we didn¡¯t miss a single ship. Some of the warships tried to escape into the open sea, but their speed was so overwhelmingly different that we advised them to surrender and sank all those that refused to surrender.¡± Wow, that was a real cheat. I was thankful that they gave me some great skills along the way. It¡¯s overwhelming when you use it in a naval battle. If they know my face, there¡¯s going to be an uproar that won¡¯t compare to what happened with the Japanese ship. Let¡¯s do my best as Mage-sama at all costs. ¡°I understand. Thank you very much. Please take a shower and rest a little until the sun rises. Ness and I will keep an eye on the prisoners¡¯ ship. We will meet up with Dorothea-san and Marina-san as well. Thank you for your hard work.¡± After taking a shower and a light meal in turn, we all went to the ship. ¡°Shea can go ahead and rest too.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯ve used up a lot of magic power, and it looks like you¡¯ll be busy in the morning, so get some rest while you still can.¡± ¡°I understand. I will rest a little.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± But Dorothea-san and Marina-san are late; I¡¯m getting a little worried. ¡°Ness, aren¡¯t Dorothea-san and Marina-san late?¡± ¡°There¡¯s been so much commotion, so many people asking questions; I think it will take a while.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± That¡¯s true; there¡¯s a lot to ask, isn¡¯t there? After a short wait, the Galette returned. ¡°Dorothea-san, Marina-san, thank you for your hard work. Are you alright?¡± ¡°Yes, I told them about us, about Mage-sama, and about the prisoners, and tried to go back, but they stopped me. I also told them that Mage-sama didn¡¯t want to reveal any of his identity and that if they were still asking, he would return. We will know the result when we go to the gate in the morning.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I would be very grateful if you could save me the trouble at the gate.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± ¡°Then we will take the watch, and you, Dorothea-san, and Marina-san can take a shower and get some rest.¡± ¡°¡±Yes, thank you.¡±¡± We¡¯ll be in Lucca tomorrow morning¡­ It would be nice if it were all over without incident, but¡­ I don¡¯t think it will be possible. Volume 5 - CH 13 Chapter 13 ¨C The Current Situation in Lucca and the Request of the Marquis As we took turns keeping watch until the sun rose, soldiers began to line up on the walls of Lucca. A few moments later, Lucca¡¯s gates opened, and the captives were being retrieved. I wondered what happened to the ships on the Lucca side when the port was blockaded. I watched them for a while, but I couldn¡¯t figure it out, so I woke everyone up for breakfast. ¡°Mage-sama, after breakfast, is it okay if we leave for the gate?¡± ¡°Yes, the Lucca side has already come out to collect the prisoners, so I think it will be fine. I¡¯m not going to talk much in Lucca, so I¡¯ll leave the negotiating to you.¡± ¡°Yes. As per the contract, I will take care of the negotiations.¡± It¡¯s a very strange feeling to be called Mage-sama first thing in the morning. Well, I¡¯ll get used to it sooner or later since I¡¯m going to be called ¡°Mage-sama¡± all the time once I enter Lucca. After breakfast, we got ready and headed for Lucca on the Lutto. Wow, there are wrecks of ships floating all over the sea. What are they going to do with all those sunken ships? It looks like a large magic ship or something of value is there¡­ Yeah, it might be surprisingly easy to salvage it if you use magic. We headed for the port, avoiding any obstacles that we could avoid. The soldiers on the ramparts seem to be on the lookout for us. Well, of course, they are. A hooded man who claims to be a mage, whose name is unknown to them, is coming. It makes you cautious. If I wasn¡¯t here and it was just Girasole, I¡¯m sure they would be welcomed with cheers. I am sorry. The imperial camp is also in turmoil, and I hope they won¡¯t attack us out of the blue. Well, the soldiers on the ramparts should be able to keep them in check, so it should be fine. We¡¯ll dock at the port and repatriate the Lutto¡­ Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t want to repatriate it in the middle of such big attention. Should I leave it as it is? I¡¯ll just leave it there and head for the gate. ¡°Master, aren¡¯t you going to repatriate the Lutto?¡± ¡°Yeah, since we¡¯re at the center of attention, I won¡¯t go out of my way to stand out. If someone takes it by force, I can just repatriate it. Do you think I should repatriate it, Shea?¡± ¡°I wonder. I think it would be troublesome if the Empire attacked the Lutto.¡± ¡°Ah, but if they do, the soldiers on the ramparts will fight them off, so it won¡¯t be a problem.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± When we got to the gate, the city gate opened a little, and two knights and more than ten soldiers came out¡­ I think the number of people is slightly too many. ¡°My name is Bronn. You are Girasole and Mage-dono, aren¡¯t you? Let me inform you of Lucca¡¯s decision.¡± That¡¯s out of the blue. Well, there¡¯s no room for small talk in a place like this, is there? I¡¯ll be doing very little talking from now on, so I¡¯ll be observing. Good luck, Alessia-san. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Despite your excellent work, we can¡¯t suddenly invite a mage without a name into the castle. I would like to discuss this with Girasole first and then decide how Mage-dono will be treated. Or so it is said. We will prepare a room for Mage-dono, but you will be under surveillance.¡± Eh? Is waiting in a room with supervision different from¡­ house arrest? Either way, please don¡¯t do that. (What would you like to do, Master?) (Ness, would this be bad if I refused?) ( I wonder? I am only a former adventurer myself. Would you like me to tell Alessia-san about it?) (Yes, I don¡¯t want it to be monitored or anything, so tell Alessia-san that I¡¯ll be waiting for them on the ship. But tell her I¡¯ll endure if it¡¯s not nice to refuse.) (Understood) Ness whispered to Alessia-san. ¡°Knight-sama. Mage-sama said he would wait on the ship because it was too uncomfortable to be watched. Is that all right?¡± ¡°Mm, but it¡¯s dangerous, isn¡¯t it? It is true that being watched will be uncomfortable, but I assure you that it will be safe.¡± ¡°If safety is the only problem, then no problem. Then I will ask Mage-sama to wait for us on the ship.¡± ¡°I understand. Let me show you the way, Girasole.¡± We parted ways and returned to the Lutto, leaving the ship a short distance from the harbor, entered the owner¡¯s room, and took off our hoods. Rimu also popped out of the bag. ¡°Whew, I feel bad for Alessia-san and the others, but it¡¯s good to be back.¡± ¡°But Master, wouldn¡¯t it be troublesome if the Empire attacked us?¡± ¡°Ness, you must use proper, polite language.¡± ¡°Right. I apologize. Master, what would you do if the Empire attacked?¡± ¡°They may not attack us. If they do, it won¡¯t be a problem if we stay on the ship; it¡¯s better than being under surveillance. If it gets too much trouble, we can just leave and relax until the next move.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡«From Alessia¡¯s point of view¡« Wataru-san, I couldn¡¯t see his face because he was hidden by the hood, but he was absolutely happy to be back on the ship. Well, I forced him to come with me, so I guess it can¡¯t be helped. They will probably ask a lot of questions about Wataru-san, and I have to make sure that I don¡¯t cause him any trouble by using the contract as a shield. We got on a carriage led by the knight and entered the castle. The city I saw from the carriage was not lively, but it was a nostalgic scene. I wanted to see my family as soon as possible, but I can¡¯t do that now. The city has not turned into a battlefield, so I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be fine, and I¡¯ll definitely get some time later. We left our weapons at the door and were led to the back. It¡¯s sad that you¡¯re entering your hometown castle for the first time, and you¡¯re not enjoying it at all. When I opened the door I was led to; it was a conference room. ¡­I wonder if it¡¯s not the audience chamber in a case like this? ¡°I am Justin de Lucca, lord of this city. The defeat of the Imperial Navy was brilliant. Normally I would reward you in the audience chamber, but I have to hold a military meeting immediately. I apologize.¡± ¡°No, thank you for your kind words.¡± ¡°Well, I will give you your reward later. Now I have a question. Are you sure that the naval battle was a result of the mage¡¯s cooperation?¡± ¡°Yes. Without Mage-sama¡¯s help, none of that would have been possible.¡± ¡°As I thought, I know some of the rumors about Girasole. You¡¯re excellent, but I¡¯ve never heard of your work on the sea. Now tell me about the mage.¡± ¡°I apologize, sir. I can¡¯t tell you much about the mage because of my contract.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ first, let me hear what you can tell me. I¡¯ll check the contract later.¡± Hmm, I wonder why the lord keeps asking me questions when there are so many people gathered for the war council meeting. I¡¯ve had a few opportunities to meet with nobles since I became an A rank, but I¡¯ve never met anyone as high up as the Marquis. It¡¯s exhausting. ¡°Very well. He is a man who hates conflict and does not like to stand out. When I heard that Lucca was surrounded, I forced him to come, but I could not speak about Mage-sama because of the contract I had made with him at that time. The only thing that he is willing to cooperate with us is to help us on the defensive side in defense of Lucca. If we have to escape from Lucca, the contract is for him to help us escape to the best of his ability.¡± ¡°Well, can we expect any cooperation with Lucca?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so, but I don¡¯t think we can expect any cooperation other than the agreement we signed. The contract we have signed includes that he will not participate in any negotiations and that he will not be forced to do anything he doesn¡¯t want to do.¡± ¡°I see¡­ What can he do?¡± ¡°I apologize, sir, but I can¡¯t tell you.¡± ¡°Then we won¡¯t know anything! This is a question from the Marquis; you must answer with sincerity!¡± ¡°Dumun, calm down. You know that they are bound by contract not to talk about the mage, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I apologize.¡± ¡°Then I will tell you what is happening in Lucca. Then please talk to the mage and ask for his cooperation in any way you can.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Marquis-sama, let me do the explaining.¡± ¡°Very well, but I will not allow you to raise your voice as you did earlier. Is that clear, Dumun?¡± ¡°Yes, very well.¡± ¡°Now, let me explain the situation. You know that Lucca is surrounded by the imperial army. You have defeated the navy. The sea side is free. But Lucca¡¯s navy has been destroyed. Only a few ships remain. Lucca itself has managed to repel the Imperial Army in time with its defense system. However, the stockpiles of food will eventually reach their limits. By then, we will have to either repel the imperial army or import food.¡± ¡°May I ask you a question?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Where did the Imperial troops around here come from? I don¡¯t believe they brought that many by ship. I also heard rumors that the royal capital is surrounded.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right, Dumun, tell them. The word has already spread.¡± ¡°Yes. Girasole, although this is a story that has been spreading, it is not to be spoken of lightly. Is that clear?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Fort Lughorn has fallen.¡± ¡°Fort Lughorn¡­?¡± ¡°You know that Fort Lughorn is an important fort that has repulsed the imperial army on numerous occasions. The nobles who have lands in the north also went to reinforcements first because the empire mobilized a large number of troops. Until now, they should have been able to hold out long enough for the national army to come to their aid. However, Viscounts Dupuis and Juma betrayed us. At midnight, the two viscounts joined forces to create a commotion inside the fort and open the gates. The imperial army, which had been waiting for them, apparently rushed in. There was nothing that could be done once they were inside, and Fort Lughorn fell. The imperial army invaded the Kingdom of Brescia, and the Brescian army, which was on the back foot, was unable to cope with the imperial army and was defeated, and the capital was surrounded. At the same time, warships appeared in Lucca, and we requested reinforcements from the surrounding areas, but with the country in turmoil, no reinforcements were sent to Lucca, and we were pushed into the city. That¡¯s all I can tell you.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡± The situation is worse than we expected. It¡¯s not just Lucca, but the whole kingdom of Brescia is in danger. I don¡¯t even know what to do. Let¡¯s hear as much as we can. ¡°The nobles of the regions that are not under attack will gather to oppose the empire. Is there any possibility that the Beast Kingdom will send reinforcements?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say that there isn¡¯t. If the nobles do not gather, we will not be able to resist the imperial army, and the Beast Kingdom will probably try to provide reinforcements based on our past cooperative relationship. But just assembling them will take time. The Beast Kingdom will also be approached by human supremacist nations other than the Empire. There is no future for us if we just endure on the basis of that alone.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Girasole, this is not something I would ask an adventurer to do. The liberated port is the lifeline of Lucca. Can you maintain it?¡± ¡°Marquis. I am sorry. Without Mage-sama¡¯s cooperation, we are useless at sea. I cannot answer your question at this time.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Then, please talk to the mage and let him know that I am asking for his help in maintaining the harbor and importing food. Also, I cannot allow a powerful mage, who does not even give his name, to enter the city unsupervised. I would appreciate it if he would accept the surveillance.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± After confirming that we had a contract, we were rewarded. The rest of us, except Dorothea and I, split up to go check on our families and return to the ship. It is a relief to see the Lutto as we exit the gate. It¡¯s strange that I haven¡¯t been involved for that long. ¡«The end of Alethea¡¯s point of view¡« While I was relaxing in my room, Alessia-san and Dorothea-san came back, so I put on my hood and greeted them. ¡°Welcome back. Where are the others?¡± ¡°I¡¯m back. The others are going their separate ways to check on their families.¡± ¡°I see. Well, let¡¯s have a cup of tea in the living room and talk about it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I listened to the discussion over a cup of tea. Lucca itself can endure for now, but the Kingdom of Brescia itself is in a pinch, and eventually, Lucca will be in a pinch too¡­ I feel like I¡¯m already stuck. Maintaining the port and importing food, huh¡­? There¡¯s nothing that can¡¯t be done. The ship summoning was more of a cheat in the fight than I thought. If there is someone on board with offensive capabilities, it would be the best mobile turret. I can maintain a port and import food, but I¡¯ll be immersed in a war¡­ What should I do? It would be very troublesome. ¡°Hmm, maintaining ports and importing food. I¡¯ll think of a way. I really don¡¯t want to be under surveillance, so please tell them I won¡¯t accept it unless the situation gets really bad.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand. Also, this is the reward for the time being.¡± I looked inside and saw ten platinum coins¡­ a tremendous amount of money. ¡°Isn¡¯t this¡­ too much?¡± ¡°I wonder. I think it¡¯s fair to say that we liberated a corner of the city that was completely surrounded by the imperial army, and we turned down a title and a territory.¡± ¡°Hmm, I see. Then I will take half of it.¡± ¡°No, please take all of it.¡± ¡°Eh? I think even five platinum coins are too much, but I can¡¯t take the whole amount.¡± ¡°No, the contract calls for the payment of money within a reasonable range, so it will still be given to Mage-sama in the end.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Then I will take it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I feel guilty about monopolizing the reward. Well, if I stick with half of it and it will eventually come back to me, it would just be a hassle not to accept it. The rest is importing food and maintaining the port. It¡¯s a hassle, but I¡¯ll do my best to think about it. Funds on hand: 62 gold coins, 87 silver coins, 66 copper coins. Guild account: 33 platinum coins, 70 gold coins. Savings ship: 60 platinum coins. Pepper ship: 485 ships. Volume 5 - CH 14 Chapter 14 ¨C Makeshift Ideas and Negotiations Hmm, importing food is no longer a problem since we can just go buy it by ship to a trading company that has the marquis¡¯s contacts. But maintaining the port is a hassle. I don¡¯t want to have to fight back with the Galette every time, so what should I do? ¡°Mage-sama, can you help us?¡± ¡°Umm, at this point, would you choose to take your family and friends with you to escape?¡± We could escape with ease now. Well, now that Lucca is holding on, I don¡¯t think they can choose that option¡­ ¡°If we could, we would try to make do with Lucca¡¯s defenses. It would be very difficult to move to another country, and Lucca is currently holding its own. Could you please do that for us?¡± Well, yes. I¡¯m not going to abandon my hometown either, but if I can get the imperial army that is besieging the capital to back off, Lucca will be able to handle it. ¡°I understand, Alessia-san. We just need to buy food. I think that maintaining the port is a form of cooperation in terms of defense. The question is how to defend it.¡± ¡°If you lend us your ships, we will fight them off.¡± ¡°Well, we have damaged the Imperial Navy, and we don¡¯t know if the next ship will come soon. In the event that the Girasole is the only one fighting them off, won¡¯t the military in Lucca be jealous? I am afraid of what will happen if we take all the credit.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think about the aftermath, but is it dangerous?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know how it is over here, but have you ever heard of someone being dragged down by too much activity?¡± ¡°¡­Well, there is.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll try to think of a way for everyone in Lucca to do their best to avoid any hassle. Are you two sure you don¡¯t need to visit your families? I¡¯ll be here thinking things over, so that won¡¯t be a problem.¡± ¡°We are going to see them tomorrow, that¡¯s all right.¡± ¡°Okay, I understand.¡± In between, I had lunch, and while distracted by other things, I came up with a slightly makeshift idea. I wondered if this was possible. ¡°Alessia-san, may I ask you a question?¡± ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± ¡°I think the marquis is rich, am I right?¡± ¡°Eh? Yes, Lucca is a prosperous trading city. The marquis family has been the lord of the city for many years, so I think he has some wealth.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you.¡± ¡­I guess the luxury liner is overkill. I would probably enjoy it more if I bought it on my own anyway, so I guess I¡¯ll just go for another ferry. ¡°Um, is there something wrong with the wealth?¡± ¡°No, I thought that as an operation, we could rent out the Fortress for a limited time until the Imperial Army withdraws from Lucca or Lucca falls. But I don¡¯t like the idea of not being able to use the ferry for a long period, so I¡¯m thinking of asking for a price that would allow me to buy another ferry anyway. What do you think?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t there be a lot of problems with renting out the Fortress, such as the facilities? Besides, I don¡¯t think they would be able to operate the ship even if they rented it out.¡± ¡°Yes, you are right, Dorothea-san, but all the conspicuous facilities on board will be covered up with a ship disguise. I will explain that it is just a very large wooden ship with powerful barriers. As for not being able to move it, as long as the bay entrance and exit are protected, blockading the harbor will require a large number of ships. If the Fortress is anchored at the entrance/exit of the bay, with the Fortress as a base, can¡¯t Lucca¡¯s army do something about it?¡± If it is necessary to move the ship, I will go there because there is no danger of being attacked if I am on board. The disadvantage on my side is that I will have one less summoning slot on the ship for a long period. ¡°If that is the case, Lucca may be able to defend itself. However, the number of people defending the city will also decrease. I think it will depend on how the marquis decides on that.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that¡¯s certainly true. That might be difficult since it would mean sending hundreds of people on board the Fortress. Well, just talk to them and tell them that I will rent them a ship with a powerful barrier system for 120 platinum coins, and if that is not acceptable, then fine.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll be on my way now, so could you please have the ship docked?¡± ¡°Right now?¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t know what will happen, so I want to move as quickly as possible.¡± ¡°I understand. Ah, please ask them to introduce me to a store in the city by the sea that sells large quantities of food. Also, a list of food requirements would be helpful.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± I docked the ship at the port and saw Alessia-san and Dorothea-san off. I think they are getting a bit ripped off. But since they can rent the Fortress, which is, in a sense, invincible, for a certain period, the rest depends on the marquis¡¯s judgment. ¡°Fufu, Master. The ferry is very conspicuous. Was that okay?¡± ¡°Yes, Ness is right, but it¡¯s already conspicuous, and we need the ferry if we¡¯re going to import large amounts of food. I¡¯ll have to do my best to hide my true identity as a mage. Ness and Shea, be careful.¡± Hmm? Instead of showing them the ferry, would it have been better to be a mage who brings food in a small boat, though it¡¯s unclear what kind of magic it is? ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°Uh, now that you mention it, would it have been less dangerous to have a mysterious mage bring in a small boat with a lot of food than to show a ferry?¡± ¡°Either way, it would have caused a commotion. I think that bringing a large amount of food in a small boat would be seen as more dangerous because it would be less conspicuous.¡± ¡°I agree with Shea. The ability to carry a large amount of supplies discreetly is quite attractive. I still think that a powerful barrier on a ferry would be better.¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s good to know. Thank you.¡± Thank goodness. I was afraid I had screwed up. It¡¯s true that the ability to sneak in large quantities of supplies is a threat, isn¡¯t it? I guess the ferry is more reassuring because it¡¯s more conspicuous. ¡°And you two, the reason we¡¯re acting is so that our identities won¡¯t be revealed once we¡¯re in Lucca, right? Do we really need to keep acting if we¡¯re not going into Lucca?¡± ¡°¡­It is possible that we might have to enter Lucca suddenly, so I think it would be more reliable to keep acting.¡± ¡°I think Shea is right. Since we have decided to let them on the ferry, we should do what we can to help them.¡± ¡°All right, then, let¡¯s go for it.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ~Alesia¡¯s point of view~ Whew, I never thought I¡¯d have to come to the castle more than once. I talked to the gatekeeper, and he showed me to a place that looked like an office, perhaps because the war council had finished. ¡°Then, let¡¯s hear the result of the discussion with the mage.¡± ¡°Yes, Mage-sama said that he would not enter the city until the situation became very dangerous because it would be too stressful for him to be watched. As for food, he needs a list of stores in the city by the sea where he can buy it and a list of what is needed.¡± ¡°Hmm, I understand. Is it correct to think that it is possible to purchase food if there is a list of stores and a list of items to purchase?¡± ¡°Yes, although you would also need to pay for the purchase. It is possible to get to the store, make the purchase, and come back.¡± ¡°That would be a big help. What about maintaining the port?¡± ¡°Mage-sama said that for 120 platinum coins, it is possible to set up a large ship with powerful barriers at the entrance and exit of the bay. The loan period is until the imperial army withdraws from Lucca or Lucca falls. Once the ship is in place, only Mage-sama will be able to move it.¡± At the 120 platinum coin part, the civilian officials were surprised, but¡­ I don¡¯t even know what the marquis thinks because his expression doesn¡¯t change. ¡°Hmm¡­120 platinum coins¡­ that¡¯s a lot of money. Is it worth it?¡± ¡°I apologize, but I can¡¯t go into detail, as that would be in violation of our contract.¡± ¡°Just tell me what you can tell me.¡± ¡°As far as I can tell, if you put someone on that ship with a long-range weapon, there would be no problem with the port.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t make a decision on my own. Call the Commander of the Knights.¡± One of the civil officers left the room. ¡°We will proceed to talk about food before Dumun arrives. How much food can you carry?¡± Dumun was the one who explained the current situation in Lucca to us this morning, wasn¡¯t he? He was the head of the knights; I have a feeling he would yell at me if he heard 120 platinum coins. ¡°I think it will be brought in by a large ship, so all I know is that it¡¯s a lot of food.¡± ¡°Hmm, how big is it?¡± ¡°I apologize, but I can¡¯t talk about it. But if there are large ships in the harbor, I think I can give you a rough idea.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± The Knight Commander entered with the civil servant. The marquis explained this to the knight commander about the story. ¡°120 platinum coins?¡± I heard a surprised voice that said that. Thank goodness that it was the marquis who explained the story to him. If it had been me, he would have yelled at me for sure. ¡°Alessia, wasn¡¯t it? Can¡¯t we have the mage prove his identity and bring him here to explain himself?¡± ¡°I am sorry, Sir Knight Commander. He said he would not be present at the negotiation. If we try to force him to identify himself, it would be a breach of contract, and he would not cooperate.¡± ¡°Why does he go to such lengths to conceal his true identity? He¡¯s not a criminal, is he?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only heard that he doesn¡¯t want to be bothered, but he is not a criminal.¡± ¡°Does the mage think he can get as much as 120 platinum coins for such a vague explanation?¡± ¡°I think Mage-sama doesn¡¯t care either way. He will cooperate at the very least, but I don¡¯t think he will do everything in his power to help Lucca.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Stop it, Dumun.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°I said stop.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The Knight Commander is very angry. But I must tell him that. Ilma said her biggest fear is that Wataru-san will abandon us. We can¡¯t ask Wataru-san for everything. ¡°Have you ever been on that ship before?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ It¡¯s fine. I will prepare it then.¡± ¡°Marquis-sama! He might escape with it.¡± ¡°That is a possibility, but if Lucca falls, even if we have the money, it will only be taken from us. If we continue to be surrounded at this rate, we will eventually reach our limits. If the port is liberated, we will be able to hold out and escape. Dumun, select the weapons, soldiers, and adventurers that we can take to the ship.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°The list and payment for the 120 platinum coins and food, right? It will take some time to prepare. Please wait in the other room.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± After about two hours, the knight and some soldiers that we had met in the morning came with the 120 platinum coins. ¡°Here it is. I will escort it to the ship.¡± ¡°Sir knight, I thank you very much, but you are not allowed to enter the ship.¡± ¡°I have been asked by the Knight Commander to accompany you if I can, but is there any way?¡± ¡°This has not been discussed with the marquis, and it is definitely not possible. He is hiding his true identity, so there is no way he can keep a watchful eye nearby.¡± ¡°But it is 120 platinum coins. I think surveillance is to be expected.¡± ¡°I agree with you, but Mage-sama does not. I think he would just refuse to provide a ship if he had to be monitored. For me to bring the surveillance, I cannot ask for it. Either you give up the surveillance, or you give up the ship. I ask you to make a choice.¡± ¡°I understand. I give up the surveillance. But I will escort you to the ship.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± We managed to conclude the negotiations without incident. I hope this improves the chances of Lucca¡¯s survival. Volume 5 - CH 15 Chapter 15 ¨C Installation of the Fortress and the Marquis of Lucca Alessia-san and Dorothea-san have returned after their meeting, so I go to the port to pick them up. I wonder if it is the knight from the morning who is a little further away? What¡¯s going on? As I greeted Alessia-san and Dorothea-san, the knight approached me. ¡°May I accompany them?¡± Eh? I don¡¯t want to, even now, I¡¯m cramped up from all the acting, and you want me to let the surveillance ride along? I look at Alessia-san, and she has an unpleasant look on her face. I shake my head and pull the Lutto away from the port. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mage-sama. I refused them to accompany us, but I guess they hadn¡¯t given up yet.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. He was not particularly persistent, so it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°And how did the negotiations go?¡± ¡°Yes, I received 120 platinum coins, a list of supplies, and payment for them. The supplies will be purchased in Aarhus, a port town in the neighboring Kingdom of Thessaloniki. They also asked us to bring a crew aboard to greet the lord of Aarhus, but we declined. They asked us to deliver the letter first, so we will deliver it.¡± ¡°I understand. We will summon the Fortress a short distance away this evening, disguise it, and come aboard. How long will it take to get to Aarhus?¡± ¡°Yes, please. Aarhus is four days by magic boat. I think we passed near there on the way to Lucca, but I don¡¯t exactly know which one.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. We passed by all of them on our way to Lucca. All right, let¡¯s just go there and see what we can find out.¡± ¡°Yes. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Leave it to me. By the way, Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, are you going back to Lucca for the night?¡± ¡°No, I plan to return to Lucca tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°I see. Then let¡¯s have dinner.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡± While eating dinner, I asked Alessia-san and Dorothea-san about what happened at the castle, and we discussed about the future. It¡¯s not the end of the story if we just deal with Lucca; the trouble is, I can¡¯t wait to get back to my carefree life without acting. I take a shower and a light nap. ¡°Master, Master, it¡¯s about time.¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, that¡¯s right. Thank you.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Even in the middle of the night, I went to the living room after doing my daily routine with Ness and Shea. ¡°Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, you could have stayed in bed.¡± ¡°You work so hard for Lucca; let me at least see you off.¡± ¡°Haha, thank you very much. I¡¯ll see you later.¡± ¡°¡±See you later.¡±¡± I summoned the Galette and headed for the open sea. ¡°I think we¡¯ll be all right here. I¡¯ll summon the Fortress.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I summon the Fortress and jump onto the magic circle. Oh, by the way, I have to take down the ramp and boarding gate to get in when I rent it. I¡¯ll have to remember that. I enter the ship and start disguising the ship. First, I seal off the wheelhouse and the places where things don¡¯t belong in this world and the room that we and Girasole are using. ¡°Oh, what should we do about the windows? We¡¯ve turned off the lights, and it¡¯ll be pitch black if we use wood¡­¡± ¡°Well, even with the daily life magic, you still need some windows, and I think if we replace about two-thirds of the windows with wood and reduce the number of windows, it will be a little less surprising.¡± ¡°Well then, let¡¯s do that.¡± I proceeded with the disguise, debating with myself about what to do and what not to do. It took quite a while, but Ness said that it somehow turned out to be a common ship. Except for the size¡­ We headed to Lucca on autopilot. I lifted the blockade only in my room and had a good time with Ness, Shea, and Rimu. ¡°Rimu, I¡¯m sorry. You must be bored because you can¡¯t go outside.¡± ¡°Rimu, having fun.¡± ¡°Really? What¡¯s fun?¡± ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s fun to be with everyone.¡± ¡°I see. So it¡¯s fun to be with everyone, is it?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re having fun.¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy.¡± Good. I didn¡¯t even put him on the deck because people can see him from outside, but he doesn¡¯t seem to be stressed. But we¡¯ll have lots of fun together outside when we go shopping. Arriving at the Fortress¡¯s docking place, I sealed off my room again, and with the ramp and boarding ramp down, I summoned the Galette to return to the Lutto. ¡°Welcome back. Thank you for your hard work.¡± ¡°Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, I¡¯m back. I parked the Fortress in that position, but before I go shopping, please let me know so I can move it.¡± ¡°Yes, when will you be going shopping?¡± ¡°Well, it would be troublesome if a military ship from the empire arrived, so it would be better to leave early.¡± ¡°Then please let me know when you will leave. I will gather everyone together.¡± ¡°Hmm? The Girasole members can wait here. We can do the shopping.¡± ¡°No, if you are going as Mage-sama, the empire must have confirmed your appearance as such. There is no telling what will happen. So we will go with you.¡± Oh, I see. I, in mage form, am an enemy of the empire¡­ Ah, I want to go home. ¡°I understand. But we can¡¯t all go together. We need to connect with the Marquis, and we also need to protect Alessia-san and the other family members in case something happens to the city. Our departure will be after noon tomorrow, so please make your arrangements by then.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Ah, I will issue about 500 tickets for the Fortress, unnamed, for now. If there are not enough, I will issue additional tickets. Please let them know.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Let¡¯s see, no name, no room assignment, only for the Fortress, and the deadline is¡­ for an indefinite period, right? I¡¯ll erase the ticket when they return it. I¡¯ll have to remember to do that. Five hundred tickets, that¡¯s fine. Ticket issued. Five hundred tickets appear with the light. That¡¯s a lot of tickets. ¡°Alessia-san, here are the tickets. Please explain to the Marquis how to use them and give them to him.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°After that, here are 30 tickets for boarding the Fortress and the Galette in case of an emergency. Please evacuate with your family in the event of an emergency.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡± Now that I have done most of what I need to do, I¡¯m going to rest once more. Good night. ~Justin de Lucca¡¯s POV~ I got the information that the Empire was going to attack. I thought it would be an extension of the skirmishes as before, but it seems that the Empire is gathering more troops than usual. However, it should be difficult to overtake Fort Lughorn, which has been blocking the Empire¡¯s invasion for many years. There is some uneasiness as to why they have mobilized so many soldiers now, but the supporting nobles have arrived, and the national army has also gathered. It should be all right. However, it is also true that I feel uncomfortable with the unusual behavior of the Empire. Should I issue instructions to maintain strict vigilance at sea? Fort Lughorn has fallen. At the same time as the unbelievable news, we spotted an imperial warship coming toward Lucca. We immediately take up an intercept position and, at the same time, send a request for reinforcements to the neighboring nobles. The city of Lucca is shifted to a wartime state. Merchant ships and fishing boats are evacuated from Lucca. We gather military vessels and set up a position to prevent them from entering the bay. ¡°Dumun, can we hold off the Imperial Navy?¡± ¡°We are at a great disadvantage. The Imperial Navy has one large magic ship, two medium magic ships, twelve small magic ships, and many other warships. It is impossible for Lucca to fight them off alone, and it is difficult for us to even buy time. ¡°Hmm¡­ the kingdom is in chaos after Fort Lughorn was overtaken. Do you think reinforcements from the Royal Navy will arrive soon?¡± ¡°No, to begin with, there is a Royal Navy base between the Empire and Lucca. The fact that the Imperial Army was able to come to Lucca should lead us to believe that something is going on in the Royal Navy as well.¡± ¡°¡­Well, then there is no chance of victory in a naval battle, is there?¡± ¡°Yes. The difference in strength is too great.¡± ¡°Why doesn¡¯t the Imperial Navy attack? They know the difference in strength, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°The reason is that Lucca¡¯s transition to a wartime regime was much quicker than expected. Even if there are a lot of magic ships, it is not enough to get past the walls of Lucca, which is well-prepared for war. It might have been dangerous if we had surprised them and caused chaos in the port.¡± ¡°Hmm, the fact that we had strengthened our maritime vigilance prevented the worst of the situation¡­ But there is nothing we can do about it if things continue as they are. ¡­Can we gather the soldiers on the port side of the walls, withdraw the ships, and retrieve the soldiers and the magic ship?¡± ¡°Retreat the ships? It is possible to retrieve the soldiers if they can return to the port. However, the retrieval of the magic ship, above all, if we take retreat action, there is a possibility that the Imperial Navy will attack us all at once.¡± ¡°I see; it hurts to lose valuable troops and magic ships in an unwinnable naval battle. Can¡¯t you do something about it?¡± ¡°¡­We shall transfer the soldiers to another ship during the night and empty half of the ships. We bring the empty ships forward, tie them together with ropes, spread oil on them, and prepare to burn them at any time. After that, we can retreat en masse, and if the Imperial Navy moves in, we can go around lighting fires with the small magic boats, which will give us time to retrieve the soldiers, but I don¡¯t know if we can retrieve the magic ships.¡± ¡°If we can¡¯t win a naval battle at this point, then we will retrieve the soldiers at least. Dumun, hold a military meeting to further discuss and execute the current plan.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The situation is bad. It would be encouraging if reinforcements could be gathered, but the best that can be gathered are the nobles in the vicinity. At midnight, the retreat operation was carried out. The Imperial Navy was slow to move, and the soldiers and magic ships were safely recovered. I am concerned about the slow movement of the Imperial Navy. I don¡¯t know what the imperial purpose is. I am also concerned about the royal capital, but there is no way to move there with the presence of the Imperial Navy. As the standoff with the Imperial Navy continued, a few days passed, and only a few reinforcements increased, but nothing changed. It was only after a few more days that change came. A unit on a reconnaissance mission spotted the oncoming Imperial Army. Unable to challenge the Imperial Army with a large force in the field, they opted for a siege. While we could do nothing but cower, the Imperial Army built a position and completely surrounded Lucca. They are probably thinking of a complete military siege, with only skirmishes occurring. We just endure and wait for the situation to improve. Considering the fact that the Imperial Army has chosen to attack with rations to spare, there is no hope for us. I push my anxiety to sleep, but then¡­ ¡°Marquis-sama, Marquis-sama.¡± ¡°Hmm? What happened? Did the Imperial Army attack?¡± ¡°No, someone is fighting the Imperial Navy. According to the report from the soldiers on guard. They have sunk one large magic ship, two medium-sized magic ships, and several small magic ships of the Imperial Navy and are currently sinking Imperial Navy warships one after another.¡± ¡°Really? I¡¯ll be right there.¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t. We do not know what will happen. Please wait here for the next report.¡± ¡°¡­I understand.¡± They sank that big magic ship¡­ A change has occurred in the days that we just keep on enduring. I hope it is a change that will give us hope for the future. The reports of destruction coming in one after another lifted my spirits. The last report was good news that the Imperial Navy was almost destroyed, and several surrendered ships were secured, which made me want to scream. The gatekeeper informed us that Girasole, a party of adventurers from this city, had heard of the crisis in Lucca and had rushed to the city to ask for help from a mage. It seems as if I might be overcome with emotion, but a nobleman should not show his emotions. I feel that this kind of teaching is now severely disturbing me. The mage is going to visit Lucca again in the early morning, but he has no intention of revealing his identity. I ordered to welcome him, but I was opposed to the idea. We can¡¯t just casually welcome a mage who won¡¯t reveal his identity in the middle of a war. It is true, but it is also a problem not to welcome a person who has achieved great things. I agreed to keep a close watch on him and to talk to Girasole first. There was still time before morning. I tried to get some sleep, but I could not. However, I was glad that I could not sleep because of excitement, not depressive insomnia I had been experiencing. I managed to get some sleep, and then the situation changed, so we held a military meeting. On the way in, Girasole, the ones who have done the meritorious work this time, comes in. The mage doesn¡¯t like being monitored, so he waits on the ship. I was afraid that it would upset the mage, but I was told that there would be no problem. After asking a few more questions, we learned some things, but not much about the mage. Apparently, he wanted to hide his identity thoroughly. Even after Girasole left, the military discussions continued. First, we decided to take a ship out of the liberated port and investigate the situation in the Kingdom of Brescia. After the military meeting was over, Girasole came to visit me again while I was in my office, struggling with some documents. I took them to my office and asked them about the situation. They said they would be able to purchase food without any problem. The only problem is that they offer to install a huge ship at the entrance/exit of the bay for 120 platinum coins. Unable to make a decision on my own, I call Dumun. When I tell him what it is, he expresses surprise at the 120 platinum coins. I envy Dumun a little for his honesty in expressing his feelings. Since we can¡¯t expect any help if we stay cooped up like this, we decide to bet on the mage. Girasole also seems to trust the mage. They wouldn¡¯t go to the trouble of risking their lives to deceive us in the face of a crisis in their hometown. With that kind of power, they could have made a lot of money by straightforward methods. The day after we handed over the platinum coins, I received a report that a huge ship was anchored at the entrance to the bay. I couldn¡¯t believe it and went to take a look, only to find a huge ship anchored there, the size of which could be seen from a distance. It was the moment when a light shone on an uncontrollable reality. Volume 5 - CH 16 Chapter 16 ¨C Departure and the Stronghold It¡¯s morning; I take my time with my routine, put on my hood, and head to the living room. Another day of acting begins. It¡¯s getting tedious, but I¡¯ll do my best to be aware of it for the sake of a peaceful life. But acting on my own ship, which I don¡¯t have to show to anyone, is a bit vain, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m thankful for the situation I¡¯m in now because the situations where acting is useful are probably the ones I¡¯m not good at. ¡°Good morning, Alessia-san and Dorothea-san.¡± ¡°¡±Good morning.¡±¡± We discuss our future plans over breakfast. ¡°What are you two going to do after this?¡± ¡°Yes, we are going to show up at our parents¡¯ house after breakfast and talk with the other members to sort out our groups. After that, we will head to the castle to explain about the Fortress and come back.¡± ¡°Well, then, if you decide to follow me, you won¡¯t be able to talk with your family at your leisure. Shall I delay our departure time?¡± ¡°I will stay behind to connect with the Marquis, so that¡¯s fine, but what about Dorothea?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. We can meet face-to-face, and I am sure we will have a chance to see each other after the importation of food.¡± ¡°I see. I understand. Then we will leave when all the members who will follow me have gathered. There is no need to hurry, so please come back slowly.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I sent Alessia-san and Dorothea-san to the port and returned to my original position. ¡°What would you like to do until noon, Master?¡± ¡°I will think carefully about which ship to buy with the 120 platinum coins, and you two are free to do as you please.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Well, if I were to buy one, it would be a ferry. In terms of use, I would say a cargo ship, but the ferry would have more new food menus, manga, snacks, and all sorts of things. ¡­If I stop buying the ferry and save up 120 platinum coins, I¡¯ll be closer to a luxury liner. But I¡¯ve already said I¡¯ll use the ferry to carry food. Let¡¯s just be honest and buy the ferry. I pick up the ferry I¡¯m interested in and compare them carefully. With 20 more platinum coins, I can buy a higher grade ship, which troubles me¡­ If I¡¯m going to buy a ferry, this is the one. The rooms will be royal suites, and the meals will be luxurious with Japanese, Western, and Chinese buffets. And the best part is that the theater room will be bigger and the screen will be many times bigger. The girls, Rimu and Fuu-chan, love movies and dramas, and they will be delighted with the bigger, more impressive screen. ¡°Ness, Shea, Rimu, I¡¯ve decided on the ship I¡¯m going to buy. Do you want to see the screen?¡± ¡°I¡¯d better not. I think it will be more fun to see the real thing first.¡± ¡°I agree with Ness. I was very surprised and enjoyed myself on the Hideaway.¡± ¡°Well, a ferry is a ferry, and although it¡¯s more luxurious, there¡¯s not that much difference. What about Rimu?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take a look.¡± ¡°Then come over here.¡± I held Rimu, who jumped onto me and showed him the screen. ¡°This is the boat I¡¯m going to buy now. Let¡¯s take a look at it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Look, this is the theater room. Now that it¡¯s bigger, you can enjoy watching movies even more.¡± ¡°It¡¯s big.¡± ¡°This is the restaurant. The new restaurant has a lot more dishes, and you can eat many different kinds of food. You should look forward to it.¡± ¡°Rimu will eat a lot!¡± Rimu was very excited to see the new restaurant menu. He bounced around the room. ¡°Master, are there that many new items on the menu?¡± ¡°Yes. Do you want to take a look at it, too, Ness?¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ve held out this long, so I¡¯ll hold out until the end.¡± Both Ness and Shea are interested, and they seem to be curious to see Rimu¡¯s happy figure. ¡°I understand. Just look forward to it.¡± Rimu is happy, too, and I¡¯ve decided on this ship. I summon the savings boat, take out the 120 platinum coins, and put them in the slot. Every time I think about it, I feel a sense of discomfort when I insert a 100 million yen platinum coin into the slot, just as if I were inserting a coin into a vending machine. When I click the ¡°buy¡± button, the 12 billion¡­ The purchase screen has a lot of information on it. But you don¡¯t usually buy an expensive item without even seeing the actual thing. I clicked the buy button to purchase the ferry even though I felt uncomfortable. When I check the ship summons screen, the ferry I purchased is listed, but my level has not increased. 120 platinum gold coins won¡¯t raise my level¡­ I¡¯ll have to buy a luxury liner to get to the next level. Let¡¯s try the summons after we set sail. ¡°Master, you seem disappointed, is something wrong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. I¡¯m just a little disappointed because I bought a ship but didn¡¯t raise the level of summoning ships.¡± ¡°I see. The last time you bought a ferry, it went up, so maybe the next time you buy a luxury liner, it will go up.¡± ¡°Yeah, I think Shea is right, too. If I buy a luxury liner and the level doesn¡¯t go up, I won¡¯t know what to do, will I?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Oh, the Girasole people are back.¡± ¡°All right. Let¡¯s go pick them up.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I brought the Lutto to the harbor to welcome the Girasole. ¡°Mage-sama, we are back.¡± ¡°Welcome back, everyone. Please come to the living room for a cup of tea and proceed with the talk.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°So, Alessia-san, how did it go?¡± ¡°Yes, the Marquis was very pleased with the Fortress. He said he might ask for the number of tickets and the location of the ship after he confirms it. He said he would try to place men and supplies on the Fortress as soon as possible.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad there were no problems. As for the war, there hasn¡¯t been much movement in the Imperial Army.¡± ¡°Yes, I have information from the prisoners of war that they were thinking of starving the city from the beginning because it is a highly valuable trading city. Now that the blockade of the port has been lifted, there is a possibility that the Imperial Army will attack aggressively from now on.¡± ¡°They wanted to reuse Lucca as it is. But now that the food blockade is about to fail, has the possibility increased that the strategy will be changed to a force offensive?¡± ¡°Yes, but they said they had plenty of time in the siege and were well prepared to defend themselves.¡± They were well prepared during the siege, weren¡¯t they? I heard that even just the defenses were solid, and now that there was plenty of time, they added solid preparations to that. The attacking imperial soldiers are going to be miserable. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll go shopping as soon as I can, but I¡¯ll leave one ship, the Galette, behind in case something goes wrong. Take it into the city and use it if you need it.¡± ¡°Is that all right? You would be in a situation where you are constantly summoning two ships, along with the Fortress.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m just going shopping, after all.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Now, we are about to leave. Who will go with us?¡± ¡°Yes, Dorothea, Marina, and Carla will go with you.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯m counting on you.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡± I summon the Galette in the shadow of the Lutto. Well, the ability is going to be revealed by where the ship appeared from, but it¡¯s better than showing it directly. Alessia-san, Ilma-san, and Claretta-san returned to Lucca with the Galette, and we departed for Aarhus. ¡°Mage-sama, are you going to go out to the open sea without heading straight to Aarhus?¡± ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t tell Dorothea-san, did I? I bought a new ship, so I will go out to the open sea, complete the disguise, and then go to Aarhus.¡± ¡°Oh, now that you mention it, you bought a new ship, huh? What kind of ship did you buy?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same ferry as the Fortress. Just a little bigger and more luxurious¡­ Well, you¡¯ll just have to wait and see, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Fufu, I see.¡± Dorothea-san seems to have lost a lot of her nervousness. Even though she was still stiff after confirming Lucca¡¯s safety, she must have been relieved to see her family. Marina-san and Carla-san are also definitely much brighter than when we were headed to Lucca. Family is great, isn¡¯t it? Oh, Rimu and Fuu-chan are doing some kind of pull sumo wrestling thing¡­ that is so relaxing. Out on the open sea, we all go out on deck to board the new ferry. ¡°What shall we do? Can we take a look at the exterior and then summon it again to get on board?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll summon the ship. Ship summoning.¡± A large magic circle appears in front of us, and a ferry is summoned. ¡°Looking at it again, the ferry is very big, isn¡¯t it? This ferry is a little bigger than the Fortress, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡®Yes, well, they are both too big for me, and I can¡¯t really tell the difference in size. Do you understand, Dorothea-san?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t understand it either. It must be hard to compare them when they are so big.¡± ¡°Haha, yes.¡± We will go around the ship on the Lutto. Come to think of it; I should give this ship a name. What kind of name shall I give it? The Fortress is like a fortress, so I¡¯ll name it the Stronghold, which has a similar feel to it. ¡°Everyone, I will name this ship the Stronghold.¡± ¡°Master, what does that mean?¡± ¡°It means like a fort or a stronghold or something like that.¡± ¡°¡­Master, didn¡¯t the Fortress also mean fortress?¡± [T/n: It¡¯s the Japanese thingy phrased with Katakana, Hiragana, or Kanji.] ¡°Yeah, but even if the meanings are similar, we can still recognize them if they are called differently, so it¡¯s okay.¡± I feel like Shea¡¯s eyes are cold, but it¡¯s probably just my imagination. ¡°Then, let¡¯s get on board now. I¡¯ve given you permission to board, so please jump on board when the magic circle appears.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± We jump on the magic circle and move to the entrance hall. ¡°So this is the inside of the Stronghold¡­ it has a different atmosphere from the Fortress, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Marina is right. Is the style itself different?¡± ¡°Yes, it was built in a different era, so there are differences in many places. Let¡¯s explore the place and have dinner at the restaurant.¡± ¡°Mage-sama, is the restaurant different from the one on the Fortress?¡± ¡°Hahaha, Carla-san, the menu is much larger than on the Fortress, so you can look forward to it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Carla-san is feeling better, and her appetite is coming back, which is a good thing. Oh, I¡¯ll have to set the autopilot a little ahead of the distance that a normal magic ship usually travels in roughly four days, and then I¡¯ll just look for the rest by sight. I¡¯ll skip the facilities I didn¡¯t use on the Fortress and focus on the ones I used to use often. At the stores, I look for items I¡¯ve never seen before and immediately purchase anything I¡¯m interested in¡­ The system seems to have been completely figured out. Whoa, there¡¯s butter, soy sauce-flavored popcorn. I like it. I¡¯ll buy some. Rimu brought chocolates that he had never eaten before. I think Rimu is a genius for choosing chocolates that are new to him. After shopping, we went to the game corner¡­ ¡°This is¡­ It¡¯s going to be a big hit with Claretta-san.¡± ¡°She¡¯s definitely going to have a blast.¡± ¡°She will definitely insist on taking all of them.¡± Ness and Shea agreed. There are three ufo catchers set up in the front of the room. I can imagine Claretta-san having a great time. I¡¯d like to play slot machines, pachinko, arcade games, and Tetris later. After visiting the royal suite, I was surprised at the size of the theater room. The screen is so big; I¡¯m looking forward to the movie. ¡°Everyone, would you like to take a bath in the observation bath before dinner?¡± ¡°That sounds great since we were in a hurry to get to Lucca and haven¡¯t soaked in the hot water for quite a while.¡± ¡°Dorothea-san worked very hard. Now we have more time than before when we didn¡¯t know what was going on. You can take a long bath and eat a good meal.¡± ¡°Fufu, that may be so.¡± The Girasole group went into the women¡¯s bath, and Ness, Shea, Rimu, and I went into the men¡¯s bath. ¡°Master, everyone is looking much brighter now.¡± ¡°Yes, I think they¡¯ve calmed down a bit now that they¡¯ve met their families.¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s good.¡± Soaking in the hot water and having a lovey-dovey time after a long time. There was some kind of tense atmosphere on the ship, so we weren¡¯t having any lovey-dovey time at all, so it¡¯s been a lot of fun. We left the bath after having a lot of fun. The Girasole group got out of the bath before us¡­ Maybe we¡¯re having too much fun. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting.¡± They are wearing T-shirts with no bra after a long time; it¡¯s the best. ¡°No, we just got out too. Since you are not wearing your hood right now, I wonder if it¡¯s okay if I call you Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s important to get into the habit, but I¡¯d like to take a bath and have dinner without acting.¡± ¡°Fufu, I guess so.¡± ¡°Have you all had a beer yet?¡± ¡°Eh? Yes, I thought it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to drink at a time like this.¡± ¡°Dorothea-san, the ship is on autopilot right now. It doesn¡¯t make any difference if we drink or not until we reach our destination. A good drink is relaxing. Let¡¯s have a little fun. Marina-san and Carla-san, would you like to join us?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have a drink.¡± We buy a beer from the vending machine and chug it together. ¡°Phew, that¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Delicious.¡± ¡°Well, the next stop is the restaurant. Let¡¯s eat plenty of food and get some strength.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± When we entered the restaurant, I found a lot of Japanese, Western, and Chinese dishes on the table. In terms of food, the Stronghold is better. I was excited by the many dishes. ¡°It¡¯s a buffet here, too, so let¡¯s eat as we like.¡± Everyone scattered around and took the dishes they liked. What should I eat first? First of all, I would like to eat sushi¡­ or meat. I take and eat garlic steak, paella, salad, corn soup, and the same thing for Rimu. I can¡¯t get enough of the garlic chips and steak sauce that covers the meat. The smell is a bit distracting, but I¡¯m okay with that as long as I encourage everyone else to try it. ¡°Rimu, the meat is delicious.¡± ¡°Mmm, I love meat.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s eat a lot.¡± ¡°Eat.¡± ¡°Ines, Felicia, have you found anything you like?¡± ¡°I like tantanmen and gyoza.¡± ¡°I like steak. The omelette was delicious, too.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll try the tantanmen and gyoza. Next time, I¡¯ll have an omelette and a butter roll.¡± ¡°Ufufu, if you eat too much, you won¡¯t be able to move.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. Ines and Felicia should eat a lot too.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Sushi, tantanmen, gyoza, omelets, bacon, butter rolls¡­ I just eat whatever catches my eye. And finally, the steak. ¡°Carla-san, how do you like the buffet on this ship?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very tasty. I¡¯m glad there are so many of them.¡± ¡°Haha, I see. It¡¯s almost time to go, so you might as well have some dessert.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± I think it¡¯s better if Carla-san eats a lot of food. ¡°Have you finished eating already, Marina-san?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m full. Fuu-chan says she has more to eat, though.¡± ¡°Haha, Rimu says he¡¯s going to eat more, too. I envy them.¡± ¡°Fufu, you¡¯re right.¡± I had another steak one last time and¡­ I reached my limit. ¡°Thank you very much for the food. Well, I¡¯m going to rest in my room now. Please feel free to rest in your preferred room. Good night.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Good night.¡±¡±¡± I couldn¡¯t enjoy the royal suite because it was too painful. Let¡¯s enjoy it to the fullest tomorrow. Good night. Volume 5 - CH 17 Chapter 17 ¨C Arrival in Aarhus and High-Speed Jiggle The next morning after enjoying our first buffet after a long time, I finished my routine, put on my hood, and¡­ didn¡¯t decide where we were going to gather in the morning. ¡°Ness, Shea, where do you think everyone will gather?¡± ¡°Well, the custom on the Fortress is the vending machine corner next to the restaurant, so they might gather in front of the restaurant.¡± ¡°I agree with Ness.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to the restaurant then.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± When we arrived at the restaurant, everyone was gathered there as Ness and Shea had expected. Either I¡¯m dull, or these girls are sharp¡­ unfortunately I think it¡¯s the former. ¡°Good morning, everyone.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Good morning.¡±¡±¡± ¡°Would you mind if we have a buffet breakfast? There is another restaurant, and if it¡¯s too tight, I could serve you something ready-made.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to try the breakfast buffet.¡± Carla-san quickly declared. The others seemed to have no problem, so we went into the restaurant. Since I was in the mood for Japanese food this morning, I had salmon fillet, thick-baked egg, miso soup, and pickles. Simple but tasty. For Rimu, I add sausage to the same thing. It¡¯s kind of strange that I¡¯ve been having a proper breakfast more since I came to the other world. Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯ve become more physically active, but I don¡¯t feel strong unless I eat a proper breakfast. Before I came to the other world, I stayed up until midnight and didn¡¯t have breakfast, which was an unhealthy lifestyle when I think about it now. After finishing the Japanese breakfast, I went on to the Western-style menu and ate slowly. If I ate normally, the magic of the buffet would make me eat too much, and I would not be able to move. That¡¯s not a good thing to do in the morning. After finishing breakfast, we sat on the sofa in front of the vending machine and discussed today¡¯s plans over a canned coffee. ¡°We¡¯ll probably be in the vicinity of our destination by this evening if the distance is four days on a regular magic ship. We can continue to search for the town during the night, or we can stay at anchor until morning and search for the town when it gets light. I assume that Dorethea-san and the others have never been to Aarhus before, have they?¡± ¡°Yes, we have never been to Aarhus because we traveled overland. Even in the middle of the night, there will be at least some lights on. I have heard about the general location, but considering the possibility of passing by, it would be better to wait until the morning to look for it for sure.¡± ¡°Well, then, we have little to do until tomorrow morning, so we are free to go. If there is something you want to do, just let me know. By the way, I plan to watch a movie after a light training session.¡± ¡°Rimu also watches.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll watch it with you after training.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The girls are going to watch the movie as well, so we all decided to watch the movie after training. What movie shall we watch¡­? Thanks to the ship connection, maybe we can watch Titanic¡­ We won¡¯t get a scratch even if we hit an iceberg, but still, it¡¯s not a good omen. Maybe we can watch the Pirates of the Caribbean¡­? Comedy is still more acceptable right now, and I can enjoy the music¡­ Or let¡¯s go with Mac and Me. It¡¯s a comedy, and the music is fun. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll enjoy it. After training is over, and we wash our sweat off in the bath, we stock up on snacks and juice and head for the theater room. It is much larger than the Fortress. There is a stage and a piano. I wonder if there is a piano in this world? Though, I can¡¯t play it, and I have a feeling it would be useless. I put the piano aside for later and watched the movie. As expected, the Mac and Me is accepted, and everyone seems to enjoy watching it. The bigger the screen, the more intense and enjoyable it is. We spent the day in movie mode, with meals and breaks in between. In the morning, I completed my routine, put on my hood, and switched my awareness. I headed for the restaurant and met up with Dorothea-san and the others. ¡°Good morning.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Good morning.¡±¡±¡± We are scheduled to arrive in Aarhus today, so let¡¯s try another restaurant¡­ Hmm, let¡¯s call it the cafeteria. When I order from the menu in the cafeteria, which has a breakfast set, a coin slot appears next to the menu. After paying, a magic circle appears on the table, and the breakfast set I ordered comes out¡­ It¡¯s kind of creepy, but¡­ ¡°Dorothea-san, is it possible to eat this?¡± ¡°Even if you say so, I don¡¯t know anything about Mage-sama¡¯s skills.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll just have to try it. I believe in you, Creator God-sama.¡± With trepidation, I tried the salad and found that it was just an ordinary salad. Is this all right? ¡°Mage-sama, is everything alright?¡± ¡°¡­Yes, it tastes normal, and so far, no problem.¡± Well, Creator God-sama said the facilities are available, and it¡¯s okay, but it¡¯s not so subtle that food comes out of the magic circle. Well, it¡¯s too late now when I take food out of the summoned ship. Let¡¯s not worry about it from now on. The girls also ordered and started to eat the breakfast set that came out with trepidation. Let¡¯s talk about our plans for today. ¡°After we leave the ship today, we will continue on in search of Aarhus. There will be ships coming and going, so we¡¯ll probably find out soon enough, but please keep your eyes open.¡± ¡°We¡¯d better go on deck and check, wouldn¡¯t we?¡± Dorothea-san seems to be very enthusiastic. ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s hard to imagine that we will miss the city, so it¡¯s fine to check on deck. It¡¯s more about when we get to Aarhus. The Stronghold would run aground, and we wouldn¡¯t be able to get into the harbor¡­¡± ¡°I heard that a big ship is coming into the harbor, so why don¡¯t we go inside?¡± ¡°It¡¯s twice the size of a large ship, and even in Lucca, it was impossible to get near the harbor. Even in Aarhus, it would be difficult.¡± ¡°I see. We will have to discuss various matters with the Goffredo Trading Company.¡± ¡°Yes, the money they gave us for the food was quite a lot, twenty platinum coins. I guess they want us to buy as much as we can.¡± ¡°Twenty platinum coins worth of food¡­? There are less than 20,000 people living in Lucca, so it must be necessary. I wonder if it is possible to stock such a large quantity.¡± ¡°I guess we¡¯ll have to consult with the store about that as well. Well, it¡¯s hard to tell here, so let¡¯s get going, shall we?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Master, shall we take the Lutto and see what we can find? If we find it and anchor there, Master will know where it is.¡± ¡°That would be great. It would be conspicuous to summon the Lutto after we reach Aarhus, Ness, please?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then I will go with her. When we get to the harbor, I¡¯m going to tell the Goffredo Trading Company about Mage-sama, and then I¡¯m going to deliver the letter to the lord.¡± ¡°Well, it would be better if there were more of you. I¡¯ll have Shea follow me, and Marina-san and Carla-san will go first with the Lutto.¡± ¡°I think it would be strange for Mage-sama to be accompanied by only one follower. I think it would be better to leave Carla as Mage-sama¡¯s escort, me to the lord, Marina to the Goffredo Trading Company, and Ness-san to wait on the Lutto.¡± ¡°Understood, then I will give the letter of the Marquis to Marina-san.¡± ¡°No, it should be Mage-sama who will take care of that. It may contain information about you in the letter.¡± ¡°I-is that so?¡± Oh, since I¡¯m the one who is asked to do it, does it mention me? If it says that a suspicious mage is going to the store, it would be strange if Marina-san came to the store. ¡°I understand. Then, when you are ready, please gather in front of the ramp.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡± ¡°Oh, wait a minute. I¡¯ll renew your ticket first.¡± I issued and handed out tickets for everyone for the Stronghold, and we dispersed to prepare for the trip. Whew, I hadn¡¯t thought about going ahead with the Lutto. It would be a lot easier for me if they went ahead and made the preparations, but I feel bad about leaving it to them. Well, I¡¯m sure they will rely on me where necessary, and I¡¯ll do what I can to make things right. ¡°Ness, you¡¯ll probably have to pay dockage and other fees, so take this with you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I gave her ten silver coins and one gold coin for her. After getting ready, I headed for the ramp and found that everyone was there. Adventurers are quick to prepare, aren¡¯t they? After seeing off the members who had gone ahead of me, I returned to the dining room to discuss over a cup of coffee. ¡°I know where the location is since the Lutto went ahead of us. There is no problem with taking it easy, so you are free to go. I will call you when the Lutto approaches.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Our schedule has changed, and we have some free time¡­ Let¡¯s relax in the massage chair. Checking the three boats that I somehow know where they are¡­ Oh, if the Galette moves, I¡¯ll know something is going on in Lucca. Coincidentally, I was right to leave the Galette behind. If the Galette moves around at high speed, it means they are in the middle of a battle, unless¡­ Alessia-san goes blasting off in the Galette to relieve her stress¡­ I¡¯d like to believe that she wouldn¡¯t do that in the middle of a war. ¡°Wataru.¡± ¡°Hmm? Rimu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± When I opened my eyes, I saw Rimu and Shea. He followed Shea because she was going to eat sweets, but I wondered if they had finished eating. ¡°Rimu wants to shake, too.¡± ¡°¡­Rimu want to sit on the massage chair too?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡­Is it okay to use a massage chair for slime? Does it need a massage before that? ¡°Hmm, I think it¡¯s fine since your level is up, but if it looks dangerous, get out of there right away, okay?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I¡¯m a little nervous, but I¡¯m going to put Rimu on the massage chair. ¡­Shoulders and back are pointless. The vibrations in the bottom area is making Rimu jiggle at high speed like never before. ¡°Ri-Rimu, hey, are you okay? You¡¯re jiggling so fast. Are you feeling sick?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fun.¡± If it¡¯s fun, is it good? I¡¯m anxious, but if it¡¯s fun, it¡¯s hard to stop him¡­ ¡°Master, is Rimu-chan alright?¡± Shea also looks anxious. I know, that high-speed jiggle makes you anxious, doesn¡¯t it? ¡°I¡¯m anxious too, but Rimu says it¡¯s fun. What should I do?¡± ¡°Is he having fun¡­? If he doesn¡¯t feel in any danger¡­ is it okay?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t judge that, can we?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± His level is higher than most adventurers out there, and I shouldn¡¯t be too overprotective, but the slime massage chairs and the situation is too strange for me to worry about. While we were all a bit nervous, Rimu conveyed his happy thoughts to me. As I watched on, the massage chair came to a halt. Whew, it¡¯s finally over. It¡¯s not enough when I¡¯m sitting in the massage chair, but this time it felt much longer. ¡°Is it over?¡± ¡°Yes, time is up, so I guess this is the end.¡± ¡°More.¡± More? I can¡¯t do that. My heart can¡¯t handle the worry. ¡°Hmm, Rimu, I think we¡¯re done this time. It¡¯s your first time, so we¡¯ll see how it goes.¡± ¡°¡­Yeah.¡± I could feel his sad feelings, but Rimu was patient with it. Rimu is a really good boy. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you can put up with this; Rimu is a really great kid.¡± ¡°Great?¡± ¡°Yes, Rimu is a very great kid. Shall we go back to the cafeteria and have a snack?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I¡¯m going to take this opportunity to praise Rimu and distract him with a snack. I feel sorry for Rimu, but I want to prevent him from continuing to jiggle at high speed. We return to the cafeteria and order pancakes for Rimu. Rimu jumps with joy at the pancake that comes out of the magic circle. Rimu¡¯s lack of hesitation is adorable. Carla-san joins us, and we chat in a relaxed manner. ¡°Mage-sama, it¡¯s sad that there is no vending machine corner on this ship.¡± ¡°I agree. I like the vending machine corner too. Well, this ship has a cafeteria for the lack of a vending machine corner, so please enjoy it here. The Fortress will return when the war is over. Shall we have a good time at the vending machine corner then?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± When Carla-san gets less anxious, the reduced interest turns to food, doesn¡¯t it? If I keep supplying her with good food, one day she¡¯ll be my lover¡­ That¡¯s impossible. I can only see herself being crazy about good food. Hmm¡­ The Lutto stopped and hasn¡¯t moved for a while. It looks like they¡¯ve arrived in Aarhus, which is less than an hour away, so let¡¯s get ready to disembark. ¡°Carla-san, the Lutto has docked and is less than an hour away, so please prepare to disembark.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I slowly get the equipment ready and go out on deck to look for the city¡­ I can see a fairly large city on the other side of the Lutto. After passing by the Lutto, we approach the harbor just in time to avoid running aground. I guess we can¡¯t dock next to the harbor after all. It looks like it will be difficult to load supplies because of the distance. I lower the ramp and climb aboard the Lutto as it approaches. ¡°Ness, thanks for your help. Is everything all right?¡± ¡°Yes, no problem. I also let the guards know that a large ship was coming into the harbor, so I think we should be fine.¡± ¡­Informing the guards? ¡­Ah, would there be a commotion if a huge, strange ship suddenly approached? I¡¯m kind of an insensitive protagonist¡­ who has been aware of his own insensitivity a lot lately. In terms of romance, I must be favored by a lot of women, although I am unaware of it. I hope so. Volume 5 - CH 18 Chapter 18 ¨C Negotiations and Measures Against Intruders We enter the port of Aarhus using the Lutto and anchor in the space Ness had secured. A large crowd of onlookers has gathered. Even for a ship of this size, it¡¯s quite conspicuous. It¡¯s scary to imagine what a luxury cruise ship would look like. While attracting a lot of attention, we met up with Marina-san back at the harbor and headed for the Goffredo Trading Company. ¡°Marina-san, did you meet the president of Goffredo Trading Company?¡± ¡°Yes, I did. I told him that Mage-sama was coming, that he should not pry into his affairs, and that he had a letter from the Marquis of Lucca. He said he would wait at the trading company until Mage-sama arrived.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you very much. Will Dorothea-san be joining us at the trading company?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how long it will take, so I don¡¯t know if she will join us at the trading company or at the Lutto.¡± ¡°I understand. We don¡¯t have much time. Shall we negotiate first?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Following Marina-san¡¯s lead, we entered the Goffredo Trading Company. Since the conversation was well understood, we were guided smoothly to the president¡¯s office. I wonder what kind of conversation they had with such a suspicious person. ¡°Welcome to the Goffredo Trading Company. My name is Isarco, and I am president of the Goffredo Trading Company. Pleased to meet you.¡± I wonder what will happen if he finds out that I¡¯m just an F-rank merchant and not a mage¡­ I¡¯ll really try my best not to get caught. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m hiding my identity. Call me Mage or whatever you want. Here is the letter from the Marquis and the payment.¡± ¡°Understood. I will take a look at it.¡± The silence while the president of the trading company reads the letter is awkward. I am not sure if it is all right for me to act in such an arrogant manner. ¡°I have read it. I was worried about Lucca, but I heard that Mage-sama¡¯s help had freed the port. Thank you very much. So, in the letter, it was requested that they stock up on as much food as possible that would last as long as possible for 20 platinum coins. Dorothea-sama said that she would talk to the lord, so there is no problem there, but the quantity is so large that we have to talk to the merchant guild as well. Can you give us some time?¡± ¡°We know we are asking a lot of you. We understand that it will take time to gather food. But considering the situation in Lucca, the sooner, the better. Please hurry as much as you can.¡± ¡°Understood. We will act as quickly as possible. Where should we take the food we have gathered?¡± ¡°We couldn¡¯t get into the port, but we have a large ship anchored a short distance away. I know it will be a hassle, but please take the food you have gathered there by ship.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m just being a jerk, but I¡¯m at my limit with my pompous attitude and all. I can¡¯t wait to go home. While deciding on the details, we finalize the negotiations. The Aarhus Trading Company owns a medium-sized ship, and they are going to pack up our cargo and bring it to Stronghold. After the negotiations, we returned to the Lutto without sightseeing. ¡°Whew, that¡¯s finally over. Was I right to behave like that?¡± ¡°I think Master¡¯s attitude left a good impression. There are some wonderful people, but most of the mages are either magic fanatics or elitist and arrogant and are said to be hard to get along with.¡± ¡°I-I see.¡± Ness, please tell me if you know. ¡­The result of being as pompous as possible is a good impression? How crazy is a mage? The magic fanatic one is like a mad scientist, and the elite one is the kind of guy who looks down on everything and is like he¡¯s the best? I wouldn¡¯t want to get close to either of them. ¡°Well, when I went to tell them, they heard that Mage-sama was coming, and they wanted to ask me about many things to watch out for. I guess they feared that it might backfire on them.¡± ¡°Then, did they think that a somewhat decent mage was coming? Wouldn¡¯t they have detected that I wasn¡¯t a mage?¡± ¡°The letter of the Marquis mentioned that you had liberated the port, so I don¡¯t think there will be any suspicion.¡± ¡°Whew, that¡¯s good to know.¡± If I tried to be a suspicious mage-like person who wears a hood for some reason, making a surprisingly good impression is so far beyond what I had planned. If I was going to act, I should have gathered at least some information about mages. ¡°After this, let¡¯s talk to Dorothea-san when she returns and make plans for the future.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡± I¡¯d like to wholesale pepper since it¡¯s such a new city, but that¡¯s a no-go. I¡¯m having a hard time getting the pepper stock down. ¡°Wataru.¡± Rimu jumped at me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Fuu-chan, vibrating, too.¡± Fuu-chan is vibrating? ¡­Rimu says vibrating; he means massage chair, right? ¡°Rimu, do you want to put Fuu-chan on the massage chair, too?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It seems that it was a lot of fun, and he started proselytizing Fuu-chan. For now, there seems to be no problem, but I¡¯d like to avoid it because I¡¯m worried about how it looks¡­ Fuu-chan also jumped on it and told me, ¡°..Vibrating¡­¡± She seems curious after hearing Rimu¡¯s story. ¡°Well, Marina-san, it seems that Rimu enjoyed the massage chair ride so much that he taught it to Fuu-chan as well. It¡¯s a bit of an unsettling sight, but since she seems to be in good physical condition, do you mind if she rides in it?¡± ¡°There are some words that concern me, but it¡¯s okay when I¡¯m around. If Fuu-chan wants to ride, then please do.¡± ¡°I understand. Then, Rimu, Fuu-chan, when we get back to the big ship, okay? But if Marina-san and I say it¡¯s over, you have to stop immediately. Can you promise?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°¡­I can¡­¡± Rimu and Fuu-chan are bouncing happily. It¡¯s cute, but it doesn¡¯t make me feel at ease when I imagine the scene in the massage chair. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Dorothea-san.¡± ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°Welcome back. Thank you for your hard work.¡± She looks kind of tired. Did something troublesome happen? ¡°Dorothea-san, you look tired. Did something go wrong?¡± ¡°No. If Lucca falls, Aarhus will be affected, so I have been given permission to buy food. They are also willing to help us. But the lord was interested in the mage and the huge ship and asked a lot of questions, so I might be tired because of that.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. The Stronghold is very conspicuous, isn¡¯t it? I apologize.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just grateful for the fact that the ship is used to bring food to Lucca. As for the mage, I said I had a contract with him, so I was able to get things done without any problems.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°No, I stopped by the Goffredo Trading Company on my way back and gave them the word from the lord. I heard that they can start early tomorrow morning to transport the goods that have been gathered by then.¡± ¡°The sooner, the better, and I would appreciate it. I will make about 30 tickets for the cargo transport and give them to you later. Oh, we have to go back to the ship first and disguise where we are going to load the cargo.¡± ¡°Please make the tickets, and I will deliver them later.¡± ¡°You can rest, Dorothea; I¡¯ll deliver them.¡± ¡°Oh, really? Then I¡¯ll ask Marina to deliver the tickets.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, Marina-san, here¡¯s the ticket. I¡¯ll leave the boarding gate open at the left rear of the hull and tell them to load in there.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m off then.¡± I see Marina-san off, and we chat and relax until she returns. ¡°I was surprised that the lord would be willing to assist as well. It¡¯s only four days by magic ship from here to Lucca, so I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they¡¯ve started stockpiling food as a precaution against the empire.¡± ¡°I think they are stockpiling. Even if they were to reduce it, they might have thought that it would be better to give aid to Lucca to repel the empire. As long as the Kingdom of Brescia is holding back the empire, the Kingdom of Thessaloniki will be at peace.¡± ¡°I see. Dorothea-san, is there any possibility that the Kingdom of Thessaloniki will send reinforcements to the Kingdom of Brescia?¡± ¡°I think there is talk of reinforcements, but I don¡¯t know the details.¡± ¡°Well, it would be a lot easier if we could get reinforcements and beat back the imperial army.¡± ¡°It would be nice for us, but I don¡¯t know if the country would be willing to accept such a request so easily.¡± ¡°It would be difficult.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I ended the dark conversation, and as we continued our idle talk, Marina-san returned. ¡°Marina-san, welcome back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m back. They will start loading tomorrow morning. The lord told me that he had asked the other merchant associations to help and that they would finish carrying the 20 platinum coins and the relief supplies from the lord in three days starting tomorrow. So, since ships from other trading companies will also be used, he said he needs 30 more tickets. Can you do that?¡± ¡°I understand; here you go.¡± After receiving the tickets, I saw Marina-san off as she went straight to deliver them. Hmm, I should have issued more tickets from the beginning. After killing time again and Marina-san¡¯s return, we returned to the Stronghold. Before I forget, I disguise the parking lot as wood and block off all but one entrance and exit.¡¡Now that I have this place covered, it will be impenetrable from the inside. ¡°Everyone, I¡¯ve given them tickets, so it¡¯s possible that someone who gets them will try to cause trouble. Well, they can¡¯t kill or injure you, so your personal safety is assured, but please be careful on board.¡± ¡°But it sounds like it would be tricky if they could see the facilities on board. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to disguise everything except for the parking lot?¡± ¡°Should I? Can Dorothea-san infiltrate this ship?¡± ¡°Marina knows more about this than I do. Marina, if you were to infiltrate as a scout, would you be able to do it?¡± ¡°With a ticket, I think it is possible to infiltrate the ship as a scout. With the right tools, I can get up there.¡± ¡°Hmm, it would be troublesome to see the equipment on board. So, until we finish delivering food to Lucca, let¡¯s disguise everything but our rooms. The rooms cannot be used with that ticket. After that, I should also disguise all the doors so that no one can enter from the outside. It will be dark because there will be no windows and no electricity, so we will basically have to use the light magic to get around.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± It¡¯s tedious, but I will disguise the interior of the ship. I can feel Rimu¡¯s feelings on the massage chair. ¡­I know, it can¡¯t be helped, I had promised him. I put a copper coin in the massage chair and put Rimu and Fuu-chan on it. Jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, jiggle¡­ the high-speed jiggling began. No matter how many times I see it, it¡¯s still bad for my heart. ¡°Wa-Wataru-san, is it all right?¡± ¡°Yes, the sight makes me uneasy too, but I hear it¡¯s fun for Rimu.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Marina-san, was it such a shock that you forgot about the Mage-sama setting? She and Dorothea-san watch over Rimu and Fuu-chan anxiously. Finally, the massage chair time is over, and we immediately pick up Rimu and Fuu-chan. ¡°Rimu, are you feeling sick? Are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°I see; that¡¯s good, but if you don¡¯t feel well, you must tell me right away.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Marina-san, what¡¯s Fuu-chan saying?¡± ¡°¡­She enjoyed it very much.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± Does slime find high-speed vibration fun? There are so many mysteries; let¡¯s disguise it quickly. When I disguise the massage chair as a regular chair, I can feel the sadness coming from Rimu. I tell him that I will cancel the disguise when we return to Lucca and convince him of that. After we finish the disguise, we have dinner, have lovey-dovey, and go to sleep. For the next three days, ships loaded with food came and went without pause, bringing in huge quantities of food. Most people were surprised at the size of the ship and the amount of space in the parking lot, but they loaded up well. Only a few suspicious people managed to sneak on board, and they seemed to have given up on the one guarded door early, trying to sneak in with their tools in the middle of the night, just as Marina-san said. There are only 60 tickets, and 10 of them are currently trying to infiltrate. ¡°Dorothea-san, are all the people who are coming to try to infiltrate all from the empire?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say that there aren¡¯t people from the empire, but seeing how easily they are getting tickets, I think they are being sent by the lord of Aarhus.¡± ¡°The lord of this city?¡± ¡°Yes, a mage on a ship like this must be a concern to them. It is very likely that they were sent to gather as much information as possible.¡± Ah, so they want to assist Lucca, but they also want to know information about the dubious mage. I can understand that. ¡°Should I catch them?¡± ¡°No. People in that line of work won¡¯t talk unless they¡¯re tortured, and they probably don¡¯t have any important information themselves. Besides, I have never tortured anyone, and I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth it to catch them.¡± ¡°I see. Then it¡¯s late at night, so let¡¯s take turns watching and resting.¡± In a way, that¡¯s a relief. I¡¯m quite scared if they say, ¡°Do you want to catch him and torture him?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± The intruders climbed to the top, but with walls they couldn¡¯t break and no way to get inside; half of them left when the sun came up, and the other half were still hiding in the shadows. I plan to cancel the ticket I issued this time when we leave, but will the people hiding be okay? Come to think of it; I¡¯ve never seen anyone excluded from the ship because of the boarding rejection. Let¡¯s give it a try with those people. It¡¯s close enough to land that they can swim home, right? The loading of the luggage is over, despite some subtle hassles. Let¡¯s go back to Lucca. Volume 5 - CH 19 Chapter 19 ¨C Confirmation of Boarding Rejection and Imperial Army on the Move? ¡°We¡¯ve finished loading the luggage and have also greeted the president of the trading company. It¡¯s almost night; shall we go back to Lucca with the autopilot?¡± ¡°Mage-sama, I¡¯m certainly glad to get back to Lucca as soon as possible, but what about the intruders still lurking around?¡± ¡°Ah, I will cancel their tickets and reject them before the ship departs. I think it will be fine since we are close to the land. But what do you think, Dorothea-san?¡± ¡°I see. Then I think it will be alright.¡± ¡°Then, let¡¯s go to Lucca after we have removed the intruder. Is that okay?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°This is my first time canceling a ticket, so I¡¯d like to see what happens.¡± ¡°I can tell. Intruders on the rear deck are hard to see, but those on the forward deck are clearly visible from above. The rest are three people hiding between the cargo.¡± ¡°Eh? Are they in the parking lot?¡± ¡°Yes. I apologize for the late report.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. We just finished loading, so there was no time to report.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Ah, right. Marina-san, could you please direct me to the forward deck where I can see the intruder?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Marina-san is a scout, so she knows the location of the intruder, or perhaps she¡¯s very good at it. But she doesn¡¯t look like a good scout when she walks away with Fuu-chan on her head. ¡°You can see them clearly from here. They are in the shadows over there.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, I can see them. It¡¯s those two, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll cancel their tickets.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The girls are watching the intruders with excited faces. They¡¯re totally enjoying themselves. Let¡¯s see, on the menu¡¯s ticket issuance screen¡­ I don¡¯t know which tickets are for those two people¡­ What should I do? I looked at the two people, and the two tickets in the ticket list flashed. ¡­That¡¯s convenient. Let¡¯s cancel them anyway. Hmm? I guess I don¡¯t really need to cancel the tickets; I can just use boarding rejection¡­ But, well, that¡¯s okay. When I erased the tickets they were holding, the boarding permission was cancelled, and their bodies flew into the sea as if something had thrown them overboard. ¡°¡­Would they still be alive?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯re dead since they¡¯re probably training for scout duty.¡± Even if they didn¡¯t think about it, it still is dangerous to be thrown over the top of a ferry. ¡°Oh, they¡¯re both swimming over there. They¡¯re alive.¡± Good. While I understand that I helped in the war and the ship I summoned helped in killing people. If I accidentally killed people without intending to kill them, I would feel guilty, even if they were intruders. ¡°They are thrown off the ship like that, aren¡¯t they? What happens to the people on board?¡± Dorothea-san is analyzing the situation, not caring at all. ¡°Now that you put it that way, what would happen?¡± Should I try it? But it would indeed be awkward if someone died in the experiment. Should I use the speaker to encourage them to leave? ¡°Should I tell the intruder to leave because it looks more dangerous than expected? If they are sent by the lord, it might worsen the relationship if they die.¡± ¡°Is that so? Since they are intruders, I don¡¯t think it matters what happens to them.¡± Dorothea-san, you have a surprisingly scary way of thinking. When I look around in surprise, everyone else has a look on their face like it¡¯s only natural. Is this a cultural difference? Well, for my peace of mind, I¡¯ll announce it at least once. If they still don¡¯t return, I¡¯ll have them go along with the experiment. I can¡¯t be responsible for that much; they deserve it. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll just give them a warning over the speaker. If they don¡¯t leave, I¡¯ll just throw them out. Marina-san, could you keep an eye on the intruder in the parking lot? If they don¡¯t leave, I want to see how they get thrown off the ship.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± I go to the bridge and turn on the microphone. ¡°¡®Er, for those of you who are currently on board without authorization, please note that in 10 minutes, I will be canceling your tickets, and you will be forcibly ejected from the ship. It is dangerous, and I recommend that you leave on your own. Those who are hiding among the cargo, we will leave the boarding gate open for you to leave the ship.¡± ¡°Master, is it necessary to be so concerned about intruders?¡± ¡°There is no need for concern, but it is necessary for my peace of mind. Do you think I¡¯m naive, Ness?¡± ¡°Yes, I think it would have been better to throw them out without question since they would have had to bring back as much information as possible.¡± ¡°Hmm, sure, I told them the ticket could be cancelled, but I think they would have noticed if the ticket was gone?¡± ¡°Not only that, but the other side can see that we are lax in our on-board announcements and in our response to intruders.¡± ¡°Oh, it makes it easier for them to send someone over if they know I¡¯m soft on intruders, huh?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I see. If I¡¯m too lenient, I¡¯ll only increase the danger. I will throw them out without question from now on. It¡¯s not worth it to help the intruder by increasing the danger to yourself. I don¡¯t intend to force myself to become a part of this world, but if my life is at risk, I¡¯ll get used to it as much as possible. I¡¯ll earn enough money to buy a luxury liner, hire a beautiful maid, and sacrifice the lives of intruders in order to live a lewd and debauched life on a luxury liner. ¡°Next time, I will throw them out without question.¡± ¡°Yes, I think you should.¡± We kill time while chatting. It¡¯s been almost ten minutes. I wonder if some of them have left. I headed to the parking lot and met up with Marina-san. ¡°Have the intruders left?¡± ¡°No, they are all still here.¡± ¡°I see. Is there any place I can check?¡± ¡°No, they are lurking in that area, but there are too many obstacles to see them.¡± I looked in the direction where Marina-san pointed, but it was pitch black, and I could not see anything. If I knew the general location, I would have some idea of what would happen if I canceled the ticket. ¡°Then I¡¯ll cancel their tickets.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± This time, instead of designating and canceling the tickets, I erased all 58 remaining tickets of 60 tickets issued this time. As soon as the tickets are erased, the hiding place glows faintly, and the girls go to check it out. What happened? When I talked to Shea, who had returned, she told me that a magic circle had appeared, and the intruder had been sucked into it. ¡°Let¡¯s see, if it¡¯s inside the ship, that means they¡¯re sucked in by the magic circle¡­ Why isn¡¯t it unified?¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°Hmm, where do they come out after being sucked into the magic circle?¡± ¡°Where do they come out?¡± ¡°Eh? ¡­I think they¡¯ll come out, but¡­¡± They will come out, won¡¯t they? It¡¯s too scary to suck in and not come out. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know if I can think about it. Let¡¯s get the restaurant unblocked and have dinner.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I close the boarding gate and go back to the restaurant. ¡°I saw some people swimming over there. If we count the number of swimmers, we might be able to find out what happened to the intruder who was sucked into the magic circle.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that¡¯s right. Marina-san, may I ask you for that?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± While we were having dinner at the restaurant, Marina-san returned and said she saw six swimming intruders. Yeah, it seems that even if they are sucked into the magic circle, they will just be thrown outside. That¡¯s kind of a relief. ¡°I¡¯ve set up an autopilot for Lucca. We will arrive in Lucca the day after tomorrow at midnight. Let me know if there¡¯s any facility you¡¯d like to use.¡± ¡°Master. Please open the bathhouse.¡± ¡°I would like to use the store.¡± ¡°All right. I¡¯ll open the observation deck for Ness and the store for Carla-san. I will open them after dinner.¡± ¡°¡±Thank you.¡±¡± After dinner, I took a leisurely bath and returned to my room. I felt at home with my hood off. ¡°Master, can I ask you a question?¡± ¡°Hmm? Sure.¡± ¡°Defense or escape from Lucca, under the current circumstances, defense would be the choice, right?¡± ¡°Yes, Ines is right. What about it?¡± ¡°If we defend, it¡¯s going to take a lot of time, and there¡¯s no end to it.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t really have an idea. I just let the situation take its course. Do you still think it will take a long time?¡± ¡°Lucca is an important trading city. They will not give up easily, and if the capital falls, they will send more soldiers. If the kingdom of Brescia doesn¡¯t turn the tables, we¡¯ll be on the defensive for a long time. If Lucca has fallen, though, it will be quicker.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. If we don¡¯t get the empire to return to their own country, there¡¯s nothing we can do about it¡­ It¡¯s a hassle. Is there any way to get them to leave?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t think of any. Do you have any idea, Felicia?¡± ¡°It¡¯s tough for the Kingdom of Brescia to go it alone. I think the only way is to endure and wait for reinforcements from the Beast Kingdom or the Kingdom of Thessaloniki.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s going to take some time before we see any results. I knew it was going to be a problem, but I got myself into a lot of trouble.¡± ¡°Ufufu, yes. But you couldn¡¯t say no, could you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right; I couldn¡¯t say no. So, let¡¯s make it worth it, both of you, and work together.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± For the time being, I put off the difficult matters and went to sleep while having some fun with Ines and Felicia. I wish a meteorite would hit the empire. In the morning, I go about my daily routine and enjoy a leisurely time with no plans. I was thinking of taking an afternoon bath and having a drink while lounging around. The Galette, which I had left in the care of Alessia-san and the others, started to move. ¡­Hmm? It¡¯s leaving the port of Lucca and heading north¡­ It could just be running an errand, or it could be a stress reliever¡­ I wonder which one it is. Let¡¯s gather everyone and discuss it anyway. ¡°What¡¯s going on, Mage-sama?¡± ¡°Dorothea-san, the Galette is on the move, leaving Lucca and heading north. It could be that the imperial army has moved. What do you think?¡± ¡°If they moved the Galette, which was supposed to be inside the city gates, they must have had a good reason for doing so. The imperial army may have made a move. There was a naval headquarters of the kingdom in the north, but there were rumors that it might be destroyed by the arrival of the imperial navy in Lucca.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s a possibility. With the full power of Galette No. 2, I think you can arrive there this evening. Dorothea-san, Marina-san, and Carla-san, do you want to go ahead of us? It would be futile if nothing happened, but it would be better than not making it in time if something did happen.¡± ¡°¡­Yes, that¡¯s right. Can we take care of Galette No. 2?¡± ¡°Okay. Please gather at the front of the ramp when you¡¯re ready.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡± I summoned Galette No. 2 and saw off the three who was going ahead of us. We could have gone with them using Galette No. 3, but I didn¡¯t want to bother getting involved in the fight, so I decided not to. ¡°Master, will they be all right?¡± ¡°Well, I think they¡¯ll be fine. The fact that they are on board the Galette means that they are in a naval battle. It¡¯s hard to lose if you¡¯re on the Galette.¡± Ness is worried verbally, but is it my imagination that she looks disappointed that she can¡¯t keep up with the battle? ¡°I suppose it¡¯s true. But then, wouldn¡¯t it be useless to send Dorothea-san and the others as reinforcements? ¡°Yeah, Shea is right, but when they sank the big magic ship in the last battle, everyone attacked it several times, didn¡¯t they? I thought it would be better to have reinforcements just in case.¡± ¡°Because it withstood three attacks from me and all of Girasole. It takes a long time with a small number of people.¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard that large magic ships are rare, but I¡¯m sure the country has a few of them. It would be troublesome if that were put into Lucca. Well, the Galette is just running straight at the moment, so I don¡¯t think they are fighting. I wonder if Dorothea-san and the others will make it in time?¡± It would be a little embarrassing if nothing actually happened. Volume 5 - CH 20 Chapter 20 ¨C Naval Battles and Laser Beam ~Alessia¡¯s POV~ The Imperial Navy is on its way to Lucca again. According to the scouting reports we found, there are two large magic ships, five medium-sized magic ships, small magic ships, galleys, sailboats, and many more. After being released from the sea blockade, Lucca dispatched personnel to various locations to gather information. The earliest ships to return were those headed for the Kingdom¡¯s navy headquarters, located one day to the north of Lucca. As expected, the Kingdom¡¯s navy headquarters had been taken down by the Imperial Navy, and the port seemed to belong to the Empire. After Wataru-san went to stock up on food, we first had trouble getting the Galette into the city. We tied several ropes to the hull and had the soldiers we had called in pull it up to the cart. We then gathered our families and told them to be prepared to escape if we had to and that our families could be targeted because of our prominence and urged them to be cautious. Originally I wanted to hire an escort, but I couldn¡¯t do so in Lucca, which was at war. We could have asked the marquis to help us, but it would have been conspicuous if we were protected by soldiers, and he would not be able to dispatch a skilled man. It would have been more harmful to us, so we decided not to do it. If we had stayed at our parent¡¯s house, we would have had to involve our family, so we are living in a house that the marquis has prepared for us. The marquis is actively deploying weapons and soldiers on the Fortress. There have been sporadic attacks from the imperial army, and skirmishes have occurred, but they have not attacked in earnest. They seem to be shaken by the fact that the navy that had blockaded Lucca has been wiped out. By gaining control of the sea, we were able to draw back the Imperial Army, which had been deployed on the seaside, and the siege of Lucca loosened a little. Just when there was a sense of relief, the news of the Imperial Navy¡¯s discovery arrived. ¡°Alessia, I heard that the Imperial Navy has been discovered. Is that what the marquis is calling you about?¡± ¡°Yes, Ilma, that is correct. Two large magic ships, five medium-sized magic ships, and many others.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot. Are we going to be okay?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. We have to think about going into battle on the Galette.¡± ¡°He left it here in case something happens, so I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have a problem fighting, but I¡¯m worried about Lucca in the meantime.¡± ¡°Whew, Ilma¡¯s right; it¡¯s difficult. Lucca is also ready to intercept, so I think it will be fine, but¡­¡± ¡°Alessia, why don¡¯t we evacuate with the ticket that Mage-sama gave us? We¡¯ll be safe on the Fortress, won¡¯t we?¡± ¡°I know what you want to say, Claretta. However, I don¡¯t think we should use the ticket lightly in a situation where we are not in a tight spot. If someone finds out that we have the tickets, there will be a struggle to get them.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. We have to save it as a last resort.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s best not to use it. In the current situation, I think it would be best to trust Lucca¡¯s protection and face the Imperial Navy on board the Galette.¡± ¡°But we can¡¯t handle the large and medium-sized mage ships on our own.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ you¡¯re right. We have four fewer people than we did the last time we fought them, and it¡¯s going to be tough to sink them.¡± Ilma makes a good point, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to stay cooped up in the city. What am I supposed to do? ¡°I know I said it¡¯s best if we don¡¯t use them, but what if we use our tickets to get a skilled person to come aboard?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Mage-sama gave us the tickets for the evacuation. We shouldn¡¯t use it to reinforce our forces. If the situation was out of our control, I¡¯m sure he¡¯d be convinced, but I¡¯m afraid to show the power of the Galette to a competent person under the current circumstances.¡± ¡°But the way Alessia said it, we can deal with the big ships. After all, the Fortress is going to be used to show its power, so he won¡¯t be offended, will he?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a difference between Mage-sama showing his power with his own consent and us showing it on our own.¡± ¡°Ilma is right. We must never do anything to offend Mage-sama. Let¡¯s think about what we can do on our own.¡± I knew that, Wataru-san didn¡¯t want to stand out. Lucca would not be able to bear it if he were to abandon us in our current situation. He¡¯s not the kind of person who gets angry easily and abandons you. It¡¯s not absolute, so we have to be careful, though. ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°We can sink the small magic ships, sailboats, and galleys, so it would be good if we could check the large and medium-sized magic ships while sinking those, but there are so many of them.¡± ¡°We probably won¡¯t be able to stop them all, will we?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I think Alessia and Ilma are thinking too much about sinking the ship. If we can stall them and hold them off until Mage-sama returns, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll lose the naval battle.¡± ¡°Stalling¡­ yes, we can stall for time. That¡¯s a great idea, Claretta; thank you.¡± ¡°Fufu, you¡¯re welcome.¡± ¡°So, Alessia, did you come up with a way to stall?¡± ¡°Yes, I got an idea. Ilma, Claretta, I need you to decide if it¡¯s possible for us to talk right now.¡± ¡°¡±Okay.¡±¡± ¡°First of all, I don¡¯t think we should wait for the Imperial Navy. Their numbers are too different, and even with the Fortress and the Galette, there is a good chance they will penetrate deeper into the harbor. And if the Imperial Army comes along with it, we¡¯ll be out of options. So we will attack the Imperial Navy coming towards us. The Galette won¡¯t get hit. If we can get into the fleet and scratch them as much as we can, they will be disoriented, and their legs will fall off. If it¡¯s a small mage ship, a galley, or a sailing ship, we can sink it on our own. Especially if we reduce the number of small mage ships, it should be a lot easier when the Imperial Navy arrives in Lucca. What do you think?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I think we can do it. We should ignore the large and medium-sized ships from the beginning and sink the ones that can be sunk. Then the large and medium-sized ships will have to take action to protect themselves.¡± ¡°Well, why don¡¯t we just abandon the ships that are being hit and go ahead with only the large and medium-sized magic ships?¡± ¡°Claretta, that¡¯s not going to happen. Even if we win, we will be punished for it. Even if we were to go ahead, it would be much easier to defend if we could destroy the small magic ships, galleys, and sailboats.¡± ¡°Then are you two sure this is the way to do it? If so, you two should get ready and gather the number of people to carry the Galette. I¡¯ll go talk to the marquis.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I go to the castle and request a meeting with the marquis. I never thought I¡¯d meet the marquis so many times. Is it because of Mage-sama¡¯s backing? The marquis is always willing to give us information and to make things easier for us. I appreciate it, but as an adventurer, I feel suffocated. I¡¯ve been told to ask the marquis for permission to do as much as possible. Well, I guess it¡¯s not what we do that he wants to know, but what Mage-sama does. ¡°Let me guide you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I was guided to the marquis¡¯s office. ¡°We just met at a military meeting a few minutes ago; what can I do for you?¡± ¡°I apologize for taking time out of your busy schedule. I have come up with a way to stall the Imperial Navy, and I have come to ask your permission.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very helpful. Let¡¯s hear what the plan is.¡± ¡°Yes, I thought that the defense on Lucca¡¯s side would be disadvantageous due to a large number of enemy ships. I intend to attack the fleet that is coming toward us with the ship that Mage-sama entrusted to me and stall them.¡± ¡°¡­That seems a reckless plan, but do you think we have a chance?¡± ¡°Yes, I think we have a good chance. But there are too many large and medium-sized mage ships in their fleet. So we will focus on reducing the number of small magic ships.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ it is safe to assume that there is something that you cannot explain to us?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After getting the marquis¡¯ permission, I joined Ilma and Claretta to carry the Galette and bring it down to the surface of the sea. ¡°Whew, let¡¯s get going then.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We travel north at full speed. The opponent has a fleet of ships and is traveling in line with the slower ships. If we can capture them a little further away from Lucca, we can attack them that way. After two hours of sailing at full speed, we found the Imperial fleet. ¡°We¡¯ve found the fleet. Once we¡¯re in, we¡¯ll aim for the small magic ship. After a while, we¡¯ll take off, rest a bit, re-enter, and repeat the process. We¡¯ll sink as many as we can. Is that clear?¡± ¡°Ufufu, we¡¯re all set.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± We¡¯ll run into the imperial fleet at once, lay into the small magic ships, and hit them with our magic. After opening a large hole, we drive the ship toward the next target. The fleet also launches an attack on the Galette. ¡°They¡¯re definitely more aggressive than the last time.¡± ¡°Alessia, of course, it¡¯s daylight. It¡¯s bright and makes us an easy target.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± A thick pillar of light passed behind us as we launched for our next target after drilling a large hole in the fourth small mage ship. ¡°W-what was that? It penetrated through the small mage ship. Is it light magic?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but we don¡¯t have time to think about it, Alessia; go on. Aim for where the ships are grouped, preferably on top of each other.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± ¡°Claretta, the magic was probably shot from one of those big magic ships. Be careful.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡­After running around for a while and sinking seven small magic ships and two sailboats, we leave the area. ¡°Whew, that was exhausting.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired, too.¡± ¡°That light magic, they didn¡¯t shoot at us once after that. I wonder if they couldn¡¯t shoot more than once or if Ilma¡¯s instructions to aim at where the boats overlapped was a good idea?¡± ¡°I wonder. I¡¯ve never seen that kind of magic before, so I can¡¯t judge. What about you, Claretta?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it either. But I think it¡¯s different from ordinary light magic. Maybe it is a unique skill.¡± ¡°I wonder if this ship¡¯s barrier can repel unique skills.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid to try. Alessia, do you want to continue?¡± ¡°I think it will be fine. I heard that it could repel dragon breath. Above all, the unique skills that were given by God are very special.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right; if we turn back, we will have to fight when they arrive in Lucca. Let¡¯s reduce the number here as per the plan. I¡¯m afraid to test if it can be repelled, so let¡¯s try to get as many overlapping ships as possible. As Claretta said, it might be okay, but let¡¯s avoid as much danger as we can. Claretta, pay attention to the large magic boat. Once you get hit, that¡¯s when it¡¯s time to go. Is that clear?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We repeatedly enter the fleet, aiming at places where ships are overlapping or shaded from the large magic ships. We managed to get past the occasional thick column of light, and we sank the ships. ¡°It¡¯s pretty hard. But that light magic wouldn¡¯t shoot at us where the ships overlap, would it?¡± ¡°Yes, Alessia¡¯s right. It¡¯s either a magic problem or a limitation.¡± ¡°We¡¯re getting close to the limit of our magic, too. We¡¯ve sunk most of the small magic ships; should we go back to Lucca?¡± ¡°¡­Well, if it¡¯s not a magic ship, Lucca can handle it, and I want to report back on the light magic. Shall we return?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°But after all that damage, I think the Imperial fleet should turn back.¡± ¡°Yes, we couldn¡¯t touch the large and medium-sized mage ships. Maybe they think it doesn¡¯t matter if they drop Lucca. Well, let¡¯s go back and get as much rest as we can. Ilma and Claretta can both go back to sleep.¡± ¡°Alessia, can you steer the ship so we can sleep?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can since we¡¯re returning at full speed.¡± ¡°Well, we won¡¯t be able to sleep, then.¡± ¡°Fufu, then, we¡¯re going back.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Back in Lucca, we push our tired bodies and bring the Galette into the city. We report that we have sunk most of the smaller magic ships and that we have a special light magic. I tell them the details of the magic, which seems to be well known in the military, and that it is a unique skill called laser beam. It can¡¯t shoot continuously, but it is very powerful, and it was decided to assign a very skilled magician that can use a barrier to the port side of the city. ¡«Alessia¡¯s POV ends¡« ¡°Oh, they¡¯re definitely fighting.¡± ¡°Alessia and the others? Master.¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re stopping, driving fast, meandering, and reversing. What do you think, Shea?¡± ¡°They must be fighting it.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Master, Dorothea-san and the others haven¡¯t arrived yet, have they?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s going to take a while.¡± I pay attention to the Galette while playing with Rimu for a while. ¡°Ah, they are going back to Lucca. They have been fighting for a long time, right? Did they wipe them out?¡± ¡°If it took that long, then there must be some large and medium-sized magic ships. I think it would be tough to annihilate them all.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, that¡¯s right. I wonder if Dorothea-san and the others were glad they didn¡¯t waste their time?¡± ¡°I wonder. Marina might be pleased.¡± ¡°Hahaha. If it was Ness, would you be happy, too?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s a secret, so be it. I¡¯ll ask Marina-san later. We might be busy when we arrive in Lucca, so let¡¯s take a nap, shall we?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Volume 5 - CH 21 Chapter 21 ¨C Pre-War Talks and Jerks ~Alessia¡¯s POV~ Exhausted from fighting the imperial fleet, I took a nap. When I woke up and headed for the living room, I found Dorothea, Marina, and Carla drinking tea. ¡°All three of you are back, huh? Welcome back.¡± ¡°¡±¡±I¡¯m back.¡±¡±¡± ¡°Did you encounter any problems?¡± ¡°Yes, we had a little intruder, but everything else went without a hitch. But you had some trouble yourselves, right, Alessia?¡± ¡°Dorothea, I¡¯m curious about the intruder, too, so you¡¯ll have to tell me later. The imperial fleet is attacking us. We went to attack them to buy time, and we were able to sink most of the small magic ships, but we didn¡¯t have enough power to deal with the large and medium-sized ones.¡± ¡°I see. How close are they coming?¡± ¡°It will be at night, I think. Have you finished bringing in the food?¡± ¡°No, it hasn¡¯t arrived yet. It will probably arrive at night, too. Mage-sama told us that the Galette was on the move, so he sent us ahead. I¡¯m glad it¡¯s not all over.¡± ¡°Oh, Mage-sama knows the position of his ship, doesn¡¯t he? We didn¡¯t have enough men to take on large and medium-sized mage ships. Nevertheless, it was a great help. Thank you for coming.¡± ¡°If you want to thank someone, you should thank Mage-sama. He asked us if we would like to go ahead. We just nodded when he asked that.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be sure to thank him later.¡± ¡°Yes, please. So, Alessia, how are we going to deal with the Imperial Navy?¡± ¡°With Dorothea and the others back, we should be able to take care of the large and medium-sized magic ships. If we go now, I wonder if we can sink all of them?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t do that, Alessia. If we repel them all by ourselves, we will destroy the face of the marquis who is getting ready. As Mage-sama said, it¡¯s not good to be too conspicuous.¡± ¡°Oh, Ilma, I see you¡¯re awake. Good morning.¡± ¡°Yes, good morning. And welcome back, everyone.¡± ¡°¡±¡±I¡¯m back.¡±¡±¡± ¡°So, Ilma, if that fleet reaches Lucca, there will be damage, you know? If we fight, there will be no damage, and I¡¯m sure the marquis will understand that¡­¡± ¡°Even if the marquis understands, what do you think the other vassals will think? Of course, the situation is tough right now, so they won¡¯t complain. But when we get through the war safely, a mere adventurer, albeit of A rank, will take the credit for a too-big handiwork. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s dangerous?¡± ¡°¡­You know, Mage-sama said we¡¯d be dragged down after. All right, let¡¯s fight in cooperation with the marquis and the others. ¡­But what if Mage-sama and the Imperial fleet run into each other? They arrive the same night, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, too¡­ Dorothea, have you heard anything?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re just going in advance; nothing is set in stone. If the imperial fleet is not coming soon, I will go and inform him. Can you tell me more about the situation?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°¡­..Laser beam? So they have someone with a unique skill, huh? I¡¯ll be sure to let him know.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± ¡«Wataru¡¯s POV¡« I wake up from my nap and zone out. ¡°Hmm? Is it Dorothea-san and the others? Galette No. 2 is coming this way.¡± ¡°Had the fight ended? But it¡¯s odd for them to come all the way back when they¡¯re only a few hours away, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I wonder. If there are large and medium-sized magic ships, like Ness said, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s over yet. Well, they¡¯ll be arriving soon, so we¡¯ll know when we hear them. Let¡¯s go meet them on the ramp.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Dorothea-san, Marina-san, and Carla-san returned, so we headed to the cafeteria to talk over a cup of tea. ¡°Two large magic ships, five medium-sized magic ships, and many others. I think it was good that they were able to sink the smaller ships in the first attack. So, Dorothea-san, it looks like the fleet and I will run into each other in Lucca, right?¡± ¡°Yes. It seems that the Stronghold will arrive later. What will you do?¡± ¡°Even if I force myself to hurry, I won¡¯t be able to fight. Have there been any requests to move the Fortress?¡± ¡°No, there was no such request.¡± ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯ll just wait here for a while. Would they be angry if I came into port after the naval battle was over?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there will be any problem. It is natural to carry food safely.¡± ¡°Ah, there is such an excuse. With two ships, the Fortress, and the Galette, you won¡¯t be defeated in a naval battle, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t think that will be a problem. But, I heard that there is someone in the Imperial Navy who uses a unique skill called laser beam.¡± ¡°La-laser beam¡­?¡± It smells like a joke by Creator God-sama. I think he¡¯s going to say that he made it a unique skill because it¡¯s kind of cool. A laser beam, huh? Can I prevent it with boarding rejection? ¡­I was told that the only one who can do something about boarding rejection is God, so I guess it¡¯s okay. ¡°Since Creator God-sama said that only God can prevent the boarding rejection, I think it will be okay even if it is against unique skills.¡± ¡°Is that so? It¡¯s bad for my heart when I hear about Creator God-sama all of a sudden. Is it safe to casually talk about it with us?¡± ¡°Haha, it¡¯s a little late for that. Even Dorothea-san knows a lot of things that I shouldn¡¯t talk about, don¡¯t you? I have already told you most of my secrets. So, don¡¯t worry, and go ahead and fight.¡± Really, most things are known, aren¡¯t they? Ilma-san, for example, even seems to understand my sexual preferences, doesn¡¯t she? ¡°¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡± I saw the three of them off back to Lucca, returned to my room, and took off my hood. ¡°Master, was it okay for you to tell them to go and fight without worry?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a defensive fight. Well, if it¡¯s true, I hope that Lucca¡¯s people can handle it without fighting too much. If they just hide, they will never get it done, so that¡¯s why I asked Girasole to do their best. I¡¯m getting tired of wearing the hood and acting like a fool, after all.¡± ¡°Ufufufu, it¡¯s been less than ten days, and you¡¯re bored already?¡± ¡°It¡¯s only been that long. I¡¯ve been acting as a mage, hoping to get used to it, but it¡¯s so empty that I¡¯m acting when there¡¯s no one else around.¡± ¡°I understand how you feel, Master, but if someone accidentally calls you Wataru-san, it¡¯s quite fatal, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I almost call you Ines and Felicia by accident, too. I know it¡¯s for when I meet people. So I¡¯ll keep up the mage act, but I need to be freed as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Fufu, okay, let¡¯s do our best.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to help.¡± ¡°Thank you, both of you.¡± ¡°Rimu, help.¡± ¡°Rimu is going to help me, too? Thank you.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I patted Rimu and thanked him. The fact that I am so struck by what Rimu says to me on occasion makes me wonder if I¡¯m just like an idiot parent. ¡°Well, now that I¡¯ve taken a nap, I¡¯m going to stay here for a while, so after dinner, you¡¯ll be free to do whatever you want. Let¡¯s take it easy.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ~Wataru¡¯s POV ends~ ¡°Welcome back, all three of you.¡± ¡°¡±¡±I¡¯m back.¡±¡±¡± ¡°Dorothea, did Mage-sama say what he¡¯s going to do?¡± ¡°Yes, he said that he won¡¯t be of any use to us if he goes and that he will wait until the naval battle is over. He also said that laser beams would not be a problem on the ship.¡± ¡°I see. So we can go out to the sea battle on the Galette without any problem?¡± ¡°Yes, no problem. Have you had a chance to talk to Lucca¡¯s army?¡± ¡°Yes, I did. Lucca¡¯s navy will be deployed behind the Fortress, and we will go on the offensive. When the war starts, we will target the large magic ships and then sink them in order of strength. Dorothea, is there anything wrong with that?¡± But Mage-sama is the same as ever, isn¡¯t he? With all the power he has¡­ is it a joke that he is useless in battle? ¡­No, not at all. He doesn¡¯t seem to be good at fighting himself, or is that what all otherworlders are like? But those who are rumored to be heroes, sages, champions, and otherworlders have done great things in battle, haven¡¯t they? Shall we assume that Mage-sama is of that caliber? ¡°Hmm, I wonder how Lucca¡¯s navy will react. Is it okay if we sink only magic ships? Won¡¯t we take all the credit, like I said during the day?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been talking to the navy bigwigs about that. We¡¯ll get the lion¡¯s share of the credit, but if the Lucca navy has a chance, it seems to be all right. They said that if we sank a magic ship, they¡¯d be happy to support us. They seem to understand that large and medium-sized magic ships are too much for them to handle.¡± ¡°Alessia, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to ask them directly.¡± ¡°I understand what Dorothea is saying, but it¡¯s better to ask them so we don¡¯t have to worry about it later. After the war, we won¡¯t have to deal with it.¡± ¡°Hmm, is that what you think? Well, we can¡¯t worry about what¡¯s done, can we? When do we go to sea?¡± ¡°After the navy is finished positioning itself, there¡¯s still time. Let¡¯s have a cup of tea and relax.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The laser beam was my only concern, but if it¡¯s not a problem, I guess I can handle it. Now if we can move to reduce friendly losses as much as possible, the port side of Lucca will be safe. Even if it is the Imperial Navy, if they lose three large magic ships, seven medium-sized magic ships, and over 30 small magic ships in all, their naval power will be greatly reduced. If they can no longer attack carelessly from the sea, at the very least, we can secure at least a retreat route. We must do our best. Just as we were about to depart with high spirits, a soldier came to us with a message. The imperial fleet was going to anchor and spend the night. It would probably arrive in the morning. If an emergency situation arises, they will come back to send a message. I was a little shocked because I had been so enthusiastic. ¡°Everyone, the imperial fleet is supposed to arrive in the morning. Let¡¯s get some rest and prepare for tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± After a good night¡¯s rest and breakfast, I received a report that the imperial fleet had departed for Lucca and set sail, this time brimming with enthusiasm. In the shadow of the Fortress, three small magic ships, 20 magic ships of small boats, six Lucca galleys, two surrendered imperial galleys, and six sailboats were anchored. We approached the small magic ship and called out to the captain. ¡°Captain, how long before the imperial fleet arrives?¡± ¡°According to reports, we should be able to see the enemy in less than an hour.¡± ¡°Then, as per our strategy, we will wait and see at first, and if the enemy approaches, we will target the large magic ship. If the enemy does not approach, we will wait until night.¡± ¡°I¡¯m counting on you.¡± The two ships anchor side by side in the shadow of the Fortress and wait for the imperial fleet. Dorothea came over to us. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Alessia, putting aside the small magic ships and the small magic boats, do you think we¡¯ll be safe with the sailboats and galleys?¡± ¡°Dorothea, do you think I know?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been on the war council. Haven¡¯t you heard anything?¡± ¡°Well, I heard that sailing ships aren¡¯t suited to fighting in tight spaces.¡± ¡°¡­Is that all you¡¯ve heard?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard all sorts of things, but I wasn¡¯t sure. I heard that the direction of the wind is important and that the Imperials would attack with the wind in their favor, so this side would be at a disadvantage.¡± ¡°Then why are they sending out sailing ships? They¡¯re just going to be sunk, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why they¡¯re only coming with the sailing ships they took from the empire. They said something about using them in a reckless way. They¡¯re borrowing small magic boats from the merchant guild for that purpose.¡± ¡°What do you mean by reckless? Why didn¡¯t they just rent a small magic ship? I¡¯m sure Lucca has a trading company that owns one.¡± ¡°I heard that they pull a sailing ship with a couple of small magic boats and crash it into an incoming ship. The small magic boats are supposed to be in charge of pulling and retrieving the soldiers who jumped out of the ship just before the collision.¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s crazy. Is it possible?¡± ¡°Who knows? The head of the navy who was planning the operation was very confident, but the rest were not.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel good about that.¡± ¡°Yes, he tried to mess with Mage-sama¡¯s ship, too. The marquis stopped him, but he gave me a nasty look.¡± I wonder what he will do if he messes with Mage-sama and Mage-sama abandons them. I¡¯m worried that he thinks Mage-sama is weak against women because he¡¯s working with us, but¡­ I¡¯m not sure that is far off the mark. ¡°There will definitely be trouble¡­ Should we ask Mage-sama to evacuate our family?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯d go that far. Lucca will be in great danger if Mage-sama abandons them.¡± ¡°If we win this naval battle against the imperial fleet, the Imperial Army won¡¯t be able to attack Lucca with their ships. Just by listening to you, it sounds like that guy is likely to do something extra when he can afford it. I wonder if he¡¯ll try to use Mage-sama to save the Kingdom of Brescia?¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s for sure. He seemed arrogant and greedy. I don¡¯t want anything to do with him.¡± ¡°Even if we don¡¯t want to get involved, he will come to us. We are the only ones who have any contact with Mage-sama. At first, he¡¯ll probably just invite us over, but if we refuse his invitation, it¡¯s dangerous; he could do some terrible things to us.¡± ¡°¡­Should we seriously consider evacuating our family?¡± ¡°Yes, that would be a good idea. Oh, by the way, what¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°I think he¡¯s called Viscount Jacopo. The leader of the Lucca Navy?¡± ¡°Why is he the leader of the Lucca Navy but not its captain?¡± ¡°The Lucca Navy is small. There is a naval headquarters nearby, and the walls are impressive, so as long as they could defend themselves to a certain extent, they were fine.¡± ¡°If he¡¯s so power-hungry, he must have a lot of grievances in that area, too. Alessia, when you meet with Mage-sama, make sure you ask him to look after our family.¡± ¡°Yes, I will.¡± I¡¯m so occupied with Lucca and my family that I can¡¯t imagine getting involved in a dispute with a nobleman. Volume 5 - CH 22 Chapter 22 ¨C The Beginning of the Naval Battles and the End of the Naval Battles ¡°Dorothea, what were you talking about?¡± ¡°About Viscount Jacopo¡­ and how he didn¡¯t come to borrow a small magic ship. Was that it?¡± ¡°Yes, you were right¡­ shall we continue talking about Viscount Jacopo?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to have any more worries before the war. Let¡¯s think about Viscount Jacopo later. Does Alessia want to continue?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to continue. I heard that merchant ships were evacuated when they heard that the imperial navy was going to attack, so the small magic ships haven¡¯t come back, have they? The first imperial fleet that attacked also had large and medium-sized magic ships, and I heard that the Marquis-sama pulled the ships out because they didn¡¯t stand a chance in a naval battle. I guess a few more small magic ships from the merchant fleet wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance against them.¡± ¡°I see. If we can get through this war, the marquis will be appreciated by the merchant guild.¡± ¡°Yes, it seems that the naval headquarters of the kingdom is occupied, and defending Lucca is quite an achievement. On top of that, the merchants owe him a debt of gratitude for letting them go. It¡¯s definitely going to bring him a lot of prestige.¡± ¡°Well, it won¡¯t matter if the Kingdom of Brescia is destroyed.¡± ¡°Dorothea, don¡¯t say such ominous things.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But, Alessia, you should think about it. With the help of Mage-sama, Lucca will be fine. But the whole Kingdom of Brescia is in danger. If the Kingdom of Brescia falls, Lucca alone will eventually reach its limits.¡± ¡°I agree. But Dorothea said you don¡¯t want to worry before the war. What are you going to do about it?¡± ¡°I know; I¡¯m sorry.¡± We waited for the imperial fleet while having a casual conversation for a change. A little later than expected, the Imperial fleet came into view. ¡°They¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going back to Galette No. 2.¡± Now, will the imperial fleet attack us soon? The presence of the Fortress must be known, and they must be prepared for it. We have to be careful. ¡°¡­They¡¯re not going to attack us yet. Alessia, the food hasn¡¯t been brought in yet. Could they want to starve us out?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem likely. It would be a waste to have two large magic ships and five medium-sized magic ships nailed to Lucca. And there is also a unique skill user. They will want to drop Lucca as soon as possible and head for another battlefield.¡± ¡°Well, then, we can¡¯t afford to get distracted¡­ It¡¯s exhausting to wait around for so long, so let¡¯s take turns keeping watch.¡± ¡°Ilma was right; let¡¯s take turns taking a break so all three of us don¡¯t tire ourselves out.¡± While we were resting and watching the situation, a message came from a small magic boat. The winds were going to be in the imperial navy¡¯s favor in the afternoon, and if they were going to come, it would most likely be at that time. As the afternoon came, the wind began to blow in favor of the imperial fleet, and the imperial fleet began to close the distance. ¡°It¡¯s about to begin. The target will be the large magic ships. Is that clear?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± The imperial fleet is gradually closing the distance with the large magic ship in the lead. In a short time, the first move came from the imperial fleet, which hit the Fortress with the unique skill laser beam. A cheer goes up on the imperial side. Mage-sama says it shouldn¡¯t work, so there should be no problem. ¡°Our target is the large magic ship that fired the laser beam. Let¡¯s go.¡± Without even checking the results, the two Galette ships rapidly approached the large magic ship, and with the right timing, we all concentrated our all-out attacks on the ship. Attacks flew in on us as well, but we ignored them and continued to attack at the right time. Perhaps the opponent¡¯s barrier magician was skilled, or perhaps the absence of Shea weakened our power, but it was only on our fifth all-out attack that the hull of the ship was damaged. With a bit of impatience, the sixth all-out attack made a large hole in the large magic ship, and the seventh attack was the final blow. The seawater poured in through the large hole that had widened even further. It would not last much longer. ¡°Finally, let¡¯s go to the next large magic ship.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The next large mage ship is laid up next to the large magic ship that we destroyed, and we strike again with all our might. The imperial fleet also sends in a barrage of attacks, but all of them are repelled by the boarding rejection. It¡¯s beyond amazing and feels unfair that we don¡¯t even feel the impact after being hit by such a large number of attacks. As for the attack, rather than a direct hit, the aftermath of the ship shaking in the sea is more troublesome. After drilling a large hole in the second large magic ship, I calmly looked around and saw that the war zone was very close to the Fortress. The medium-sized magic ship is concentrating its attacks on the Fortress, but it hasn¡¯t even a scratch on it; it¡¯s really unfair. Conversely, from the Fortress, they are concentrating their ballistas, bows, and magic on one medium-sized magic ship and sinking it. However, the imperial sailing ships and galleys have turned alongside the Fortress and are in a battle with the Lucca Navy. If we don¡¯t hurry, there¡¯s going to be extra casualties. ¡°Let¡¯s move on.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± The Fortress sinks two medium-sized magic ships, and we sink three medium-sized magic ships and then turn to support the Lucca Navy. ¡°Hey Alessia, do you think sailing ships¡¯ ramming attacks are effective?¡± ¡°¡­Ilma, you don¡¯t have to ask; you know it when you see it, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I thought my eyesight had gone bad.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, your eyes are fine. They¡¯re either sunk hard or avoided. I¡¯d like to think it¡¯s not entirely in vain since we¡¯ve been able to scrape and change course. But it would have been many times more useful to rope them in and set them on fire, as we did in the last battle. But then again, maybe it¡¯s a good thing the sailboats are reusable?¡± ¡°Alessia, Ilma, stop being sarcastic, and let us follow up on this.¡± ¡°Claretta is right. Let¡¯s go help the victims of the navy captain¡¯s stupid plan.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We will work with the Lucca navy to encourage them to surrender, and if they refuse, we will sink them. The Imperial soldiers who escaped from the ship and were swimming were also captured, ending with an overwhelming victory for the Lucca side. Dorothea and the others went to report to Mage-sama that the naval battle was over, and we went to report to the marquis. ¡°Everyone, thank you very much for your hard work. In this naval battle, the Empire lost many magic ships. They cannot afford to send any more ships to Lucca. It is safe to say that the safety of our seaside has been secured. The rest is up to the Imperial Army on land. The situation will continue to be tough, but I¡¯m counting on you.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes, sir.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°The reports are coming in. Girasole has done a great job. Commander Dumun did a good job leading his men and did a great job sinking two medium-sized magic ships.¡± ¡°¡±Thank you very much.¡±¡± ¡°Girasole, I hear you do not want a title or land as a reward.¡± ¡°Yes, we are adventurers, and as such, we have limited control over titles and lands.¡± Above all, most of our achievements are due to Mage-sama. If I push there, Mage-sama won¡¯t like it, so I won¡¯t push it. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll think of a reward.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Viscount Jacopo is giving me a terrible look. ¡­When I meet Mage-sama, I¡¯m going to have to seriously ask him to take care of our family. But the fact that Viscount Jacopo is not the topic of conversation here is his own fault. At least don¡¯t direct your resentment toward me here, but¡­ ¡°Now, Commander Jacopo, you are under house arrest. Punishment will be announced at a later date.¡± ¡°Oh, wait a minute, sir. The failure of this operation is due to the fact that my men did not act according to my plan.¡± ¡°Well, it was you who pushed through with this reckless plan, even though everyone around you tried to stop you. What did you say at that time? You said that your men would be able to damage the Imperial Navy without difficulty?¡± ¡°T-that is¡­¡± Eh? Why am I being stared at here? I don¡¯t care anymore. ¡°Ma-Marquis-sama, please wait. I have a plan to reverse this blunder. I would like you to hear it.¡± ¡°¡­Hmm, speak.¡± ¡°Yes, Girasole¡¯s success is mostly due to the power of the mage¡¯s ship. The reason why he refuses to come out on the stage but lends Girasole his power is because he is a womanizer. We should order Girasole to take the mage under our wing. Hey, Girasole, you are at least prepared to give yourself up to protect Lucca, your hometown. You must seduce him, make him reveal his identity, and bring him here. If he is short of women, tell him I will provide them for him.¡± ¡°Enough. Seize him and put him in prison.¡± ¡°Wha? Wait, Marquis-sama. If we have the mage in our hands, Lucca will¡­¡± The soldiers took him away as he shouted¡­ Is this one problem solved? ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but he will be well punished. Tell the mage I apologize for his behavior¡±. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± I¡¯m glad he¡¯s in jail for the time being, even though he said some unpleasant things. ¡«Alessia¡¯s POV ends¡« ¡°Hmm? Has a war started? It¡¯s been a long time since they went to the side of the Fortress, but it¡¯s starting to move violently.¡± ¡°Is it started? Are they all right?¡± ¡°I think they¡¯ll be fine. Is there something you¡¯re worried about, Shea?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m just worried.¡± ¡°Oh, well, of course. Nobody knows what will happen. But unless something really bad happens, I¡¯m sure everyone will be fine, so I think we just need to be supportive.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I¡¯m a little nervous, too, even though I¡¯m pretending to be comfortable about it. Especially the laser beam¡­ I will trust in Creator God -sama. Hahaha, sorry, I¡¯m not completely comfortable with that one because of the possibility of being called an exception or something like that. ¡°Both Master and Shea have dark expressions on their faces. Master¡¯s ship has great performance, so you should have confidence in it.¡± ¡°Yes, I know. Worrying won¡¯t do us any good, so let¡¯s have lunch.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We ate lunch and had a leisurely cup of tea. The Galette stopped, and Galette No. 2 started to run toward us. ¡°It looks like it¡¯s over. Galette No. 2 is heading this way.¡± ¡°It took longer than I thought. Was it about two hours?¡± ¡°That¡¯s about right. I guess we had to help them after the war. Shall we send the Stronghold toward Lucca as well?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We will sail to Lucca and meet up with Dorothea-san and the others on the way. ¡°I see that the ship bounced back the laser beam with no problems and won the naval battle. Were there any injuries among the Girasole?¡± ¡°Yes. No one was injured.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. So, Dorothea-san, are you going to Lucca with us?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I think I¡¯ll go to Lucca first and get ready to receive you. There are plenty of supplies, after all.¡± ¡°Right. I will issue the tickets, and you can take them with you. After that, we¡¯ll anchor as close to Lucca as we can.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Let¡¯s see; tickets would be troublesome if an intruder came in like the last time. Can I do something like a limit only in the parking lot? ¡­Oh, I can do that; that¡¯s a unique skill for you. Limited to parking lots only, and the expiration date, four days, including today, should be enough. Are 50 tickets enough? ¡°Here¡¯s the ticket. The expiration date is limited to four days only. Please let them know that they can only enter the parking lot.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯m off.¡± I saw Dorothea-san off and returned to the cafeteria. ¡°Marina-san, Carla-san, you must be tired. Would you like to take a bath?¡± ¡°¡­No, we¡¯ll all come together. Can we ask you at that time?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± We arrived in Lucca after a leisurely cup of coffee while watching Rimu and Fuu-chan play with each other. I brought the Stronghold to the harbor just before running aground. After lowering the boarding ramp and the ramp, we waited for a while, and then the two Galette ships and the boats anchored in the harbor came together one after another. We asked all the remaining members of the Girasole to come up to the cafeteria for a chat. ¡°Sorry, Girasole, but could you please arrange the unloading of the cargo by yourselves?¡¡If I go down there, they might talk to me about something else.¡± ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll take care of everything.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± After this naval battle, the possibility of being targeted from the seaside seems to have decreased considerably, so we can take it easy for the time being. In fact, I feel like I was relaxing on the ship, but let¡¯s pretend that I did my best. Volume 5 - CH 23 Chapter 23 ¨C Staff Appointment and Royal Flag I leave Girasole in charge of supervising the cargo transport and relax over a cup of coffee in the cafeteria. ¡°Whew, I heard that the problems on the sea side are mostly taken care of, but what about the Imperial Army that is besieging Lucca on land?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything we can do about it. There are walls, so they can defend themselves, but I don¡¯t think they have the troops to attack and win.¡± Shea nodded in agreement with Ness¡¯ opinion. ¡°I think that¡¯s true. For the time being, I will be stuck with Lucca; I hope I don¡¯t have to act¡­¡± ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped. I think they will ask us to buy food again, so why don¡¯t we enjoy relaxing on the Hideaway at that time?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Let¡¯s take a dip in the Jacuzzi on the Hideaway, just as Shea said.¡± The Hideaway is becoming less and less popular, but it is a precious ship where I can take a bath with the Girasole. I¡¯ll have to find an opportunity to take advantage of it. I¡¯m feeling a little better. Oh, Girasole is back. ¡°Thank you all for your hard work. Did you have any problems unloading?¡± ¡°Yes, it was getting dark, so we finished up today. I¡¯ve asked them to start early tomorrow morning. Is that all right?¡± ¡°Yes, we will stay here for the time being. I will leave everything to you, Alessia-san, and thank you for your cooperation.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Everyone must be tired, so please take a bath, and then let¡¯s have dinner at the restaurant. The food on this ship is delicious.¡± ¡°Fufu, I¡¯m really looking forward to it. Then we will have a bath.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Mage-sama, does this ship have a ufo catcher?¡± ¡°Yes, there is. Please come and see it later, Claretta-san.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Claretta-san looks excited. She is going to check it now. ¡°Claretta, it¡¯s time for a bath and dinner now. After that, we¡¯ll take a tour of the ship. Are you okay if we take a tour of the ship, Mage-sama?¡± ¡°Yes, you are free to do as you, please. There are some differences between this ship and the Fortress.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± After a leisurely soak in the bath, we headed for the restaurant. It¡¯s hard to avert my eyes from Girasole, who comes out in a T-shirt no matter how long it takes. The dinner menu has more dishes that we have never eaten before, and everyone is very excited. Even the members who had already eaten at the restaurant seemed to be enjoying themselves. After dinner, I took Claretta-san for a walk and led her to the game corner, where she jumped up and down in front of three ufo catchers. She was so happy to see them. ¡°There are three machines, Wataru-san. There are many stuffed toys that I don¡¯t have.¡± ¡°Claretta-san, just in case, when I wear the hood, please call me mage.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry, Mage-sama.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s okay; it¡¯s just time for you to get used to it. But please be careful not to call me by my name in public.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, shall we get the stuffed toys?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Which one do you want first?¡± ¡°I want them all, so I¡¯ll start with the one on the far left.¡± After all, she¡¯s going to get them all, isn¡¯t she? I¡¯m all for it because it¡¯s a great sight to see, but come to think of it, the previous stuffed toys are still on the Fortress. Well, it¡¯s okay because it¡¯s sealed off. She puts the copper coins in front of the three ufo catchers with great enthusiasm. Carla-san, who was by her side, supports the depth without needing to be told. They¡¯ve established a combination, haven¡¯t they? Bending forward, I imprint in my mind the happy scene of the tumbling and swaying. She intends to really take it all and comes back with a large amount of copper coins for the first exchange. She exchanged two silver coins at once. Perhaps it was because she had tried her best to play the ufo catcher game so many times, but it took her a long time to get all the stuffed toys, and she was very happy to get them. It looks like she¡¯ll eventually reach the level of the expert in the ufo catcher game that was on the TV show. ¡°I got them all, Mage-sama!¡± She had a dazzling smile on her face. ¡°Congratulations. The Fortress¡¯ room is sealed off, so you can leave them in Stronghold¡¯s room.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I was going to put them together, but I¡¯ll save it for the next time. Thank you, Mage-sama.¡± ¡°No problem. We¡¯re going back to our rooms now. Good night.¡± ¡°¡±Good night.¡±¡± After parting with Claretta-san and Carla-san, who were happy to hold a large number of stuffed toys, I went back to my room and took off my hood. ¡°Ufufu, after all, Claretta-san was overjoyed, wasn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Well, I knew it was going to happen. Ines and Felicia both knew what to expect, didn¡¯t they?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± While I was playing with Rimu in my room, there was a knock at the door. Who could it be? ¡°Oh, Marina-san, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°There are people trying to break into this ship, Wataru-san. What should we do?¡± ¡°Hmm, intruders, this time the ticket doesn¡¯t allow entry except into the parking lot, so there should be nothing they can do¡­ Where are they?¡± ¡°Six people swam up to the ship and are trying to attach a tool to the ship.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s probably all right, but let¡¯s just see what¡¯s going on. Can you show us the way?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I put on the hood and followed behind Marina-san. I¡¯ve thought about it many times, but she doesn¡¯t look like a terrific adventurer with Fuu-chan on her head. I guess I don¡¯t look like a skilled merchant with Rimu on my head, either. I¡¯m not a great merchant, to begin with. ¡°You can see them from here, Mage-sama.¡± When I looked in the direction Marina-san was pointing, I saw that they were trying to attach something like a tool to the hull of the ship. I guess that is the tool that Marina-san told me about before, to climb up. ¡°After all, they can¡¯t touch the ship, can they? Marina-san, can you tell from here where they are scouting from?¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t. Shall I go get them?¡± ¡°Hmm, it will be hard to get them to give up information, so let¡¯s just leave them alone.¡± ¡°Is that all right?¡± Oh¡­ but maybe if we catch them at a time like this, they could turn out to be a very beautiful woman. I don¡¯t mean to do anything just because I caught them, but¡­ should I catch them? ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s catch them after all. I¡¯ll give them permission to come aboard, and you can catch them as they come up, one at a time; that shouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll call the others just to be on the safe side, but I don¡¯t think that will be a problem.¡± ¡°Uh, Master, you can¡¯t kill or injure anyone on board, can you?¡± ¡°Shea, I have a solution. I¡¯ve been thinking about it for a while but haven¡¯t had a chance to try it. Let¡¯s give it a try. Marina-san, could you gather everyone else? Oh, and please bring some equipment, too.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Ness and Shea, go and put on your equipment, too. I¡¯ll keep an eye on them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll put up a barrier for you, but wouldn¡¯t it be better for you to wear armor, too, just in case?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be hiding on board when we seize them.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± In less than 10 minutes, everyone had gathered. They¡¯re as fast as ever, aren¡¯t they? ¡°Then, I will appoint you all as staff members to guard the ship. This should help you catch the enemy on board.¡± ¡°Staff appointment? I don¡¯t understand. Will we be able to fight?¡± ¡°Yes, you will be. May I appoint you as a staff member?¡± I said confidently that I had a solution, but I realized after Alessia-san¡¯s words that I didn¡¯t know what I was talking about either. ¡­I wondered if it would be okay. ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll make the appointment.¡± I selected the staff appointment from the menu, and the names of the people on board came up. I selected a security guard and decided. Is this okay? As soon as the decision was made, a magic circle appeared in front of everyone and sucked into their foreheads. ¡°Kya, what¡­ what is this? I can see what¡¯s going on inside the ship. Security procedures?¡¡The patrol route? Oh, so that¡¯s what this is about.¡± ¡°Alessia-san, did you find anything?¡± ¡°Yes, Mage-sama. I was surprised because of the sudden increase in the knowledge I didn¡¯t know, but it seems that I have more knowledge about security. For combat, it seems that only the act of capturing is possible. However, it seems that the opponent can also counterattack when seized.¡± Eh? Does that mean that knowledge was installed in her head by that magic circle? It¡¯s kind of dangerous¡­ and scary, so let¡¯s not use it unless it¡¯s absolutely necessary. ¡°Is it possible to be attacked by the other party? Then it is safer not to be a guard unless you have to capture them?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Security guards are treated as an exception on board where they are not allowed to engage in combat, so they are not protected.¡± I thought the guards would be well protected. Then I guess there is no need to take risks. It¡¯s not like they¡¯re going to catch a beautiful woman. ¡°Hmm¡­ Well, let¡¯s not capture them, then. I don¡¯t feel the need to risk a counterattack to catch them.¡± ¡°Master, if we can limit them to one person, I think we should give it a try. If I put a barrier in all of them, it will increase safety, and above all, it is 8 to 1. By trying it now, you won¡¯t have to rush in case of an emergency.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t imagine what an emergency would be like, but should I give it a try? I know it¡¯s dangerous for everyone, but could you please help me?¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± I decided to give it a try anyway and asked Shea to put up a barrier. The intruder, who is still struggling without giving up, is given permission to come aboard. They are suspicious and wary that they can suddenly touch the ship. If they know we are watching them, they won¡¯t come up, so we¡¯ll stay hidden. After a few moments, the intruder, who had come up with caution, was easily beaten by Marina-san and fainted. Does the act of capture include a hard blow to the back of the head with the handle of a knife? Isn¡¯t he dead? At any rate, we tied him up and gagged him. When we took off his mask, he was an old man. It fades away. We went on to the next place, and when we caught three of them, the rest of them stopped coming up, probably because they had noticed us. They didn¡¯t seem to be communicating with each other, though? The three we caught were all men. I wanted to ask if the other three were women, but as you can imagine, I couldn¡¯t ask. I was very curious, though. ¡°Mage-sama, they are still not talking. Would you like to torture them? We¡¯ve never done it before either.¡± ¡°No, Alessia-san, it¡¯s enough that we caught him. After that, we can hand them over to Lucca.¡± ¡°But, Mage-sama, it is possible that Lucca sent them to us, right?¡± ¡°That may be so, but if an amateur tortures them, it is likely to be deceived, and if they were sent from Lucca¡¯s side, I would give up. Can you hand them over tomorrow morning?¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°I¡¯m counting on you.¡± I¡¯m sorry I put everyone through all this trouble because of my own stupid desires. But a female spy¡­ is something to be admired, isn¡¯t it? I returned to my room disappointed. After some light fun, I went to sleep. Good night. It¡¯s been a few days since we captured the intruder. When we were bringing the cargo into Lucca, the imperial army interfered, but they were attacked all at once from the city walls and ships and retreated after sustaining heavy damage. The intruders were apparently from the imperial side and were being investigated in various ways. After handing over the intruder, I relieved the guard appointment. They said they vaguely remembered the job description, but it seemed to be fuzzy. It¡¯s a scary ability, isn¡¯t it? And the marquis gave me five platinum coins for carrying the cargo and ten platinum coins offered to Girasole, for a total of 15 platinum coins. With five platinum coins just for carrying the cargo, I made a fortune. The Imperial Army, perhaps shocked by the annihilation of their navy, did not make any major moves. I stayed on the Stronghold, had a lovey-dovey time, watched movies, and was pretty happy if it weren¡¯t for the hood and the acting. While I was leading a self-indulgent life, thinking that it would be fine if things stayed as they were, a medium-sized magic ship and two small magic ships arrived in port in Lucca. Alessia-san said that they were carrying the flag of the royal family of the Kingdom of Brescia¡­ It¡¯s going to be a hassle. Funds on hand: 62 gold coins, 87 silver coins, 66 copper coins. Guild account: 33 platinum coins, 70 gold coins. Savings ship: 75 platinum coins. Pepper ship: 485 ships. Volume 5 - CH 24 Chapter 24 ¨C Idle Talk: The Creator God¡¯s High Laughter and Barletta¡¯s Story ¡°Fufufufufufufu.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter? It¡¯s been quite a while since you lost your mind before. I need you to be a little saner.¡± ¡°I am sane. Isn¡¯t it the God of Light who broke me before? I¡¯ve had a hard time since then. Before I knew it, I found myself repeating to myself why I shouldn¡¯t interfere in the lower realms, and I was scared.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t just say I see to me that lightly, God of Light. You almost destroyed the Creator God. Don¡¯t you feel guilty or something?¡± ¡°Do you think there is?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I said, and I said it clearly, you almost destroyed the Creator God, and you said it clearly that you don¡¯t feel guilty about it.¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d be cured. I was hoping that the brokenness would heal you a little better¡­ Right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s unreasonable to think that all these selfish gods are getting me into trouble when I¡¯m properly doing the Creator God¡¯s work.¡± ¡°Is that so? It is not good that there is a difference of opinion between the Creator God and the other gods. Shall we conduct a survey after all?¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not free either, you know. Rather than that, go and call the God of War, the God of Magic, and the God of Entertainment. I¡¯ll make them apologize this time.¡± ¡°Again? The Gods of War and the others are already tired of it. They don¡¯t like a boss who can¡¯t read the air.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of being bored or not being able to read the air. I¡¯m trying to make them realize that there is no mistake in what the Creator God is doing and how foolish they are for making fun of the skills I have given away.¡± ¡°Sigh, I understand. I¡¯ll go get them.¡± ¡°Yeah, hurry up.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°So that¡¯s why you are here?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why I came here.¡± ¡°Huh. I guess he¡¯s a persistent one, huh?¡± ¡°Yeah, I think he¡¯s very persistent.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pain in the ass, but it¡¯ll be even worse if I don¡¯t go¡­ Good grief.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, can it? It¡¯s too much trouble to be called on endlessly. I¡¯ll go call the God of Magic and the others, too.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Hahahaha, good, you have come, you fools who have challenged the Creator God.¡± ¡°¡­Now that I¡¯m here, can I go now?¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t, because now¡¯s a good time.¡± ¡°All right, enough of this shit; let¡¯s get on with it.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped that the mood is bad. Well, I¡¯m sure you guys know that, but it¡¯s time for you to get down on your knees. Put your heads on the ground and say, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Creator God,¡± do you understand?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°God of Light, couldn¡¯t you fix the head of the Creator God?¡± ¡°God of Entertainment, it¡¯s terrible in the first place. It doesn¡¯t make any difference either way, so don¡¯t make the God of Light say sad things.¡± ¡°¡­Yeah, I get it. God of Magic is right. Sorry, God of Light.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I can¡¯t tell if he¡¯s cured or not, either.¡± ¡°Well, what the heck, it¡¯s more hopeful that he¡¯s not cured. Let¡¯s pretend he is not cured.¡± ¡°I agree with the God of War. God of light, when he is cured, he should be a little saner, so it should be fine.¡± ¡°Thank you, God of Entertainment. Yes, we mustn¡¯t give up hope.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You guys can say whatever you want as long as you listen and be quiet. I¡¯m a sane person.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t judge such things for yourselves, so you should go and see the God of Healing. It is troublesome, but I will visit you once in a while.¡± ¡°God of Magic is so kind. I will not go.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll go with you. It¡¯s a pity that he¡¯s so bored.¡± ¡°Creator God, please treat yourself well. See you later.¡± ¡°Wait, wait, wait, you¡¯re making me sound completely crazy. Don¡¯t misrepresent the story.¡± ¡°No, Creator God, you¡¯re a crazy god. You are not a person. Do you know that? You¡¯re seriously ill.¡± ¡°It was just a little slip of the tongue. Everyone makes mistakes, right?¡± ¡°¡­But Creator God says that there is no such thing as mistakes by Creator God. I knew you weren¡¯t completely cured.¡± ¡°Even the God of Light¡­ Now, just hear me out, okay?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped; I¡¯ll go along with it. What is? Say it.¡± ¡°Why does the God of War seem to be so bossy? Well, it¡¯s okay; the story is not going anywhere, so I¡¯ll let it slide. Now, about Wataru-kun, I think even you incompetent people can understand the beauty of the ship summoning. I¡¯ll forgive you for your incompetence by getting down on your knees. I am merciful, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re talking like that. Especially, why are you asking us to apologize to you?¡± ¡°Me neither.¡± ¡°Well, before that, it was Creator God who had to get down on his knees, wasn¡¯t it? After all, you¡¯ve caused us so much trouble.¡± ¡°Eh? ¡­Eh? This is where you get down on your knees and say you¡¯re sorry for calling a great skill a shitty skill. Maybe you guys should go see the God of Healing.¡± ¡°Really? Hmm, maybe our hearts are tired from all the nonsense we have to deal with. God of War, God of Entertainment, shall we go there now?¡± ¡°Really? Well, it¡¯s better than staying here.¡± ¡°I guess so. Even the gods need to be maintained once in a while. What about the God of Light?¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired, too. Maybe I need a checkup, too.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go together, shall we?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°No. If it¡¯s a medical checkup, then go after my talk. Now that it¡¯s been proven that ship summoning isn¡¯t a shitty skill, it¡¯s time for you to apologize, you know.¡± ¡°Explain to me how that¡¯s been proven.¡± ¡°God of War, why are you acting so high and mighty? ¡­Sigh, well, that¡¯s okay. Now I¡¯m going to prove my righteousness. The ship summoning, which you guys called a shit skill, has destroyed most of a country¡¯s navy. What do you think about that?¡± ¡°Hah, I see what you mean. You know, just think of all the unique skills you¡¯ve given so far. Destroying most of a country¡¯s navy? Most of the unique skills that have been given to other otherworlders for such things would have been possible from day one. That otherworlder struggled for over a year and left the attack to others. I know the ship summoning is a unique skill; I know it has some power. The question is, how does it compare to the unique skills you¡¯ve given so far? What is it? Ship summoning to an otherworlder who fell into a meadow? Trials? You haven¡¯t given them to other otherworlders, have you? Cost money to buy a ship? You don¡¯t give money to the otherworlder and make him work hard to earn it? Is this another ordeal? A great skill that matures late? Why is there a need for big-time development? I don¡¯t understand what you are saying and what you are doing. If you gave him the power of a late bloomer skill after serious consideration and wanted to see what he would do, that would make sense, but ship summoning skill because he fell from the sea, and his name has something to do with the sea? All those things are included, and I¡¯m saying you gave him a shitty skill. Idiot.¡± ¡°¡­Are you going to go that far? Are you going to say that much to me? I¡¯d be angry too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m mad at you right now.¡± ¡°Hey, God of Light, God of Magic, this is going to be a big fight, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Phew, I guess so. I¡¯m with the God of War. Even if it doesn¡¯t come true, I¡¯d like to put some magic into him.¡± ¡°Assuming a fight! It¡¯s getting more and more important, God of Light. A battle between gods is beyond amusing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ in a position where I have to side with the Creator God, don¡¯t I?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not a question of which side you¡¯re on; we have to stop the fighting. Hey, God of Light, come to your senses.¡± ¡°Come on, God of Entertainment. We can gather all the dissatisfied gods and beat that guy to a pulp anyway.¡± ¡°God of Magic, you¡¯re totally ready to kill him, aren¡¯t you? You can¡¯t get the other gods involved. I beg you, please calm down.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. God of Darkness and God of Fire will be on our side. The God of Earth and the God of Water will be neutral¡­¡± ¡°God of Light. Don¡¯t think about the power. I mean, you are choosing to fight the Creator God. He¡¯s really not on good terms with the God of Fire or the God of Creation. It¡¯s not funny. They¡¯re going to kill each other. Please, God of Light, let¡¯s think about stopping this. If the God of Light takes command, it¡¯s going to be a really big war. Oh, it¡¯s started. Why do you have to start it, God of War?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m off then.¡± ¡°No, God of Magic, don¡¯t do this.¡± ¡°Oh, what is it? What¡¯s going on? Is it a fight?¡± ¡°Why are the God of War and the God of Magic fighting against the Creator God? It looks like fun.¡± ¡°Yes, if it¡¯s against the Creator God, there¡¯s no shortage of them. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°¡±Oh.¡±¡± ¡°Sword God, Demon God, Dragon God, why are there so many bloodthirsty ones coming at a time like this? Hey, God of Light, what are you going to do?¡± ¡°Whew©`©`©`, I¡¯ve calmed down. It¡¯s all right, God of Entertainment. It¡¯s not a fight to kill each other; it will end in just a fight.¡± ¡°The God of War and the God of Magic were going to kill him, right? The Sword God, the Demon God, and the Dragon God have all joined in.¡± ¡°Even so, it won¡¯t be a problem unless the Creator God seriously tries to extinguish them. Both parties are frustrated with each other, so let¡¯s just watch the situation as a way to relieve stress.¡± ¡°I-I understand.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Hahahahaha, it¡¯s been a billion years since you¡¯ve stood up to me. Crawl on your knees and reflect. Hahahahaha.¡± ¡°Wow, Creator God-sama, you¡¯re having so much fun. I feel kind of bad, you know?¡± ¡°Yes, but we did it to each other, so it must have been a good stress reliever for both of us. I hope it calms you down a little.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± Later on, the God of War, the God of Magic, the Sword God, the Demon God, the Dragon God, and the additional gods who had participated in the battle were lying in shreds, laughing high and battered. ~Guild Adventurer¡¯s Guildmaster of Barletta¡¯s POV~ ¡°That¡¯s right; it was my fault, so please turn the work on the medicinal herb cluster over to us, too.¡± I chased after Girasole but couldn¡¯t get to them in time, so I came to the merchant guild to apologize to them anyway. ¡°¡­Even if you say so. It¡¯s a problem to add the adventurers¡¯ guild, which has been hostile to such meritorious people, to the list without their permission, you know.¡± After all, that¡¯s what they were talking about, wasn¡¯t it? The discovery of a cluster of precious medicinal herbs and the offering of Ryu¡¯s scales. Either one of these would be a major asset. It would be tough to get in on the concession without making an apology, especially since the Ryu¡¯s scales would cause a huge stir all over the continent, and it was 100% my fault. ¡°¡­It¡¯s true, but when I went to apologize to them, they had already left. I tried to follow them, but they had sailed away.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ but the Cardinal has sent knights and soldiers to help us, and we¡¯ve been able to get around without any problems. At the very least, you need to apologize to Girasole and talk to the cardinal. That place is now completely under the control of the state.¡± They¡¯ve established a situation where they don¡¯t need the adventurers¡¯ guild completely. If they were short on manpower, I might have been able to get by if I¡¯d just bowed out of the way¡­ but I can¡¯t complain. I¡¯ll go after them and apologize to them wherever they are. ¡°I understand. Wherever they are, I¡¯ll go after them and apologize. I¡¯m sorry, but please inform the Cardinal.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll make the arrangements.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Whew, I left the sub-master to do the work and arrived at the Southern City, where Girasole is based. I asked the adventurer¡¯s guild where they were, and they said their hometown was at war, and they were headed for the Kingdom of Brescia? What the hell is this? ¡­Next time, I¡¯ll listen to what people have to say, even if it pisses me off. Volume 5 - CH 25 Chapter 25 ¨C Idle Talk: Antonino My name is Antonino, the second son of a prestigious marquis family and one of only four in the empire to possess the unique skill. I am a true elite, blessed with both family background and talent. During the current invasion of the Kingdom of Brescia, I was to assist in the attack on the naval headquarters of the Kingdom of Brescia. Normally, I should have participated in the attack on the royal capital, but they cried that there would be a crushing battle between a large magic ship and a large magic ship. Well, my laser beam has outstanding penetration power, although it cannot fire continuously. No matter how good a barrier master is on board a large magic ship, it¡¯s pointless, so it¡¯s no wonder they¡¯re relying on me. I decided to cooperate specially and get on board the large magic ship. The room I was shown to was, naturally, the best room. I showed my generosity by graciously accepting the captain¡¯s greeting. The ship was ready to sail, and it would be a short trip. The food and drinks prepared for me were not bad. Well, they¡¯re entertaining me. Of course, I would expect nothing less than first-class food. But there are only men on this ship. I doubt the captain¡¯s ability if he can¡¯t even think of a beautiful female officer to support me. ¡­Oh, I see; that kind of captain must be anxious about my presence. I see that some of them have a bit of a brain, relying on me, the elite, to clean up the mess of the incompetent. After a long and tedious voyage, I was rudely summoned to the ship in the middle of the night. This captain is really useless, disturbing my sleep. I will punish him later. What was his name again? ¡­Hmm, I think he introduced himself to me, but I don¡¯t need to remember his name if he¡¯s only the captain. Well, it is not very mature for me, a true elite, to punish a captain like him. ¡°So, what do you want? If you have bothered me with your nonsense, I will not tolerate it.¡± ¡°Yes, I would be grateful for your help, Antonino-sama, as per the strategy.¡± Strategy? ¡­Is there such a thing? Well, there was a time he came to my room and talked a lot, wasn¡¯t there? ¡°What kind of strategy?¡± ¡°I came up to you during the day to explain¡­¡± ¡°Explain it again.¡± ¡°Yes, we want Antonino-sama to hide around the naval headquarters of the Kingdom of Brescia in a small magic ship, and when we approach, and the enemy¡¯s large magic ship appears, we want you to sink it.¡± ¡°What? Do you want me to sneak around and hide? There is no need to do such a thing; just face them squarely and openly. I am here, after all.¡± Good grief, this incompetent fool, even if it¡¯s a large magic ship, it¡¯s no match for me. ¡°I know very well about your power, Antonino-sama. But we are mediocre at best, and if we don¡¯t have a plan, we will be a liability to Antonino-sama. I cannot sleep at night thinking of the damage we could do to Antonino-sama¡¯s wonderful career with our foolishness. Please help us in our foolishness.¡± Oh, these people were aware of their own incompetence; they were a little sane, then I would grant their desperate wish. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll lend you a hand.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Thank you. Antonino-sama.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Umu.¡± It doesn¡¯t suit me, but it¡¯s a desperate request, so I¡¯ll be patient and get on the small magic ship. I slip past the Kingdom¡¯s navy patrol boat and duck into a position where the ship would pass. It seems to have been well prepared; a hole has been dug, a little cramped but fit to rest with no problem. I thought they were incompetent, but maybe they can be of some use. I am the true elite. I have the generosity to appreciate even the useless when I see the good in them. The Imperial Navy is approaching as planned. The Kingdom¡¯s navy patrol boats spotted us, and the Kingdom¡¯s navy headquarters became noisy. In a few moments, a large magic ship will also come through. ¡°Antonino-sama, three large magic ships, five medium-sized magic ships, and many others of the Kingdom¡¯s navy are coming this way.¡± ¡°Leave it to me.¡± The large magic ships were passing through the dark night sea with their lights on. It¡¯s a piece of cake at this distance. The other mages will not be able to reach it. I¡¯m afraid of my own awesomeness. My laser beam is powerful, but because it is powerful, it takes about three minutes to release it. But at this distance, I can certainly sink two large mage ships before they get out of range. I fire my laser beam at the large magic ships. Hmm? It pierced through the large-size ship and made a big hole in the medium-sized ship as well. Well, my laser beam should be able to do that. I prepared again and fired at the second large mage ship. There was no way it could dodge my laser beam, and it was easily destroyed. Boring, there must have been someone in the Kingdom of Brescia who could use unique skills. It would be a little more enjoyable if they came out. Perhaps they¡¯ve already been sunk? The third large mage ship was out of range, but I fired a laser beam at the medium-sized mage ship. After that, I take a small magic ship back. On the way, I fired laser beams at any mage ships I saw, ending with an overwhelming victory for the Imperial Navy. If I could also shoot my laser beam at the Kingdom¡¯s navy headquarters and send in the Imperial Marines, we would easily win the battle. After all, didn¡¯t the opponent¡¯s unique skill holders show up? I wanted to show them the difference in skill. Moving to the Kingdom¡¯s navy headquarters, I heard that one-third of the ships were heading to occupy Lucca. They wanted to occupy the city without a scratch, so they asked me to wait here. My laser beam is too destructive, a stroke of genius, you might say. When I contacted the capital to let them know that I would be needed, they said they would wait for me there. It seems that the Kingdom of Brescia has no powerful enemies that need me. I¡¯ll just relax and enjoy my vacation. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ After a while, I received a report that the Imperial Navy, which had blockaded Lucca, had been wiped out. To be defeated by the poor Lucca navy, no matter how incompetent you are, is shameful. Subsequent reports indicate that Lucca has floated huge ships and is on the lookout for the Imperial Navy. Foolishly, to me, a huge ship is nothing but a target. Well, after a while, they will come crying to me. Let¡¯s sink it quickly and let the world know how wonderful I am. After a while, there was a commotion as I set sail for Lucca. A small magic ship attacked us by surprise. The Imperial Navy was unable to sink even one of those small magic ships. Well, I¡¯ll take care of it. ¡°Why, why didn¡¯t I hit it? Why are they moving around so much, you unpleasant insects?¡± The small magic ship evaded all my attacks and left. ¡°Antonino-sama, there is something wrong with that ship. Let¡¯s turn back and gather more information.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense. That ship will not be able to sink a large or medium-sized magic ship. If I go to Lucca, I will easily destroy both the huge ship and the city walls. After that, sinking that small magic ship will be no problem. Now head for Lucca.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Good grief, I am tired of dealing with incompetence. We will arrive in Lucca after an overnight stay. If I were there, there would be no problem, but the incompetent captain unusually protested that we should start the war when it would be advantageous. He is an intolerable fool, but I, being a generous man, will accept his opinion. I will punish him when we return to the empire. We wait for a while, and then the naval battle begins. Let¡¯s sink that big ship quickly and show them how foolish they are to oppose the empire. A ship will sink if you drill a hole in it. I fire the laser beam I had prepared at the huge ship. It¡¯s over. ¡°Antonino-sama. The enemy ship is undamaged.¡± ¡°What are you saying¡­¡± The huge ship in front of me is floating as if nothing happened. ¡°It¡¯s ridiculous; why? This can¡¯t be happening.¡± I immediately start preparing a laser beam. ¡°Antonino-sama, the ship from yesterday is coming.¡± ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll take care of it myself.¡± While I was preparing, the ship was attacked several times and was shaken. They can¡¯t even finish off a small magic ship, these incompetents. I¡¯m ready, and this time I¡¯m going to hit the huge ship with my laser beam. ¡°Ridiculous¡­ why, why doesn¡¯t it work?¡± As I was stunned, our ship began to shake and sink. I ran for my life and jumped into the sea. It¡¯s like I¡¯m having a nightmare. The next thing I knew, I was a prisoner of the Kingdom of Brescia. ~Captain¡¯s Perspective~ One day, I was ordered to lead an imperial fleet to occupy the naval headquarters of the Kingdom of Brescia and the trade city of Lucca. I was told that they would send someone with unique skills to help us. He is the second son of a marquis family and is said to be a proud and troublesome person. His unique skills are powerful, but he also has many weaknesses and seems to be a complete cannonball. I was told that the best way to use him is to just humble yourself and have him shoot laser beams at the desired location. It certainly worked well when we were humble. He did a remarkable job when he attacked the Kingdom¡¯s navy base. In a sense, he might be an easy man to deal with. However, after hearing about the destruction of the imperial fleet that had been dispatched to Lucca, the situation changed. When we arrived in Lucca and saw the huge ship, I had a bad feeling about it, but I pushed my fears to the back of my mind when I saw the laser beam. My fears were realized, and the huge ship stood unscathed, despite the direct hit from the laser beam. As our ship was sinking, I decided to share my fate with this ship. Volume 6 - CH 1 Chapter 1 ¨C The Second Prince and the Knight Looking From Above The naval battle with the Imperial Navy was over, and food had been shipped to Lucca. The Imperial Army was also not moving, and I was living a life of debauchery holed up on the ferry when a medium-sized magic ship and two small magic ships carrying the royal flag arrived at the port. ¡°Ah, Ness, Shea, I have a strong feeling that trouble is about to befall us, but maybe I¡¯m imagining it?¡± ¡°I hope it¡¯s just your imagination, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to be possible.¡± ¡°Ness is right. Master, unfortunately, I think it¡¯s harder for us to hope for the best later on.¡± ¡°Am I really going to get involved after all? Can¡¯t you think of anything other than trouble, like royalty coming into the port when it is surrounded by the imperial army?¡± ¡°Mage-sama, we are waiting in Lucca. I will let you know if we learn anything.¡± ¡°I understand. Alessia-san, if you have the Galette in your possession, it could be troublesome, so please have Ness send it to me. Well, I would like to believe that they will not suddenly try to take the Galette away from me, but let¡¯s be cautious.¡± ¡°I agree; we should be very careful.¡± I asked Ness to take Girasole back to Lucca, and we went back to the room. ¡°Whew, other than putting on the hood and doing the act, the current situation was pretty easy.¡± ¡°Fufu, yes. When we were not training, we watched movies, had drinks, and took it pretty easy.¡± ¡°Yeah, to be honest, I had a lot of fun. But it¡¯s hard to think that the royalty won¡¯t get involved with me, and I¡¯ll have to do my best to avoid as much contact as possible.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± As Ines came back, we discussed what might happen in the future while playing with Rimu. ~Alesia¡¯s point of view~ We returned to the base that the marquis had prepared for us and asked Marina, Carla, and Claretta to go talk to their families in case of an emergency. I, Dorothea, and Ilma will discuss the future. The imperial army surrounding Lucca alone is troublesome, but I want to be spared from the royal family. ¡°The royal family has come to port in such a dangerous place, their purpose is to get rid of the imperial army, and I think they heard about Mage-sama and are trying to take advantage of him; what do you think?¡± ¡°Alessia is probably right. And we, who have the contacts, will be called in.¡± ¡°Well, I think you are both right. The question is, who will be there, and what will they do with Mage-sama?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. Does Ilma have any idea?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m sure they had a chance to escape before the siege of the royal capital, and while the princesses would not come to a dangerous place, all of the princes are possibilities. But the fourth prince would be too young, so can we rule him out?¡± ¡°That would make three. I know only rumors, but the crown prince is strong in character, with a good command of both the military and the civilian arts. The second prince is a military enthusiast. I don¡¯t know much about the third prince. Do you know about him?¡± I thought royalty was irrelevant, so this is about all I know. Ilma is well aware that the fourth prince is very young, isn¡¯t she? ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the third prince was never much of an outgoing person. He seems to like magic.¡± Dorothea knows quite a bit about him. I wonder if it¡¯s common knowledge that the third prince is fond of magic? ¡°From what you two have told me, the second prince is the one who would venture into such a dangerous place, isn¡¯t he? The crown prince would have a hard time coming to such a dangerous place, given his position.¡± ¡°Well, I think even the second prince would have a problem coming to a place under siege, but Dorothea is right; the second prince is more likely. If that is the case, it is certain that he will contact Mage-sama, as he is a man who is very passionate about military affairs. We have to decide how we will respond.¡± If he¡¯s so keen on military affairs, he¡¯ll definitely move to deal with the imperial army that¡¯s besieging the capital. What will Lucca do? ¡°Well, our goal is the safety of our family and friends and then the defense of Lucca. Then we definitely need Mage-sama¡¯s cooperation. I think our first priority should be to keep the contract.¡± ¡°Ilma¡¯s opinion and the fact that we don¡¯t want to incur the wrath of the royal family are also important. The Kingdom of Brescia is at a disadvantage, and if they are offended, they will resort to violent means. It¡¯s up to Alessia to do her best.¡± ¡°After all, I¡¯m the one who has to answer to them, right?¡± ¡°Alessia is our leader; of course, you will. Ilma and I won¡¯t be able to interfere.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll just have to try my best.¡± If we¡¯re not careful, they might try to use us as hostages to get Mage-sama to do what they want. I wonder what would happen if we were hostages? ¡­I can¡¯t imagine it. I think he would try to help us, though. I can¡¯t imagine him fighting¡­ What would he do? ¡°Hmm? Someone¡¯s here. I¡¯ll go check it out.¡± A guest¡­ I wonder if this is a call at this time? ¡°Ilma, I¡¯m going to get ready for the call. I¡¯ll go with Dorothea, and you let the three of them know what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°Yes, okay. Good luck, Alessia.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As expected, the marquis called me to the castle. ¡­This is the room where the marquis used to hold his military meetings, isn¡¯t it? ¡­I¡¯ve been called to the castle quite a lot, but I¡¯ve never been in the audience chamber. Is this normal? When I was prompted to enter, I saw a young man sitting in the seat where the marquis usually sits. ¡°This is His Highness Prince Arnolf, the second prince of the Kingdom of Brescia.¡± ¡°I apologize.¡± I was staring at him in a daze. I hurriedly kneeled down and lowered my eyes. As expected, it was the second prince. ¡°Good, this is a military council, stand up and answer the questions.¡± I was told to stand up, but I wondered if I was allowed to stand up. I looked at the knight who had secretly reprimanded me, and he nodded, so I stood up. ¡°My name is Alessia, leader of the adventurer party Girasole.¡± ¡°Umu.¡± ¡°You said your name is Alessia; answer me about the mage.¡± The knight asked the question. I knew they were interested in Mage-sama¡­ Let¡¯s just say there¡¯s not much I can honestly tell them. ¡°I apologize, but my contract prevents me from telling you most of what I know about Mage-sama.¡± ¡°Only what you can tell us. The rest I will ask the mage directly.¡± Directly? Did they call Mage-sama? ¡­Will he come? Mage-sama was happy he didn¡¯t get into Lucca, and I¡¯m sure he doesn¡¯t think he needs to go in there anymore. ¡°Understood. Mage-sama doesn¡¯t like to show off, and he doesn¡¯t like people to know who he is. That¡¯s why we signed a contract, and I can hardly speak to you.¡± I¡¯m glad we signed a contract before we left. I wonder if these people could have tried to force me to tell the truth¡­ If the marquis had not checked the contract, would they have forced me to tell the truth? ¡°Can¡¯t you tell us anything¡­ about what kind of contract you have?¡± This is so frustrating. I think the knight is of high status since he is on the side of the second prince¡­ Are they upset because they are in the middle of a war? ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Speak.¡± Is it just me, or is he getting impatient with me? ¡°Yes, we signed a contract on the condition that we would not divulge information about Mage-sama, that he would not participate in attacks, that he would cooperate with us in defense matters, that he would help us if we need to escape, that he will not participate in negotiations with the higher-ups, and that we will not force him to do anything he doesn¡¯t want to do.¡± ¡°¡­He wants to hide his identity to that extent? Do you mind if I check that contract?¡± ¡°Yes, the marquis has already confirmed it, and if you wish, you can confirm it again.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The knight looks at the marquis, and the marquis confirms with a nod. ¡°As I said, these people are of little use to us. But they do have a pretty face, so it¡¯s best to let them seduce the mage, after all.¡± ¡°W-why?¡± Why is Viscount Jacopo here? He was captured, wasn¡¯t he? ¡°Why, you ask? Oh, you mean, why am I here when I was captured? Because, of course, it was a mistake to be captured. I am an exemplary nobleman loyal to this country. When Lucca was freed and I saw that huge ship, I immediately reported it to His Highness, who was in charge of the nobility in the south. Strangely enough, the marquis did not give a detailed report, and His Highness listened to my story in detail, and I was proven innocent.¡± ¡­When I looked at the marquis, he looked as if he was biting a bitter bug. I had assumed that the royalty had heard the rumors since they were coming to a place surrounded by the empire, but it was the work of this guy. ¡°Are you properly seducing the mage, as I told you before?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°No, you say, don¡¯t you love this country, this Lucca? Then there must be something you can do.¡± ¡­His voice alone is enough to tell you that he¡¯s in a terrible mood. This is the worst. ¡°Excuse me.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re back.¡± The attendant knight replies. For now, Viscount Jacopo¡¯s conversation is interrupted. ¡°Hmm? Where is the mage?¡± ¡°I apologize, sir. I went to the ship, but I couldn¡¯t touch it, and there was no answer when I called out to him.¡± That knight must have gone to pick up Mage-sama. I guess he couldn¡¯t see him. ¡°Alessia, explain what¡¯s going on.¡± I don¡¯t like the way the knight said that. I wonder if it¡¯s like that for a royal knight who comes here at Viscount Jacopo¡¯s request while the marquis is so polite. ¡°I apologize, but according to our contract, I can¡¯t explain.¡± ¡°¡­We can¡¯t even meet him? It¡¯s outrageously rude of him not to respond to His Highness¡¯s summons.¡± ¡°Battalion commander, it was a huge ship, so it is possible that he did not hear it even if you shouted loudly.¡± That knight is a battalion commander¡­ knight battalion commander? Come to think of it; I haven¡¯t even heard his name. ¡°¡­I saw it when we came to the port, and it sure was a huge ship. Alessia, can you meet with the mage?¡± What do you mean? This knight, he talks too much, doesn¡¯t he? He reminds me of some guildmaster, and it¡¯s unpleasant. I think I¡¯ll go home¡­ Not good; I¡¯m not going to let my family be harmed by this¡­ I have to be patient. ¡°Yes, we can meet.¡± ¡°Then take the knight there and go see the mage.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir, I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Is it because of the contract¡­? You will go there, make him identify himself, and bring him here.¡± ¡°It is possible to tell him your story, but I am afraid that Mage-sama will not like it. But I cannot do anything Mage-sama does not want to do, and I have a contract with him not to involve him in negotiations with the higher-ups, so I do not know if I can bring him to you.¡± ¡°¡­Tell him that His Highness wants to see him. If you tell him the fear of opposing his country, he will come at once.¡± What is it about? The battle between the country and Mage-sama¡­ I¡¯d take Mage-sama¡¯s side. He is not from this country in the first place. Besides, this country is on the verge of extinction, so why are they being so stubborn? I don¡¯t understand. ¡°Your Highness, we don¡¯t know all the abilities of the mage. I think we should be polite and ask for his cooperation.¡± ¡°Marquis-sama, you¡¯re being naive. He is a mage of unknown origin. The reason why he does not reveal his identity is because he does not want to go against the state. We must make him understand the difference in power, take away his huge ship, and subjugate him, or he will be of no use to us in the future.¡± Viscount Jacopo¡¯s increasing arrogance is getting on my nerves. He is always saying unnecessary things. ¡°You say so, but you have not yet confirmed that he will not go against the state. It is dangerous.¡± ¡°Umu, Marquis has a point, but it is true that most of those who hide have a disadvantage in their power. We need easy-to-use pawns to save the Kingdom of Brescia. I take Viscount Jacopo at his word. Very well.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I think the marquis¡¯s idea is better. Mage-sama¡¯s ability is unreasonable. But we¡¯re in trouble; we have a better chance of being able to defend Lucca, but now that the royalty is here, we¡¯re going to have to do a lot of extra work. Especially Viscount Jacopo¡­ I have to pay utmost attention to the safety of my family. ~Alesia¡¯s point of view ends~ ¡°Master, the ship is coming. Now Ness is on the watch to ensure that they don¡¯t find us, but it seems that the knight is shouting something.¡± ¡°Hmm? The knight? It definitely has something to do with the royalty¡¯s ship. Let¡¯s just sneak over to see what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I go to the ramp where the ship is coming, and I hear the knight shouting something. I approach Ness, who is keeping watch, and ask her what she¡¯s talking about. ¡°Ness, good work. What does the knight say?¡± ¡°The second prince wants Master to come to visit him. He repeats the same thing, asking you to identify yourself and accompany him.¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t want to meet him. Can¡¯t we just pretend we didn¡¯t hear him and wait for Alessia-san and the others?¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s a good idea. There¡¯s nothing they can do if we pretend we didn¡¯t hear them, and we¡¯ll know what¡¯s going on after we talk to Alessia-san and the others.¡± Shea nodded, and we¡¯ll just pretend we didn¡¯t hear it. The size of the Stronghold has come in handy in an unexpected way. ¡°Well, let¡¯s do that, shall we? Let¡¯s just relax until Alessia-san returns.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± While playing with Rimu and playing tricks on Ness and Shea, we waited for Alessia-san and the others to arrive, and after about an hour, Alessia-san and the others returned in a small boat. ¡°Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Are you alright?¡± ¡°We are fine, but the purpose of the second prince¡¯s visit to Lucca was to see Mage-sama and the ship. It seems that Viscount Jacopo reported to the prince about Mage-sama in detail.¡± ¡°What kind of a man is Viscount Jacopo?¡± ¡°He is the captain of Lucca¡¯s navy, and he is the kind of guy who wants us to use our bodies to cajole Mage-sama. I was relieved when he was captured, but it seems he was let out of jail by the prince and was present at today¡¯s military meeting.¡± I look around, and all the members of Girasole look disgusted. For my part, I¡¯m kind of glad they¡¯re giving them the order that makes me happy, though. ¡°Oh, I see. Anyway, let¡¯s talk in the cafeteria.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± We head to the cafeteria and resume our conversation over a cup of coffee. ¡°So, Alessia-san, a knight came over here as well. We pretended not to hear him, and he left, but it has something to do with this, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, it seems that when I was summoned to the castle, they had already dispatched a knight to Mage-sama¡¯s place as well. It seemed they wanted to reveal your identity and take you to the castle.¡± ¡°He was shouting something like that, wasn¡¯t he? How was Alessia-san¡¯s situation?¡± ¡°I was asked about Mage-sama, but I used the contract as a shield and didn¡¯t tell them anything except the details of the contract and that Mage-sama didn¡¯t want me to reveal his identity. However, they asked me to give a message to Mage-sama. He asked you to come to the castle and reveal your identity.¡± ¡°I knew it. It¡¯s a hassle, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I am sorry. I told them that the contract does not allow for coercion. They told me to tell you that His Highness wanted to see you and that you must understand the fear of opposing the country.¡± ¡°They are trying to intimidate me, aren¡¯t they? I don¡¯t want to meet with such people.¡± The fear of opposing the country? I¡¯m too scared to understand the opposite. Hmm, what should I do? Revealing my identity is out of the question, and¡­ should I run away? I think it would be better to just take Alessia-san and the others and their family and friends and get the hell out of here. ¡°I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.¡± ¡°I prepared myself for trouble when I got involved in this matter, and I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯d rather not discuss revealing my identity, so can we all just run away together?¡± ¡°Yes, I would like a few moments to make some preparations.¡± ¡°Master, may I have a word?¡± ¡°Ness, do you have an idea? Tell me.¡± ¡°First of all, I see no reason to accept the summons nor any reason to fear antagonism with the country. Master is not from this country, and it is too late to go against the country when you are fighting against the empire, isn¡¯t it? If the other party comes at you in a bad way, or if they threaten you, you will be underestimated if you run away. I think we need to threaten them back and make them thoroughly regret it.¡± ¡­Ness started saying something scary; what should I do? Volume 6 - CH 2 Chapter 2 ¨C Radical Ines and Calm Felicia and Breasts Hmm, since the second prince threatened me, is it possible for me to threaten him back? ¡­Me threatened him before that? How? ¡°Even if I threaten him back, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to fight with the empire, and if I can get away with it, then I might as well run away. Also, this is an important conversation, so let¡¯s talk about it properly without acting.¡± I took off my hood. There is no need to discuss such a story while acting, is there? ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt the conversation. Ines, please continue where you left off.¡± ¡°Yes, Master¡¯s power will be known to other nations in this war. Although Master intends to conceal his identity, you will no doubt be suspected because of your relationship with Girasole. When they suspect you, their response will depend on whether you are a mage who is dangerous when offended or a mage who flees when threatened. If you can make them think that it is dangerous to even find out who you are, they may only suspect you.¡± ¡°¡­Well, I¡¯ve been threatened here, so I have to threaten them back with all my might and make them think I¡¯m a dangerous mage if they try to touch me, right? But my identity is questionable, right? Won¡¯t they think I¡¯m too dangerous?¡± ¡°That depends on what you do from now on. If you escape, if you are discovered, you will probably be approached by the authorities, so you will have to live in hiding, right? Well, Master can live on the ferry for decades, and I don¡¯t think there would be any problem if you lived on another continent. If you threaten them back and make them think it¡¯s dangerous, you can walk out, although they¡¯ll be suspicious of you. If you can make them think it¡¯s different in the meantime, maybe you¡¯ll get some peace and quiet back.¡± ¡°Hmm, what to do? That¡¯s a hard choice¡­¡± ¡°We could just threaten them back and run away if things get messy.¡± Ines¡¯s idea is radical, isn¡¯t it? But since we came out of the emergency, a little research at the point of departure will show that it¡¯s fishy, and we can either be suspected and hide from trouble, or we can be suspected, but it¡¯s risky, and they¡¯ll just watch us? Which would be better? I don¡¯t have to stick to this continent, and I could just run away and live comfortably on another continent. ¡°Hey, on second thought, can¡¯t we just pass on the threats and tell them we don¡¯t want to meet them? I mean, I¡¯m on a ship, so I¡¯m not afraid of threats or anything.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t get them to give up. They want to use Master for the sake of the Kingdom of Brescia. And yet, it¡¯s stupid to come out with high pressure instead of taking the low blow. Besides, if you stay in there, as I said before, you¡¯ll get unnecessary pressure from them.¡± Hmm¡­ I kind of feel that way, but why is Ines so extreme today? She¡¯s different from usual, isn¡¯t she? ¡°Hes Inez, you seem very belligerent; what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Is that so? ¡­I might be a little worked up.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re not always like that. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like anything in particular, but I was just annoyed when I heard about the prince. I don¡¯t like people who look down on me.¡± ¡°No, well, maybe you¡¯re right, but he¡¯s a prince, he¡¯s a big shot, and it can¡¯t be helped, can it?¡± ¡°Hmm, yes, but I don¡¯t think what I said was wrong, do you?¡± ¡°I also thought it was possible for some reason¡­ What do you think, Alessia-san?¡± ¡°Well, Ines is not wrong. The prince and the knight by his side were clearly after Wataru-san. I don¡¯t think they¡¯d give up just because you refused.¡± Hmm, Alessia-san¡¯s mood is kind of stiff. I wonder what¡¯s wrong? ¡°I see. Well, then, I guess I¡¯d better think about threatening them or running away.¡± ¡°I told you. I would recommend threatening them.¡± Ines, you dislike the prince quite a lot, just from what you¡¯ve heard from Alessia-san. What could make you dislike him so much? ¡°I¡¯ll consider threatening them, but in the first place, do you think the prince¡¯s side will be afraid of me just because I threatened them? How can I threaten them?¡± ¡°It¡¯s easy for you, Master. The Fortress, or the Stronghold, summon them in front of the city walls. They will soon come crying to you.¡± ¡°No, no, if I do that, there will be a great uproar. If it¡¯s badly done, the city walls might break down. The imperial army would pour in.¡± Inez is still in a rage, isn¡¯t she? Girasole is also upset, so let¡¯s ask Felicia. ¡°What does Felicia think?¡± ¡°Even If you run away, refuse, and they come after you, you can try to threaten them, but I think just a few strong words will suffice. As Ines said, there is a possibility that solicitations will come from other countries, but you just have to deal with them then, so I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need to overreact here.¡± That¡¯s right. There¡¯s no need to strangle them with fear or anything like that. When Ines told me that, I wondered if that was right. I thought so, but I think Felicia¡¯s opinion is better suited for me. When the war is over, and people suspect me, I just say I¡¯m not. I don¡¯t know and insist. If they ask about the ship, I can just say that I bought it from a mage, and there¡¯s a chance I can get by. The mage was a friend of mine who I met on a trip, and we became good friends. Girasole was in trouble, so I asked the mage for his help, and he cooperated. I have a feeling that would work. First, I¡¯ll tell Alessia-san that an F-rank merchant she gets along with in the southern city introduced the mage to Girasole, who was in trouble, and I¡¯ll ask her to spread the rumor. I, as an F-rank merchant, will be the focus of attention, but it¡¯s better than being suspected of being a mage. I know the mage, but I don¡¯t know who he is. If that doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ll run away. ¡°I think Felicia¡¯s way is better suited for me. I can¡¯t do Ines¡¯s plan; it¡¯s too radical.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t say ¡®eh,¡¯ Ines is getting a little too extreme for me; I think your blood is boiling in your head. Sure, you said some nasty things, but you have to keep your cool.¡± Well, I, too, was almost taken in by Ines¡¯s opinion, but¡­ I feel like it would have been very dangerous what would have happened if I had been on board. ¡°Uh¡­ I understand. I¡¯ll think about it calmly.¡± ¡°Yeah, you should hold Rimu in your arms. It¡¯s very soothing.¡± ¡°Fufu, yes, come here, Rimu-chan.¡± He jumps from my lap to Ines¡¯s with a pop. She smiles and gives Rimu a little squeeze. This should calm her down because Rimu is the best. ¡°Wataru-san, what do you do to threaten them strongly?¡± ¡°¡­Felicia, what should I do?¡± It hurts me when she looks at me somehow. Ilma-san, you should have asked Felicia. ¡°Right. I think you should reply in writing. Since the other party knows little about Master¡¯s abilities, wouldn¡¯t it be better to say that you are going to destroy the Kingdom of Brescia? Since they know that you have great power, I think they will be afraid of you if you go in strongly.¡± ¡°¡­Ah, bluffing, I see. It seems to be scary when they find out, but if that¡¯s all it takes, I¡¯m fine with it. What do you think, Ilma-san?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I would call it a bluff. I think there¡¯s nothing you can¡¯t do with your power, Wataru-san¡­¡± ¡°Hahahaha, there¡¯s no way I can do such a thing. Ilma-san, you must stop making jokes like that.¡± The ship summoning is powerful, but it¡¯s specialized for defense. It¡¯s impossible to destroy a country. ¡°Ufufu, well, with Wataru-san¡¯s character, it might be.¡± ¡°Yes, Master would probably choose to flee rather than destroy it.¡± ¡°So, how do I write a bullish statement? Should I just write something like, ¡®Don¡¯t be stupid, or I¡¯ll destroy the kingdom of Brescia.''¡± ¡°¡­Master, we¡¯ll figure out the statement ourselves. You just take a little break.¡± ¡°Really? Then, Ines, I¡¯m counting on you. Be careful not to be too radical.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand. Felicia, Dorothea-san, Ilma-san, can you help me?¡± The four of them gathered together and wittily thought about the contents of the letter. How about thinking about a threatening letter in a fun way? ¡°Wataru-san, may I have a word with you alone for a moment?¡± Alessia-san, your expression has been hard the whole time. Everyone has noticed it, but they don¡¯t seem to be able to mention it, so what¡¯s going on? ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine. Would you like to go to my room?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± We enter the room without talking for some reason. The atmosphere was somewhat tense, which I didn¡¯t like. ¡°So, Alessia-san, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san.¡± ¡­Alessia-san suddenly bowed deeply to me. I don¡¯t know what to do. ¡°What¡¯s going on suddenly? Please raise your head and explain to me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s that I got you involved in this war. I took advantage of Wataru-san¡¯s kindness, knowing that you didn¡¯t want to stand out. As a result, it looks like our family will be safe, but I got you involved in a situation that antagonized the royal family, and for that, I am truly sorry.¡± Alessia-san bowed her head again; I¡¯m not very good at these situations. ¡­I¡¯m sure a popular guy would solve this problem smartly, but unfortunately, I¡¯m not a popular guy; I can¡¯t help it. I want to escape. Also, if I was taken advantage of, I don¡¯t think it was out of kindness but out of dirty-mindedness. I¡¯ll get her to raise her head somehow. Well, if my family is in a pinch, I¡¯ll also use whatever I can use, won¡¯t I? Speaking of which, how are my parents and brother doing? I know they must be worried about me, but there¡¯s nothing I can do about it. If I couldn¡¯t come to this world, I¡¯d probably drown in the ocean and die. I¡¯ve fallen in love with this world where I can have a lovey-dovey time with big-breasted beauties¡­ It¡¯s hard to say not being able to see my friends, but I don¡¯t even have to think about the fact that I¡¯m friends with a beautiful woman with big breasts¡­ Call me a heartless person, but I, who am not popular, can have a love affair with a big-breasted beauty who is a high peak and a fantasy. I feel like I can say it¡¯s inevitable that I don¡¯t remember my family and friends. What was the story again? Oh, we were talking about Alessia-san apologizing for getting me into trouble. Creator God-sama said there would be problems, and, well, I didn¡¯t think it was a war. There¡¯s trouble happening, but if I can handle it, I¡¯ll be more likable. I want to be the man who can turn troublesome things into opportunities¡­ ¡°Um, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. Alessia-san, you don¡¯t have to worry about it. I made the decision to sign the contract and to help you. There is no need for you to feel responsible.¡± I feel like I said some pretty good things. ¡°But, in addition to the empire, even the Kingdom of Brescia, and even other countries, have started to pay attention to you. Is there anything we can do to help¡­ for as much money as we can afford to pay for it?¡± She looks so serious¡­ I¡¯d be more than happy to casually offer her an erotic reward. If they were serious, I couldn¡¯t very well say, ¡°I¡¯d like to rub your boobs,¡± or anything like that, could I? But I feel that a request for a boob rub is more acceptable than a request for a body, taking advantage of weakness. Would I say it? I feel serious enough to be able to get a rub if I say so¡­ Whether to take the boobs in front of me or the likability, that is the question. If I take the boobs in front of me, I get temporary bliss. If I take the likability, hopefully, I will be able to enjoy the bliss anytime I want¡­ To fix the profit or to believe in me and endure¡­ This is troubling. ¡°¡­Well, I¡¯ve given it a lot of thought, but there are too many to choose from. I¡¯ll ask you to help me when I decide.¡± Postponement, after all, even with this chance, I didn¡¯t have the strength of mind to say, let me rub your boobs. I am pathetic, and I am deeply ashamed of myself for running away to the safe answer rather than my desire. ¡°I understand. Please tell me anytime. I will do anything I can do.¡± ¡°Anything?¡± By any chance, she¡¯s not starting the Viscount Jacopo¡¯s plans, is she? ¡°Yes.¡± Say it, say it, and tell her that you want to rub her boobs. ¡°Oh, well, I¡¯m, uh¡­ a man, so when you say anything, I imagine something a little ecchi¡­¡± [T/n: Ecchi: H or Pervert.] ¡°Oh, something ecchi you mean¡­? that¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry; please forget it.¡± I¡¯m a spineless loser. I could not say boobs, I could not say perverted things, and I could finally say a little ecchi things, but I couldn¡¯t stand the pressure, and I lost my nerve. ¡°Shall we go back? Let¡¯s go, Alessia-san.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± Tormented by a sense of defeat, I trudged back to the cafeteria. I¡¯m in a mood now where I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to summon a ferry to the city walls to calm my nerves. Volume 6 - CH 3 Chapter 3 ¨C Letter Exchange and the Prince¡¯s Character Tormented by a sense of defeat, Alessia-san and I returned to the dining room with heavy steps and were greeted by Ines with a big smile on her face, as if she was enjoying herself. ¡°Master, it¡¯s done. It¡¯s quite good.¡± ¡°The letter to the prince?¡± ¡°Yes, read it.¡± I looked at the letter she had handed me. ¡°A prince from a dying country is going to pick a fight with me? I can only wonder, but if you want to die, I will make it happen.¡± ¡°That¡¯s two lines. It¡¯s only two lines with malicious words only. Is that all there is?¡± ¡°I thought hard. At first, I tried to write a long sentence, but I thought it was strange to write a long sentence when Master wrote it in anger, so I rewrote it. I think it¡¯s simple and easy to understand.¡± ¡°¡­Simple, but is it okay to be so radical? Felicia, Dorothea-san, and Ilma-san thought about it, too, right? Is this okay?¡± ¡°Master, it may be a little radical, but we thought that considering it as a threat, to some extent, a radical statement was necessary. Halfway through, I hear there is an arrogant battalion commander, so there is a high likelihood that he will be aggravated.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. But what if they insist on doing it?¡± ¡°Maybe summon the Stronghold in front of the city walls?¡± ¡°Ines, Master said he wouldn¡¯t do it. Give it up.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯m sorry, Master.¡± ¡°Haha, well, what do we then?¡± ¡°Depends on how they respond, but I think they will break easily if we blockade the harbor, so no problem there.¡± ¡°Eh? Is that what we are doing? We came here to save Lucca, right? What are we here for?¡± ¡°Yes, but to avoid too much damage, if things get out of hand, we will take the families of the people of Girasole and run away.¡± ¡°¡­I think it¡¯s better if we run away now.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, we think it best if we can manage Lucca too, if possible. Since I think we can manage the prince¡¯s demands by blockading the port, could you please lend us a hand?¡± ¡°Hmm, I understand your feelings, Dorothea-san, but what happens if I antagonize Lucca according to the terms of the contract? Aside from threatening the prince, wouldn¡¯t blockading Lucca be a strange thing to do?¡± ¡°Because my contract with Wataru-san is to help with the defense, to help with the escape. I don¡¯t think there will be any problem.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡­I helped with the defense, but I didn¡¯t sign a contract that says I can¡¯t interfere with the defense, so it¡¯s okay? When you put it like that, how detailed a contract do you have to sign? Ah, so that¡¯s why when you sign a contract in Japan, you get a contract that is written down in minute detail¡­ ¡°I understand. I will cooperate, but it¡¯s going in a different direction than I thought. If I think it¡¯s impossible, I will abandon Lucca as soon as possible, so I will ask you to agree to that. Is that clear?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± ¡°Then all that¡¯s left is to deliver the letter and see how they react.¡± ¡°There is one more thing. Wataru-san, I think it would be better to notify them of the blockade of Lucca together from the beginning. It will take time if we only threaten them.¡± ¡°Well then, please write a letter to the marquis regarding the blockade of Lucca. There is no need for threats or anything like that, so just tell him that we are going to blockade.¡± Ilma-san is pretty scary, isn¡¯t she? I know she¡¯s saying this for Lucca¡¯s sake, but she¡¯s making the decision to blockade so easily. ¡°¡­But if you deliver a letter like this, won¡¯t Alessia-san and the others be captured? It¡¯s quite a rude letter.¡± ¡°Master, that¡¯s all right. Girasole will pretend not to know the contents of the letter. Having come back to save Lucca, Girasole is a very popular hero among the people. No matter how stupid they are, they can at least understand the risk of capturing Girasole.¡± ¡°Ines is right. If you care about the people of Girasole, they will think that using them will be useful, and that will be dangerous.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. I understand.¡± The popularity of the Girasole has increased, but we don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, so it seems they are in a delicate position. Don¡¯t feel sad about it. The discussion is over; I put on my hood¡­ and we¡¯ll probably still have to discuss it anyway, so let¡¯s stop acting for the day. Ines, with her hood up, takes Girasole back to the port. ~Alesia¡¯s point of view~ Arriving at the castle with the letter to the prince and the marquis, I am ushered into the room where they have another military discussion. ¡°What¡¯s up with the mage?¡± Is that your first word? ¡°Yes, I told Mage-sama as you said, and he entrusted me with letters. He asked me to give this one to His Highness and this one to Marquis-sama.¡± The letters are carried to the prince and the marquis. I was told to pretend I didn¡¯t know what it was about, but with that content, it was going to be rough. I watch with a thrill as the prince opens the letter. ¡°Rude.¡± ¡°Your Highness, what is the matter?¡± ¡°Look at this.¡± ¡°¡­Alessia, was it? Do you know the contents of this letter?¡± ¡°No, I do not.¡± The knight commander¡¯s face is scary. He¡¯s turning red, and his veins are bulging. That feels good. ¡°And what did the letter you received, Marquis?¡± ¡°Only that he¡¯s going to blockade Lucca, Your Highness.¡± Marquis-sama is turning pale. I feel sorry for you, Marquis-sama. ¡°Alessia, the mage has declared war on us. Tell me more about the mage.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you because of our contract.¡± How many times do I have to tell this commander? ¡°Tch, useless.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Marquis, it says here that the mage will blockade the port. Is that possible?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness, perhaps it is possible. He is capable of destroying the Imperial Navy.¡± ¡°That would leave us isolated¡­ Did I miscalculate it?¡± ¡°Your Highness, he is bluffing. As long as you are in this castle, there is no way he could come after you.¡± ¡°Is your life in danger, Your Highness?¡± ¡°Oh, I haven¡¯t shown it to you yet, Marquis. Here is the letter.¡± ¡°A prince from a dying country is trying to pick a fight with me? I can only wonder, but if you want to die, I will make it happen.¡± ¡°This¡­ combined with the blockade of Lucca, makes things pretty sour. I think we should focus our efforts on improving relations.¡± ¡°Marquis, improving relations with a man who has made remarks that threaten the life of His Highness is not the way to go.¡± Viscount Jacopo, you are seriously disturbing us. He is looking at the marquis with a smirk on his face, and now that he is in a stronger position, he starts to lash out at the marquis. ¡°What else are we going to do in this situation where we are completely surrounded? Either you improve relations with the empire or Mage-dono, or else Lucca will dry up. Or will you bow to the Empire?¡± ¡°All we have to do is deal with the mage.¡± ¡°How can we do anything when we can¡¯t even see him?¡± ¡°¡­So, as I said, let Girasole seduce the mage.¡± ¡°Is it too late? The mage who sends such a letter even to His Highness. Do you think he would listen to a woman so easily?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Your Highness, if things continue as they are, we will dry up. Even securing food is something we¡¯ve had to rely on Mage-dono to do for us.¡± ¡°¡­Alessia, was it? Is there any chance the mage will work for me? I can offer him titles, gold, and rewards of great value if he helps me save the kingdom of Brescia.¡± ¡°In my opinion, Mage-sama is the kind of person who gets what he needs on his own. I am sorry, but I cannot tell you anymore.¡± He earns the money to buy the ship, but other than that, he¡¯s all about good food and women, isn¡¯t he? Ilma also said that Mage-sama likes women, and when I said I would do anything for him during our discussion, he asked me if I would do anything ecchi, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not a mistake. Well, I¡¯m ready to do whatever he asks, but should I wait until he tells me? I can¡¯t say I have romantic feelings for him, but I do like him, so I don¡¯t mind. At least, it¡¯s dozens of times better than the men who have tried to get involved with us to make us their property. I don¡¯t think it would be the same if I were to reward myself with something ecchi. I¡¯ll talk to Ilma about it. ¡°Well, I need a force to fight for the Kingdom of Brescia. I heard from Marquis that you also came back to protect your hometown, but protecting the Kingdom of Brescia is the way to protect Lucca. Could you tell that to the mage? I want you to clear up the misunderstanding. I would also like to leave a letter with you. Is that possible?¡± Do you need a force? You were going to use him as a pawn, weren¡¯t you? You? Sir? Misunderstanding? You¡¯re changing too quickly. Is that normal for royalty? I¡¯m horrified. ¡°I can deliver it for you, sir.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be counting on you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡«End of Alessia¡¯s point of view. ¡°Welcome back, everyone. Are you all right?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯re fine. I was told to deliver a letter. Here it is.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Let¡¯s see¡­.. what¡¯s this? I don¡¯t feel so good. ¡°Master, you look disgusted. What does it say?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s terrible. It starts out by saying that there seems to be a misunderstanding, not explicitly, but it is coming out to say that everyone in Girasole may be twisting the information.¡± ¡°Oh no, Wataru-san, I did no such thing.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s all right. I understand. With the information that Alessia-san told me, I thought about running away from Lucca. I know that is inconvenient for you. Even I can understand that much, so please don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± ¡°Continuing the story, it says that he will send his trusted battalion commander, Clement, to serve as a negotiator. This is the arrogant battalion commander, correct?¡± ¡°Yes, perhaps, the arrogant battalion commander is a close aide of the prince. He only sees Wataru-san as a tool he can use.¡± ¡°Ahahaha, hah~ Well, so I read that if I serve the prince, I can get a title, a territory, gold, silver, treasures, beautiful women, and anything else I want. Alessia-san, can you tell me the story of how this happened?¡± ¡°Yes, I gave him the letter, there was a bit of a struggle, and when the marquis told him about the possibility of drying up due to the blockade of the port, the prince¡¯s attitude changed quickly. I think he switched because you didn¡¯t give in to his threats.¡± ¡°I understand. Well, if we refuse the dispatch of the battalion commander since there is no point in getting into trouble, shall we accept that it was a misunderstanding?¡± ¡°Master. If you accept it easily, the other party will take advantage of you. At the very least, you have to make them apologize.¡± ¡°I agree with that. I have seen with my own eyes how quickly they change. If you forgive them easily, I am sure that they will soon think of something terrible again.¡± Ines aside, even Dorothea-san is speaking clearly. I¡¯m sure they want to defend Lucca without getting into trouble with the prince, but¡­ I guess they don¡¯t trust him very much. ¡°I understand. Let¡¯s call it settled this time. What shall I say in reply?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll write the reply to the prince. It seems that we haven¡¯t given him enough of a threat yet.¡± Ines started to write a letter happily. I wonder what she is going to write. ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± She handed me the letter with a smile, and I looked it over. ¡°You have only two choices: die alone or perish with Lucca. Oh, let¡¯s also include a special surrender to the empire. If you beg miserably for your life against the Empire, you might just live, you know?¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s a little too radical, don¡¯t you think? Everyone should check it out.¡± After being passed around, they said they were in for it. It seems that the other party is not going to understand their situation unless I say something like this. It¡¯s not your lucky day when a prince like that has his eye on you. In the first place, I wonder what the Imperial Army is doing. After the defeat of the navy, they just came to unload the cargo, and the rest of the time, they were just surrounding the ship. Again, I will have the Girasole deliver the letter to them. It seems that only Alessia-san and Dorothea-san are going to the castle, so I recommended that they should stay behind. They need to be prepared for when they escape in Lucca. Everyone is thinking a lot. I wonder what the prince will answer to this letter? More importantly, what would I reply to reconcile? Volume 6 - CH 4 Chapter 4 ¨C The Prince¡¯s Exhaustion and the Prince¡¯s Decision It has been ten days since Alessia-san delivered the letter. I have delivered the letter many times since then, but I silence all of them due to the opinion of the girls. When Alessia-san and the others go to the castle, they are asked by the exhausted prince with a desperate look on his face if they have received a reply. The prince¡¯s bad position has made Viscount Jacopo less energetic, and Alessia-san is smiling. But since there is a possibility that their families could be targeted, they are being very vigilant. Commander Clement had come to the ship several times to receive a reply, but his loud and pompous voice had become quieter and quieter, and recently he had stopped coming. The pitiable one is the marquis, with a letter to the prince saying that they must choose between dying alone or perishing with Lucca. He is in trouble because he is suspected of betraying the prince for the sake of the possibility of Lucca¡¯s destruction. It seems that this part was also anticipated in the letter, so I¡¯m a little freaked out by Ines¡¯s terror. Rumors are spreading in the castle and in the city that the mage who came to help Lucca was angered by the prince¡¯s attempt to make him his servant, and the people who followed the prince are feeling a little awkward. Incidentally, Girasole is said to be highly regarded for running around desperately trying to repair the relationship between the angry mage and the castle. Suspecting a possible match pump, I asked them about it, but everyone except Ines and Ilma-san seemed to be in a daze. Ines and Ilma-san looked away, so my suspicions were confirmed. They were even manipulating information. Also, the Imperial Army seemed to have caught on to the tussle between the prince and me. They approached the Stronghold with great pride and started soliciting me in a loud voice. They were offering me titles, territories, gold, silver, treasures, and lots of beautiful women. I was seriously asked not to be recruited by the imperial army because I reacted to the many beautiful women. The members of Girasole also tried hard to stop me, so I guess they all know that I have a weakness for beautiful women. I have mixed feelings. The castle has heard that I am also being recruited by the imperial army, and the prince is said to be half in a frenzy. However, the girls say they still have plenty of food in Lucca, so they are going to hurt him a little more. By the way, the letter from the prince changed like this. Trying to fish with profit => Trying to fish with bigger profit => Giving up on making me his subordinate and starting to make excuses => Starting to apologize => Asking for forgiveness as he is going out of Lucca. It¡¯s changing like this. I suggested to him that it¡¯s okay now that he is apologizing, but the girls say it¡¯s no good because he still seems to have a lot of time to spare. They seem to be planning to push him all the way. The women are on guard 24 hours a day to watch for any escape from Lucca. When they find them, Ines and Felicia approach them with the Galette and make a small hole. The surveillance was undertaken by Girasole. By the way, I was the only one who was allowed to stop acting. I decided to stay indoors completely, so there was no need for me to do so. I¡¯m sorry to the women, but they are just continuing to do what they are doing. I¡¯m having a pretty good time with Ines and Felicia, taking a bath, having a lovey-dovey time, watching movies, and playing with Rimu on the ship. Sorry, but the prince¡¯s letters are also a source of amusement. Five more days have passed since then. There is still food in the castle, but I hear that the atmosphere is getting worse as people are getting anxious about the dwindling food supply. The letter from the prince is almost like a plea. ¡°Hey, Ines, I don¡¯t think it would be good to go any further. If it goes out of control and people get hurt, I won¡¯t be able to sleep well.¡± ¡°I think we can go a little further. Well, if Master says so, I guess we should stop now.¡± ¡°Yes, so what are we going to do now? You seemed to have an idea.¡± ¡°Yes, I have an idea. Read this.¡± I read through the letter she handed me and found that it said some pretty terrible things. If it were me, I would just say I¡¯m sorry, but I think there are a lot of problems for a prince to do that. Is he going to be okay? ¡°Isn¡¯t this a problem for a prince to do in his position? I don¡¯t want to be resented for the rest of my life, you know?¡± ¡°Master, it¡¯s the same because he already resents you for the rest of your life. And with this, Master¡¯s horror will roar throughout the continent. And it¡¯s a good deal because it¡¯s harder for them to mess with you, right?¡± It¡¯s already been confirmed that he¡¯s going to hate me for the rest of my life¡­ Well, you never know. If this is the extent of the horror that will be felt all over the continent, is it a good deal? ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m kind of nervous about it, so let¡¯s get everyone together to discuss it. Ines, Felicia, go tell everyone to gather in the cafeteria. I¡¯ll go to the cafeteria first.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± When I went to the cafeteria, I found Carla-san, Marina-san, and Fuu-chan eating snacks. Rimu also wanted a snack, so I ordered one and placed it next to Fuu-chan¡¯s. The two slimes were engrossed in their snacks. They were so cute. Now that everyone is here, I ask them to read the letter and discuss it thoroughly. ¡°I¡¯ll be merciful to you. Tomorrow at noon, come out to the port, get down on your knees, and loudly beg for forgiveness. I will not tolerate any pretense that you are doing this for the sake of your people. Put into it your desire to survive. If you can do it well, I will lift the blockade on the port. If you are a fool and lie, we will start over. Also, put out a big announcement in the city about what you¡¯re going to do. Invite the people to the top of the city walls overlooking the port tomorrow at noon. If the crowd is small, we¡¯ll have to start over.¡± ¡°The prince is going to get down on his knees, and his name will go down in history, won¡¯t it? I think it¡¯s indeed a tough call.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s a matter of pride, but if he gets down on his knees, he can save his own life and Lucca¡¯s, so I think it¡¯s a small price to pay. Well, the Imperial soldiers will see it, and the story will spread all over the continent, and it will be a lifetime of embarrassment.¡± ¡°Ilma-san, you don¡¯t think it will be a problem? What about the rest of you?¡± The girls discussed the matter willy-nilly, but it was decided that the letter would be sent to Lucca, as the girls were unrelenting as they were outraged by the prince¡¯s behavior, which they could only think was an attempt to interfere with Lucca. What about it? I honestly don¡¯t mind getting down on my knees and being embarrassed, but I don¡¯t think the prince would get down on his knees¡­ If this doesn¡¯t work out, how will we settle this? I wonder if the prince will do something to deserve this much? However, he wanted to use me as a pawn, take away my ship, and subjugate me¡­ He¡¯s an enemy, a total enemy if you think about it calmly. He¡¯s also coming to Lucca to interfere, and I¡¯m starting to feel like it can¡¯t be helped. I ask Ines to take Girasole to the port. ~Alessia¡¯s point of view~ It¡¯s going to be rough this time. I¡¯m getting nervous now. ¡°How was it today?¡± Yeah, the look in his eyes is dangerous. He¡¯s a prince, and I¡¯m sure he¡¯s never experienced a situation like this¡­ I¡¯ve never experienced a situation like this, either. Emotionally, almost all of them may be enemies, and it¡¯s hard; I don¡¯t feel sorry for them. ¡°Yes, I got the reply.¡± ¡°What! Give it to me.¡± With bloodshot eyes, he received the letter and read it. ¡°What is this? What is this?¡± ¡°What did it say, Your Highness?¡± ¡°Look.¡± ¡°T-this is so outrageous. You don¡¯t have to accept this. Alessia, are you sure the mage is not insane?¡± ¡°I do not know.¡± If there is anyone who is crazy, it is not Mage-sama. Especially her, since Ines is at the center. ¡°What will happen if I refuse this?¡± ¡°I have only received a letter from him, Your Highness, so I cannot answer your question.¡± ¡°Your Highness, perhaps, but the blockade of Lucca will only continue. There will be no problem if you refuse.¡± ¡°You say so, Clement, but the Marquis is disturbed by my presence, for if I stay, Lucca will perish with me. There is also the possibility of assassination. And if the blockade continues, there will be riots. Even though there is still food, there is unrest spreading. Even if there is no riot, we will starve to death without food. No, before that, if we are attacked by the imperial army, we won¡¯t stand a chance if we are starving.¡± ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s alright. The house of Girasole¡­¡± ¡°Shut up, I listened to your opinion, and here we are now. Viscount Jacopo, do not offend me any further. Is that clear?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± Viscount Jacopo seems to have been neglected in a good way. But, Prince, you don¡¯t blame yourself for not taking my opinion into consideration. But Viscount Jacopo, wasn¡¯t he trying to mention the Girasole family? If so, it would be troublesome. ¡°Your Highness, it is important to reject this proposal and to negotiate persistently. Alessia, you must be very close to the mages. Is there anything you can tell us?¡± ¡­This is my chance to spread the word about what Mage-sama has asked me to do. ¡°No, I have little contact with Mage-sama. I was in trouble when I heard that Lucca was besieged by the imperial army, and a merchant who is a good friend of mine in the southern city introduced me to him.¡± ¡°Is that merchant not here? He might be able to appease the mage?¡± ¡°No, he said he was going to Palermo to do business. And since the merchant said he did not know the identity of the mage, it is doubtful that there is enough trust between them to appease him.¡± ¡°Kuh, what should we do?¡± Really, these people are losing their heads. Don¡¯t they think that with our family still in Lucca, we might be okay? Well, I¡¯ve been told to get out if they think so. We¡¯ve been preparing for a long time, and no one has said anything, so I wonder if we¡¯re going to be able to get out of here undetected. But I¡¯m curious about what Viscount Jacopo was going to say earlier. From now on, let¡¯s have at least two people stay by the side of our families. ¡°Enough, I¡¯ll think about it for a while; now stand back.¡± We returned to the house that Marquis-sama had rented for us, discussed what Viscount Jacopo was about to say, and decided on the order in which we would wait by the family. We decided that Ilma and I would stay here, Dorothea and Carla would report to Mage-sama, and Marina and Claretta would wait by our families, and then each of us would take our own turn. ¡°What do you think the prince will do, Ilma?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. He seems to be in a very tight corner, and I doubt if he will be able to make a calm decision.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I wonder. I have heard that the second prince is very military-minded, but isn¡¯t he too fragile for that?¡± ¡°Right, he may have been military-minded but not brilliant, or he may have been brilliant but weak because of his status as a prince and the way he was treated by those around him.¡± ¡°Ah, that may be so. The battalion commander also seems to be the prince loyalist.¡± ¡°Well, we will know the result tomorrow at noon. If there is an announcement, we might know by the end of the day.¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± While chatting, I would occasionally go to the plaza to see if they had announced anything about tomorrow. In the evening, when I go to the square, I find that it has been announced that the second prince will apologize to the mage tomorrow at 12:00 noon¡­ It¡¯s unusual for royalty to apologize to a mage, but for it to be proclaimed in the plaza is unprecedented. Rumors were circulating, and the people, who knew about the feud between the prince and the mage, were happy that the blockade of the port might end tomorrow while Ilma and I returned to the Stronghold. ~End of Alessia¡¯s point of view~ ¡°Wataru-san, the prince has announced that he will apologize tomorrow at noon.¡± ¡°¡­I see¡­ he really is going to do that. I thought it was impossible for a prince to get down on his knees. But he does, doesn¡¯t he? Alessia-san, do you think he would really do it?¡± ¡°I was surprised too. He seemed to have been cornered, so maybe he couldn¡¯t stand the current situation.¡± ¡­It¡¯s only been 15 days since I sent the letter. People can be so cornered in that amount of time. Fear of assassination, being ignored by a mage, not being able to trust anyone in Lucca, food crisis, attacks by imperial soldiers, riots, and incidentally, the crisis of the Kingdom of Brescia itself¡­ Yeah, I would give up that day. I would get down on my knees as many times as I could if I could escape that. ¡°That¡¯s right. It was a difficult situation, so perhaps it was not unreasonable. Once the apology is done tomorrow, the royal family¡¯s problems will be settled for the time being.¡± ¡°I agree. But nothing has been resolved about the problems of the empire, right?¡± ¡°Yes, and they won¡¯t give up their solicitation of me at all. Every day, they come up with a little different reward for me.¡± ¡°Fufu, thanks to you, there was no attack on Lucca, who was struggling at the moment, so I am grateful to you.¡± ¡°Thanks to me?¡± ¡°Yes, I think they were waiting for a definite breakdown of the relationship with Lucca. If they attacked Lucca now, there is a possibility that reconciliation would occur, so they refrained from attacking Lucca.¡± ¡°Heh, I guess there are things that are useful in places we don¡¯t know about. Well, you never know what will happen tomorrow. Let¡¯s have a good dinner and get a good rest.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± At 12:00 noon the next day, the port side city walls were filled to capacity with people, and in front of me, all of Girasole, the people of Lucca, and the imperial army, His Highness Arnolf kneeled down on his knees and performed a magnificent prostration before the Stronghold. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die. I really apologize.¡± Along with the story of his splendid prostration, I became known throughout the continent as the mysterious mage who made the prince get down on his knees. I can never reveal my identity again, can I? Volume 6 - CH 5 Chapter 5 ¨C Strategy to Proceed with the Crown Prince After His Highness Prince Arnolf¡¯s splendid prostration on his knees, I asked Alessia-san to go and tell him that the blockade had been lifted. When I asked Alessia-san about it later, she told me that there was a strange atmosphere in the city, filled with unexplainable excitement. The prince and the others received the news of the lifting of the blockade by letter and left Lucca as it was. Viscount Jacopo, who had planned to go with them, was left behind at the port and was captured by soldiers and taken to the castle. ¡°Alessia-san, is the man who was standing in the port at dusk at that time Viscount Jacopo?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. If possible, I wanted the prince to take him away, but it is safe to say that he will not be a problem if he is in jail. I heard that he had grown considerably since the prince took him out of prison, so he is going to have a sad prison life.¡± No, it¡¯s not nice to talk about such a heavy subject with such a smile. Alessia-san must really dislike him. In my opinion, he gave a good order, so I have a good impression of him. We went to the cafeteria and had coffee while discussing what to do next. ¡°So, everyone, it looks like we¡¯ve done our job, but we¡¯re just back before the royalty arrives. What do we do now?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. The imperial army is here¡­¡± Dorothea-san must have felt like it was over, too. When I thought that it was finally over too, I saw the imperial army, and I felt a little blue. ¡°That¡¯s right. I feel like nothing is rewarded for all the hard work we put in. Well, I was just holed up on the Stronghold. The Girasole members did a terrific job, going to the castle many times, guarding the ship, keeping an eye on things.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s our own thing. Wataru-san, you are the one who has been very helpful to us. Thank you very much.¡± At the same time as Alessia-san¡¯s thanks, the remaining five members of Girasole also gave a coordinated thanks. They were perfectly aligned. Are they practicing or something? ¡°No, no, I was seriously thinking of running away halfway through. It¡¯s the result of all of your hard work that drew us here.¡± I feel like I just said something very good. I look around at everyone in anticipation, but everyone looks normal¡­ Wasn¡¯t that so? I felt like I¡¯d said something pretty good, so I was shocked, sob. ¡°Well, if we can deal with the imperial forces surrounding Lucca, most of our problems are solved, but Lucca alone can¡¯t beat the imperial forces that are surrounding it, can it?¡± ¡°Yes, the city walls can hold them off, but it¡¯s impossible for them to attack from there.¡± ¡°They are completely surrounded except on the port side, and all they can do is defend themselves.¡± If Alessia-san and Dorothea-san also feel that it is impossible, then I guess so¡­ What would we do then¡­ Well, in my case, the only thing I can do is bring soldiers. Think of it simply. I¡¯ll borrow the number of people from somewhere else¡­ Now that I think about it, maybe I should have used the prince. I did my best to harass him, but if we had established a cooperative relationship, I might have been able to get people¡­ no good; he would just try to force me to follow him. ¡°Even if we were able to withdraw the imperial army from Lucca, we would have to repel them again when the reinforcements arrive. Hmm, for example, what if we get reinforcements from the Kingdom of Thessaloniki and the Beast Kingdom and bring them to the empire?¡± ¡°To the empire? ¡­The empire is sending an army to the Kingdom of Brescia. I see that defensive troops have been allocated to the Beast Kingdom side as well. The Imperial Navy has suffered heavy losses. If we could bring troops from the sea, the empire would be in chaos¡­ Wataru-san, I think it will succeed.¡± ¡°Yes, the empire will not be able to devote itself to the Kingdom of Brescia. They could even withdraw from the Kingdom of Brescia.¡± If Alessia-san and Ilma-san agree with me, it seems to be all right. Especially Ilma-san, she has great credibility in my mind. I think the Stronghold can carry 10,000 people if we use the entire parking lot, deck, and space, not just the rooms. I¡¯d say about half that, about 5,000 people. ¡°If it sounds good, I¡¯ll have you pass it on to the marquis. I can carry 5,000 soldiers, and if the rest of the Imperial fleet comes out and Alessia-san and the others want to fight, I can lend you the Galette. Can you tell the marquis that?¡± ¡°Yes, of course, but is it okay with you, Wataru-san? You even did something for us that was not part of Lucca¡¯s contract.¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m going to stay in the wheelhouse and not see anyone, so I¡¯ll be fine. If things continue as they are, I will be involved in Lucca for a long time, so I would rather carry the soldiers and have the imperial army withdraw from Lucca as soon as possible.¡± ¡°I am sorry. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°No, no, I want to get back to my comfortable life as soon as possible, so please do your best.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go tell the marquis immediately.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡«From Alessia¡¯s point of view¡« ¡°I¡¯m sorry to keep coming back to you, Marquis-sama.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s okay. So, do you have a message from Mage-dono?¡± The marquis looks incredibly nervous. ¡­When I think about it, it is no wonder. Since the prince¡¯s arrival, as far as I¡¯m concerned, I haven¡¯t conveyed a single thing to him. Let¡¯s make this quick. ¡°Yes, he says that the ship can carry 5,000 men to the empire. After that, Marquis-sama will take care of the rest.¡± ¡°¡­So that¡¯s what he means. The Imperial fleet is very few. If we attack the empire from the sea side, the empire will be in turmoil. Can Mage-dono help us out?¡± ¡°No, Mage-sama says it is only to carry. If Girasole goes into battle, he will lend us a little help.¡± ¡°I see¡­ So, when the imperial fleet comes out, will you and your colleagues fight for us?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°¡­I understand, I am not strong enough. I will send an envoy to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Tell him I need more time.¡± The crown prince? The second prince¡¯s older brother, right? Is everything all right? ¡°Marquis-sama, Mage-sama is in trouble with His Highness Prince Arnolf. Will there be a problem?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say that there is no problem, but the crown prince is a very wise man. I have never heard that he is on good terms with His Highness Arnolf. I am sure it will be fine. However, like His Highness Arnolf, he is working to unite the nobles and defend the royal capital, so I am sure he knows about this incident.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry, Marquis-sama, but I¡¯ll have to ask Mage-sama about it first.¡± If the crown prince is coming out, Mage-sama might not like it. I have to make sure. ¡°Umu, of course. Tell him that the crown prince is an intelligent man and not like His Royal Highness Prince Arnolf.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡«End of Alessia¡¯s point of view¡« A month had passed since His Highness Prince Arnolf¡¯s splendid get-down-on-his-knees. The crown prince had some concerns, but since he was said to be intelligent, I gave him permission. Then the conversation proceeded smoothly, and it turned into a large-scale story; he is too intelligent. Originally, he had requested cooperation from the Kingdom of Thessaloniki and the Beast Kingdom, and he was planning to send half of them to this operation and organize a fleet to attack the empire. At the same time, the Beast Kingdom is going to attack the empire, and the chaos in the empire will be great. It will be too big, and my heart is in turmoil. The crown prince himself is going to lead the attack, and he himself came to Lucca. It seems that he intends to go all the way to the empire, which is even more grandiose. Is it possible for the crown prince to go to the battlefield? Maybe it would be effective in the current situation. He¡¯s a smart guy and seems to be thoughtful about it. By the way, he came in a medium-sized magic ship and five small magic ships that the second prince came in. The soldiers are coming later in a sailing ship and a galley. The second prince is under house arrest. According to the story from the crown prince¡¯s camp, the second prince was carried away by the vassals around him who saw the crisis in the Kingdom of Brescia as an opportunity. He wanted to be a king, didn¡¯t he? My role is to carry 5,000 of the reinforcements from the Beast Kingdom, which has no seas. The crown prince wanted to meet me, but I refused. When I refused, he sent me a letter of apology and ten platinum coins as an inconvenience fee. He¡¯s a capable man, isn¡¯t he? Is it just my imagination that he¡¯s scary on the contrary? I heard that the preparations would be finished in another half month, and the ship will set sail accordingly. All I have to do is carry the soldiers of the Beast Kingdom to the appointed place, they say. I holed myself up in the wheelhouse, rented a lot of DVDs with the determination not to step out, bought food from the stores, vending machines, and cafeteria, and repatriated it back to the ship. I thought about plating up some buffet food and repatriating it, but I had a bad feeling about it, so I decided not to. I had a feeling that Creator God-sama was preparing some strange penalty that I didn¡¯t know about. I think it is safe to avoid unnecessary risks. I decided to disguise the ship as a completely wooden magic ship, except for us and Girasole¡¯s room. It would be good if it were disguised before we put the troops on board. We spent our time on the Lutto, taking it out to the open sea every now and then for a change of scenery. I summoned the Hideaway, took a dip in the Jacuzzi, drank a few drinks, and played with Rimu. The sight of the women in hot water was perfectly etched in my mind and relaxed me. The group of ship-handlers enthusiasts and the chaperone, Felicia, are having a blast on the Lutto and enjoying the escape game for the first time in a long time. Everyone was stressed out, the tension was high, and they drank, ate, and made a lot of noise. A large number of ships came in and out of Lucca, and people and goods were brought into Lucca rapidly. Stimulated by this, the Imperial Army¡¯s positions are also becoming more active. If we sailed with a fleet, wouldn¡¯t it be obvious that we were headed for the empire? Is this okay? Preparations were steadily being made, and finally, it was time to set sail. Although a little more than planned, 5,600 soldiers from the Beast Kingdom boarded the Stronghold, making several trips back and forth on their sailboats. The reason for the slight increase in numbers is that the soldiers of the Beast Kingdom were excited by the prospect of attacking the empire from the sea side, a battle they had never experienced before, and they were inundated with people who wanted to join them. It seems that some of the hot-blooded beastmen in the Beast Kingdom had been frustrated with the basic style of fighting off the invading imperial army, and the talk of an attack on the empire had some of them at their maximum tension. When a base is established on the imperial side, they want the soldiers to be transported back and forth again. The Kingdom of Brescia, the Kingdom of Thessaloniki, and the Beast Kingdom are forming an allied force to seriously attack the empire. The higher-ups from the Beast Kingdom also asked to meet with us, but I declined it, and even if they saw the mage on the ship, I asked them not to make any contact. It took some time, but we managed to get everyone on board, and the ship set sail. Incidentally, the size of the fleet was two large magic ships, six medium-sized magic ships, 36 small magic ships, and many sailing ships and galleys. The Brescia Kingdom¡¯s naval headquarters has been destroyed, so there are only a few magic ships, and the Brescia Kingdom¡¯s naval headquarters, which is located on the way, will be ignored this time and will be repulsed if it comes under attack. It took longer than expected to arrive at the Imperial Navy headquarters in the empire in 21 days in order to match the sailing ship¡¯s pace. Since we departed with much fanfare, information naturally leaked out and was conveyed to the empire as well. The Imperial side seemed to be fully prepared. Two large magic ships, three medium-sized magic ships, 18 small magic ships, and many sailing ships and galleys were waiting for us. ¡°Hmmm, Alessia-san, I didn¡¯t realize there were so many Imperial Navy ships left. I had heard that most of the ships of the Imperial Navy had been destroyed.¡± ¡°Yeah, I believe most of the navy ships have been destroyed. According to the scouting, most of the defensive fleet is unevenly distributed, with most of the large and medium-sized magic ships decorated with glittering ornaments and the small magic ships also decorated with ornaments and family crests. They were probably scavenged from ships of the royal family and noble families.¡± ¡°Ah, I see, so they procured the ships from outside the military. If Alessia-san and the others want to fight, I will summon the Galette. How about that?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± ¡°Oh, by the way, I can¡¯t summon the Galette to the ramp unless I get out of the wheelhouse¡­ If I can see the sea, I can summon it there¡­ What shall I do?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a problem, there are a lot of beastmen outside, and although they¡¯ve been issued a no-contact notice, there¡¯s a lot of tension ahead of the war. I think Mage-sama is going to get entangled.¡± ¡°Oh, as I thought¡­ Hmm.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± No, Marina-san, you don¡¯t have to raise your hand. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°If Mage-sama can summon two Galette to the part of the deck you can see, I think the rest can be carried by force.¡± ¡°¡­I see. I never thought of that before.¡± ¡°Great, Marina, that¡¯s great.¡± Marina-san¡¯s expression doesn¡¯t change when she gets praised. When she is steering the ship and interacting with Fuu-chan and Rimu, her expression changes comparatively, though. I summoned two Galette boats to the visible deck. I issued ten tickets to touch the Galette and gave them to Alessia-san for assistance in carrying them. I see Girasole, who is going out to get ready, and relax. ¡°Master, you always seemed so worried when you sent Girasole off, but this time you aren¡¯t too worried, are you? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Hmm? Is that so? Oh, maybe I¡¯m getting used to the power of ship summoning by now. Maybe they finally realized that it¡¯s impossible to sink the Galette no matter how they try.¡± ¡°Fufu, yes, I suppose so. I can¡¯t even think of a way to sink the Galette.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I thought. I don¡¯t have any idea, either. But is it dangerous to be surrounded and not be able to escape?¡± ¡°Well, the only other thing that might be dangerous would be falling into the sea when you get too excited.¡± Ines and Felicia were right. What else could be dangerous? Funds on hand: 62 gold coins, 82 silver coins, 86 copper coins. Guild account: 33 platinum coins, 70 gold coins. Savings ship: 85 platinum coins. Pepper ship: 485 ships. Volume 6 - CH 6 Chapter 6 ¨C Soldier Transport and Completion of Request We arrived at the naval base of the empire. The imperial side has also gathered magic ships from all over to confront us. ¡°Everyone is having a strategy meeting, right?¡± ¡°Yes, Master was also invited, but I declined the invitation.¡± ¡°Thanks, the naval battle won¡¯t be a problem, but can we take down this base? I think they have people on the base as well as on the ship.¡± ¡°What do you think? Alessia said that the soldiers of the Beast Kingdom are getting excited, so maybe they¡¯ll be okay?¡± ¡°Perhaps, Master, but even if they are gathering people, I heard that the Beast Kingdom is also going to attack from its borders, and considering that they are sending a large army to confront the Kingdom of Brescia, it seems unlikely that the empire will be able to gather that many soldiers on the border.¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s right. The empire can¡¯t concentrate its troops in one place. If we can get past that wall, I think we can make it.¡± ¡°Yes, I suppose so.¡± ¡°Well, we have nothing to do, so let¡¯s just relax and hope for victory.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I play with Rimu and kill time with Reversi and Jenga. It hurts that I watched all of the DVDs by the time I got here. I should have rented a lot more. ¡°Mage-sama, the naval battle is over. Please open the door.¡± ¡°Alessia-san and the others have returned. Open the door.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Welcome back. Thank you for your hard work. Did you encounter any problems?¡± ¡°Yes, everything was fine. We sank the large and medium-sized galleys, and then we supported our allies by sinking the smaller galleys. A few of our galleys were hit, but we were able to rescue them. We are going to attack the base now, so they want you to open the boarding ramp.¡± ¡°I understand. ¡­I already opened it.¡± Imagining the boarding ramp, I reminded myself to open it. That¡¯s all I had to do, so it was convenient. ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll go tell them.¡± ¡°Alessia, I¡¯ll be the one to go.¡± ¡°You will? Thank you.¡± Marina-san goes out to announce it. Speaking of which, Marina-san is very active as a messenger, isn¡¯t she? I wonder if that is also the role of a scout? ¡°You are not taking part in the land battle, are you?¡± ¡°Yes, if it becomes dangerous, we might be asked to do so, but we took all the credit for the naval battle, so we decided to be on standby.¡± They sank a lot of magic ships, and that¡¯s a major feat. In this naval battle, the empire only sunk non-military magic ships as well, and I¡¯m sure the bright crown prince would have trashed the coastline as well. Come to think of it, the empire has a friendly nation, too. Will they join the war? ¡°Haha, well, that¡¯s what happens when you¡¯ve sunk a bunch of magic ships. Alessia-san, I have a question. Are there any friendly countries of the empire coming to join the war?¡± ¡°The crown prince mentioned that in the military council. He said that the friendly countries of the empire are fighting with their neighbors for human supremacy and that even if they could send support, it would be few.¡± ¡°I see. So we¡¯re safe for the time being.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, if you¡¯re not going to go out, I¡¯ll give you some snacks, and we can relax over a cup of tea.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡± Marina-san, who has returned, joins us for a leisurely tea party. I¡¯m sure there will be a lot of killing going on outside, but I wouldn¡¯t be able to take care of myself if I cared too much. Three days after arriving at the Imperial Navy headquarters, the Allied forces successfully captured the Imperial Navy headquarters. It is said that it was difficult to attack because of the walls, but as expected, the number of soldiers was small, and the victory was decided when the Beast Kingdom troops, who were experienced in warfare, broke through the walls after a fierce attack. Incidentally, as we were holed up in our room, we were of no help to them. It was decided that the Imperial Navy headquarters would be taken down, and this place would be used as the base for the Allied forces. At the request of the crown prince, we made two round trips between Lucca and the base, carrying the wounded and another 10,000 soldiers. A month has passed since then, and the Allied Forces have been raiding the coastline of the empire, and the imperial army, which has lost most of its magic ships, can only watch as the Allied Forces do whatever they please. The Allied strongholds are being reinforced with each passing day, and with their large numbers of soldiers, magic ships, and reinforced bases, they have secured a firm foothold in empire territory. The crown prince would casually request my participation during victory celebrations and other such events. Although he does not force me to attend if I refuse, I find it hard to refuse his invitations again and again. I am afraid that he is trying to get me to join him. I have nothing more to do, so I decide to return to Lucca. I asked Alessia-san to go and tell him about it, and he rewarded Girasole and me with ten platinum coins each. I was told that the reward would actually be given out after a thorough inspection, but since I refused the title and the party in the royal capital, it seems that he gave me the reward first. They said it would take some time to decide on the real reward and that they would give it to me the next time I came to the royal capital. Let¡¯s give up on that. I set the autopilot to Lucca and leisurely left the room. ¡°Whew, now that there is no one here, I can walk freely around the ship. Let¡¯s get the facilities back to normal. It¡¯s nice to have a big bath for the first time in a while.¡± ¡°That sounds good, Wataru-san. After that, why don¡¯t we watch a movie for the first time in a while?¡± Alessia-san is also in a good mood. The other members also seem to be happy to use the ship¡¯s facilities for the first time in a long time. ¡°I guess so. Let¡¯s take a bath, have dinner at the restaurant, and watch a movie.¡± ¡°Fufu, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± I headed to the bathroom and took a bath with Ines, Felicia, and Rimu. We spent a long time washing each other¡¯s bodies, having a lovey-dovey time, and playing sandwiches in the bathtub and thoroughly enjoyed the bath. After the bath, we had a beer and headed for the restaurant. I ate my meal with my eyes burning in the sight of a T-shirt with no bra after taking a bath for the first time in a long time. We watched a movie in the theater room. Well, it is fun to use the ferry¡¯s facilities to the fullest when there is no one to bother you. There is still the luxury liner on top of this. Let¡¯s hire a maid, too. My dreams are expanding. We headed for Lucca, enjoying a carefree boat trip for the first time in a while. After the leisurely boat ride, Lucca came into sight. ¡°Wataru-san, there are no imperial troops in Lucca.¡± Unusually, Marina-san comes to inform me in a panicked and loud voice. ¡°¡­It¡¯s hard to imagine Lucca being dropped under those circumstances. Could it be that the Imperial Army has retreated?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I¡¯ll go and inform everyone else.¡± ¡°Ufufu, Master. It¡¯s very rare to see Marina like that.¡± ¡°Yeah, she must be very happy. Shall we go out on deck to see Lucca, too?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± There was a cheer in the dining room where Marina-san ran, and the sound of running could be heard. Girasole must be coming to check on Lucca, too. I go out on the deck and look around Lucca. ¡°The imperial army is definitely gone. Does that mean the contract is done?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. The contract is now complete since it was either Lucca¡¯s defense or escape. I have a feeling we did things very differently than planned.¡± ¡°Yes, it was not part of the plan to carry the soldiers to the empire. And also, the prince got down on his knees.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. There was no plan for the prince to get down on his knees.¡± Girasole also came out on the deck and cheered loudly when they saw Lucca. ¡°Wataru-san, there is no imperial army here anymore. Thank you so much.¡± Alessia-san and the others thanked me one after the other. When they thank me like this, I suspect the possibility of a twist of fate. I try not to think about the ominous possibility¡­ that Lucca was actually occupied by the imperial army when we arrived here. As we pass by the Fortress, a Lucca soldier waves to us. Yeah, there seems to be no problem. Lucca must have been freed. I anchor the Stronghold just short of running aground and head for the cafeteria with a group of excited women. I order tea and coffee for everyone to calm down and take a breather. ¡°There is no doubt that Lucca has been rescued by now. I would like all of you in Girasole to go now and inform the marquis about Lucca and tell him to prepare to withdraw from the Fortress and then go gather information. Is that all right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. Thank you, Wataru-san. I will go and get a lot of information. Also, what should I do if he asks me to give him the Fortress or ask for an extension of the loan period?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that¡¯s right. Just refuse all of them. Tell them to have it ready for return as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand. Then, I¡¯ll be off.¡± That dazzling smile. It¡¯s radiant. They must have gone through a lot of hard work, and they must be really happy. ¡«From Alessia¡¯s point of view¡« Ness drives me to the port, and we enter the city. I thought it was a little brighter now that the port had been freed up, but this sight shows that it was all still a bit downcast. Businesses are everywhere, and children are running around. Housewives are shopping in a good mood, and guards patrol the streets in a relaxed atmosphere. The reinforcements have arrived, so perhaps it is livelier than it was before the war. ¡°Fufu, everyone seems to be having a good time.¡± ¡°Yes, come to think of it, this is probably the first time since we¡¯ve been back that I¡¯ve seen kids running around.¡± ¡°Yes, they can now let their children play in peace.¡± Dorothea¡¯s words were happily answered by Claretta. I think Claretta must have been relieved because she, too, was worried about the children at the orphanage. Dorothea and I headed for the castle, and the rest of the group split up to gather information. We arrived at the castle in a lively atmosphere, our steps light. I was immediately taken to the office, perhaps because they had heard that the Stronghold had arrived at the port. ¡°Welcome back. As you probably know by now, Lucca has been freed. If you hadn¡¯t brought the mage with you, Lucca wouldn¡¯t have lasted. I thank you for that.¡± I feel like we caused a lot of trouble with the blockade of the port and all, but if they are happy, then is that good? ¡°No, we only relied on Mage-sama¡¯s help.¡± ¡°Hmm, that may be the best achievement of all. And as for your reward, are you interested in serving me and becoming a noble?¡± ¡°I apologize, but it is too much for us.¡± Commander Dumun twitched, but I didn¡¯t want to be a nobleman. There¡¯s no need to jump all the way into the world of intrigue. ¡°Well, I expected you to say so. Tell the mage to visit the castle when he feels like it, and I¡¯ll treat him with the best hospitality. It may or may not please him. The reward will take some time, so give me a few days.¡± I don¡¯t think Mage-sama would like that; even with the best treatment, he would be more comfortable on the ferry. ¡°Thank you, sir. So, Mage-sama wants to know how the imperial army¡¯s retreat is going. Also, please prepare for the return of the Fortress.¡± ¡°Fumu, Dumun will tell you how the retreat is progressing. As for the Fortress, it would be reassuring to have it there. Can you negotiate with him to give it to us?¡± I knew he would do that. But we have to say no. It would be very encouraging for us to have the Fortress in Lucca, but we will be punished if we hope for too much. ¡°I am sorry, Marquis-sama. Mage-sama wishes for its prompt return.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°Alessia, Marquis-sama is asking for it. Can¡¯t you at least negotiate?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Commander-sama, but it¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all right, Dumun. Please tell him that I do not intend to force him and that I will have all the men and weapons moved out in two days.¡± ¡°Understood, sir.¡± ¡°And now, Dumun, you will explain to them about the imperial army.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Do you want to start when the imperial army begins its retreat? Until then, not much will change.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± ¡°First of all, the imperial army started retreating after Mage-dono left for the second time to transport the troops. The imperial army surrounding Lucca began to gather. I had heard about the results of the Allied Forces, so I knew immediately that the imperial army had decided to retreat. The imperial army formed a mass and slowly moved away from Lucca. We avoided a direct collision and chased the retreating imperial army with only our cavalry and interfered to slow their march. Well, we didn¡¯t achieve much since the imperial army was not defeated in the battle, and they retreated in a solid formation. Is everything clear so far?¡± ¡°Yes, everything is fine.¡± ¡°From there, we continued to pursue the imperial army, making minor obstructions. On the way, a large force of the imperial army and the imperial army that had retreated from Lucca joined forces. The rest retreated to Fort Lughorn, where they fortified their defenses. It seems that it was the imperial army that had attacked the royal capital, and the safety of the royal capital was confirmed. Unlike Lucca, however, the city seemed to be under continuous serious attack, and even after the imperial army retreated, there were no proper soldiers to operate the city. Currently, supplies are being sent, and priority is being given to the reconstruction of the capital itself. The southern nobles are on their way to Fort Lughorn to watch out for the imperial army. The Beast Kingdom will attack the borderline, and the Kingdom of Brescia will move to recapture Fort Lughorn. The empire¡¯s seacoast is being attacked by Allied forces. The empire will probably lose a lot of power in this war.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you, Knight Commander-sama.¡± I don¡¯t think Lucca will be in danger anymore if the situation is as it is now. I don¡¯t know what the future holds for the war, but as long as Lucca is safe, that¡¯s all that matters. After the discussion is over, we return to the Stronghold. Volume 6 - CH 7 Chapter 7 ¨C Departure from Lucca and the Dark Elf Island After a Long Time We are now sailing to Southern City. It was not long before I was relieved to hear from Alessia-san about the retreat of the imperial army, and a lot of people came rushing to see me, to ask me for a favor, and to ask me to sell them my ship. There¡¯s nothing but discomfort¡­ as people (messengers and merchants from the nobility) gather around the mage who brought the prince down on his knees¡­ I asked Alessia-san what was going on, and she said that the mage, surprisingly, seemed to be very popular. Although he was the one who blockaded the port of Lucca¡­ he is thought to be the one who rushed to the crisis in Lucca, liberated the port, brought in food and soldiers, and was the catalyst for the formation of the Allied Forces. What about the blockade of Lucca? When I asked her, she said that the reputation of the second prince was so bad that the reputation of the mage was relatively high. He is a righteous mage who is not beholden to authority and is scary when angered but wields power for the good of the people¡­ Who are we talking about here? Me, who was lured by a beautiful woman and just holed up in the wheelhouse watching DVDs? That¡¯s impossible. I left the ships that had gathered in such a way because they were harmless. However, ships gathered around the Stronghold, causing trouble for ships entering and leaving the port, so we left immediately after retrieving the Fortress and receiving a reward from the marquis. In the meantime, I repatriated the Fortress after reaching the open sea, but several magic ships were attracted to the Fortress to see where it was going somehow. As the open sea approached, the number of magic ships decreased, and even the magic ships that had been chasing the Fortress until the end gave up when the Fortress completely went out to the open sea. It is advantageous to be able to go out to the open sea, isn¡¯t it? We were coming and going normally, so it didn¡¯t feel any different anymore. After the retrieval of the Fortress, the marquis rewarded me with 30 platinum coins and Girasole with 30 platinum coins, a huge reward. I was told that even this was not much of a reward for my efforts and that if I went to the royal capital, I would surely receive even more privileges and an additional amount of money. Well, I gave up, but the 30 platinum coins for Girasole and the ten platinum coins sent to Girasole by the crown prince were also transferred to me for a total reward of 80 platinum coins. Alessia-san told me that she would also pay all of Girasole¡¯s deposits in the Southern City, so I think that would be quite a reward. At the very least, there are 50 platinum coins from the sale of the Ryu scale¡­ Speaking of which, the auction for the Ryu scale should be coming up soon. Depending on the outcome, maybe I can get my hands on the luxury liner? There¡¯s also a festival in the dark elf village to look forward to. It¡¯s time to change to the Lutto and drop off Alessia-san and the others; let¡¯s check the schedule again. I¡¯ll ask Ines and Felicia to gather the Girasole in the cafeteria. ¡°Alessia-san, are you sure you don¡¯t mind getting off the boat and walking to the Southern City?¡± ¡°No problem. Wataru-san is going to another place, isn¡¯t he? I heard that your destination is a secret, but you will come back to the Southern City, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I plan to take my time, but I don¡¯t think it will take more than a month. Alessia-san, please be careful, as I am sure that information has spread to the Southern City.¡± ¡°Yes, the guild master of the adventurer¡¯s guild will definitely ask me about it, and I can spread the word that Wataru-san introduced me to the mage, right? ¡°Yes, I think they will suspect me too, but I will go through with the fact that I introduced you to a mage that I became friends with during my travels. I will say that I bought both the Japanese-style boat and the Lutto ship from the mage, and I will insist on it as much as I can.¡± ¡°I apologize for the trouble I have caused you.¡± ¡°No, no, the mage has become famous, but he is hardly ever seen or even heard of. The empire is in turmoil. Other countries will come to check on him, but if he is feared, they will not be reckless. Nobles and merchants will be interested in the Japanese-style boat and the Lutto, but if I tell them that I am the only one who can use Mage-sama¡¯s magic, I will be able to get by. I can use Mage-sama¡¯s authority to counter their threats. They know it¡¯s a special ship. I¡¯ll tell them that I lied about going to Palermo this time, too, and that I was accumulating pepper by repeatedly doing the pepper trade. Besides, we were originally targeted in Southern City. When we go into town, Ines and Felicia will do their best, so everything will be fine.¡± The conspicuousness and inconspicuousness won¡¯t matter once I get my hands on the luxury liner. I don¡¯t have to make a big deal out of it myself, but I¡¯m going to turn this long boat trip into a period of time to secretly accumulate pepper and get a lot of money from the merchant¡¯s guild. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll be with you while you¡¯re in the Southern City if you¡¯d like us to come along.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll look forward to working with you then.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Even after the war is over, troubles will follow for the time being, right? ¡­Yeah, I¡¯d like to stick around on this continent somehow until we can find some dark elves and get them to emigrate. The illegal slaves protected by the empire are apparently under the jurisdiction of the Allied Forces, and it¡¯s out of my hands. If word gets out that the mage wants the dark elves, there¡¯s going to be a lot more trouble. ¡°It¡¯s about time we were at our destination. I¡¯ll transfer to the Lutto and then head for the coast.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± After transferring to the Lutto ship and sending Girasole off, we headed directly to the dark elf village. On the way, we changed to the Stronghold and cooked with the help of Ines, Felicia, and Rimu. Since it was a festival, we cooked a lot of food with the ingredients we had in stock and served it to the people. We¡¯ll have fried chicken, pork cutlets, fried shrimp, fried fish, croquettes, pizza, and barbecue. There will also skewer a variety of meats, vegetables, and seafood. I¡¯ll also make mayonnaise, salads, potato salad, soups, pudding, and ice cream for dessert. Come to think of it; I haven¡¯t made any new dishes even though I got soy sauce. The shark¡¯s fin is already dry and parched, and the question is whether it¡¯s a success. Well, it wouldn¡¯t be suitable for serving at a festival, with all the rehydrating and stewing, so the shark fins will have to wait until next time. Let¡¯s dry it some more. I cook a large quantity of food and repatriate the dishes one after another. As for drinks, distilled spirits, and wine are fine. I hope it will be a lively festival. ¡°Master, it¡¯s going to be a fun festival with all this.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a celebration, you know. It¡¯ll just be drinking, eating, and making noise, but that¡¯s all right as long as it¡¯s fun.¡± ¡°Ufufu, yes, as long as it¡¯s fun, that¡¯s all that matters.¡± ¡­I feel like there¡¯s a problem when Ines, who has sold herself into debt by gambling, says that. Moderation is important, you know. ¡°Master, thank you so much for all you¡¯ve done for me.¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m sure Felicia knows that, but it¡¯s a generous offer full of ulterior motives. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Fufu, but still, thank you very much. It makes me very happy.¡± ¡°Hmm, yes. You¡¯re welcome?¡± Oh no, I¡¯m getting nervous. Soon Felicia and I will be¡­ and the festival I was looking forward to is starting to feel like a hassle. Somehow, I managed to redirect my desires toward the festival and pushed forward with further preparations. ¡°Wataru, a lot?''¡± ¡°Hmm? Is it strange that I make a lot of food?¡± ¡°Nn.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing. We are going to have a festival next time. We¡¯re going to eat a lot of delicious food with a lot of people and make a lot of noise. Looking forward to it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to the festival.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s eat a lot of food and make a lot of noise.¡± ¡°Have fun.¡± Rimu was happily bouncing around¡­ It¡¯s a soothing sight. I spent the voyage to the Dark Elf Island imagining a fun festival. We arrive at Dark Elf Island after a long while. Village Chief-san was already there to welcome us. ¡­For some reason, they are looking so deadly, and armed dark elves are gathering¡­ Are they not welcoming us to the island? I step out of the living room and call out to the village chief, who looks alarmed. ¡°Village Chief-san, what¡¯s going on with everyone gathered here?¡± ¡°Oh, was that Wataru-san? We were alarmed to see an unfamiliar ship approaching. I apologize.¡± An unfamiliar ship? ¡­Ah, I changed the shape of the ship in Lucca and left it as it was. I¡¯ll have to remember to return it to its original shape before returning to the Southern City, or all hell will break loose. ¡°Haha¡­ sorry. This time it¡¯s this ship, but next time I¡¯ll come back with the previous one.¡± ¡°Oh, Wataru-san, you have another magic ship; isn¡¯t that wonderful?¡± ¡°No, well, that¡¯s about it. It has been a long time since I¡¯ve visited the village, but is there any trouble in the village?¡± ¡°Yes, everything is fine. Well, since it¡¯s not good to talk here, please take a look at the village.¡± ¡°Yes, I see. I am looking forward to it. I¡¯ll unload the cargo. Can you carry it for me?¡± ¡°Thank you for everything. As you heard, divide yourselves into two groups: those who will carry weapons and those who will carry cargo.¡± At the order of the village chief, the villagers gathered weapons to three men, and then I handed them the luggage I had summoned in advance, and they carried it lightly to the village on the hill. It¡¯s been a long time, and I leave them half of the food I had stocked up on and offer them everything else. Since we haven¡¯t used much food since I bought the ferry, should I have offered more? Well, let¡¯s just see how things go and think about it. When we arrived at the village, the situation had changed drastically. A house, though not large, had been completed in a fenced-in area, and even flower beds had been created, and flowers were blooming. The area where the tents had been pitched had been turned into a plaza, where flowerbeds had also been built, and even benches had been set up. ¡°It¡¯s amazing; I¡¯m amazed that it has been completed to this extent.¡± ¡°The people in the village have also improved their skills since they built their own houses and began to try their hand at interior decoration. Even if they can¡¯t do specialized things, they can do most things. Of course, we are ripe for work in the fields and hunting, but when we have time, we talk about what we want to build and set up in the village. By no longer having to hide, we can enjoy things we couldn¡¯t do before. Oh, and we¡¯re properly prepared for defense.¡± Ah, I see. So this is the result of a combination of what they were unable to do when they were living in hiding and their improved carpentry skills. That¡¯s amazing. ¡°Village Chief-san, this is enough to say that it¡¯s finished, isn¡¯t it? Shall we have the festival we talked about before?¡± If the houses hadn¡¯t been built yet, it would have been a continuation of live an uncivilized life. Thanks to everyone¡¯s hard work. ¡°Yes, in fact, the villagers are looking forward to it. I¡¯m sorry to have to trouble you with this, but thank you very much.¡± ¡°Haha, actually, I¡¯ve been preparing for the festival myself. Let¡¯s have a big party.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯m sure everyone will be pleased.¡± ¡°Since there are preparations to be made, why don¡¯t we set the festival for the day after tomorrow and get all the work and festival preparations done by then? You can¡¯t take time off to work in the fields, etc., but that can be done earlier if there is more help. If the weather is nice, we can have a big party here in the plaza.¡± ¡°Oh, that sounds like fun. I will ask the hunter about the weather. If there is no problem, let¡¯s get ready.¡± The village chief is getting excited. This is the first festival since they moved here, and I want to make it a big success. We headed to the village chief¡¯s house and had a cup of tea while chatting with Cecilia-san. By the way, the village chief was so excited that he left the house and said he was going to inform the whole village. Apparently, there will be a meeting tonight. ¡°Fufu, Wataru-san suggested this festival before, and everyone in the village was very excited about it. If it¡¯s going to become a reality, I¡¯m sure everyone will be very excited from now on. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to have fun first, isn¡¯t it? Let¡¯s make it a fun festival.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± From then on, the conversation moved rapidly. It seems that the weather was not a problem, and everyone is discussing the division of work to prepare for the festival. I¡¯m looking forward to it. Funds on hand: 62 gold coins, 80 silver coins, 46 copper coins. Guild account: 33 platinum coins, 70 gold coins. Savings boat: 165 platinum coins. Pepper boat: 485 boats. Volume 6 - CH 8 Chapter 8 ¨C Festival Preparations and Excited Villagers The festival was decided, and a meeting was held. I was allowed to participate in the meeting for a little while. I wanted to do something fancy, so I suggested a campfire. I know it¡¯s not camping, but it¡¯s fancy and nice. The problem is that this is a celebration of the completion of a village, and I don¡¯t want the village to burn down in a fire. It¡¯s in the center of the square, but there could be sparks from the fire. Since fire is also used for barbecue, we decided to have all the vats in the village filled with water before the festival begins. There are people who can use water magic, so I think it will be fine, but there will be alcohol, just in case. As for the campfire preparations, I was left to my own devices. Since it is dangerous to have moisture in the wood, I was given permission to use luxurious dried wood. They said that if the festival was going to be loud, there was nothing wrong with that. But this is solid wood that can be used for houses and stuff, right? Can I really use it? We¡¯re going to burn it, right? Romano-san was also mentioned at the meeting. They contacted the forest, but Romano-san¡¯s father said he would not participate this time. It is better to have people standing by in the forest as well, so they said the two of them would stand by in the forest, and the other villagers would join the festival. I see Romano-san is doing his best. At this meeting, I found out for the first time about the god that the dark elves believe in. They have been hiding and living in the forest for many years and have come to believe in the Goddess of the Forest by being grateful to the forest. The Goddess of the Forest¡­ sounds mysterious. I wish I had a chance to meet her. But the God of Light is a woman, but she¡¯s not called a goddess, and I wonder if there¡¯s a reason for that. I was allowed to leave the meeting first and stay at the village chief¡¯s house tonight. The people attending the meeting are still working on planning. Tomorrow is the day of preparation, and the day after tomorrow is the day of the actual event, but will they have the stamina to get excited now? The next day, after breakfast, I immediately started working on the campfire. Ines is helping me as it is, and Felicia is helping with village work. The village chief is also eager to finish everything that can be done today. Ines prepares and cuts the wood. I assemble the wood in the shape of a well and tie it with string. The bottom three layers are soaked with water to prevent them from burning, and then I assemble the dry wood on top of them. ¡°Oh, Rimu, it¡¯s dangerous. You have to be careful.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fun.¡± Oh, no, Rimu is in a state of excitement. Like a child excited about a jungle gym, he started to play with the wood from the campfire. ¡°Hmm, Rimu, it¡¯s dangerous. Stay on top of my head. I¡¯ll give you time to play when it¡¯s finished. Can you be patient?¡± ¡°Yes, I can.¡± ¡°I¡¯m very proud of Rimu for being patient.¡± ¡°Am I a good boy?¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re a very good boy.¡± I stroked him like a baby. ¡°Master, you have to make it properly.¡± ¡°Eh? Oh, yes.¡± I put Rimu on my head and resume. Where were we again? Oh, it was assembling. I¡¯m afraid of fire, that¡¯s why I make it a little bigger. I put the wood together until it was roughly shoulder-high. Well, it¡¯s a fine piece of amateur work, isn¡¯t it? If I made it too big, I¡¯d be seriously afraid of a fire. ¡°Wataru-niichan, what is that?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Amazing!¡± ¡°What are you going to do with it? What are you going to do?¡± Oh, it¡¯s an invasion of the village children, all six of them looking cheerful. ¡°We¡¯re going to use these for tomorrow¡¯s festival, but only after dark. You¡¯ll see what happens tomorrow.¡± ¡°Eehh.¡± ¡°But it looks fun.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Festival, festival.¡± ¡°Hey, Wataru-niichan, is it true that there will be lots of food tomorrow?¡± ¡°Yeah, there will be lots of treats. It will start around 3 o¡¯clock tomorrow, I think. We¡¯re going to make a lot of noise while eating delicious food. You can eat as much as you want all night long.¡± ¡°Wow, wow, are we going to eat all night?¡± ¡°Lots and lots of food.¡± ¡°Yeah, so you kids stay safe and don¡¯t get hurt or catch a cold. Tomorrow¡¯s the big day, after all.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going home.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep.¡± No, it¡¯s too early to go to sleep. I¡¯m a little concerned about what I¡¯m going to do when I see the kids running away. Are they going home and going to sleep now¡­? I guess it¡¯s just a nap, so there¡¯s no problem. Okay, the wood frame is finished, but before I put the wood inside, I have to keep my promise to Rimu. ¡°Rimu, I¡¯m going to take a little break; you can play.¡± ¡°Play.¡± He climbs up and down and plays around, jumping between the bigger pieces of wood. So cute. Rimu looks like he¡¯s having a lot of fun, jumping over to the other side and moving through the gaps between the wood. ¡°Rimu-chan looks so happy.¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s so excited and full of surprises, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s right.¡± I watched Rimu play for a while, but his excitement didn¡¯t seem to subside, so I asked him to go back on top of my head. I¡¯ll ask Donnino-san to make some playground equipment for him next time. Come to think of it; there¡¯s a kids¡¯ room on the ferry. I think Rimu would be happy if I took him there. Let¡¯s give it a try sometime. I filled the completed wooden structure with flammable twigs and dried wheat straw and piled firewood on top of it. Now that the campfire was ready, the food would be delivered tomorrow, but the alcohol would have to be delivered first. After borrowing three villagers as carriers, we headed for the Lutto. I put out more wine and distilled spirits and unloaded them from the ship. The three waiting men carry them to the village. ¡°Is this enough?¡± ¡°Maybe too much.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s time for a little extra. It¡¯s better than not enough.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. It¡¯s a festival, after all.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± We took the alcohol and brought it to the village and left it in the square. The villagers were excited to see a large amount of alcohol and got even more involved in the work. The dark elves are also attracted to alcohol; even if they are beautiful men and women, they are all the same mankind, right? When I shouted, ¡°Tomorrow you can drink as much as you want,¡± cheers went up from everywhere in the village. There were quite a few women¡¯s voices as well. It seems that they are attracted by the atmosphere before the festival. We brought tables and chairs to the plaza and set up a shichirin (a traditional Japanese charcoal brazier). I had to ask the villagers to bring their own. Preparations are almost complete. I decided to rest on the Lutto today and leave with Ines and Felicia. Tomorrow, we will finish our work in the morning, and from noon we will start the preparations for the festival, which is scheduled to begin around three o¡¯clock. I¡¯m excited. After dinner and a shower today, I relaxed a little. ¡°Hey, Master, you¡¯re going to have sex with Felicia after the festival tomorrow, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Buhah, Ines, don¡¯t say such a vivid thing out of the blue.¡± I spewed tea at the sudden mention of it. I was sure that I would do it tomorrow, but why did she say it out loud? ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Fufu, I¡¯m sorry. But since it¡¯s a festival, I have to make sure to remind you properly; otherwise, Felicia or Master will be screwed, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Certainly, Master is easily swayed by the mood of the moment.¡± No, that¡¯s not true, even if you look at me like that. How uncivilized do you think I was? I enjoy festivals, but the most important thing is always the night. It¡¯s even possible not to drink at the festival for that. I¡¯m confident I can keep my spirits higher than a drunken dark elf when it comes to the night. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m only going to drink a little. I¡¯ll be thinking things over.¡± ¡°Ufufu, that¡¯s a relief.¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s right.¡± Well, something feels different. I¡¯m the one who is supposed to be asking, ¡°Is Felicia okay?¡± Or is it just a matter of guilt and desire that I¡¯m now competing with the thought that I¡¯m freeing a woman with my money? They worried me about getting screwed over, you know? Well, if it doesn¡¯t feel muddled, it¡¯s okay. I have a lot to look forward to tomorrow. I¡¯ve got to make sure I¡¯m in good shape. I go to sleep with light lovey-dovey in preparation for the event. The next morning, I enjoy a solid morning kiss with Ines and Felicia and have breakfast. Hmm, I¡¯m feeling pumped, but everyone in the village is working hard to get their work done in the morning. We¡¯ve done most of what we can do on our own, so we¡¯ll just wait here. ¡°It¡¯s finally coming, but we might get in the way if we go to the village, so let¡¯s stay on the Lutto in the morning and work hard in the afternoon, shall we?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I chat with them over a cup of tea because I don¡¯t want my enthusiasm to spin out of control. We happily think about what kind of festival it is going to be. ¡°Speaking of which, is there anything else to do besides eat and drink?¡± ¡°Dark elves like to sing and dance, don¡¯t they? But since they¡¯ve been targeted, they¡¯ve hardly had a chance to do so¡­¡± Songs and dances of beautiful men and women¡­ I don¡¯t need beautiful men, though. Songs and dances of beautiful women¡­ I have high expectations. The dark elf women in this village are all beautiful and have big breasts; I am very excited. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see how much they can sing and dance from now on.¡± A group of beautiful dark elves who can sing and dance¡­ in Japan, all I can smell is money. There¡¯s a stage on the ferry; why don¡¯t we build one? ¡­It¡¯s impossible; let¡¯s not do it. I don¡¯t want to put an audience or anything on the ferry in the first place. ¡°That¡¯s right. You can sing and dance freely and happily on this island, can¡¯t you?¡± Yeah, but when singing and dancing are connected, the entertainment industry comes to mind. The thing I gave up on earlier comes to mind again. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll bring Reversi and Jenga, too, though I only have one of each. If they like them, I¡¯ll buy them the next time we come back. Oh, but I have a contract with Donnino-san, so I¡¯ll have to tell the dark elves not to make them without my permission.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good. If there is more entertainment, it will make life more interesting.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll leave ours in the village since we¡¯re going back to the Southern City next time, and since Donnino-san is in business, we can get a lot of them right away.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Everyone will be happy.¡± We killed the morning while chatting, ate a little bit of food, and headed for the village. In the village, preparations for the festival had already begun. ¡°Hello, Village Chief-san. Sorry, I¡¯m late.¡± ¡°No, no, no. The villagers were so excited that they had to finish their work early.¡± ¡°Ahaha, is that so? But since we are going to make noise till night, if you work too hard, you won¡¯t last long, will you?¡± ¡°I see. It would be a shame not to be able to enjoy the festival as long as possible.¡± ¡°Yes, we will serve distilled liquor, but if we start serving it in the daytime, it is likely that some people won¡¯t be able to enjoy it until nightfall.¡± It would be a pity to go down before dark, and I¡¯d like people to see the campfire I¡¯ve worked so hard to build. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true. Let¡¯s focus mainly on wine during the daytime.¡± The village chief seemed to be of the same opinion. ¡°That sounds better. Everyone is very excited. It¡¯s hard to control them.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t had this kind of fun in decades. I am ashamed to say that I cannot control my feelings either.¡± ¡°Village Chief-san, too, huh? But as expected, it¡¯s a problem if you get wasted before dark. Please do your best to restrain yourself during the daytime.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll at least try to restrain myself during the daytime.¡± Wow, this guy, even though he is the village chief, is not going to restrain himself at night. Is that okay? I decided to make some plans and help him prepare for the festival. In addition, I borrowed two sets of tables and chairs and made a Jenga and Reversi corner. I also left a piece of paper with the rules written on it, but I think it would be better if I stayed beside them in the beginning. ¡°Ah, Wataru-niichan, what¡¯s that?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a toy. It¡¯s easy to play with, so do you want to try it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± ¡°Is it fun?¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fun. Try it.¡± I explained the rules to them and let them play Jenga. When the board wobbles, they get nervous, and when it falls over, they laugh hysterically. The adults in the vicinity were watching with great interest. At this rate, it¡¯s going to catch on in the village. And there is the one who only says, ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± Suppose he¡¯s fired up for the all-you-can-eat event. I think we¡¯d get along. But they don¡¯t seem to know that it¡¯s better to eat something light to keep their stomachs active before the all-you-can-eat event¡ªyou immature fellow. I taught them the rules of the Reversi game, and the children seemed to be enjoying themselves. Now the preparations for the festival are underway. If only the adults watching with interest would work¡­ I measure the time as I help with the preparations for the festival. Is it about time? ¡°Village Chief-san, I¡¯m going to go prepare the food. Can you send about ten people to the ship about twenty minutes before the festival starts?¡± ¡°Understood.¡± I returned to the ship with Ines, Felicia, and Rimu. After arriving on the Lutto, I summon a rubber boat filled with food. ¡°The food will get cold when we take it out of the rubber boat, but I guess it can¡¯t be helped. I can serve it in two portions, one for lunch and one for dinner, can¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Yes, it will still taste good even if it gets cold, and that¡¯s okay. We¡¯ll have a barbecue, too, but there is a possibility that people will be too full to eat the evening¡¯s portion.¡± ¡°Yes, we may have overcooked it a bit. Then we will bring the food when people arrive, and finally, the festival will begin.¡± Ten people arrived as arranged, carrying as much of the food as they could carry to the village. The food was not so heavy, but it was so bulky that even thirteen people, including us, could barely carry it. Even though the tension was high, we were making quite a lot of food. I lost track of how much we had made because I had to repatriate them when they were finished. We carefully carried them back to the village so as not to drop them and put them on the table. The other villagers also brought in their own dishes, and they were lined up on three tables. It¡¯s gorgeous, isn¡¯t it? It seems that all the villagers have gathered and are anxiously awaiting the start of the festival. The children¡¯s eyes are especially fierce, and one boy, in particular, looks like a hungry beast. He¡¯s the one who¡¯s been saying, ¡°I¡¯m hungry¡± all the time. That kid was supposed to be a normal, laid-back kid¡­ What happened? ¡°Wataru-san, it¡¯s almost time to start, so could you please do the greeting?¡± ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that supposed to be done by the village chief?¡± ¡°Well, that may be so, but in this case, it is a festival to celebrate the completion of the village. I just now thought it would be best to introduce Wataru-san, who has been most instrumental in helping us move to the new village.¡± ¡­The festival was supposed to be fun, but the village chief¡¯s idea made it start like a punishment game. The village chief immediately handed me a cup and pushed me in front of everyone¡­ What am I going to do? Volume 6 - CH 9 Chapter 9 ¨C The Festival¡¯s Opening and with Felicia¡­ Well, what am I supposed to do? I¡¯ve just been asked to give the opening speech. Everyone in the village is itching to get started, so I guess I¡¯ll just have to take a shot. ¡°Well, the great task of village migration has finally come to an end today. Let¡¯s have a lot of fun, drink and make a lot of noise. However, today¡¯s festivities will continue into the night. Please make sure not to lose your pace. Let¡¯s toast to the continued growth of the village!¡± As I signaled for a toast, the villagers joined in with their own toasts. ¡­Well, it was a bit chaotic, but I don¡¯t know how to make it easier to time the toast. Well, it¡¯s good that everyone seems to be enjoying themselves as they gather for the food. ¡°Fufu, good job. That was good.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master. I¡¯m sorry for my father¡¯s unexpected behavior.¡± ¡°Haha¡­ well, it was a bit of a rush, but I managed to make it all right, so no problem. Let¡¯s enjoy the festivities.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Looking around, people were picking up the food they wanted and chatting with each other while eating. The food we served was popular, and they seemed to be pleased with the flavors they had never tasted before. Some of the villagers had already picked up a bottle of wine and started drinking it with relish. I wonder if they¡¯ll last until the campfire. ¡°Ines, Felicia, some people have started to gather at Jenga and Reversi, so let¡¯s go and explain the rules to them. Once we teach some of them, I don¡¯t think there will be any problems.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± People were gathering at the table where the Reversi and Jenga were set up and making a lot of noise. The kids seemed to enjoy playing with them, and I wondered if the adults were interested as well. Those kids didn¡¯t leave the cooking table, though. I explained the rules in a brief manner and showed them how to play Reversi against each other. Those who understood the rules were quite excited, playing against each other and interjecting into the game over drinks. Since the Jenga has simple rules and the defeat is easy to understand, there have already been several games played, with a mixture of screams and cheers every time they fall down. It¡¯s a good thing I brought it. It looks like it helped to liven up the festivities. Villagers who had prioritized eating also gathered around to hear the rules. After a while, they chat amongst themselves, celebrating the completion of the village while eating the food or drinking wine while bragging about their own homes. Well, it¡¯s not quite the festival I had in mind, but that¡¯s okay. There aren¡¯t many food stalls, and it seems like it would be fun to chat peacefully. We eat our food and chat while Rimu takes the food he wants to eat. ¡°Rimu, are you having fun?¡± ¡°Lots and lots of fun.¡± ¡°I see; I¡¯m glad you¡¯re having a lot of fun. Let¡¯s eat a lot.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The evening was like a big dinner party, but it was leisurely and peaceful. Beautiful dark elf girls gathered around me to ask me how to cook the festival food, and the atmosphere was like a girls¡¯ night out. ¡­I¡¯ve never been to a girls¡¯ night out, so I¡¯m just guessing. I¡¯m afraid to interrupt, so I decided to enjoy the moment, fantasizing about being surrounded by beautiful dark elf women and being in a bit of trouble. In fact, some of them may be elderly, but they are all beautiful and have big breasts. In a way, it was an ideal situation for me, and even if I didn¡¯t say a word, I had a pretty happy time¡­ Thank you, Creator God-sama. I wonder if the more successful the dark elf migration is, the more people this island will become my dream island¡­ I¡¯m beginning to think Romano-san¡¯s assertion is justified. ¡°Wataru-niichan, there are so many dishes; they¡¯re so delicious!¡± ¡°Delicious!¡± ¡°I¡¯m full, but I¡¯ll eat.¡± The children came to praise the food. I¡¯m kind of plainly happy. I don¡¯t have the attributes of Loli or Shota, so maybe I¡¯m just honestly happy. And the last kid seems to be planning to push the limits. You¡¯ll break your body, you know. With the help of others, we bring in the rest of the food. As expected, many people were full and did not gather, but they continued the festival, picking up the food little by little. As it gets dark, it¡¯s time to start the campfire, which I¡¯ve been waiting for. Well, no one but me knew about the campfire. ¡°Everyone, please gather around. We are going to start the campfire.¡± At the sound of my voice, the villagers gather around. It seems like a ritual, so I ask the village chief to light the fire. ¡°Uh, could you all please turn off the magic lights? If this fire is burning up and the light is not reaching the area, please turn on the lights again later.¡± In response to my request, the villagers turned off the lights one after another. When the last light went out, a deep darkness and a star-filled sky appeared. This is beautiful, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Then, Village Chief-san, please light the straw inside with the daily life magic fire.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± In the deep darkness, a small fire made by the village chief floated up and lit the straw. Gradually, the fire grew larger and larger, igniting the firewood and turning it into a large flame. The square is illuminated by the flames, and the area around the campfire becomes bright. Magic light is beautiful, but creating light with flames like this has a nice atmosphere. The people of the village were gazing at the unusual sight. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful in its own way. When I was an adventurer, we sometimes made bonfires, but never this big, so I was a little impressed.¡± ¡°Yes, I wondered why you made such a big fire, but now I understand why Master wanted to make it.¡± Eh? You wondered about it? Well, I made it for no particular reason, though. ¡°Haha, I¡¯m glad you were pleased with it.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, this is wonderful. It looks fantastic.¡± ¡°Ah, Village Chief-san, I¡¯m also surprised that the atmosphere is better than I thought.¡± ¡°I see. We were forest dwellers ourselves, so we never had to use a big fire, and everyone was surprised.¡± I see. Forest fires are scary, aren¡¯t they? Maybe that¡¯s why they had never thought of making a big fire. ¡°Now, Village Chief-san, I think it¡¯s time we lifted the ban on distilled liquor. The current atmosphere is good, but let¡¯s have a good time and make some noise.¡± ¡°Hahaha, yes, I¡¯ll go and tell them.¡± The distilled liquor is released, and the guests begin to enjoy themselves in their own ways, some using fruit juice to adjust the strength to their liking, others drinking it straight from the bottle. The atmosphere is almost that of a banquet, with laughter and conversation growing louder and louder. ¡°Felicia, I heard that dark elves like to sing. Why don¡¯t you sing it with some of the others? It would be fun to sing in that fire-lit place.¡± ¡°We have never sung together before, so I don¡¯t know if we can do it well, but if it makes the festival more exciting, I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± ¡°Yeah, even if it doesn¡¯t go well, it will be fun if everyone sings together. Try it with a few people.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll leave you for a while.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Ufufu. I wonder what Felicia¡¯s singing voice will be like. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Is Ines a good singer?¡± ¡°Fufu, not at all. What about you, Master?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not very good either. Let¡¯s hope Felicia is better.¡± After chatting for a while, four women, including Felicia and Cecilia-san, lined up by the fire. I was thrilled to see their beautiful silver hair shimmering in the flames. Maybe it¡¯s family favoritism, but Felicia is the most beautiful of the four. As I watched, the four of them sang in unison. I wonder if they are suited for a festival, but their beautiful and gentle song echoes through the village. The murmur of the festival gradually subsides, and everyone listens to the four singers. When the four singers finish their songs, everyone applauds in unison. I was so happy that I clapped along with them. ¡°Master, how was it?¡± ¡°Yes, it was very good. Beautiful, kind, and I don¡¯t know how to describe it, but it was great.¡± ¡°Fufu, thank you very much. I enjoyed it too.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, I had a great time too. I never thought about it until Felicia told me, but we can sing out loud now, can¡¯t we? Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± Hmm, you can sing out loud too? I guess they forget that kind of thing when they hide. Let¡¯s try our best for the migration. ¡°I¡¯m glad you enjoyed yourself. Cecilia-san¡¯s singing voice was wonderful, and I enjoyed it too. I hope you¡¯ll keep on singing.¡± ¡°Fufu, you¡¯re right; I should practice more for the next time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. I¡¯d love to hear it.¡± While we were talking, the villagers must have discussed and decided on a group because the next group started singing. They had wonderful voices, but was it just me who felt uncomfortable when the light from the bonfire shone on the beautiful men? Perhaps it was the alcohol and the singing that lifted my spirits, but the buzz of the festivities grew louder. Some people started dancing around the bonfire in time for the song, and the excitement accelerated. Before I knew it, Rimu had joined in the dancing and was bouncing along to the song. I was nervous that he might get trampled. Well, considering his level, they might bounce back even if they step on him. It looks like he¡¯s having fun, so it¡¯s okay. I think it¡¯s safe to say that this festival was a great success, right? I enjoy the fun atmosphere with a light drink. ¡­I¡¯m lying, thinking about what I¡¯m going to do with Felicia soon; I don¡¯t care about the festival and can¡¯t enjoy it. I¡¯m sorry that RImu looks like he¡¯s having fun, but it¡¯s time to think about getting out of here. It seems like I could sneak out, but I¡¯m a guest, and I would have to say my farewell to the village chief. ¡°Ines, Felicia, I think it¡¯s time to go back. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Ufufu, yes, it can¡¯t be helped. Ufufufu.¡± Ines, you¡¯re acting like an old lady somewhere. I know what you¡¯re thinking, but I want you to stop. ¡°Y-yes, it¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go tell the village chief that we¡¯re going back.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I collect Rimu and talk to the village chief. He said something about getting rid of the restrictions at night, but he really meant it; he was already drunk. I told the village chief and, in passing, Cecilia-san that I would be back. To be honest, it was a bit delicate to leave after greeting her parents, even though I was going to do it with Felicia now. I returned to the Lutto and told them of my plans. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of sailing on the Lutto after this and staying on the Hideaway. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± With subtlety and few words, we go out to the open sea, and I summon the Hideaway. ¡°Come here, Rimu-chan. Master, I think it¡¯s better if the two of you are alone anyway. I¡¯ll stay on the Lutto with Rimu-chan.¡± ¡°Eh? Ah, yes, thank you.¡± Ines hugged Rimu, who jumped up and down with a plop and left the Hideaway. She was being considerate, wasn¡¯t she? I feel like she was kind of amused. ¡°Then, Felicia, let¡¯s take a bath first, shall we?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Since Girasole was also gone, we both soaked in the bath completely naked. ¡°Master, this is the first time the two of us have taken a bath together, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, that reminds me. I¡¯m kind of embarrassed.¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s right.¡± I soak in the bath slowly and hug Felicia. ¡°Hey, Felicia, I know you have a lot on your mind, but I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t stand it.¡± ¡°Fufu, it¡¯s alright, Master. I was prepared for it from the time I became a slave, and I have been enjoying every day since I became Master¡¯s slave. So I feel very happy.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I kissed her much longer than usual and went to the bedroom with Felicia. From there, I forgot to care about Felicia and just devoured her body until morning. I couldn¡¯t help it. I had been holding back so much, and my stamina was inexhaustible as my level increased. I couldn¡¯t stop. I¡¯m sorry. Volume 6 - CH 10 Chapter 10 ¨C A Month on the Dark Elf Island and Return to the Southern City Morning, huh¡­? Morning? The light shining through the window made me calm down, and when I calmly looked in front of me, I saw Felicia smiling at me. ¡°S-sorry, are you okay?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine.¡± It¡¯s not good¡­ I¡¯ve unleashed all of my desires. One more time, one more time¡­ and since my stamina never runs out, I got carried away. I should be the one to take care of her, but I feel like she¡¯s looking at me like a mother looking at a child who¡¯s completely helpless. I-I¡¯m so embarrassed. ¡°A-anyway, let¡¯s take a bath.¡± I fill the bath with hot water, imagining that the ¡°Hideaway¡± will be clean. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Felicia, I¡¯m so sorry. Are you okay?¡± ¡°Master, I¡¯m really fine, so please don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Y-yeah.¡± You know, it¡¯s kind of awkward after all the effort I put into the situation. In the morning, I woke up, and I was so happy and embarrassed that I had done it with Felicia¡­ I just skipped that kind of happy and embarrassing event and went on until morning¡­ ¡°Oh, Master, the Lutto has returned.¡± ¡°Eh, ah, yes, it is true. They have returned. Shall we give up going to pick them up and have them come here?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good morning, Master. Have you had a good time?¡± ¡°Y-yeah.¡± ¡°I see. May I come in?¡± ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± ¡°Ufufu. Thank you.¡± My eyes are drawn to Ines taking off her clothes as she jumps in and hugs Rimu. After all that I¡¯ve put out, I¡¯m still excited¡­ Does leveling up also enhance my sex drive? Or do I have a naturally high sex drive? It must not have been this high when I was in Japan. ¡°Hey, Master, your eyes are bright red¡­ Are you staying up all night?¡± ¡°¡­Yeah.¡± ¡°Ufufu, I won¡¯t ask you again. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t ask me that, please. I think it¡¯s time we go up and head back to the village and take a little nap once we reach the island. ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We returned to the dark elf island and took a nap on the Lutto until around noon. Ines, who had stayed awake, and Felicia, who had taken a nap with me, gave me a firm daily kiss, and then we had lunch. ¡°Whew, that was a great meal. Shall we go check on the village after we rest a bit?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I took a break while hugging Rimu and then headed for the village. The people in the village were drinking quite a bit, so I wondered if they were okay. We greeted the watchman and gatekeeper and went into the village to the village chief¡¯s house, but we didn¡¯t meet any people¡­ ¡°Ah, there seem to be fewer people there than yesterday, or is it my imagination?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s just your imagination. Well, the cause is clear, right?¡± ¡°Well, I think they drank too much.¡± ¡°I knew it. I¡¯m sure everyone¡¯s hung over or nursing the hangover.¡± ¡°That¡¯s almost certain, I think.¡± When we arrived at the village head¡¯s house and knocked, Cecilia-san greeted us. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. My husband is in bed because he drank too much alcohol.¡± ¡°Oh, I knew it. It was quiet in the village, so maybe it¡¯s the same everywhere.¡± The village chief was already drunk when I went to greet him. ¡°Yes, the people who take care of the fields and livestock have done the bare minimum of work and are sleeping in again. That¡¯s why the village is so quiet.¡± ¡°Hahaha, so they were drinking even after we left. How long were they drinking?¡± ¡°The women returned about two hours after Wataru-san left. After that, the men went home on the way, and the women drank until they were exhausted, and then they were separated into those who were lying around in the square. By the way, my husband was lying around.¡± ¡°Ah, well, it¡¯s a festival, after all, so it can¡¯t be helped, can it?¡± The village chief was willing to completely remove the restrictions at night. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s a man of his word, but¡­ in this case, I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be praised. ¡°Fufu, we had so much fun yesterday. I¡¯ve decided to tolerate the festivities for the day.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. It¡¯s hard to give a sermon when you¡¯re hungover, after all.¡± We had a light chat and left the village chief¡¯s house. As I walk through the quiet village to leave, I suddenly hear the sound of children¡¯s voices and see them running wild from the edge of the village. Hmm, it seems my eyes are getting better. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s Wataru-niichan and the others. Hello.¡± ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Yes, hello. You are looking good today.¡± Well, I guess it¡¯s only natural since they haven¡¯t been drinking¡­ but the kid who was just eating seems to be fine too. He¡¯s slim as usual. Speaking of which, I¡¯ve never seen a chubby dark elf before. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Wataru-niichan, when will the next festival be held?¡± ¡°When are you going to do it?¡± ¡°When will it be? When will it be?¡± ¡°Feast!¡± It seems that the festival was so much fun that they are already looking forward to the next one. Well, everyone had a great time yesterday, and the adults in the village will be thinking about the next festival. ¡°Hmm, the next festival, huh? Maybe, but I think the village chief and the adults in the village will discuss it and decide on it, right?¡± ¡°Village chief? Then let¡¯s ask him.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s ask him.¡± ¡°Ask him. Ask him.¡± ¡°Oh, everyone, the chief is sleeping today¡­ Ah, they¡¯ve gone.¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯ve gone.¡± ¡°Ufufu, they¡¯ve gone.¡± Without any time to stop them, the children run toward the village chief¡¯s house as fast as they can. It¡¯s not impossible to catch them if I run after them, though, is it? ¡°Oh, the village chief will suffer for this.¡± ¡°Is that so? I wonder if Cecilia-san will stop them?¡± ¡°I think my mother will welcome them¡­¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± Let¡¯s pray for the village chief¡¯s peace. ¡­¡­¡­¡­.. A month has passed since the day of the festival, and time has passed peacefully between the dark elf village and the Lutto ship. The people of the village, after recovering from their hangover, have been holding occasional meetings to discuss their desire to hold another festival. They were also eager to prepare more alcohol than ever before, which could be made on the island. The women also gathered to practice singing and dancing and to cook some of the new dishes they had learned. Reversi and Jenga were also popular, although there was only one of each, and everyone enjoyed them. I¡¯ll have to remember to buy some next time I come back. We don¡¯t go to the village every day. We go out to the open sea once in a while and enjoy the Hideaway, the Fortress, and the Stronghold, each one on a different day. Aside from just having a lovey-dovey time at night, I didn¡¯t want to start having sex next to Ines, as it would certainly be beyond the realm of something ecchi. When we did, Ines would stay in another room with Rimu. With a secret ambition to eventually have the three of us together, I decide to earn money. In order to read manga on the Fortress, I summoned the Galette and the Galette No. 2, and when I told them they were free to go, they blasted off with big smiles on their faces. I feel that Ines is dangerous when she¡¯s running wild, so I ask Felicia to take care of Rimu. When they returned, Ines said that running at full speed is definitely more fun on the Galette, but in the case of the escape game, the Lutto is more enjoyable than the Galette. But on the way home, she said that she and Felicia had a lot of fun racing on the Galette. It was a simple rule that the one who touched the Fortress the quickest won, but they had a great time. They also spent a leisurely time with the village¡¯s children, taking them around the island in the Lutto, which was disguised inside, and trying to see who could beat Rimu at Reversi. By the way, Rimu won all the Reversi games, snapping the pride of the adults who had challenged him, thinking there was no way even a beginner could lose to a slime. After spending a carefree day like that, we returned to Southern City today. ¡°Thank you for everything, Village Chief-san.¡± ¡°We are the ones who have been indebted to you. We were looking forward to building a village, but after the festival, we had a lot of fun with singing, dancing, Reversi, Jenga, new dishes, and many other things. Thank you again for all your help.¡± ¡°I am happy too if you say so. I will come back again, so please take care of me at that time.¡± ¡°Yes, we will be waiting for you.¡± We left the island and headed for the Southern City. Speaking of which, what should I bring back as souvenirs? Since Girasole should have spread the word about my relationship with the mage, I¡¯ll stop in Palermo and pretend that I was secretly traveling back and forth across the southern continent. ¡­I¡¯ll give the remaining liquor to the men, and I¡¯ll give Camille-san¡­ Hmm, maybe I¡¯ll just make tea with an assortment of pepper and a coral pendant, huh? It¡¯ll look suspicious, but I¡¯ll do my best to cover it up. Although it would be easy to get to the Southern City on the Galette, there was no rush, so we decided to take it easy on the Fortress until we reached the halfway point. As we approach the Southern City, we change to the Lutto. I¡¯ll have to put the old disguise back on. ¡°Master, we will arrive at the Southern City tomorrow, won¡¯t we? What will you do when you get there?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s probably going to be noisy with mage-related stuff, so we¡¯ll just stock up on food and go to Donnino-san¡¯s place to buy some Jenga and Reversi, and then we can¡¯t predict what¡¯s going to happen after that, can we?¡± ¡°I guess so. I am sure that you will be summoned by the guild master of the merchant guild. There is also a possibility that you will be summoned by the South Count-sama.¡± ¡°¡­You may be right. If the need arises, I will use the ship summoning, but until then, as much as possible, I will go through with the ship being sold to me after we become friends during the trip.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°I think the other countries are also investigating Master. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s out there, so I¡¯d like to ask Girasole to escort you when you leave the ship.¡± ¡°Hmm, yes, I suppose so. Anyway, let¡¯s ask Girasole to stay with us until things settle down.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We spent the day discussing the details. It¡¯s a little nerve-wracking, isn¡¯t it? I wonder why we are going all the way to Southern City, where troublesome things are waiting for us¡­ when I think about it. Well, if I am going to get into trouble anywhere on this continent, I¡¯d rather be in Southern City with everyone from Girasole and Camille-san. If I can deceive them well, I should be able to manage it. ¡­Well, considering I am the mage or the possibility of offending the mage, even if I am told that they won¡¯t do anything decent about torture, what about the not-so-decent ones? That¡¯s what I think, and I¡¯m not going to let my mind wander. The following day, Ines and Felicia greeted me in the morning with a firm greeting. We have breakfast and enter Southern City. Since the port contract expired a long time ago, I paid the usual entrance fee, docked, got off the Lutto, and headed for the merchant guild. ¡°It seems we¡¯re not going to be attacked out of the blue. Ines, Felicia, do you feel any strange presence?¡± ¡°Hmm, I can¡¯t tell. What about you, Felicia?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell either. But we are not experts in scouting, so we can¡¯t be careless.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Then, let¡¯s go to the merchant guild carefully enough to avoid suspicion, shall we?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We arrived at the merchant guild without incident and went inside. Is Camille-san around? ¡°Wataru-san!¡± I turned my head to see Camille-san approaching with a short run. ¡°Ah, Camille-san, it¡¯s been a long time.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been a long time¡­ but I need to talk to you. Can you come to the back room?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡± Well, the information is circulating, so it¡¯s only natural. Hopefully, though, I wanted it to end uneventfully. I followed Camille-san to the back room. ¡°Wataru-san, I said in the back room at that time, but we were actually heading to the guild master¡¯s room. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Ah, yes.¡± I knew it was going to be like this, but when it actually turned out to be as expected, I started to get anxious. I was led to the guild master¡¯s room and went inside. Ah, I want to go home. Volume 6 - CH 11 Chapter 11 ¨C Talking and Experimenting with Merchant Guild? Guided by Camille-san, I enter the guild master of the merchant guild¡¯s room with a subtle and pathetic determination to tell a good lie. ¡°Oh, Wataru, you¡¯re here. Sorry for always receiving drinks from you; I appreciate it.¡± The old man looks as energetic as ever. I feel like it¡¯s a rare thing to see an old man full of vitality. ¡°No, I¡¯m indebted to you, after all.¡± ¡°Haha, there are people who give expensive things and money as gifts, but it was quite interesting to get only one or two bottles of liquor as a souvenir. It¡¯s not often that I¡¯m in a position where I¡¯m getting a souvenir purely as a gift.¡± ¡­Ah, come to think of it, I did give him a bottle of alcohol because I was indebted to him somehow, but is a gift to a guild master considered a bribe? Well, I was concentrating on flattering Girasole, so I just went with the appropriate thing for the guild master. He seems to be pleased with it, so I guess it all turned out all right. ¡°Hah, thank you very much?¡± ¡°Master, let¡¯s talk about it later.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I heard that you are the one who introduced the mage to Girasole, is that correct?¡± ¡°Mage-sama? I did introduce him to them, but what¡¯s the matter?¡± From now on, I¡¯m going to lie all over the place. I hope there won¡¯t be any contradictions. ¡°Hmm, don¡¯t you realize the gravity of the situation? Surely you know what the mage did, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t know. I haven¡¯t been in the Southern City for a while.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, too. You went to Palermo, didn¡¯t you?¡± Hmm? I was going to lie about having been to Palermo, and the guild master would at least know that I had not been to Palermo, would he not? I felt like I was being set up. What should I do? Let¡¯s pretend that I haven¡¯t been to Palermo as planned. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t go to Palermo; I went somewhere else.¡± ¡°Hou¡­ where did you go?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a secret since it¡¯s a source of income.¡± ¡°Fuh, do you realize your position?¡± I know how dangerous it is. That¡¯s why I want to keep lying. So far, I¡¯ve managed to keep it natural, haven¡¯t I? ¡°My position? I am an F-ranked merchant, am I right?¡± ¡°Well, yes, but do you have no knowledge of the activities of the mage?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± He is looking at me with a great deal of suspicion. It seems that he completely knows that I¡¯m lying. It would be impossible for a young guy like me to lie to the master of a merchant guild without being detected. Even if it¡¯s too obvious, I¡¯ll do my best not to admit anything that¡¯s inconvenient. ¡°Then, I will explain it to you. Mage-dono killed and destroyed the Imperial Navy except for those who surrendered. He thoroughly drove the second prince of the Kingdom of Brescia and made him get down on his knees in front of his people. He created a powerful base in the empire¡¯s territory and drove the empire to the brink of extinction. Well, there are many other stories, such as crushing the nobles he didn¡¯t like, but these three are the biggest ones. With all these things happening and all the fuss, it¡¯s impossible for you not to know about it, isn¡¯t it?¡± Eh? Is that what they are talking about? There¡¯s a lot of malice in it. I mean, the mage had a pretty good reputation in Lucca, so why? And what¡¯s more, killing everyone, some of them escaped from the sunken ship, and we saved them when the battle was over, right?¡¡Others, though¡­ Anyway, the story is exaggerated. It¡¯s like they¡¯re trying to twist information to create an image of a ruthless mage¡­ And, besides, that¡¯s not what I did, was it? I admit I was involved, and maybe if I hadn¡¯t been there, it might not have been possible, but I¡¯m not convinced. ¡°Did Mage-sama do such a thing? I have the impression that he¡¯s very kind, so I can¡¯t believe it out of the blue¡­ Also, the reason I don¡¯t know about it is because I was on the southern continent, you know. Rumors hadn¡¯t reached that far, and there was a lot of talk about the civil war in the Kingdom of Catania.¡± I said that randomly, but it seems like the civil war should have started by now, so it should be able to be managed. The information about the southern continent itself is almost nonexistent. ¡°Hmm, the story of the civil war is interesting, but you say you have been in the pepper trade again? It¡¯s not surprising that you don¡¯t know anything about it if you¡¯re on the southern continent, but why would you lie about going to the pepper trade?¡± ¡°Ah, you see, if I succeeded in the pepper trade many times, people would suspect that I have some secrets, wouldn¡¯t they? Therefore, I kept it a secret in order to sell pepper without going through the merchant guilds.¡± ¡°Surely, if you succeed in the pepper trade more than once, someone will probe you. So, what is this secret?¡± ¡°Hahaha, it is a secret.¡± ¡°You have already attracted the attention of many countries. The Latina Kingdom is no exception, and I am sure that the Southern Count-sama will call on you. You should speak frankly. If you are the mage, it may be all right, but if you are not, there is no way you can keep the secret.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s getting important, isn¡¯t it? But if I tell you my secret, it¡¯s going to be troublesome. Can I ask you to keep the secret?¡± ¡°Well, it depends on the contents. If you don¡¯t disclose it to some extent, the surrounding people won¡¯t stop pursuing it.¡± ¡°I see. If it would be bad if I don¡¯t disclose it, then I will, but will you consider what to disclose?¡± ¡°I will consider it. I don¡¯t know if it would be acceptable, though.¡± Is it better that he considers it? Well, it¡¯s the part I originally decided to disclose, so I don¡¯t have to hide it. ¡°I understand. My ship is a special ship that was sold to me by Mage-sama. So I could go to the southeast island and even round-trip to the southern continent. If this were to get out, it would be a big deal, wouldn¡¯t it? I can go to the southern continent freely. Mage-sama also told me to be careful because I would get into trouble if anyone found out about it.¡± ¡°¡­If that¡¯s true, it¡¯s going to be a big deal. You could make a fortune importing pepper alone. But it must be dangerous just to have that ship, so how about selling it to the merchant guild? I¡¯ll give you as much as you want.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that. I told Camille-san, but I¡¯m the only one who can use it. Mage-sama doesn¡¯t seem to like countries or organizations, and he said he would never let anyone he didn¡¯t like use his ship. He said that anyone couldn¡¯t enter the ship without me, and even if they killed me, they couldn¡¯t get the ship. Well, he said that he would know if something happened to me, so he would avenge me, but it would be no good if he avenged me after I was badly hurt or killed, so he kept it a secret.¡± ¡°Hmm, Camille, is what he just said true?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that only Wataru-san can use the ship. I also asked him to introduce me to someone who could sell me his magic ship, but he refused.¡± ¡°Ah, what? Isn¡¯t he a dangerous man after all, and if anyone messes with you, the mage will come to them? That¡¯s enough of a threat, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Maybe so, but the only reason he¡¯s a threat is because Mage-sama has become famous, right? Mage-sama lived in seclusion for most of his life, so I never thought that he would become famous. If I didn¡¯t keep it a secret, with Mage-sama¡¯s backers who¡¯d by now never been heard of, I¡¯d be kidnapped and killed if they found out about the ship, so I planned to make as much money as I could and play around as inconspicuously as I could.¡± ¡°Well, I guess you can¡¯t avoid being conspicuous anyway. However, I¡¯ll check out some things I can be sure of. If the results are satisfactory, I¡¯ll spread the word about the mage¡¯s backers. It will be harder for the higher-ups to get their hands on it, but there will always be those who don¡¯t believe it or who will interpret it in their favor, so be careful.¡± Is it impossible to live a comfortable life in a sense where everyone is so scared of the mage that they won¡¯t touch me at all? Well, if the people in power are hesitant, that¡¯s just great, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Yes, thank you very much. But what are you going to do when you say you¡¯re going to check it out?¡± ¡°What I¡¯m going to do is to check if you are the only one who can use it, whether you can get into the ship, and whether it is strong enough to go to the southern continent back and forth. If the ship is attacked, will the mage come?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what would make Mage-sama come, so I can¡¯t say for sure.¡± ¡°Is it dangerous to experiment?¡± ¡°Master, I think it¡¯s better to stop the attack. We should only check to see if the ship can be used or not.¡± Thank you, Camille-san. That¡¯s a nice follow-up. I was just blabbering about the mage coming, but I wasn¡¯t thinking about the conditions under which he would come or anything. ¡°But we have to prove that even the strongest of men can¡¯t get in there. If the mage comes, Wataru will do something about it, won¡¯t he?¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t like the idea of having my ship taken away from me if he comes and I offend him.¡± ¡°¡­You can choose to persuade the mage or be targeted by countries, guilds, merchants, criminals, etc., your choice.¡± There is too much variety that may target me. There are many countries, many guilds, many merchants, and many criminals. How many people are going to target me? ¡°Sigh, I get it. I will cooperate with your experiment.¡± ¡°All right, I¡¯ll ask Southern Count-sama to send out some of his best men from the Knight¡¯s Order and some high-ranked men from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Wataru, stay on the ship and be ready to move tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± ¡°The rest will be pepper. Now that you¡¯ve been found out, I assume you¡¯ll be distributing it to merchant guilds as well?¡± ¡°As long as you give me some extra, I¡¯ll release what I¡¯ve been stockpiling. If something happens, I¡¯ll run away, so I prefer to deal in cash. I would also like to withdraw the money from my account.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re really determined to run away, aren¡¯t you? Well, that¡¯s all right; I¡¯ll get you the cash. But it will take time.¡± ¡°Even if it takes a long time, please pay in cash. I will bring the pepper when it is ready.¡± ¡°Well, how much can you sell?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡± How much can I sell? I¡¯d like to sell all of it anyway, but that¡¯s a bit much¡­ for 60 boats, about three times as much as I sold to the guild last time. Hopefully, I can come back and sell more often from now on. ¡°I can probably triple the amount I sold to the guild last time.¡± ¡°That much¡­? Okay, I¡¯ll make the preparations. Master, if you don¡¯t mind?¡± ¡°No problem, there are plenty of places to sell the pepper. Give him a little extra.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me. Tomorrow I will be on the ship, so you can just send a messenger.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Did I manage to get through the pursuit from the guild master of the merchant guild¡­ without incident? I feel like I can say it went well. It became impossible to be completely inconspicuous, but with the effect of the mage¡¯s backing, I can check the biggest reason for being inconspicuous, which is interference from the people in power. And since I had told him about the ship¡¯s capabilities to some extent, I didn¡¯t have to go out of my way to sell pepper. I think I negotiated a good deal for myself. I might as well say I¡¯m going to the pepper trade while I¡¯m out there looking for dark elves. ¡°Ines, Felicia, did you find anything in my conversation with the guild master that might have been a problem?¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯re very suspicious, but they¡¯re willing to go along with Master¡¯s story, so I think you¡¯ve got it under control with that story, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I suppose so. I felt that he would follow Master¡¯s scenario unless he were thinking of cheating us out of it. I think we¡¯ll be fine.¡± Oh, what the heck? I thought it went well, but it was just the guild master taking me up on the story¡­ I¡¯m seriously embarrassed. ¡°W-well, yes. Then let¡¯s go to Donnino-san¡¯s place, shall we?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We headed to Donnino-san¡¯s place, and when I handed him the souvenir distilled liquor, he was in a good mood and gave me the Reversi and Jenga that he had just finished in his workshop. He told me that the merchant guild is actively marketing the product and that I should expect it to be well received. Come to think of it, I was going to ask Camille-san about the recipe sales and the price of the Ryu scale today, but I wanted to get out of the merchant guild as soon as possible, so I came out without asking. Well, I¡¯ll ask her next time. I don¡¯t want to go back to the merchant guild today. I stopped by the Black-tailed Gull¡¯s Inn to see Girasole, but apparently, they were out on a commission and wouldn¡¯t be back until nightfall. I leave a message for them and return to the Lutto. Tomorrow¡¯s experiment, I¡¯m slightly worried. Volume 6 - CH 12 Chapter 12 ¨C Camille-san and Reward ~Camille¡¯s point of view ¡°Master, are you sure you agree with Wataru-san¡¯s story? He was obviously hiding something, though.¡± Well, even I can tell, so there¡¯s no way the master couldn¡¯t have been unaware of it. In the first place, regardless of whether it was me or the guild master, he was so bad at lying that anyone could tell. But I¡¯d like to know why he went along with it. ¡°It seems that he had a story in mind, but not with such an obvious look on his face. Well, I¡¯m sure Wataru is the mage, but there¡¯s no need to expose him and turn him into an enemy. He¡¯s a soft-hearted and timid man. He¡¯s capable, and he could do terrible things if we push him too hard, but if we ingratiate ourselves with him, he¡¯ll lend us a hand if something goes wrong. I¡¯ll spread the word about him and make sure no one else gets hurt.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± I¡¯m sure the master has a good eye for people, but I can¡¯t imagine Wataru-san being a terrible mage. Bringing the prince down on his knees, this doesn¡¯t make any particular sense to me. What kind of situation would make the prince get down on his knees? It¡¯s humiliating for the prince, who might choose to die, isn¡¯t it? How could that happen? Neither Wataru-san, whom I see all the time, nor Wataru-san, who was doing his best to lie today, seems to be the mage by any stretch of my imagination¡­ Could it be that the master has blurred his vision? ¡°Camille, are you thinking of something unpleasant?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just that, even after listening to Master, I didn¡¯t think Wataru-san was the rumored mage.¡± No, I accidentally looked at the master, frankly. I¡¯m not a good merchant, aren¡¯t I? ¡°Well, you¡¯re probably right. The rumors are very twisted. The second prince¡¯s aides are trying hard to spread the good news that the prince sacrificed himself in order to save Lucca. Well, the mage¡¯s reputation in Lucca is very favorable, so I guess the truth is in that.¡± ¡°I see. That makes a little more sense.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m heading to Southern Count-sama, so you go to the adventurers¡¯ guild and find a competent person, preferably S-rank Paris, to help us out. I will provide you with my letter, so you should be all right.¡± ¡°You mean that Paris, Southen City¡¯s Paris the Spear?¡± ¡°Yes, I thought it would be a good idea to ask him.¡± ¡°But what kind of an experiment would an S-rank adventurer be willing to perform?¡± ¡°I wrote in my letter that the mage¡¯s ship easily repelled the attacks of the empire¡¯s unique skill users. If that mage¡¯s ship is there and can be tested, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll bite into it.¡± ¡°I see, I understand. But if he is in the middle of a request, he might refuse. In that case, what will you do?¡± ¡°Hmm, well, in that case, I¡¯ll ask the guild master of the adventurers¡¯ guild to recommend us. That should be fine, then, please.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be off.¡± My feet are light as I head for the adventurers¡¯ guild, hoping that perhaps I will be able to meet Paris the Spear. Paris the Spear is a man who has risen to the S-rank without any unique skills and is admired not only by adventurers but also by the people of this country. Even if I can¡¯t meet him today, if he accepts my request, I can meet him tomorrow if he follows the experiment. Let¡¯s do my best. Arriving at the adventurers¡¯ guild, I request a meeting with the master of the adventurers¡¯ guild as a messenger from the master of the merchant guild. He seemed to have time on his hands and let me through immediately. ¡°I apologize for the sudden intrusion. I am here to deliver a letter from the guild master of the merchant guild.¡± ¡°Ah, I have heard about it. But a letter from the old man of the merchant guild¡­? That old man is not at all afraid to say the most outrageous things. What kind of business is it this time¡­ do you know about it?¡± ¡°I apologize, sir. It¡¯s written in the letter.¡± ¡°I know that, but I¡¯m not very good with that old man.¡± The master of the merchant guild in the Southern City and the master of the adventurer¡¯s guild are strangely good friends. They are of different ages and personalities, but they seem to get along well. However, there are times when the master of the merchant guild causes trouble for the adventurers¡¯ guild. Most of the time, the adventurers are sent out by our selfish master, who likes to show off. The master of the adventurers¡¯ guild is said to have a hard time because so many adventurers are taken out of the guild out of the blue. I wonder if it¡¯s better this time because it¡¯s only tomorrow, and it¡¯s only a lending request for one person. It¡¯s an S-rank adventurer, though¡­ ¡°How does that old man know that Paris is here? It¡¯s top secret, you know?¡± ¡°I apologize; I only just heard about it before I came here¡­¡± I wonder where our master gets his information from. And what¡¯s worse, he comes out with the information at the right time when the noise is getting louder. Well, I can¡¯t say anything because we make money from that confusion. ¡°Ah, yes, that¡¯s right. That old man is very secretive. Whew, and it¡¯s a request that Paris would love¡­ Wait a bit, and I¡¯ll call him.¡± Yay, I get to meet Paris. Can I ask him for a handshake or something? The master of the adventurers¡¯ guild calls the guild members and runs a message. I thought this was top secret. Is he the only one who knows about it? I was thinking of waiting quietly until Paris came when the master of the adventurers¡¯ guild started complaining about our master. Paris, please come quickly. ¡°That¡¯s right; it is the role of an adventurer to fulfill the requests he receives. But you¡¯re not the only one making requests, you know that, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± He started complaining again and again even though he wasn¡¯t drunk, though he was a straight guy. ¡°And yet, when the old man came, he arrived unexpectedly in the morning¡­¡± ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯ve brought Paris¡­¡± Finally, he¡¯s here. It¡¯s been longer than I thought. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting; how can I help you?¡± ¡°Oh, the young lady over there has come to deliver a letter that has something to do with you, so I asked you to come over.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯m Paris. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, my name is Camille. It¡¯s nice to meet you too.¡± I shook hands with Paris. He is a gentleman with a calm atmosphere, and on top of that, he is an S-rank adventurer¡­ which will change the image of adventurers. ¡°So, Guild Master, what kind of letter is it?¡± ¡°Oh, right. The old man from the merchant guild wants you to take the commission. It¡¯s only for one day tomorrow, but it¡¯s a top-secret action, and¡­ I think you¡¯d like it, what do you think?¡± ¡°Ah, the master of the merchant guild, huh? He¡¯s a quick ear as usual, isn¡¯t he? I¡¯m pretty sure I came here without being seen by anyone.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why I even reached out to the gatekeeper, and the letter he delivered said he wanted to hire you. He¡¯s a monster, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Haha, I can¡¯t deny it. What were the contents of this request?¡± ¡°Ah, you know about the mage who appeared in the Kingdom of Brescia, don¡¯t you? I heard that there was a guy who bought a ship that the mage had covered with his barriers. He wants to borrow your help to test the barrier. By the way, the barrier that the mage put up repelled the attack of unique skill without any damage. I¡¯m really annoyed that he¡¯s sending a request that you seem to like so much.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a request that I like. A barrier that withstands unique skills unharmed¡­? I¡¯d love to try it out. If Guild Master doesn¡¯t have a problem with it, I¡¯ll accept it.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a request that ends tomorrow, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem, and I don¡¯t mind. To tell the truth, I¡¯m interested in it too.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Are you coming, too, Guild Master?¡± ¡°Yeah, it was written that I can come if I¡¯m interested. I¡¯ll be able to see what the rumored mage is capable of, even if only partially, so I guess I¡¯ll have to go.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯m looking forward to it. When exactly are we going to go tomorrow?¡± ¡°Oh, the old man said he is going to visit the Southern Count. The time will depend on the result of the meeting. He will let us know later.¡± ¡°I see. Well, I¡¯m going back. Please let me know when the news comes.¡± ¡°Yeah, all right.¡± ¡°Well, then, Camille-san, I¡¯ll be leaving now.¡± ¡°Yes, it was a pleasure to meet you. I will see you tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes, see you tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Phew, now that Paris¡¯ participation has been decided, I¡¯m going back too. ¡°Then, I will return as well. Is it decided that Paris-sama will join us?¡± ¡°Yeah, give my regards to the old man, will you?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll excuse myself.¡± I wonder what will happen tomorrow? I¡¯m excited for the first time in a long time. ¡«Camille¡¯s point of view is over¡« Morning, huh¡­? After getting a good kiss from the two of them and being well-satisfied, I eat my breakfast. ¡°Master, the higher-ups are coming today to check the Lutto¡¯s barrier, aren¡¯t they? Won¡¯t you disguise the inside of the Lutto ship?¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t want to let them inside, but it¡¯s going to be troublesome if I refuse to let them in¡­ So let¡¯s disguise everything. Then I don¡¯t know when they will come, so I¡¯ll disguise it now.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After disguising the ship, I relax and play with Rimu for a while. Today, we had a new game. We usually play high up, but Rimu asked me to throw him to Ines. For some reason, it became like playing catch with a ball: from me to Ines, from Ines to Felicia, and from Felicia to me. I felt like I was treating Rimu like a ball, and I didn¡¯t like it, but Rimu was enjoying the game. ¡°Ara, Master, the Girasole people are here!¡± Hmm? When I look outside, I see Girasole walking in. They must have come all the way here because I left a message for them at the inn yesterday. We all greet them. ¡°Hello, everyone. It¡¯s been a long time. Thank you for coming all the way out here.¡± ¡°Fufu, it¡¯s been a while, Wataru-san. I received your message at the inn, so I thought I¡¯d drop by.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Please come into the living room for now, and let¡¯s talk over a cup of tea.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I invited Girasole inside and served her tea. After meeting for the first time in a long time, Rimu and Fuu-chan are very excited and are bumping into each other. I guess people of the same race can communicate with each other. They looked so happy that I almost felt a little jealous. ¡°Wataru-san, you¡¯ve even disguised the inside of the ship. Did something happen?¡± ¡°Yes, I went to the merchant guild after I came back yesterday, and I was called by the guild master, and during the conversation, we decided to test the performance of the Lutto. Well, I don¡¯t know when they are coming yet.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯m sorry for the inconvenience we¡¯ve caused you.¡± ¡°Oh, everyone, please raise your head. I knew this was going to happen, and I¡¯m also sorry to have to keep getting apologies from you, so please don¡¯t worry about it anymore.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. So, I know it¡¯s late, but here is the reward for helping our families. Thanks to you, Wataru-san, our families, and Lucca were saved. Thank you very much.¡± A leather bag was placed in front of me and made a jingling sound. I¡¯ve been thanked again, but this time it¡¯s not an apology, it¡¯s a reward, so is it okay? ¡°No, no, if I received a reward, that means I just completed the request, so don¡¯t worry about this one either. And I will accept it gratefully.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I wonder how much is in there? Is it supposed to be confirmed on this occasion in such a case? Should I confirm it later because it would be rude? ¡­I¡¯m not sure about this, but this is a business transaction, so I should check the payment, right? At any rate, I¡¯ll check the contents at a glance. ¡­There are lots of platinum coins¡­ ¡°¡­This is way too much. How much is in there? And are A-rank adventurers really that profitable?¡± ¡°Wataru-san went to the merchant guild yesterday, didn¡¯t you? Did you not check your account? The price of the Ryu scale from the auction has also been deposited. Oh, and of course, all the Ryu materials that we entrusted to you are yours, too, Wataru-san.¡± The money from the auction was also deposited? In addition to the lots of platinum coins, the Ryu materials, too? I¡¯m afraid that the Ryu materials will just be repatriated and left sleeping in my possession, so I¡¯ll refrain from doing so. ¡°Ah, I said as much money as you can pay, so the Ryu materials belong to all of you in Girasole. I don¡¯t want to have a lot of Ryu materials. Besides, this cash alone is more than enough. Excuse me, but how much is in here?¡± ¡°Is that so? I don¡¯t think it would be enough even if we gave you everything.¡± ¡°Haha, this is too much. Don¡¯t worry about it anymore.¡± Of course, I¡¯m tempted to demand their bodies, but as with Felicia, I¡¯ve been able to escape from being half-dead, and with this much platinum coins, a luxury liner is not far away. If that happens, I¡¯ll be able to with Ines¡­ Let¡¯s take it slow and get to know everyone in Girasole. I¡¯ve already involved myself with them, and now I can afford it. I¡¯m not going to be gung-ho about it, but I¡¯m going to take it little by little¡­ It¡¯s like an erotic game, isn¡¯t it? Volume 6 - CH 13 Chapter 13 ¨C 313 Platinum Coins and the Start of the Experiment I¡¯m curious about the platinum coins that Girasole gave me and how many are in the bag. ¡°So, I asked you earlier, how much is in there? There are so many that I don¡¯t feel comfortable with.¡± ¡°I see; there are 313 platinum coins in all. I thought cash would be better than transferring the money to your guild account, so we withdrew it.¡± 313 coins¡­313 billion yen¡­ That¡¯s extravagant. Huh? There¡¯s money from the Ryu scale in my account, too, isn¡¯t there? Wouldn¡¯t I be able to get my hands on a luxury liner for sure? ¡°I¡¯d certainly be more grateful for cash¡­ Alessia-san, I think, in my opinion, this commission fee is impossible. I¡¯m also getting the rewards that the crown prince and the marquis gave me, which means that in all, I received more than 350 platinum coins¡­¡± ¡°No, the only money we actually gave out was 56 platinum coins. The other rewards from the war and the Ryu scale are all things we wouldn¡¯t have been able to get without Wataru-san. And if Wataru-san does not receive the Ryu materials, our assets will increase. I think it is appropriate that the Ryu materials also belong to Wataru-san.¡± No, no, no, only 56 platinum coins¡­ 5.6 billion? How profitable is an A-rank party? At any rate, since it seems unlikely that Girasole will ever be in dire straits, I¡¯ll just be grateful for the cash. ¡°No, this cash is enough. Please make use of the Ryu materials for everyone to use. The request is now perfectly complete. I would be happy if you could take it easy with the rest of us as you did before the request. It¡¯s kind of sad when Alessia-san and the others use honorifics, so I would appreciate it.¡± ¡°Fufu, I understand. No, I get it, I really appreciate it, but if you prefer it this way, Wataru-san, I¡¯ll do it this way.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, could you also drop the polite language and speak to us normally?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t imagine what it¡¯s like for me to address Alessia-san and the others that way¡­¡± ¡°Is that so? Well, Claretta is also speaking in a way that does not drop the honorifics, so I understand, but it would be nice if you could break it up a bit and talk to us in a more casual way.¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯ll try to do it gradually.¡± ¡°Fufu. Gradually, it¡¯s not so easy, is it?¡± ¡°Y-yeah, I¡¯ll try.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± What is it? What happened? They¡¯re suddenly friendlier than before. Did something happen while we were apart? It should be a joy to see the distance between us shrinking, but it¡¯s unexpected, and anxiety rushes over me. As I mumble, unsure of how to react, Heaven helps me. ¡°Master. A messenger from the merchant guild is here to see you.¡± ¡°Thank you, Ines. Should we greet him? Then, excuse us for a moment.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I went outside with Ines and Felicia to meet the staff of the merchant guild. ¡°I have a message for you from the guild master. They are going to head up to this ship at one o¡¯clock in the afternoon. From there, the guild master and the others will head out in another magic boat, and they want you to follow them. Are there any questions or requests?¡± ¡°No problem, as long as I don¡¯t need any special preparation. There is nothing in particular I need, is there?¡± ¡°Yes, I have not heard anything, so I think it will be fine.¡± ¡°Please tell them I will be waiting for them at one o¡¯clock. Thank you.¡± ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll excuse myself.¡± Hmm, one o¡¯clock, huh¡­? I should have asked what kind of people would be coming. This kind of carelessness is not good. I returned to the living room and told them that the master of the merchant guild would be here at 1 o¡¯clock. ¡°Hey, Wataru-san, is it okay if we stay with you? If they are bringing a competent person, it¡¯s not enough with only two guards, right?¡± ¡°Hmm, I wonder? If something goes wrong, it could cause Girasole to get into trouble with the Southern Count, the merchant guild, and the adventurers¡¯ guild, right?¡± ¡°I know the master of the adventurers¡¯ guild very well. He is the head of the guild, so he can be a cold-blooded judge when the time comes, but he is basically a good man. I think it will probably be fine. But if something should happen, please let us stay on Wataru-san¡¯s ship.¡± ¡°Y-yes. Thank you very much.¡± What is it? What¡¯s really going on? Obviously, the Girasole¡¯s favor has gone up a notch, hasn¡¯t it? Is it because I saved Lucca? But I feel like things were normal after that, so I don¡¯t know why. I don¡¯t want to think about it. Let¡¯s put it aside for now. We ate lunch early, feeling slightly nervous, and waited for the master of the merchant guild. After dinner, Rimu and Fuu-chan chased each other around the ship, playing a game that seemed to have some kind of rules. It¡¯s so cute. ¡°It¡¯s almost time, isn¡¯t it? Shall we wait outside?¡± ¡°Yes, I got it. But Wataru-san, you haven¡¯t lost your polite way of speaking, have you?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a habit of mine, so I¡¯ll take it slowly, please.¡± ¡°Fufu, okay.¡± While we were chatting at the port, the master of the merchant guild and Camille-san came in with two strangers. ¡°Oh, Wataru, I¡¯m sorry to keep you waiting. This is Marco-sama, a knight sent by Southern Count-sama. And this burly fellow is the master of the adventurers¡¯ guild. There is one more, but you will have to wait and see.¡± ¡°It is my first time meeting you. My name is Wataru. I am pleased to meet you, Knight-sama, Master of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s nice to meet you too.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nice to meet you, too. But why is Girasole here? Are you guys well acquainted?¡± ¡°¡­You should have read the report on Wataru¡¯s relationship with Girasole. Didn¡¯t you read it?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, that¡¯s right. That reminds me, there was also a report like that. I forgot about it. Thanks, old man.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so forgetful, but you remember the important things; that¡¯s why you¡¯re so hard to use. If you¡¯re going to forget, why don¡¯t you just forget the whole thing¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s terrible of you, old man. Is it just my imagination that you said you could use me so casually?¡± ¡°You two are in front of Knight-sama and Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Hmm? That¡¯s right. I apologize, Knight-sama.¡± ¡°No, no problem.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go. Wataru, that small magic boat is the one we will board. Follow behind us.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± I returned to the Lutto and followed behind the small magic boat that had just departed. Where are we headed? After about an hour¡¯s drive east of the harbor, the boat docked on the shore. As we left the living room with the Lutto anchored behind the magic boat, the members of the Girasole started to make a commotion. ¡°Wataru-san, you must never leave the ship.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Alessia-san.¡± ¡°There is someone over there that even a bunch of us can¡¯t compete with. I¡¯d rather not go out there if possible.¡± After saying that, Alessia-san called out to the group that was down on the shore. I¡¯m feeling awfully nervous. ¡°Dorothea-san, what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Can you see the man with the spear over there?¡± ¡°Yes, I can.¡± He has some kind of atmosphere. Moreover, he has a beautiful, austere appearance¡­ which I don¡¯t like. ¡°That person is Paris the Spear, an S-rank adventurer. If Wataru-san gets off the ship and is attacked, we will certainly not be able to protect you.¡± ¡°¡­Ehh, the guild master said he would prepare someone of ability, but he brought someone like that¡­¡± Why would he bring someone like that? It¡¯s too much even for a competent person. The guild master and the others come closer to Alessia-san¡¯s call. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Come down quickly. We¡¯re going to start the experiment.¡± ¡°But first, I have a question I¡¯d like to ask you if that¡¯s all right.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Why is Paris-san the Spear here?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, he was just here when the old man from the merchant guild found out about it. It¡¯s top secret.¡± The master of the adventurers¡¯ guild, he¡¯s so subtle and light. And he¡¯s talking loudly about how top secret it is. ¡°I wish you wouldn¡¯t bring S-rank here so easily.¡± ¡°So, why don¡¯t you people come down?¡± ¡°In case you don¡¯t know, we are Wataru-san¡¯s escort. You all understand Wataru-san¡¯s position, don¡¯t you? We can¡¯t just let him down in the midst of people who we can never compete with. We¡¯re not even sure we can buy enough time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a noble idea, but you can¡¯t trust me, even if I am the master of the adventurers¡¯ guild?¡± ¡°I trust the master as a person who can make cool-headed decisions for the guild.¡± ¡°Hmm? Is that a compliment?¡± ¡°You are praised in a subtle way. It means they trust you as the head of the organization. But as a human being, I¡¯m not so sure.¡± ¡°Shut up. What are you going to do about it, old man?¡± ¡°Well, hey, Wataru. We can¡¯t do the experiment with you there, so why don¡¯t you come down?¡± ¡°Even if you say so, there is someone scary out there, isn¡¯t there? I don¡¯t want to get caught.¡± ¡°I told you that I would bring someone powerful with me. If I want to catch you, I will hide Paris from you from the start.¡± ¡°I have a feeling that¡¯s the case, but what do you think? Alessia-san?¡± ¡°In the first place, there is little chance of betrayal, but the problem is that we can never prevent them from doing so if they are so inclined.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, too.¡± ¡°No, I hear you, but can¡¯t you think for yourself?¡± ¡°Hmm, should I have made a contract with you that you would never betray me in this matter?¡± ¡°Excuse me. Alessia, it¡¯s been a long time. May I ask you something?¡± ¡°Paris-san, it¡¯s been a long time. Can I help you?¡± ¡°Yes, you know what I can do, don¡¯t you, Alessia? Do you still think you can escape if you are on that magic ship?¡± ¡°Yes, I think we can escape if we are in this magic ship.¡± ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m really looking forward to it. I also have confidence in my spear, but it is a barrier that Alessia, who knows my ability, judges that can escape from me, isn¡¯t it? What would it be like? I can¡¯t wait to try it out. I promise I won¡¯t touch you, so why don¡¯t you come down?¡± ¡°Uh, Dorothea-san, isn¡¯t that Paris in a dangerous mood?¡± ¡°Yes, he is usually an intelligent and gentlemanly man, but when he is told about a strong opponent or something that cannot be pierced with his spear, he gets very excited. Mage-sama¡¯s barrier can repel unique skills, so I think he¡¯s excited to try it out.¡± ¡°¡­He¡¯s troublesome, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good grief, what a trouble. We have no intention of betraying you. I¡¯ll give you this muscle head as proof. You¡¯ll tie his hands behind his back and then point a sword at him. Then there will be no problem. The master of the adventurers¡¯ guild will be your hostage.¡± ¡°Hey, old man, don¡¯t just decide on your own. If someone is to be a hostage, you should be the hostage.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like it. You should respect an old man, you idiot.¡± After that, Paris was asked to leave, and the master of the adventurers¡¯ guild was really tied and made to kneel, with Alessia-san and Ines holding swords to his neck from both sides. It¡¯s like a scene right before an execution. Is that okay? ¡°What would happen if the master of the adventurers¡¯ guild was about to be beheaded by an adventurer?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master.¡± ¡°No, I have my thoughts, but I know what you guys are thinking: the S-rank is a real monster¡­ The problem is that old man. He sold me out so easily.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say anything about that.¡± ¡°But, Alessia, why are you so devoted to that poor-looking young man?¡± ¡°Our current situation happened because we were introduced to the mage by him. He saved my family and my hometown. So I will do my best to protect him.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, it can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯ll put up with it for a little while.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± They told me that I could summon my ship at any time if things began to go wrong, and I was surrounded by women other than Alessia-san and Ines. This is a tremendous VIP treatment. I move the Lutto away from the small magic boat and start the experiment. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough. Paris, you may begin.¡± The moment the master of the merchant guild said that, Paris-san¡¯s figure disappeared, and after a banging sound, Paris-san, who was striking his spear into the Lutto, appeared. Instantaneous movement, huh? A hostage can be retrieved in an instant¡­ I wonder if Alessia-san and the others can react to it? But S-rank, huh? I hope their attack power will not exceed even the gods or something. There are god slayers even in the novels¡­ so let¡¯s hope they don¡¯t exist in this world. Funds on hand: 62 gold coins, 58 silver coins, 72 copper coins. Guild account: 33 platinum coins, 70 gold coins. Savings ship: 478 platinum coins. Pepper ship: 485 ships. Volume 6 - CH 14 Chapter 14 ¨C Unexpected Weakness and Paris¡¯ True Strengths The experiment to test the power of the Lutto ship¡¯s barrier has begun, with S-rank adventurer Paris-san showering the Lutto with his blows. But I thought they said they were going to find out if they could get inside the ship¡­ But they suddenly start with an attack? If the attack doesn¡¯t break the barriers, are they going to investigate other things? The Lutto ship was not even scratched by Paris-san¡¯s fierce attack. The sea was rough, and the land that the Lutto was anchored on collapsed under the impact of the technique. ¡°Fufufu, terrific, this is terrific. Not even the impact is permeating, let alone penetrating. Interesting, very interesting.¡± Paris-san shouted loudly and performed his technique like a madman. The tremendous power of the technique is evident in the destroyed surrounding environment. Although the Lutto should have been anchored within jumping distance of the land, the land has been gouged out, and the distance from the Lutto to the land is several meters away. It doesn¡¯t make sense that the ground would be gouged out just by the aftermath of a technique, does it? But still, the attacks are getting more and more spectacular. How long is he going to keep doing this? ¡°Hey, hey, that¡¯s amazing. That barrier is blocking all of Paris¡¯s attacks. Surely, as long as you stay inside the ship, you can escape regardless of Paris¡¯s presence.¡± ¡°Yes, I believe so. That is why I think Wataru-san, who has that ship, will be targeted. Guild Master, please lend us your strength.¡± ¡°No, well, I understand what you mean, Alessia, but that¡¯s not a line you say with a sword at my neck, is it? Ouch, huh? Did you cut me? Did you just cut me?¡± ¡°Guild Master, please lend us your strength.¡± ¡°Y-yeah.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I feel like Alessia-san is doing something dangerous. But it¡¯s amazing; this is an S rank. I never had a chance to see it, but I wonder which is stronger, the laser beam or Paris-san¡¯s attack? ¡°Dorothea-san, which do you think is stronger, the laser beam or Paris-san¡¯s attack?¡± ¡°It is difficult to compare because it is a unique skill attack and a spear attack, but since Paris-san concentrates his power on the tip of the spear, I think Paris-san¡¯s attack is stronger in that part. Well, since Paris-san hasn¡¯t really gotten serious yet, we may see an attack that rivals the laser beam in the future.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± It looks like he¡¯s doing his please, but he¡¯s not giving it his all, is he? I can¡¯t keep up with Paris-san¡¯s moves already. From there, all I could hear was a roar and a bouncing sea. The roar was only the sound of the aftermath since the portion that hit the barrier was bounced back without a sound. He is a real monster. But this was the first time I saw my ship being attacked, and it was also unusual. The ship is swaying with the bursting waves, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be twitching from the attack itself. But Paris-san doesn¡¯t hesitate at all, does he? It¡¯s someone¡¯s ship, and he¡¯s attacking it with the intention of destroying it¡­ ¡°Guild Master.¡± ¡°¡±What is it?¡±¡± The two guild masters reacted to me ¡°Excuse me, I called for the master of the merchant guild. Until when will he continue? I have a feeling that guy will keep attacking unless we stop him.¡± ¡°Hmm, I feel that way, too¡­ I understand. I¡¯ll go talk to him.¡± Thank goodness it¡¯s going to end safely. I don¡¯t think I have to worry about it breaking, but there might be a chance. ¡°Paris, hey, Paris¡­ He didn¡¯t hear me. Hey, what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m a hostage. You deal with it.¡± ¡°Hmm, Camille, what should I do? Hmm? Why are you in shock?¡± ¡°¡­No, I thought he was a gentleman, and I can¡¯t believe what I¡¯ve seen of him¡­¡± ¡°What, are you in love with him? Stop it, he¡¯s a monster with no unique skills, and yet he¡¯s managed to reach the S rank. He may look normal on the outside, but he¡¯s insane on the inside.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not in love with him, but I admire him, so I¡¯m a little shocked.¡± Camille-san¡¯s preferred type is gentlemanly, huh? There is nothing I can do about my appearance, but as long as I¡¯m a gentleman¡­ and polite, can I get by? But if I were to think of myself as a gentleman, it would be a perverted gentleman. ¡°Well, okay, so is there any way to get Paris to notice us in this situation?¡± ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re right. I don¡¯t know, maybe ask Knight-sama to stop him?¡± ¡°Impossible.¡± The knight, who had been almost completely invisible up to now, refused with a single word. This was his chance to stand out. ¡°Is this what it¡¯s supposed to be? I guess we have to wait until he stops.¡± Ah, he gave up. He was quick to give up. He is the type of person who doesn¡¯t waste his time. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, the master of the adventurers¡¯ guild will keep on having a sword put to his neck, won¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine, or do you consider yourselves safe and want to let him go?¡± ¡°No, there is no way I could feel safe after what I saw. Frankly, I¡¯d like you to be a hostage as well, Guild Master¡­¡± ¡°If I were to become a hostage, I¡¯d be dying of exhaustion.¡± Is that so? I don¡¯t think he¡¯s going to die just yet. Since there was nothing I could do, I continued to observe for a while again. Rimu and Fuu-chan also got bored, and I told them to stay away from Paris-san and let them play together. The ladies are watching Paris-san¡¯s moves as if they are a reference for them. I don¡¯t know about it, but it must be a very lucky thing for them to be able to see the techniques of an S-rank adventurer. As I sat idly, bored with the endless attacks, the roar suddenly stopped. It¡¯s finally over. As I was thinking that, he raised his spear straight up and slammed it down on the surface of the sea with great force. What did he want to do? After a little while, Boom? With a sound I don¡¯t know how to describe, the Lutto was launched into the air, along with the seawater below and the entire anchor¡­ Eh? How could that happen? Paris-san slammed attack after attack into the bottom of the falling Lutto ship. The Lutto did not even lose its balance when attacked but fell as it was, and with the impact, it scattered seawater in a spectacular manner. ¡°The bottom of the ship is no good either, huh¡­? It¡¯s troubling, isn¡¯t it?¡± I¡¯m the one in trouble, though. What would happen if I were on the ship in that condition?¡¡I¡¯m just worried. If it were a ferry or something, it would be fine, but on the Lutto, it would be a scary thing. Let¡¯s not go against that man. ¡°These barriers are amazing. Even if I try to penetrate it, it¡¯s not hard or sticky, but it feels like all the power is no longer allowed to go forward at a certain point. No matter how fast I thrust, no matter how much force I put into it, no matter how much magic I put into it, no matter what I did, I couldn¡¯t advance even a little bit from a certain point. I can¡¯t even imagine how it could be broken.¡± Ah, so that¡¯s how it is. It won¡¯t let you advance from a certain point because it¡¯s refusing to let you on board. ¡°Well, if you can¡¯t do it, most people can¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°I agree. If it¡¯s a unique skill that can attack more powerfully than I can, it¡¯s possible. But considering that my power was completely ineffective, it should be at least twice as destructive.¡± ¡°Is there such a person?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I know all the unique skills.¡± ¡°Hmm, what would happen if the mage were to turn into an enemy?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Even if he only had the power to create these barriers, there¡¯s nothing we could do about it in terms of defense. If it could be applied to people as well, would it create a soldier who would never die? I don¡¯t even want to think about what would happen.¡± I don¡¯t have the power to create a barrier. The barrier is the ability of summoning ship by default. I¡¯m not going to tell them because it would be a bluff, though. ¡°Hmm¡­ Knight-sama, would you like to give it a try?¡± ¡°No, it would be useless no matter what I try. I will report what I see to Southern Count-sama.¡± ¡°I understand. As for the rest, Wataru, I would like you to show me the inside of the ship as well.¡± ¡°Hmm, I suppose so. I¡¯m afraid to let anyone with military strength inside the barrier, so if it¡¯s just the master of the merchant guild and Camille-san, that should be fine.¡± ¡°I would like to ask you too. If you think being armed is dangerous, I¡¯ll leave my sword in your hands.¡± ¡°¡­Very well.¡± It would be a corner turn if I refused after being told that much by the knight. Paris-san looked like he wanted to come in, too, but I pretended not to notice. That man is impossible; he is too scary, whether he entrusts me with his weapon or not; I¡¯m too scared of him, whether he can kill me or not. ¡°Now¡­ how shall we get on the Lutto? It¡¯s gone a long way out.¡± The land was gouged out, and when it was launched overhead, the landing was off, and it went further away. ¡°We¡¯ll be able to get it to the side with the magic boat, so it should be fine.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that¡¯s right. Please do.¡± I got on the magic boat and headed for the Lutto¡­ Huh? Now I¡¯m on a magic boat for the first time, right? Let¡¯s take a look at the interior¡­ It wasn¡¯t more than 20 meters away, so there was no time to observe, and the boat was attached to the side of the Lutto. By the way, all of the girls except Alessia-san and Ines are following me as my escort. It seems that Alessia-san and Inez are putting their swords to the master of the adventurers¡¯ guild until I get on the Lutto. After seeing Paris-san¡¯s attack, I don¡¯t think they¡¯re exaggerating. ¡°Oh, so this is the barrier. It doesn¡¯t touch the ship itself, does it? Certainly, rather than touching something, it feels as if we are being prevented from moving on.¡± ¡°Yes, it is a strange sensation. It¡¯s strange because these barriers prevent all of Paris-san¡¯s attacks.¡± ¡°Well then, Wataru, will you let us in now?¡± ¡°Yes, please come in.¡± The knight is checking the barrier without saying what he thinks, but is he analyzing something? Well, it¡¯s okay; I give permission for the three of them to board the Lutto. ¡°Hmm? Are you doing anything in particular?¡± ¡°Yes, well, it¡¯s fine.¡± With that, we go on board. When I entered the ship, a cup had rolled over, and tea had spilled out¡­ That¡¯s right. I didn¡¯t clean up the tea after making it. What is the impact of being blown up in the air? I guess the inside of the ship also suffers from the impact. I guess with a ship the size of the Lutto; it¡¯s not absolutely safe to stay on board. Well, it was a good thing that I found out early when I was not on board. But should I complain about spilled tea or something? Maybe if I think about it, it will be cleaned up. It seems strange not to complain. ¡°Let¡¯s see, Guild Master. I cooperated with the experiment, and the inside of the ship got dirty, but who should I complain to in such a case?¡± ¡°Hmm, you should have cleaned up the situation since I told you that we were going to conduct an aggressive experiment. You should complain to yourself about your carelessness, Wataru.¡± Yes, his persuasiveness is outstanding. I think so too. I should have at least cleaned up the situation. ¡°Well, that¡¯s what happens, doesn¡¯t it? I give up. Well, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything interesting, but I¡¯ll show you around.¡± ¡°Umu.¡± Taking Alessia-san¡¯s advice, I took the three of them around the ship, which was no different from a normal magic ship, and since it was a small ship, it would be quick and easy. ¡°Well, it¡¯s just like this. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything unusual here.¡± ¡°Umu. There was nothing unusual. But there is a lot of value to be found in those barriers alone¡­ Wataru, will the mage sell me the ship?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible. I heard from Alessia-san that he refused the crown prince¡¯s request.¡± ¡°Is that so? Well, please just tell him that I wanted the ship.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll just tell him, so don¡¯t get your hopes up.¡± ¡°Umu.¡± I can¡¯t sell it because I have a summoning limit. Ship summoning is such a great cheat that it would be unfashionable without a summoning limit. I can get a lot of money just for selling them, and if I organize a navy, I could control all the world¡¯s oceans. Let¡¯s finish the guide now. ¡­Let¡¯s just fantasize about it when I have time. ¡°Now the experiment is in order, right?¡± ¡°¡­I think so. This is the only result. No one in their right mind would make an enemy of the mage. I¡¯ll spread the word.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± I guess those who don¡¯t have a sane thought are no good. Well, if those in power don¡¯t come out and antagonize me, it will be a lot better. After parting with the guild master and the others, I pulled the Lutto over to the land to take Alessia-san and Ines on board. ¡°Oh, you said, Wataru, if something happens, please lend the adventurers¡¯ guild some help, too.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry for the trouble I¡¯ve caused you today. I am sorry for taking the master of the adventurers¡¯ guild hostage. But I¡¯m a merchant, so I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t be of much help.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the hostage situation. I¡¯ll let the old man pay for it, so it won¡¯t be a problem. Well, if I have to ask, it will be to transport people, so if you feel up to it, please do it. ¡°¡­Whenever convenient, please.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can only greet you over the barrier, Wataru-kun. My name is Paris. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, it¡¯s nice to meet you, too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to barge in here like this, but I¡¯m going to get stronger, so could you please let me try my hand at the barrier?¡± ¡°Eh? No, you mean you want to challenge whether you can destroy the ship or not, right? I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°¡­Is it no good?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Well, if I get another chance, I¡¯ll come back and ask you. Thank you for your help then.¡± After saying all that, he boarded the magic boat. The person is not giving up at all. If I accept it badly, he will come to challenge it again and again until he can destroy it. ¡­I feel like it is getting more and more complicated. No, it¡¯s not my imagination; I¡¯m definitely getting more and more involved. For the time being, I might as well live on the open sea and go to the city when I need to, like when I was on the southeast island, or I might as well go on a real journey in search of dark elves. And I have to think about the luxury liner, there are a lot of candidates, but if I want to go for the expensive one, I will have to save up some more money. This is also something to think about after I get the pepper wholesale in the Southern City and get all the money down there. Anyway, I¡¯ll take some time to think about it after I get the money from the merchant guild. Volume 6 - CH 15 Chapter 15 ¨C Luxury Liner¡¯s of Concern and Balance Inquiry The barrier experiment was over, and they returned to the Southern City. The members of the Girasole, who had not been to the Lutto in a long time, were pleased with the food from the vending machine corner that I had repatriated for them, took a shower, and left. Thank goodness the Girasole was there today. Ines said she had only heard about Paris-san from stories but had never seen him before. Felicia said she didn¡¯t even know he existed. If she had seen the attack of such a monster without prior knowledge, I am sure she would have been freaked out. The whole seawater thing launched the Lutto into the air is¡­ Well, the bottom of the ship is in contact with seawater, so I guess I can see how launching the entire ship with seawater would help, but how can a spear launch seawater? I don¡¯t understand. ¡°What if we were on the Lutto and the ship was launched as Paris-san did?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think we¡¯d have a problem if it were that high up, would we? If you are worried about that, you can ask Felicia to set up a barrier inside the ship. That way, if we bump into something, we¡¯ll be safe, and you¡¯ll have time to call up the big ship.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. Felicia, can I ask you to do that?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll make sure everything is covered.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± Maybe I¡¯m being overly paranoid, but it was unexpected, and I¡¯ll do what I can. This should be a relief. Now that I have some time, let¡¯s check out the luxury liner and pick up a ship that looks good. I thought that the bigger the luxury liner was, the better, but if I wanted to enjoy it as a guest, there were various options to choose from. I was so concerned about the facilities that I didn¡¯t even think about that. There are classes like luxury, premium, casual, and so on. Well, since I am the buyer, I should choose the ship I like after all. I found several luxury liners that I want, but it¡¯s hard to decide which one to choose. Looking at them, I¡¯m interested in Oasis of the Seas or Harmony of the Seas. Two hundred twenty thousand tons¡­ makes me wonder how they can stay afloat in the ocean. The food is not just the main dining room, but buffet restaurants, Italian restaurants, steakhouses, hamburger stores, Japanese food, and pizza¡­ Facilities also include a movie theater, pool(s), mini golf, ice skating rink, solarium, zip line, rock climbing, and library¡­ There are somehow too many facilities to remember, a place that recreates 20th-century America, a boat park with real trees and flowers, etc. The scale is too big to imagine on the screen. The advantage is that there are so many facilities that look like fun anyway. There are many places to eat, and the food is quite good. After that, there are a lot of free eating places¡­ which you can eat for free, right? The downside is that the ship is expensive, 1255 platinum coins, and it¡¯s too big and can carry more than 5000 passengers, which isn¡¯t necessary¡­ But I admire big ships and feel safe. With this ship, I could live on it for years, holed up in my room, which was gorgeous. There are various other luxury liners, around 50,000 tons, 100,000 tons, 150,000 tons, and so on, but in terms of facilities, the 220,000-ton luxury liner is inevitably superior. It is a difficult question whether to save up to buy a 220,000-ton luxury liner for the facilities or to be satisfied with a 100,000- or 150,000-ton luxury liner, which seems to be easier to buy to some extent¡­ Especially the luxury liner of around 150,000 tons has substantial facilities, and it is a problem to be concerned about. It is difficult to buy another one just because you don¡¯t like it since it is a very expensive one. ¡­It¡¯s all about money, after all. If I can afford a 220,000-ton luxury liner with the money in my account, the money from wholesaling 60 pepper ships, and my subsequent income, I¡¯ll do my best, even if it takes a long time. Since I¡¯ve fallen into another world and received the unique skill of summoning ships, I should buy the ship I want most. Tomorrow I¡¯ll go to the merchant guild and make sure I get the money right. ¡­No good, I¡¯ve been thinking about it, and Paris-san is in the Southern City. It¡¯s probably okay, but if he attacks us, we¡¯re doomed, so let¡¯s be cautious. I¡¯ll ask the staff of the merchant guild at the port to go to the merchant guild to run an errand and get Camille-san to come. I wonder if it is possible to check the balance in my account without my guild card. I¡¯ll ask her for that too. The next morning, I asked the staff of the merchant guild at the port to pass a message to Camille-san, and I disguised the inside of the Lutto and waited for her¡­ What if she was absent? But it¡¯s also a hassle to be vigilant like this, so after finishing my business, I¡¯ll quickly leave Southern City. If I hadn¡¯t seen Paris-san, I could have walked out a little more comfortably. ¡°Master, Camille-san is here.¡± ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll welcome her.¡± I give Camille-san permission to come aboard and show her around the ship. ¡°Sorry to bother you, Camille-san.¡± ¡°No problem. I understand Wataru-san¡¯s current situation. I also wanted to ask you about the pepper, so thank you for your cooperation.¡± ¡°Pepper?¡± ¡°Yes, it will take some time to prepare the payment for the pepper to be wholesaled and the money to be withdrawn from your account in platinum coins, so it would be a shame for the quality of the pepper to deteriorate in the meantime.¡± ¡°Oh, I see¡­ let me think about it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The quality of the pepper, huh¡­? It¡¯s set up to have made several round trips to the southern continent, so it¡¯s been a long time. And yet the wholesale pepper is of pretty high quality¡­ and that would make people suspicious of the quality of the pepper. I¡¯m too greedy because I can wholesale a lot of pepper, and deciding things on the spur of the moment is a bonus. What should I do? ¡­I can¡¯t even come up with a good idea. The more time that goes by, the more people will be suspicious of the quality, so it¡¯s better to wholesale as soon as possible. It would be good to do the wholesale after the platinum coins are prepared and then go on a trip immediately after receiving the money, but it would be hard to come to the Southern City the next time¡­ Should I give them the pepper first? ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll give you the pepper first.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± When Camille-san thanked me with a smile, I felt a little bit excited, but I was afraid of my own naivete. ¡°Then, the morning after tomorrow, could you come to the port to pick up the pepper? It will be divided into three shipments, so I will bring the same amount of pepper as last time.¡± ¡°Understood. I will prepare it for you.¡± ¡°So, did you know how much money is in my account and how long it will take to collect the platinum coins?¡± ¡°Yes, Wataru-san¡¯s account has the payment for the Ryu scale and the contract fees for pudding, ice cream, Reversi, and Jenga, which amounts to 242 platinum coins and 30 gold coins. The price for the pepper is more than 200 platinum coins, depending on the quality of the pepper, so we need to prepare more than 450 platinum coins in total. It will take some time because some people have already withdrawn a large amount of platinum coins a short while ago. The master is going to talk to the merchant guilds in the royal capital, so could you please wait for about 20 days?¡± ¡°I understand, and thank you in advance for your cooperation. I will also leave the money below the gold coin as it is because I don¡¯t want to leave the account empty.¡± It was Girasole who unloaded a large amount of platinum coins a while ago, wasn¡¯t it? I have a feeling they are causing quite a bit of trouble for the merchant guild. ¡°I understand. Shall I give you a detailed accounting of the contract fees for the pudding, etc.?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right¡­ I¡¯m fine with a rough estimate of how much it all came to.¡± Huh? What¡¯s with the dismay? ¡°Wataru-san, you are a merchant, so you have to manage your finances meticulously, don¡¯t you? Well, you¡¯re making huge profits from pepper, so maybe there¡¯s no problem¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha, sorry.¡± Impossible. I¡¯ve had a veto problem with numbers since my arithmetic days. Come to think of it, I¡¯m not even a good merchant, except for summoning ships. ¡°Roughly, every contract has one platinum coin and sixty gold coins in it. We are in the process of spreading them out, so I¡¯m sure the deposits will continue to increase.¡± One platinum and 60 gold coins¡­ I think I get 3% of the profits, right? It is amazing how the power of numbers can exceed one platinum coin for something that doesn¡¯t cost much. ¡°I understand. Thank you very much. So, when you have collected all the platinum coins, can you bring them to me?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry, but there are some formalities that need to be completed before you can withdraw it, so the only way is to come to the merchant guild. If you don¡¯t put the money for the pepper in your account, we can bring it to you.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Hmm, what should I do¡­ I should talk to Girasole. ¡°Okay, please bring the money for the pepper here. I¡¯ll see what I can do about going to the merchant guild.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± After we had finished most of our conversation, we had a chat over a cup of tea. I wanted to have a pleasant chat, but in between conversations, she casually asked me where I kept the pepper and other information, which made me feel subtly uncomfortable. It helped that there was no actual place to put the pepper, but if it had existed, I would have said something about it. Camille-san, I¡¯m terrified of you. After all the chit-chat, I was tired, so I let the ship sail. I¡¯m tired today, so I¡¯m going to have dinner on the Stronghold and relax in the massage chair. From then on, every two days, we return from the open sea to the Southern City to wholesale pepper. Although people are still suspicious about the quality of the peppers, I don¡¯t know about it, so I just go through with it and finish wholesaling peppers for 60 boats. Every time we go out to the open sea, we run with our boats on the lookout for a tail, but we get no response, which makes us feel a bit empty. I keep this inertia going just as a precaution, but I wonder if it is necessary. I ask Girasole about the pros and cons of heading for the merchant guild, and they say it¡¯s impossible for an S-rank adventurer to attack you in broad daylight. At the time of the experiment, they were alarmed by the sudden appearance of an S-ranked adventurer, but he would not do anything nefarious in a public place. They said that I should stay away from unpopular and dangerous places and not act alone. It sounds like the kind of precautions one would take on a trip abroad. Felicia has put up barriers around me, and my level is high, so as long as I don¡¯t leave Ines and Felicia, I should be fine during the daytime. In the meantime, they said they would escort me when I went to the merchant guild, which was reassuring. ¡°Hey, Wataru-san, do you have any plans for tomorrow?¡± ¡°Plans? Nothing in particular.¡± I answer Alessia-san¡¯s sudden question. She¡¯s kind of smiling. ¡°Fufu, then tomorrow night, I¡¯d like to come back with everyone again. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m going home. See you tomorrow. Also, Wataru-san, you haven¡¯t dropped your polite language.¡± She left after saying that¡­ What¡¯s going on? Also, since polite language has become a habit, it¡¯s difficult to change it now. Well, let¡¯s get used to it gradually. The next night, Girasole came to ask me just as Alessia-san had said. Alessia-san and the others, carrying a big bag, came over to me and happily offered me the bag they had been carrying, saying it was a souvenir. ¡°A souvenir? What is it?¡± I looked inside the bag and found a large crab¡­What¡¯s this? ¡­Ah, could it be a big crab? ¡°Alessia-san, is this a Big Crab?¡± ¡°Yeah, you said you wanted to eat it before, right? We just got a request for it, so we caught it today.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I am very happy. But I didn¡¯t know that Big Crab was like this. I thought they were bigger than a person.¡± ¡°Fufu, if there were a crab that big, there would be a big commotion, even though the request was for a place close to the city. Well, even at this size, it¡¯s a monster and dangerous.¡± ¡°Ah, if you think about it, that¡¯s true. I had only heard that it was a huge crab, so I imagined it to be a huge one.¡± Considering it calmly, the shell alone is 50 centimeters high and a meter wide. ¡­It¡¯s big enough, isn¡¯t it? How should I cook it? ¡°I¡¯ve heard that some crab monsters are so big that you can hardly look up at them. If we get a chance, shall we go and catch some?¡± ¡°I would appreciate it if it tastes good, but I don¡¯t know how to cook a crab that big¡­¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. I wonder if we can manage to carry it without dismantling it to some extent.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Well, let¡¯s enjoy this Big Crab this time. Hmm, let¡¯s cook in the Hideaway. Do you all bring your bathing suits?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re not bringing our bathing suits for the request. But it sounds like fun, so we¡¯ll just put our stuff down for a while and go get it.¡± ¡°I understand. I will prepare it as best I can.¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll go then.¡± ¡°Master, how are you going to cook it?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve never cooked a crab this big before. I suppose it can be baked, boiled, or steamed, but I don¡¯t have the cooking utensils to put a whole crab of this size in the pot. If I cut it into pieces, the flavor would be lost, though¡­¡± ¡°But it¡¯s hard to find cooking utensils now. Would you like me to cook the whole crab with my magic?¡± Ines has cooked a gratin for me before with her flame magic, but it¡¯s too difficult to cook a crab this big. I¡¯d like to boil the whole thing somehow. ¡­Right, a rubber boat. I¡¯ll clean the rubber boat with my thoughts, put a lot of baking stones into it, and boil the whole crab. If they say they don¡¯t like crabs boiled in a rubber boat, I¡¯ll just cut them up and boil them. Well, if I cut and boil it, the boiled water will taste good, but this time I plan to boil it in seawater, so if possible, I would like to boil it whole. I think it would be better to have the seawater purified. I think it¡¯s hygienically safe, but in the end, it¡¯s a matter of mood. What do you think will happen? Volume 6 - CH 16 Chapter 16 ¨C The Big Crab and the True Intention of Girasole We set sail on the Lutto with Girasole, who has returned after taking their bathing suits. On the way, I bring the ship closer to land and ask the women to pick up a large number of stones. Then, running this way and that while keeping a wary eye on our tails, we sail out to the open sea and summon the Hideaway to change aboard. ¡°Everyone, I¡¯d like to use a rubber boat to boil the big crabs. Is that a problem?¡± ¡°A rubber boat? You want to boil the big crabs in that?¡± ¡°Yes, you know that I can clean the boat with my thoughts. And I¡¯ll have Claretta-san and Rimu purify it and boil it in boiling water so it won¡¯t be dirty, but if you don¡¯t feel like it, I¡¯ll cut it into pieces and boil it afterward.¡± ¡°Hmm, if it¡¯s going to be clean, why is that a problem? But why do you insist on boiling them whole?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s because I heard that if you cut them into pieces, the flavor will escape from them when they are boiled. That¡¯s why they say it¡¯s better to boil them whole. ¡­Speaking of which, this big crab has no wound; how did you beat it?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. It was for souvenirs, so we took it down nicely. Carla hit it with her shield. Well, she crushed it the first time, but after a couple of times, she got it down cleanly. If that¡¯s the reason, then good for you for trying, Carla.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you. Thanks to that, we can eat delicious crabs. So, do you mind if I boil them on the rubber boat?¡± For the sake of the big crab, which has been smashed several times, we must eat it deliciously. Well, it¡¯s self-satisfying. ¡°Oh, yes. It¡¯s fine with me. How about you girls?¡± The other members seemed to have no problem, so I decided to boil them in a rubber boat. I don¡¯t know what it means just from the words¡­ Yes, the boiling water is going to smell like rubber, so let¡¯s disguise the boat and change the rubber boat to steel. It looks and feels safer, doesn¡¯t it? ¡°Then, let¡¯s begin.¡± ¡°Oh, Wataru-san, we¡¯ll help you, too.¡± ¡°Yes, please do. I want Claretta-san and Rimu to purify the summoned ship and the seawater that we got from the sea. Rimu, will you help us with Claretta-san?¡± ¡°Together, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°Thank you, Rimu.¡± Reflexively hugging and stroking him¡­ the ladies are looking at him with warm eyes. Oh, Marina-san is nodding. She says she understands how I feel, right? It is reassuring to have a comrade. ¡°I understand. Rimu-chan, come here.¡± Rimu jumped into Claretta-san¡¯s chest. Claretta-san¡¯s chest jiggles as she accepts Rimu¡­ ¡°Thank you.¡± First, I summon a rubber boat and wish it to be clean. Change the material to steel with the boat disguise and wish it clean again. Immediately, Claretta-san and Rimu apply the purification to the boat. ¡°Ilma-san and Ines will clean the large amount of stones that you picked up, then burn them with your magic. Felicia washes the crabs with me. Everyone else, please pump seawater into this pot, have it purified, and then pour it into the rubber boat.¡± Everyone moved on to their respective tasks, and I washed the crabs with Felicia. As I recall, we need to wash the loincloth part well. But big crabs look like king crabs. I think a king crab is like a hermit crab, but what about a big crab? Well, as long as it tastes good, it¡¯s good. ¡°The preparations are almost done. Ilma-san, Ines, please put the baking stone into the boat.¡± At the same time as my voice, the baked stone is put into the boat¡­ It is too much trouble to give permission to the baked stone every time to board the boat. But is there any point in issuing a ticket for each baked stone? ¡­All the baked stones that are clustered together should be given permission to board the ship? The big crab is placed shell-side down in the boiling seawater. ¡°How long do you think it will boil, Wataru-san?¡± I was astonished at Claretta-san¡¯s words¡­ I¡¯ve never boiled a crab this big before, so I don¡¯t know how long it takes¡­ ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know. How long do you think it will take?¡± ¡°¡­About 1 hour?¡± ¡°I think it will take about that long. Let¡¯s boil it for an hour and see how it goes. Ilma-san, Ines, please keep the water boiling as long as possible. Also, if you run out of stones or seawater during the process, let me know. We¡¯ll take care of it.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± ¡°I will make the crab vinegar, so can everyone else please bring the table to the front of the baths? It¡¯s late at night, but let¡¯s drink, eat, take a bath, and have a party.¡± ¡°Party!¡± ¡°Yay!¡± I think everyone¡¯s movements tripled in speed when they heard the word party. Well, it¡¯s been a long time since the members of Girasole drank alcohol in Ferry, so I guess it can¡¯t be helped. I make crab vinegar. It¡¯s a simple recipe; just mix vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and salt in just the right amount. Oh, maybe there¡¯s a recipe for crab vinegar in the manga, too. Well, this time, I¡¯ll just do it this way. I remembered from the anime that I should try shark fin. We were attacked by gluttony sharks so many times after that that the shark fins all accumulated again. If it¡¯s successful, I¡¯ll make shark fins again. Oops, now it¡¯s crabs. I add seawater a few times, retrieve the stone, re-bake it again, and put it back in. An hour later, the big crab is boiled up, looking delicious, maybe. Is it cooked all the way through?¡¡I¡¯m not sure. Anyway, I send it back and summon it back to the side of the table. I put the food and drinks I¡¯ve stocked up on from the Fortress and the Stronghold on the table. I get excited when I see so many dishes and liquors lined up. ¡°We¡¯re all ready to go. Oh, we have to dismantle the big crab. Alessia-san, please cut off the legs of the crab with your sword and cut a slit in the crab so that it is easy to eat. I¡¯ll remove the shell.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Alessia-san cuts off the crab¡¯s legs and slits the shell in an instant. ¡°Done.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I haven¡¯t even touched the shell yet¡­ so let¡¯s hurry up anyway. I pull off the loincloth and then pull off the shell from there. The crab shell is full of crab meat¡­ and looks delicious. Pull the shell aside so as not to spill any of it. Remove the other¡­ is this gills? Let¡¯s remove it. Fold it in half. Now it¡¯s ready to eat. ¡°It¡¯s ready. Let¡¯s eat it before it gets cold. The crab meat tastes good if you dip it in the crab vinegar I make there, so please try it. Then, let¡¯s eat itadakimasu.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Itadakimasu.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± At the same time as Itadakimasu, we swarmed to the main course, the Big Crab. I pick up a Big Crab leg¡­ it¡¯s big, something the size of my thigh¡­ I pull the meat out of the shell. The crab meat is so big¡­ I wonder why it doesn¡¯t look delicious. I¡¯m sure I¡¯m going to be full just from this. No, I¡¯m going to get bored before that. Shall I cut it into pieces? No, I can¡¯t do that. If you are a man, you should bite into it. I dip it in crab vinegar, bite into it, and stuff my mouth full of crab meat. Yes¡­ it¡¯s delicious. The meat is plump and tasty, probably because of its big body. I was so crazy about it that I bit into it again and again. ¡°It¡¯s delicious, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Delicious.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s really delicious.¡± Claretta-san and Carla are also smiling broadly. Everyone else was also gulping down the crab meat. I, too, while biting into the crab meat, eat a rice ball and drink sake after settling down. Come to think of it; I¡¯ve never had shell liquor before. I wonder if it tastes good¡­ I don¡¯t even know how much alcohol is necessary to drink in that shell; for example, it is impossible to drink in that shell. When I look at Rimu and Fuu-chan, they are eating the crab legs from both sides¡­ It¡¯s like a Pocky game, an advanced flirting technique with crab meat. They are frightening kids. ¡°Rimu, Fuu-chan, is it good?¡± ¡°Delicious, I like it.¡± ¡°¡­Delicious¡­¡± ¡°Good for you. Since it¡¯s a big crab, you can eat a lot of it.¡± ¡°So many; I¡¯m so happy.¡± ¡°¡­Many¡­¡± I was looking over at them with a smile. Dorothea-san and Marina-san are also looking at Rimu and Fuu-chan and smiling. Rimu and Fuu-chan are cute, aren¡¯t they? Well, it doesn¡¯t matter; next is crab miso. I scoop it with a spoon and eat it. The fishy smell is gone because it has been cooked, and it has a rich¡­ rich¡­ rich¡­ taste and a slight bitterness. Anyway, it is delicious. ¡°Wataru-san, do you eat that unpleasant part too?¡± ¡°Yes, there are preferences, but for those who like it, it¡¯s irresistible. Would you like to try it, Carla-san?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As soon as she said that, she ate the crab miso with a snap. She just now said something about being unpleasant, right? It¡¯s amazing that she doesn¡¯t hesitate even a little bit. ¡°Well, it tastes strange, but it¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°Right? It tastes good on crab meat, too, if you like.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± The other girls seemed to be interested in it, too, and were fearless to try it. Dorothea-san, Ilma-san, Marina-san, and Ines were fine with it, while the others were not so fond of it. Well, if you like it, eat it; if you don¡¯t like it, don¡¯t eat it. After drinking alcohol and eating crab, and getting full, we changed into our bathing suits. ¡­I take a bath on a full stomach and am drunk. I feel like throwing up; at least, it is probably bad for my body. But I go in. And I wait for everyone else to come in. I soak myself in the bath with the light of the bath shining and bubbles forming. Yeah, I feel like I¡¯m getting drunk. I get up and drink a glass of cold water, then go back to the bath. Well, I¡¯m in a good mood. So happy. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to bother you.¡± Here it comes. ¡°Yes, come in. But please be careful when you drink because it¡¯s easy to get drunk.¡± ¡°Ufufu, I know.¡± Hmm, Ilma-san is as bewitching as ever. I want to be spoiled¡­ ¡°Are you having fun?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m having a great time.¡± It¡¯s a kind of conventional conversation¡­ I¡¯d like to have a nicer conversation with them. How about talking about the stars, for example? If there were constellations in this world, we could have a romantic conversation. Though, I was never interested in stars at all¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san. You must be perplexed by our change in attitude, right?¡± ¡°Eh, ah, well, yes. I was feeling uncomfortable, so is there a reason for it?¡± ¡°Yes, we talked about how we owe Wataru-san a big favor, and we should repay it to you.¡± ¡°What do you mean by favor? I was given quite a large sum of money. I am satisfied with that.¡± ¡°Well, most of that money was earned by Wataru-san. In addition, because of the liberation of Lucca, Wataru-san has to deal with a lot of troubles. So we decided to at least escort you.¡± ¡°I appreciate that, but I¡¯m not sure if there¡¯s a connection between being escorted and a change in attitude¡­ You can still escort me as before, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, we can, but until now, we¡¯ve only been asked to do that, or we¡¯ve been on vacation. Alessia said she can¡¯t protect you because you¡¯re not usually with her, and we concluded that we should just get to know each other better if that¡¯s the case¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should say this, but it¡¯s simple.¡± ¡°Yes, I think there is a better way, but we¡¯ve been an adventurer for so long that we¡¯ve become someone who doesn¡¯t know much about anything other than adventure.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s happened¡­ but not to Ilma-san, has it?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m the type of person who thinks about a lot of things. I¡¯ve been observing my surroundings a lot, so I have a little common sense. In the end, I¡¯ve been an adventurer all my life, so my common sense is half-baked.¡± ¡°I see. Well, if I know the cause, I can rest assured. I¡¯m glad to be able to get along with you all, and it helps to have you protect me.¡± ¡°Fufu, thank you. Best regards.¡± Ilma-san snapped to the side. People with half-baked common sense don¡¯t do that. But thank you. It¡¯s great to feel the fluffiness. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is necessary for us to get along.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s necessary in general, but it¡¯s very effective for me.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s effective for Wataru-san, there¡¯s no problem, right?¡± Ilma-san, there is no problem. It¡¯s just that blood rushes to my head, and I¡¯m getting dizzy, but I have no problem at all. ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡± ¡°Ara, your head is spinning. You¡¯re getting sick. Let¡¯s go up.¡± ¡°Oh, a little more.¡± ¡°Fufu, no. Let¡¯s do it again next time.¡± I was put down on the couch next to it, and a glass of cold water was brought to me. ¡­It tastes good. It was a bit of a surprise, but it felt good, so it¡¯s okay. And it¡¯s good to know that I know what caused the favor to be upgraded. I was worried about what was going on, but I¡¯m no longer worried, let¡¯s try and get along. I¡¯m going to hug Rimu until I get back up, and I¡¯m going to keep my eyes on the big-breasted beauties in the bathtub. It¡¯s going to go crazy again. I also found out that they were worried about me and came up to me when I was lying down. They would bring me water and ask me how I was doing. Then their breasts, wet with hot water and with their bathing suits sticking to them, would appear in front of me¡­ Sorry for being so silent. But I really want it. Volume 6 - CH 17 Chapter 17 ¨C Girasole Low-Cost Employment and the Remaining 312 Platinum Coins The day after, we enjoyed the big crab. Except for me, Carla-san, and Claretta-san, there was a good amount of alcohol left, and we decided to go straight to the Hideaway to rest. After eating lunch, I discussed future plans with Ines and Felicia, who were feeling a little better. ¡°Master, if we withdraw the money from the merchant guild and combine it with the pepper money, it will be more than 400 platinum coins, right? If you combine that with your savings, you could buy a luxury liner, but are you going to buy a luxury liner right away?¡± ¡°Well, for my part, there is a luxury liner that I want, and it¡¯s expensive. But I¡¯m thinking of buying the luxury liner I want anyway.¡± ¡°What kind of luxury liner?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret. But depending on the results in the merchant guild, I think I¡¯m about 300 platinum coins short. I¡¯m thinking of holding out since I¡¯ve been able to wholesale some pepper to the merchant guild, and it¡¯s going to accumulate over the next few months.¡± ¡°A luxury liner that Master wants even if he has to endure Ines for a few months? I¡¯m interested.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a little shocked. I thought you would buy a luxury liner as soon as you could afford one and demand it, but now you are satisfied with just Felicia?¡± Ines, even though you say it like it¡¯s funny, you don¡¯t seem shocked in the slightest. ¡°I hate having to endure Ines so much. If it hadn¡¯t been for Felicia, I would have bought a luxury liner the day I received the platinum coin. But I want to hold out for a few more months, buy the ship I want most, and then live a life of debauchery with Ines and Felicia.¡± I want to be holed up on a luxury liner for at least a month and live a life of entertainment and carnal indulgence. ¡­Now I wonder, do you call not going out from the luxury liner ¡°shutting yourself in¡±? ¡°Fufu, yes, I would expect as much.¡± I¡¯ll have to live up to that expectation. If I don¡¯t meet expectations¡­ ¡°Yeah, leave it to me.¡± ¡°So I¡¯m going to leave the pepper wholesale open for about two months, and in the meantime, we¡¯re going to try to find the dark elves. I don¡¯t know where they are, so I was wondering if we could take a ship around the continent, find some forests and search for them?¡± ¡°I thank you, Master. But if we enter the forest we found from the ship; it would be dangerous for Ines and me to go alone in case there are dangerous monsters.¡± ¡°I agree with you. There is no way a dark elf would hide in a place where people can easily enter¡­¡± ¡°Huh? But the monsters around Felicia¡¯s village weren¡¯t that strong, were they? It was also close to the sea. Why is that?¡± ¡°There were only weak monsters around our village as well, but that¡¯s because we reduced the number of dangerous monsters through years of hunting. If you enter from the forest side, you have to pass through a zone where there are dangerous monsters to get there. On the sea side, there were more people there before the attack, so guards were assigned. If a ship came from the sea, we would evacuate depending on the size of the ship. After the attack, we had to take care of the area around the village. Still, the Kingdom of Latina is a safe country, so I think we were in a safer place than other dark elf villages.¡± ¡°I see, then, Ines; it¡¯s going to be tough with just Felicia. What shall we do?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we ask the people of Girasole to help us? I¡¯m sure they¡¯d be willing to help us out for a certain amount of money, right?¡± ¡°Hmm, but since we¡¯re not telling anyone about the dark elves on the island, won¡¯t that pose a problem? When I try to convince them, I¡¯ll have to tell them about the island, and since I can¡¯t take them to the dark elves¡¯ island, it¡¯ll add to the hassle, won¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just sign a contract there? I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll help you if you tell them the reason.¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know. What do you think, Felicia?¡± ¡°I think it would be very helpful if the Girasole would sign a contract with you to help us. If there are competent people, we can protect the people of the village when we move to another place.¡± I see, so we need more people to move from the village¡­ It was originally too difficult for us to move them on our own. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll ask Girasole after dinner.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ After dinner, we went straight to the dining room to talk over a cup of tea. ¡°Alessia-san, have you decided what Girasole is going to do in the future?¡± ¡°Eh? ¡­No. I don¡¯t think there were any. Dorothea, we don¡¯t have any plans, do we?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡± Good. It¡¯s hard to ask if they have plans. ¡°In that case, I¡¯d like to ask you to do something for me. I¡¯ll tell you the details when you sign the contract. The general idea is that we¡¯re going to explore some forests, so you¡¯ll be my escort while I¡¯m on land. There is one more job, but that will also be done after you sign the contract. The contract is not a criminal act, and the agreement is that you will not divulge anything you learn from this request.¡± ¡°We owe Wataru-san a debt of gratitude, and as long as it¡¯s not a criminal act, we¡¯ll be fine. But what if, when we sign the contract, you ask us what the job entails, and we find it unacceptable?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s okay because it¡¯s not a terrible request. But even if it is impossible, you can refuse it as long as you sign a contract not to mention anything about the contents of the contract. We will decide the fee at that time.¡± ¡°If we can repay you in any way, we would be happy to do so, so we don¡¯t mind if the fee is free.¡± Even if they say they want to repay us, they are paying us a lot of money, and it would be awkward for us if it were free of charge. ¡°It¡¯s hard to ask for a free request, so we¡¯ll pay you the market rate.¡± ¡°Well, we also have been taken to Palermo almost for free, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯s appropriate for us to get a request fee. It¡¯s not easy to hire an A-rank adventurer as an escort, and I wonder what the going rate is.¡± The other ladies don¡¯t seem to know either. Don¡¯t they hire A-rank adventurers as escorts? Is it because it¡¯s not profitable? If you are a high rank, you have your own escort. If it¡¯s a merchant escort going down the street, don¡¯t they need a high rank like A rank as an escort? If you¡¯re a very wealthy person and you¡¯re in danger, then a high-ranking escort would be in demand, but it¡¯s not a common request? So it seems to me that adventurers of A rank and above are mainly engaged in exploration. ¡°That¡¯s a problem. It pains me to hear that it¡¯s free, too. It¡¯s a two-month contract, so I¡¯ll have the adventurers¡¯ guild calculate it out.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better not to do that. The adventurers¡¯ guild is also interested in Mage-sama. It would only attract unwanted attention.¡± Alessia-san was right. It would be a disaster if Paris-san and the others got interested and started chasing us. He was obsessed with the ship¡¯s barrier, and I¡¯d pretty much hate to see where the possibility lies. Let¡¯s not go to the adventurers¡¯ guild. ¡°Ah, yes. I¡¯ll stop.¡± ¡°¡­Well, then, let¡¯s go to the merchant guild tomorrow. I¡¯ll hear the terms of the contract and decide on the fee. Is that all right with you?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± The next day, surrounded by Girasole, Ines, and Felicia, I headed for the merchant guild. Normally I would get jealous glances, but Girasole¡¯s tense atmosphere made people think they were at work or something, so I went through with it. I told him about the dark elves in the contract room. They signed the contract saying they would be happy to help. Alessia-san and the others seemed to think there was something going on since I have a dark elf as a slave. They were surprised that I was even relocating them. The contract is for confidentiality regarding all dark elves related to me. And when I told them how I was going to find the dark elves, they said it was too inefficient. According to the people of Girasole, simply exploring the forests we found would be uninformative and dangerous. They said that we should gather information before setting out. When I told them that we did not want anyone to know that we were looking for dark elves, they told me that they would not know because we would only be investigating a forest that was highly dangerous and would not attract adventurers and that it would be a little easier if we went to a village or town near the forest to gather information before entering the forest. I have a feeling that¡¯s true, considering what I¡¯ve been told. There are no dark elves in the forests that can be entered easily, and it would definitely save time compared to searching from one side to the other. Somehow, I¡¯m ashamed of myself for simply thinking that since they were hiding in the forest, I should just search the forest from one end to the other. Thinking is important, isn¡¯t it? After that, Girasole took the lead in gathering information, securing food, locating the dark elves, and purchasing the supplies we would need if they decided to move to the new location. Incidentally, the fee for the request amounted to ten gold coins. I told them I would pay more, but they wouldn¡¯t accept any more. I had to keep an A-rank party with me for two months for 10 million yen, and Girasole could easily earn that much just by going to the southeastern island once. Is it really okay to get such a low price? A first-class person can be hired for less than 30,000 yen for a whole day or a little more than 1,000 yen an hour, even if they are only escorts when we are on land. It¡¯s too good a deal; I¡¯m sorry to say. And so, after a few days of preparation for departure. I received a call from the merchant guild saying that the platinum coins were ready. I headed for the guild with Girasole, who was escorting us. ¡°Wataru-san, are you going to leave as soon as you get the money?¡± Alessia-san, who was in a good mood, asked me a question. She is an adventurer, and she can¡¯t stop being excited before setting out on a trip. Her smiling face is dazzling. ¡°We haven¡¯t decided on our destination yet. If it is decided soon, I think we will leave today. Is everything ready?¡± ¡°Yes, we are ready. We¡¯ll decide on a destination soon and leave. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Really? I don¡¯t mind going to the forest, but I don¡¯t like insects. It makes me anxious.¡± ¡°Speaking of which, you didn¡¯t like them in the cave either. But in the forest, there will be insects for sure. Are you okay?¡± ¡°Haha¡­ I¡¯ll put up with it somehow.¡± I wonder if I can put up with it¡­ I¡¯m not good with normal insects, but it is something I can put up with. But in this world, there are also insect monsters, which are a nuisance. I will never forget the sickening feeling of a giant centipede¡­ I guess I¡¯ll have more bug-related trauma when I go into the forest¡­ I¡¯m starting to feel like stopping. Let¡¯s switch moods and enter the merchant guild. There should be a lot of platinum coins waiting for me. I look for Camille-san and call out to her. Then, I was taken to a back room as usual. I¡¯m no longer treated as an F-rank merchant. There¡¯s no point in raising it, but I wonder if I should add an annual fee to raise my merchant rank. But the merit is only as good as the fact that I won¡¯t be bullied at the first merchant guild or trading company I go to. Oh, but if the receptionist lady becomes kinder, would it be worthwhile to raise it? ¡­I¡¯ll consider it. ¡°Thank you for waiting, Wataru-san.¡± Camille-san, who hands out the tea saying so, has the air of a capable woman. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± I thank her and sip the tea. It is delicious. ¡°Then, Wataru-san, here are the 242 platinum coins that you withdrew. This one is the payment for the pepper of the highest quality, although, for some reason, it must have been a long time ago. With the extra added, the whole thing will be purchased for 225 platinum coins.¡± ¡­I received a total of 467 platinum coins while being slightly questioned. Let¡¯s see, that¡¯s 945 platinum coins in all, or 310 platinum coins until my goal of a luxury liner¡­ And considering the money I have to spend on things, I¡¯d like to save up 312 platinum coins. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°No, a large quantity of top-quality pepper; we are very grateful. By the way, could you supply us with pepper wholesale again?¡± Camille-san smiles at me. Is it my imagination, or am I seeing a fox in the background, on the verge of biting its prey? ¡°Y-yes, but won¡¯t the price collapse if we sell so many peppers wholesale?¡± ¡°No problem. Certainly, this country alone cannot handle it, but there are many other countries that want pepper. If you leave it to us, we can handle several times the amount of pepper that you have supplied us this time.¡± ¡­That¡¯s a nail in the coffin that says we should not sell to other places, right? I understand. Well, wholesaling to the trading company is by far more profitable, but it is better to wholesale in bulk because it is less troublesome. I¡¯ll come here regularly until I can buy a luxury liner, anyway. ¡°Haha, I understand. It¡¯s my time to earn money, too, so I¡¯ll go stock up again. I¡¯ll ask you for your help then.¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll have some platinum coins prepared and waiting for you.¡± It wasn¡¯t the usual gentle Camille-san, but rather Camille-san, the merchant. I leave the merchant guild and return to the Lutto. We quickly decide on our destination and set sail. A beautiful dark elf woman I haven¡¯t seen yet is waiting for me¡­ It should be. Funds on hand: 50 gold coins, 21 silver coins, 38 copper coins. Guild account: 0 platinum coins, 70 gold coins. Savings ship: 945 platinum coins. Pepper ship: 425 ships. Volume 6 - CH 18 Chapter 18 ¨C Determination of Destinations and Use of Rubber Boats After taking care of business at the merchant guild, we return to the Lutto. Leaving the Southern City, it is time to explore, huh¡­? Exploring another world, right? We decided on our destination this time from some of the information we had researched. On the way from the Southern City to Palermo by ship, we decided to go to the Kingdom of Jerah, a nation of human supremacy, which makes us be inspected on the spot. If we are planning to relocate anyway, wouldn¡¯t it be better to relocate the dark elves from a dangerous country? That¡¯s what I decided. Incidentally, when that opinion came up, I thought it would be troublesome, but I agreed to it out of concern for their reputation. Public opinion is important, isn¡¯t it? I listened to the rest of the story that Dorothea-san had researched. The Kingdom of Jerah is said to have a vast forest. The king has been trying to develop the forest for generations, sending his troops there, but they keep getting lost in the forest, getting attacked by monsters, suffering heavy losses, and failing. They call it the Demon Forest. It¡¯s a simple name, isn¡¯t it? I would laugh if I didn¡¯t have to head to that forest. I can¡¯t laugh when I have to go there¡­ Okay, I¡¯ll oppose it. I don¡¯t care what the world thinks. I knew I¡¯d be going to some dangerous places, but the Demon Forest, that¡¯s too dangerous. ¡°May I have a word?¡± ¡°Yes, did you find something difficult to understand?¡± ¡°No, Dorothea-san¡¯s explanation was very clear. But isn¡¯t it too dangerous? I don¡¯t think it is possible for dark elves to live in such a dangerous place. Wouldn¡¯t that be a futile attempt?¡± Even if you look for a place where they don¡¯t live, you won¡¯t find dark elves. If you can¡¯t find them, there is no need to go there. It¡¯s a perfect theory. But thank goodness, my initial plan was to go into every forest we found, so there was a chance we would have entered the Demon Forest without even knowing it. Information is important. I was recently taken aback by another world when I was given a cheat. ¡°What Wataru-san said is also true, but adventurers will explore forests where there are no strong monsters. It is difficult to live in hiding. Even in forests with some strong monsters, high-ranking adventurers will search for them. If you want to live in hiding, it has to be a forest that even high-ranking adventurers would avoid.¡± ¡°Are you saying that if they can¡¯t hide, there is no point, so there is a higher chance of them being in dangerous forests?¡± ¡°Yes, most probably, but it would be so.¡± Come to think of it, Felicia¡¯s village also said that you couldn¡¯t reach it from the land side without going through the danger zone. ¡­Then how did the assailants attack Felicia¡¯s village? It may not seem like the most polite thing to ask now, but if I don¡¯t ask, I¡¯m going to have to worry about future exploration. ¡°Hey, Felicia, I know this is going to sound harsh, but Felicia¡¯s village can only be reached by passing through a dangerous area, right? Why were you attacked?¡± Ugh, Felicia looks so sad. I knew I shouldn¡¯t have asked her. What should I do? ¡°Um, I¡¯m sorry. You don¡¯t have to remember.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. The reason our village was attacked was probably because the adventurer we helped sold the village¡¯s location. I heard that the adventurer was also involved in the attack.¡± ¡­Let¡¯s see, the adventurer got lost or injured or something and was saved by a dark elf. And the saved adventurer sold the village position and came back with a slave hunter in tow? That is the worst, but why would they leave the adventurer who knows the location of the village as it is? They¡¯re hiding, so they should take precautions, right? ¡°I hate to say it, but are you saying that you left the adventurers who knew the location of the village untouched?¡± ¡°No, they said they rescued the adventurer at a place far from the village. My father said that since there was a considerable amount of time between the time they saved him and the time they attacked us, they must have known we were there and reached the village after careful investigation.¡± Ah, I see. So he found out that the dark elves were there and, blinded by desire, determined the location of the village without regard to the danger zone? Is he a skilled adventurer? He has a terrible personality, though. So, they found a safe route and attacked¡­ Hmm, if there is a relatively safe place in the danger zone, it might be possible. It sounds risky, though. Maybe the dark elves find relatively safe places to live in dangerous places. I guess not all of the demon forests are dangerous, either¡­ ¡°I understand. I¡¯m sorry I reminded you of something painful, Felicia.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s okay.¡± But when I went to the village, it had been months since it was attacked. If they said they were repelled and they didn¡¯t kill everyone, it seems like they could have attacked us after that, but I¡¯m surprised they didn¡¯t. ¡°But that adventurer is unforgivable. As an adventurer, I can¡¯t forgive him for returning the favor he owes you like that. Felicia-san, what happened to the adventurer? If he is alive, I am sure he will pay for it.¡± Oof, Claretta-san¡¯s in a very angry mode. Well, it¡¯s a sickening story. I, too, want that adventurer to go to hell if he is still alive. ¡°I heard that the adventurer¡¯s body has been identified. It¡¯s all right.¡± ¡°Really, I¡¯m glad to hear that because I wouldn¡¯t have felt good if he had escaped.¡± I could only say a few stupid things. I wish I could have comforted Felicia properly. ¡°Yes.¡± Felicia, thank you for smiling and nodding. I know I started this story, but it turned out to be a dark story. Let¡¯s change the subject. ¡°Listening to Felicia¡¯s story, it seems that dark elves live in a relatively safe place in a dangerous forest after all. Shall we go to the Demon Forest?¡± In the end, I concluded on my own that the dangerous forest is more likely to have dark elves¡­ with a bit of sadness. No one disagrees, and the decision to go to the Demon Forest is made. It¡¯s scary, so I¡¯ll have to figure out how to use the ship summoning to increase my safety on land. At any rate, I take the Lutto out to the open sea and set the autopilot for the area around the Demon Forest. ¡°The destination should be the Demon Forest, but in order to gather information, we need to gather information in a country of human supremacy, right? How do you plan to do that?¡± ¡°Right, me, Dorothea, and Marina will have to gather information. In the meantime, Wataru-san and the others can take it easy.¡± ¡°Will you be alright?¡± ¡°Yes, as humans, we can move around without any problems. But there is a possibility of an on-site inspection, so it would be better to disguise the ship and make a place to hide.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that¡¯s true. I will disguise the ship when approaching the Kingdom of Jerah from the open sea.¡± Now that most things have been decided, I¡¯m going to sit back with a cup of tea. I wonder if it¡¯s okay to go to the Demon Forest¡­ Come to think of it; I haven¡¯t checked my level recently. I¡¯m sure my level has gone up, so let¡¯s check it out. Name: Wataru Toyomi Age: 21 Race: Human Occupation: Ship¡¯s Captain Level: 216 Physical Strength: 4400 Magic Power: 438 Strength: 442 Intelligence: 452 Dexterity: 448 Luck: 15 Skills: Language Comprehension (Unique) Ship Summoning: Level 4 (Unique) Spearmanship: Level 1 Archery: Level 1 Daily Life Magic: Level 1 Tame: Level 2 I¡¯m pretty sure when I checked my level in Palermo, it was 182, so I¡¯ve gone up 34 levels¡­ that¡¯s great. I am fully aware of my strength and stamina, but I don¡¯t feel like my intelligence is improving at all. I¡¯m also very sad about my low luck. And my skills have hardly improved at all. Is it not enough to do some swinging? I think I should be able to improve my archery skills by now¡­ ¡­I¡¯m surprised to see that my age has gone up by one year. It¡¯s already past my birthday. Time seems to pass so fast in this other world. Hmm, since I have all these levels and Felicia will cover me with a barrier, can I get by in the Demon Forest after I figure out how to use the ship summoning on land? If I¡¯m going to use the ship summoning on land, it¡¯s going to be a rubber boat. Shall I go with a small rubber boat? I know it¡¯s going to be in the way in the forest, but if I can secure the rubber boat on all sides, I won¡¯t have to worry about anything but the top and bottom¡­ ¡­If I turn the rubber boat upside down and use it like an umbrella, I can move around while walking¡­ Let¡¯s give it a try. I go out on the deck and summon the rubber boat. ¡°Master, what is it all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Oh, Ines, I want to turn this rubber boat upside down. Help me.¡± ¡°Hmm? Okay.¡± I tried to turn the rubber boat over by holding it end to end, but it did not turn over properly because of the barriers against the edges and walls of the boat. It¡¯s strange; when I summoned the rubber boat inside the ship, there was no problem with the ceiling of the Lutto or anything else. Is there a situation where anything inside the barrier when I summon it is a permitted situation? Maybe if I move it, it would mean I have to permit the new part to enter. Then if someone jumped in during the magic circle of light, would anyone be allowed to enter? No, the Creator God said that the boarding rejection would be triggered even during the magic circle¡­ I¡¯m not sure; I¡¯ll think about it later. ¡°Ines, wait a minute; it¡¯s hard to do this when it¡¯s so narrow, so we¡¯ll move to the Fortress. Go let everyone know.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± We all moved to the deck of the Fortress and resumed the experiment under the watchful eyes of the others. ¡°Master, I know you want to turn the boat over, but the barrier is against the floor, and it won¡¯t turn over properly.¡± If I give permission to board the Fortress, the problem will be solved, but I¡¯m curious to see what will happen if I turn it over without any permission. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m curious to see what happens if I don¡¯t give the permit, so I¡¯ll give it my best shot. Dorothea-san, I think you can do it if you can reach it, so would you please use your spear to turn the rubber boat over?¡± ¡°Eh? ¡­Yeah, okay.¡± I¡¯m sorry, I asked something that didn¡¯t make sense. Dorothea-san, with a puzzled look on her face, hooked her spear onto the bottom of the boat and turned it over. ¡°This is a scene that makes me wonder how to describe it, whether to say it¡¯s inflexible or, on the contrary, too flexible. It¡¯s a rubber boat that I summoned, but it¡¯s strange.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true. In a way, it¡¯s a ridiculous sight.¡± ¡°It is strange.¡± ¡°I can understand how it happened, but it¡¯s just absurd.¡± Alessia-san, Carla-san, and Ilma-san answered my words. Rimu and Fuu-chan were very excited to see the mysterious scene in front of them. There is a rubber boat floating about two meters up in the air. I know that it is supported by the barriers, but it is a strange sight. ¡°Hey, Wataru-san. I know it¡¯s a little late for this, but what made you decide to turn the boat over?¡± That¡¯s a fair question, Alessia-san. If I don¡¯t answer properly here, I will be classified as an incomprehensible man who suddenly starts doing strange things. I had to explain myself. ¡°You see, I was thinking that we would be going into the forest, which is more dangerous than I had imagined. I was thinking of a way to explore the forest safely. I was thinking that if I carried it upside down, it would protect me in all directions.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. It would be safe, but it would be very uncomfortable. What happens if you allow the floor to board?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try. Permission.¡± At the same time of permission, the rubber boat fell. What happens if I reject the floor again at this point? If the rubber boat floats, no problem, but what happens if I try to flip the Fortress¡­ something scary is going to happen, so I¡¯m not going to do it. If it¡¯s bad, it could start a big contest of barriers that can only be broken by the indestructible and the divine. It would be disastrous. ¡°If I carry it like this, I can crouch down if trees are in the way, and it¡¯s easy to carry.¡± ¡°Ah, in the forest, even if you give permission for the ground, you¡¯re likely to be held back by tree roots, stones, etc., because you¡¯d have to give permission for every single tree root, stone, etc. I think it would be better to use the rubber boat in a situation where you don¡¯t have to give permission on the ground.¡± Alessia-san thinks again at my words¡­ Can I use it? ¡°I think it¡¯s definitely safe, and I should use it, but I wonder if this is what adventure is all about?¡± ¡­I understand what Alessia-san is trying to say. But I want to avoid fear and pain as much as possible. ¡°Alessia, this time, it¡¯s not an adventure as usual; it¡¯s mainly about escorting Wataru-san. If we can move around safely, we should ask him to do so. ¡­I have a feeling that our need for an escort has been greatly reduced.¡± Thanks for the follow-up, Dorothea-san. And sorry about something. I¡¯ll try to get back on track and repatriate and re-summon the rubber boats. The new rubber boat was facing up; I guess I needed to repeat turning it over every time. After trying various ways, I found out that it is easier to summon three rubber boats, three people per boat, and move the rubber boat overhead while pushing it with a stick. It is a little troublesome when there are uneven surfaces or obstacles, but it seems to work fine except for the fact that it is difficult to pass through narrow places, and it is conspicuous. It wasn¡¯t until I actually tried it in the forest that I was able to cheat movement on land in a way, though it¡¯s walking. In this way, we spend a good time thinking about what to do in the forest, watching movies, and playing games. Claretta-san is especially pleased because the Fortress and Stronghold¡¯s ufo catcher stuffed toys have been changed. I think we¡¯re seriously going to need a stuffed toy room. After a relaxing time, we finally arrived at the open sea near the Kingdom of Jerah. The Demon Forest is just around the corner! Volume 6 - CH 19 Chapter 19 ¨C Information On the On-Site Inspection and the Demon Forest We arrived at the open sea near the Kingdom of Jerah. Before heading to land, I finished disguising the Lutto¡­ If I change the appearance of the ship too much, it will be hard to tell which one is which. The interior of the ship will be disguised as well, and the shower room and toilet in the owner¡¯s room can be made into a secret room by integrating them with the wall at any time. This should make it undetectable for on-site inspections. ¡­It¡¯s going to look suspicious if we don¡¯t have any cargo; I¡¯ll put out some wine from Palermo and some distilled liquors from the southern continent. If I loaded pepper, they¡¯d be suspicious. ¡°Then we¡¯ll head for land. Is the town of Carpi, where Alessia-san and the others are going to gather information, close to the border between the forest and the plain?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the closest in terms of distance. If we enter the harbor, there is another way, but it is troublesome for non-humans to enter and leave, so let¡¯s make the border with the forest our meeting place. I heard that it would take at least three days to go there and back. Considering the time it would take to gather information, please pick me up at this location on the evening of the fifth day. If I¡¯m not back by then, you can expect me in three more evenings, and if I¡¯m not back in eight days, for whatever reason, you can assume something has gone wrong and contact the adventurers¡¯ guild.¡± ¡°I understand. But is the town of Carpi in danger from which you might not be able to return?¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t heard anything about that. Just in case. You never know when something unforeseen might happen.¡± An unforeseen event that could happen to an A-rank adventurer, huh¡­? That town is going to be a terrible place to be. ¡°Yes, but you have to be careful.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be careful enough, don¡¯t worry.¡± Well, is it strange to say that I worry about A-rank adventurers gathering information about no particular problem in the town? Let¡¯s wait and see with peace of mind. Arriving at the border with the forest, Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, Marina-san, and Fuu-chan depart for the town of Carpi. But no matter how you look at it, it looks like an ordinary forest. I had an image that there was some kind of mysterious atmosphere or some kind of strange gas emanating from it. Since there was nothing to do for the next five days, I decided to summon Stronghold in the open sea and wait leisurely for Alessia-san and the others, though I felt bad for them. I feel like most of what I¡¯m doing these days is the same, although I¡¯m changing my focus to movies, DVDs, manga, baths, buffets, having a lovey-dovey, and switching to the Fortress and the Hideaway. I still want a luxury liner. If I could get one, I could enjoy more variety¡­ Creation God-sama, am I crazy to think of having fun on a luxury liner, and all I can think of is Ines? It seems to me that the level of sexuality has only been enhanced with the increase in levels. When I came to the other world, I must have been more stoic¡­ maybe¡­ So 312 platinum coins left until the luxury liner. Assuming a minimum of 72 platinum coins for each wholesale pepper and 360 platinum coins for five wholesales of pepper¡­that¡¯s ten months since I¡¯ll be spacing them out by two months¡­ that¡¯s a long time. I could hold out for ten months, or I could increase the amount of pepper I wholesale a bit or shorten the intervals between wholesales¡­ I¡¯m not sure; I¡¯ll think it over. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Five days later, in the evening, I went to pick up the three girls at the border with the forest and was able to meet up with them without incident. I talked to them as we returned to the open sea. ¡°Thank you all for your hard work. Did you have any problems?¡± ¡°Yes, we were able to get some information, and no problems occurred. But for Wataru-san, there is some information that may make you happy and some information that may not.¡± I¡¯m glad to hear that everyone seems to be doing well, but¡­ not-so-happy information? Well, I don¡¯t know which one she¡¯s talking about because there have been so many troublesome things lately. Is the forest too dangerous, or is there something mage-related going on? ¡°It makes me afraid to ask, Alessia-san, but what is this information?¡± ¡°Master! A ship is approaching. Eh? What? ¡°Ara¡­ it¡¯s probably an on-site inspection. Wataru-san hides the five of them and stops the ship. Oh, and you¡¯d better hide Rimu-chan and Fuu-chan, too.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± An on-site inspection out of the blue? I¡¯m very concerned about the information that I¡¯m not happy about, but I want them to read the air. Five people, Rimu and Fuu-chan, with their luggage, go into the bathroom and shower room, and I disguise the entrance so that it becomes one with the wall. No amount of on-site inspection is going to break the wall to check it out¡­ though it won¡¯t break. As soon as I stopped the ship, a soldier called out to me from the magic boat that had come alongside. ¡°It is an on-site inspection of the Kingdom of Jerah. Everyone on board must line up outside.¡± We did as he said and lined up on the rear deck. Suddenly, three soldiers came aboard. Whew, just in time to get permission to come aboard. I wish they had boarded after I called out to them. If they get bounced around by the barrier, there will be more trouble. ¡°Who is the representative?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s me.¡± I¡¯m getting nervous. Even if I¡¯m not doing anything wrong, I get nervous at times like this. I¡¯ve been doing bad things; I¡¯ve been getting Ines and the others to hide from them. Oh, by the way, Ines and Felicia are slaves, but does it still matter? ¡­Well, I guess I shouldn¡¯t bother being a jerk about it, or it¡¯s a good thing I got them to hide. ¡°Show us your ID.¡± ¡°An F-ranked merchant¡­ Why is an F-ranked merchant sailing on a magic ship? Moreover, it¡¯s almost sunset, and you¡¯re running towards the open sea¡­ and there are too many suspicious places.¡± I didn¡¯t raise it because there was no particular disadvantage in F-rank, but I didn¡¯t know there would be a disadvantage in a place like this. I hadn¡¯t even thought about why I was running toward the open sea; I had to come up with an excuse. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m F-ranked because I have my own route and don¡¯t need to raise my rank. I wasn¡¯t heading for the open sea; I was leaving because when I tried to anchor, I could see the Demon Forest, and it was creepy.¡± Is that too unreasonable? ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ve heard of such stories. Having a magic ship must be a profitable route. I envy you. However, it would be too cowardly to leave by ship because of the eerie forest.¡± ¡°I believe I survived because I was a coward.¡± ¡°¡­Well, maybe that¡¯s true. But we will have to identify these women and examine the ship¡¯s contents.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± Alessia-san and the others are also showing their guild cards. Speaking of which, should I give them a tip under the sleeve in a situation like this? ¡­I should have asked. I thought I was prepared for the inspection, but I wasn¡¯t at all. ¡°It¡¯s rare for an A-rank adventurer to escort¡­ It seems true that you are making a lot of money, but it doesn¡¯t feel right. The next step is to inspect the ship. First, show us the cargo.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± They seem to be very suspicious of me. I want to start over from the beginning¡­ But we¡¯ve come this far; we have no choice but to go through with it. There¡¯s nothing suspicious, so I¡¯m going to trust that everything will be fine. I show the soldier the alcohol I¡¯ve prepared. ¡°Wine from Palermo¡­ What¡¯s in this barrel?¡± ¡°That barrel is said to be a liquor from the southern continent. It is rare, so I stocked it.¡± ¡°But it is not much, is it? The merchant is supposed to load the cargo to the limit. Would you like to explain this to me?¡± ¡°Yes, as I mentioned earlier, I have my own route. I can make money just by wholesaling the goods, so I only bought the wine on the side¡­¡± ¡°Hmm, what is the product?¡± ¡°Do I have to tell you?¡± ¡°You are free not to tell us, but you are left with a question. As long as I am not convinced, I will not let you go.¡± Hmm, should I say pepper? I¡¯ve been hiding it because it¡¯s going to be a pain in the ass, but unless I say something convincing, they¡¯re not going to let me go. ¡­Since the actual pepper has been repatriated, should I say that all of it is now sold? ¡°¡­I understand. I trade pepper.¡± ¡°Pepper! You have pepper?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t have any pepper left because I sold it in Palermo. I do have one assortment of spices for personal use if you would like to see it.¡± ¡°Umu.¡± I hand him the set of assorted spices in the kitchen. After carefully inspecting it, he holds it in his hand and does not return it to us¡­ Does this mean he wants me to give it to him? ¡°Sorry to say I¡¯m running low, but if you don¡¯t mind, please take it home with you.¡± ¡°Hmm? Is that so? Well, if that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll take it.¡± After that, he looked around the ship lightly and left easily. I caught a glimpse of the dirty world of adults. I guess I am one of the dirty adults for bribing them. ¡°When those people came to me at the on-site inspection, they said many things that were suspicious and questionable, but was the bribe their goal from the beginning?¡± ¡°Fufu, that may be so. Wataru-san, isn¡¯t it time to let the five of them out?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I¡¯ll go get them out.¡± The disguise is lifted, and the five are let out. Everyone looks happy to be released from their cramped quarters. I knew they didn¡¯t want to go to the bathroom. Should I think a little more about where to hide? But it¡¯s a small ship, so any other place would be uncomfortable. I hugged Rimu, who jumped on me. ¡°Rimu, are you all right?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad.¡± Felicia came to talk to me as I was rubbing Rimu. ¡°Master, did the inspection go well?¡± ¡°Hmm, can I say it went well? Well, they took one of the used ones from the assorted spice set, but¡­¡± ¡°Well, I think it¡¯s safe to say it went off without a hitch, don¡¯t you?¡± Felicia also has a subtle expression. They took the spices, and it¡¯s a loss, but they only took one used set of stuff to give away as a souvenir, so there¡¯s hardly any pain¡­ Let¡¯s just say it went off without a hitch. We head out to the open sea again, re-set the autopilot and head back to the living room. Over a cup of tea, I tell the five of them about the on-site inspection. All five of them are not sure what to say to the subtle bribe. It¡¯s expensive because it has pepper in it, in case you¡¯re wondering, right? ¡­There¡¯s a lot of rotten stuff in there. ¡°Speaking of which, what¡¯s that information that doesn¡¯t make me happy?¡± ¡°Eh? Oh, we were just talking about the Demon Forest.¡± I guess Alessia-san forgot all about it. I would have forgotten about it, too, if I hadn¡¯t been told that it wasn¡¯t good information. I¡¯m always thinking about the things I don¡¯t like. ¡°We gathered information about the Demon Forest, too, and among them was a story about a large number of insect monsters attacking the area. That¡¯s not good news, is it?¡± ¡°¡­Felicia, I¡¯m sorry. Let¡¯s look for another forest, everyone.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, I know how you feel, but all forests have more or less insects, you know?¡± I guess so. Alessia-san, you¡¯re right; it¡¯s a forest, so there will be bugs. ¡­Should I decide after listening to it a little bit more? ¡°¡­I guess so. Please continue.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll put together all the information I¡¯ve gathered and tell you.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ According to the information from Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, and Marina-san. It is said that there are few powerful monsters in the Demon Forest, but D- and C-rank monsters are attacking in large groups. There are three groups: insect monsters, frenzy monkeys, and vindictive wolves, and it is said that when some trigger is turned on, they will not stop until the intruder runs away from the forest or dies. Frenzy means upset or madness. Vindictive means either obsessive or vengeful¡­ Upset monkey or frenzied monkey? Vindictive wolf or revenge wolf? I¡¯d like to refrain from using any of the above. We don¡¯t know why they become triggered, sometimes it happens as soon as someone enters the forest, and sometimes it doesn¡¯t happen even after someone enters and kills a bunch of monsters. Moreover, it is not known which group will be triggered, and even if you can withstand one group, another group may be triggered, and all three groups may attack you. The power of individual monsters is said to be at a level where a B-ranked person can easily defeat them, but once the trigger is turned, almost all the monsters in the vast forest will attack, and it seems that not only the adventuring party but also the military cannot withstand the attack and cannot develop the area. Insect monsters are particularly troublesome, and it is said that a wide variety of insect monsters, as well as ordinary insects of the same species, can be controlled and that insects of all sizes attack without a gap and without ceasing. Just hearing about it gives me goosebumps. Even some of the dangerous monsters in the forest are no match for a group of triggered monsters, and sometimes the monsters escape from the forest, and some of them have been confirmed to be A-ranked monsters. Strength in Numbers, huh¡­? Not even S-ranked adventurers can do that? The Kingdom of Jerah has failed many times to develop the forest, but if it can develop the Demon Forest, there are many advantages, such as the establishment of a route to neighboring countries divided by the vast territory and the Demon Forest, and they are trying to develop the Demon Forest because they cannot give up. It is said that the reason why the Kingdom of Jerah has turned to human supremacy is to force the use of beastmen in order to develop the Demon Forest. In fact, experimental pioneering has been conducted with the beastmen, and it is said that the more times the pioneering has been conducted, the less damage has been done and the more time they can withstand attacks from all three groups. I would prefer not to go into the forest, but Alessia-san says that if we have the ship summoning, we can explore the area without problems. If we can take a break, eat, and sleep, we can proceed while blowing away the monsters, no matter how many there are. I don¡¯t want to be surrounded by monsters and insects, and when I asked about the toilet, I was told that if I had a rubber boat, I would have no problem acting alone¡­ I can¡¯t do it; I¡¯ll think about summoning the Lutto or Hideaway on land. The reason why I¡¯m thinking positively about exploring the Demon Forest has to do with the positive information Alessia-san gave me. That is that arrows and traps have been found in the Demon Forest, which are clearly different from those in the Kingdom of Jerah. Arrows and traps in the forest¡­ It is possible that someone is living in hiding. Adventurers almost never go in to search for them, and they don¡¯t do that when they can¡¯t retrieve the traps they set. It could be a beastman who escaped from the Kingdom of Jerah¡­ but I think it¡¯s a dark elf just because there are traces of people. If it¡¯s a beastman, we¡¯ll think about it then. If we can get the dark elves to migrate at least once, we should be able to solicit them when we meet them. Even if there are insects that I don¡¯t like, I would rather achieve my goal the first time in the Demon Forest, which has a higher probability of success, than go exploring in a different forest again and again. After a long discussion, tomorrow, we will start our search in the Demon Forest. I hope we can find them easily. Volume 6 - CH 20 Chapter 20 ¨C Idle Talk: Creator God¡¯s Punishment and the Guild Master Who Apologizes ¡°Hmm¡­ Wataru-kun ended up with only summoning¡­¡± ¡°Are you dissatisfied with something? The prince was brought down to his knees, the imperial navy was almost completely wiped out, the soldiers were transported, and although it was the people around him who did the moving, I think it proved the effectiveness of the ship summoning, just as Creator God-sama wanted.¡± ¡°¡­Yes, but, in the end, Wataru-kun didn¡¯t even get inside Lucca. The only times he got off the ship were when he arrived in Lucca and when he stocked up on food. When he carried soldiers to the empire, he didn¡¯t leave the wheelhouse and just ate and slept. ¡­¡­What do you think about it, God of Light?¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s up to Wataru-san to decide. You have interfered a lot with it since you spoke with him last time, Creator God-sama. You can¡¯t go any further.¡± ¡°Hmm, well, yes, I suppose so. But it¡¯s kind of missing something.¡± ¡°Creator God-sama. Did you forget about the message you sent to Wataru-san? It was you who warned him to keep a low profile.¡± ¡°¡­I know. Well, I¡¯ll wait and see for a while. The God of War and the others have quieted down, so there¡¯s no problem, right?¡± ¡°It is not that they have quieted down; it is just that they can¡¯t move because Creator God-sama has hurt them to the breaking point and is preventing them from recovering. I hope that¡¯s enough.¡± ¡°Hmm, but it¡¯s a rebellion against the Creator God. Aren¡¯t I being kind enough not to annihilate them?¡± ¡°You were playing innocent and forcing them to get down on their knees. I think it was more self-defense than revolt.¡± ¡°Really? When he was coming toward me, the God of War was in full throttle, and the God of Magic was smiling, right?¡± ¡°I can understand how that feels.¡± ¡°¡­Uh, you mean you know how I feel when I get angry, right?¡± ¡°I wonder¡­¡± ¡°Which side are you on, God of Light?¡± ¡°Emotionally, I am on the side of the God of War and the others. But I am obligated to follow Creator God-sama.¡± ¡°¡­You are on my side after all, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I am obligated to follow you.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I am obligated to follow you.¡± ¡°S-speaking of that, Wataru-kun held a festival on the island of the dark elves, but it¡¯s strange that they don¡¯t honor me, but rather the Goddess of the Forest. What do you think?¡± ¡°Since this is the island of the dark elves, I think it is only natural that the Goddess of the Forest, who is worshipped by them, should be honored.¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t think so. Since it involves Wataru-kun, I think they should worship me. ¡­Can I send out an oracle to build a temple for me?¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t. You know that, and you are asking me.¡± ¡°I know, but don¡¯t you feel it would be better if it were my temple? I¡¯ll even provide the statues.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t casually try to build a sanctuary. Absolutely not.¡± ¡°¡­What a bore. Shall we go visit the God of War and the others?¡± ¡°Creator God-sama is preventing the recovery of the God of War and the others. What are you going there for?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll forgive them if they apologize.¡± ¡°You are losing the trust of the God of War and the others because you are saying such a thing. There is no way the God of War and the others will ever apologize to you.¡± ¡°Is that so? Then let¡¯s stop going.¡± ¡°Not only stop going but also stop impeding their recovery.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still going through this, aren¡¯t you? It¡¯s a punishment. I have to make them sorry.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t stop this, the God of Healing will be angry with you too. Because Creator God-sama is causing him a lot of trouble.¡± ¡°Umm, but still no.¡± ¡°¡­.Huh, I won¡¯t say anything more, but you¡¯ll have to watch the limits.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s alright. I am the Creator God, after all.¡± ¡°I understand. Then, Creator God-sama, I will resume my work.¡± ¡°¡­Yeah.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°God of War, God of Magic, are you okay?¡± ¡°Oh, God of Light. I still can¡¯t seem to recover, and the pain hasn¡¯t subsided.¡± ¡°Me too. I am very displeased, but we are powerless to resist the Creator God¡¯s harassment.¡± ¡°Is that so? Creator God-sama is also said to be punishing you and will still continue to impede your recovery. He says he will forgive you if you apologize.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to tell you; you know that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a foolish request. I would rather disappear than apologize to the Creator God.¡± ¡°¡­I know that. I would like you to be a little more friendly with Creator God-sama.¡± ¡°Impossible.¡± ¡°Impossible.¡± ¡°Huh. I wonder how things have gotten to this point?¡± ¡°Well, it must be an accumulation of various events. The God of War and I have been inconvenienced many times by nonsense.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll kill him every time.¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s troublesome to understand the feelings of the God of War and the God of Magic, isn¡¯t it? Hmm? Someone¡¯s here.¡± ¡°Oh, the God of Light came to visit too. You know, the God of War and the God of Magic aren¡¯t getting any better at all. It¡¯s their punishment for ignoring my advice.¡± ¡°Was it the God of Entertainment? It is not a punishment for ignoring your words, but a punishment from Creator God-sama.¡± ¡°Haha, what do you think about that, God of War, God of Magic?¡± ¡°It¡¯s making my gut boil, you know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t deserve to be punished by the Creator God.¡± ¡°The God of War and the God of Magic are also stubborn, aren¡¯t they? The God of Healing is also in trouble. Even though you haven¡¯t recovered, you still want to drink alcohol, read books, and be selfish. You should warn them, too, God of Light.¡± ¡°Drinking alcohol and reading books? You mustn¡¯t push yourself too hard when you¡¯re so out of shape.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t feel so good after the Creator God beat me. I have to drink at least a little to keep myself going.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be bored too if I didn¡¯t at least read a book.¡± ¡°You guys are no better than Creator God-sama when you¡¯re being selfish.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bit much, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°God of Light, that¡¯s a terrible insult.¡± ¡°Is that so? Doesn¡¯t it change the fact that you¡¯re selfish?¡± ¡°¡­It can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯m going to sleep in peace. Right, God of Magic?¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± ¡°The God of War and the God of Magic don¡¯t want to be associated with the Creator God, do they? The God of War and the God of Magic are going to take a rest. God of Light, let¡¯s have a talk with me.¡± ¡°Fufu, yes, I suppose so. Shall we talk slowly?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ~The Master of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild of Barletta¡¯s POV~ I don¡¯t know what to do; it¡¯s not a good idea to get involved in the war in the Kingdom of Brescia. But it¡¯s a battle to defend their homeland, huh¡­? I guess they won¡¯t be coming back for a while. There are rumors that the port of Lucca has been liberated, but the Imperial Army is said to be surrounding Lucca, so the war is probably not over. But the Kingdom of Brescia is the furthest country from Palermo. It¡¯s not so lucky. ¡­I have no choice but to go. But I¡¯ve got a certain amount of publicity, so if they find out I¡¯m there, I¡¯ll be in trouble. If I go to Lucca in the middle of a war, I can¡¯t honestly say I¡¯m a guild master¡­ Shall I go in private? A guild master from another country visiting a town in the middle of a war as a private¡­ I think it¡¯s unreasonable. Let¡¯s just go to the Kingdom of Thessaloniki, next to the Kingdom of Brescia. It will be easier to get information. Heading from the Southern City to the port city of Aarhus by sailing ship. I wanted to go by magic ship, but I couldn¡¯t find a magic ship to go to Aarhus¡­ I haven¡¯t had any luck lately. When I arrived at the port town of Aarhus after enduring a tedious boat ride, rumors were rife that the second prince of the Kingdom of Brescia had prostrated himself while the people and enemy forces looked on and that the crown prince had embarked on a campaign against the empire. What could possibly have caused the second prince to prostrate himself? I don¡¯t even know what it means for the crown prince to sail to the empire. There are some poor-quality rumors going around¡­ Could it be that Lucca has fallen? That¡¯s not good. Is Girasole safe? I gather information, and to my surprise, the rumors seem to be true. And it wasn¡¯t the work of the imperial army, but a mage brought by Girasole who cornered the second prince and forced him to prostrate himself. I don¡¯t understand. Moreover, it seems that the mage easily liberated the port town of Lucca and came to Aarhus with Girasole in a huge ship to stock up on food. Is there any chance that he will come again? ¡­If they come here again to stock up on food, then I should probably wait. However, if the port is open, I don¡¯t think the mage will bother to come back to import food again. As I gathered more information, I got some unpleasant information. A few days ago, reinforcements from the Beast Kingdom sailed from the port of Aarhus to attack the Empire. It seems that the mage is transporting the soldiers of the beast kingdom to the empire in a huge ship¡­ The mage brought by Girasole is going to the empire. Is Girasole going to follow him? ¡­No. They¡¯re going back to their homeland to defend it. They should not leave Lucca. ¡­But let¡¯s head to Lucca as soon as possible. But I¡¯ll have to push through in private. I¡¯m not good at using my head, though I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a better reason. I¡¯ll go to the guild and ask for an introduction to a ship that will take me to Lucca. I couldn¡¯t get on a magic boat this time either, so I took a sailing boat. I¡¯m really unlucky. When I arrived at Lucca, I couldn¡¯t find the huge ship I had heard rumors about in the harbor. Believing that Girasole was still there, I presented my ID and entered the city. The gatekeeper is surprised, but I don¡¯t care. I told him to keep it a secret and headed for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Even if I tell them to keep it secret, the lords of this city will probably get a report anyway¡­ It¡¯s a hassle. I greet the guild master in Lucca and get some information about Girasole. He says they followed the mage on a huge ship¡­ I know you¡¯ve come back to defend your homeland, but you should just stay in your homeland. When I asked him when they were coming back, he said they were going to follow the sailing ship to the empire and that it would take some time. And from there, they said they were likely to be involved in a war with the empire. ¡­Is it over? I declared that I would come after them wherever they were and apologize, but is it possible to go after an army that has gone to war with another country? ¡­It¡¯s certainly an important concession, but after all this time, is there any good left in it? It¡¯s a valuable medicinal herb cluster; they¡¯ll carefully protect it. It¡¯s a new place to make money; I can¡¯t give up on it. I¡¯ve decided to go after them. I told the guild master in Lucca and asked him to introduce me to a ship that would take me to the empire. ¡­It was impossible. No wonder. Merchant ships don¡¯t go to war; then, there is no escort for adventurers. Military ships would go, but they wouldn¡¯t take part in the war, and they wouldn¡¯t take people from other countries. Now it¡¯s either give up and go back or don¡¯t give up and wait here. I can¡¯t give up; I just have to wait until they return. I sent a letter to Barletta and told them that it would take more time. I didn¡¯t think it would take this long. I waited for about a month. In the meantime, I gather information about the mage, but there is very little information, and it has not even been determined whether he is a man or a woman. Girasole has become very popular in this city. It¡¯s a very troublesome opponent to pick a fight with. The city is surrounded by imperial troops, but reinforcements arrive one after another, the defensive force increases, and the city comes to life. Then, at last, a huge ship appears in the harbor. What is that ship? It¡¯s more than I imagined. How powerful is the mage? I quickly boarded a ship and approached the gigantic ship. A ship is also launched from Lucca, and the wounded are being carried out of the huge ship. I find Alessia, the leader of the Girasole, and call out to her. When she realizes it¡¯s me, the look in her eyes turns cold all at once¡­ I have to ask for forgiveness, but will I be forgiven? I¡¯m getting quite anxious. We managed to arrange to meet at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in the evening and returned to the port. I rented a room at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and apologized to Girasole in every word I could think of. Well, rather than forgiving me, they seemed more concerned about the lack of work for adventurers because of me¡­ But that didn¡¯t change the fact that they had forgiven me. I was brazen enough to ask them to put it in writing that they forgave me, and we parted ways. Now I can show this document to the Cardinal and the master of the merchant guild, and we can get some work done. It is with a heavy heart that I realize that if I had listened to Girasole when they first came to me, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild¡¯s profits would have increased even more, but let¡¯s think about the future, not the past. There is much to do after I return to Barletta. The guild master has been away for nearly six months, and I¡¯m sure there is a lot of work to be done¡­ I was pissed off, and I didn¡¯t realize that being a jerk would end up like this¡­ I¡¯ll have to take responsibility for the trouble I caused the guild when I get back, and I¡¯m sorry I picked a fight with the wrong person. Well, it wasn¡¯t that we didn¡¯t end up not seeing each other or getting forgiveness. Now, let¡¯s try our best to get back on track. Volume 7 - CH 1 Chapter 1 ¨C Demon Forest and Switch On Right in front of me is a dangerous forest called the Demon Forest. We¡¯re going to be in there for days now, and from the looks of it, it has the same atmosphere as the forest I was in in the Western City, but this forest is one that even advanced adventurers avoid¡­ So I¡¯d like to go home. ¡°Wataru-san, it¡¯s time to go, okay?¡± Alessia-san comes talking to me, smiling. Why does she look happy too? Even though we¡¯re going into a forest where even A ranks can¡¯t fully control the forest. I wonder if she doesn¡¯t get nervous when I tell her that I¡¯ll be summoning my ship. ¡°Alessia-san, the Demon Forest is a tough place even for Girasole. Are you not nervous because I told you there are my barriers?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, I guess so. I think it is a tough forest, but we can also rely on Wataru-san¡¯s ship summoning, and we may be able to go to a place that has not been explored yet. Although I¡¯m nervous, I¡¯m more looking forward to it. Oh, and don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯ll be escorted properly.¡± So basically, she is an adventurer at heart, huh? She loves to explore the unknown, doesn¡¯t she? I don¡¯t know how it feels, though. ¡°Yes, please. Then I¡¯ll summon the rubber boat.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± Three rubber boats are summoned and turned over. The grouping was Alessia-san, Marina-san, Ilma-san, and Fuu-chan in the first rubber boat. In the middle are me, Ines, Felicia, and Rimu. With Dorothea-san, Carla-san, and Claretta-san in the rear, we lined up in a row and entered the Demon Forest, aiming for the center of the forest. ¡­As it turns out, it was a failure. It was not that the monsters were triggered immediately after we entered the forest, we were able to proceed smoothly, but as we proceeded deeper into the forest, we got caught in bushes and branches. The part that was visible from the outside seemed to have been cleared to some extent, perhaps as a result of pioneering work. Even though we chose an easy path as we proceeded deeper into the area, we always got stuck somewhere. If it was only my rubber boat, there would be no problem, although it was troublesome to give permission. However, it was difficult for me to give permission to the rubber boat in front of me. There are places in the shadows where I can¡¯t see them, and I often don¡¯t notice them. For a while, Alessia-san and the others were cutting away the obstacles, but there were places where we had to cut away the entire tree to proceed, and the vines would catch and hold us back, which was very stressful. We left the forest and reconsidered our strategy. After much discussion, we decided not to summon the rubber boat. I was quite shocked after all my hard work. I simply surrounded myself with Girasole, Ines, and Felicia and resumed the search in the Demon Forest. My role was to summon the rubber boats immediately to create a shelter in case the monsters in the forest were triggered, and Girasole, who is an A-rank adventurer, said there was no need to rush. We rearranged our formation and entered the forest again. We can go deeper into the forest without any problem, but we are not sure how to proceed. It¡¯s a luxury to be surrounded by Girasole, but without the barrier, I get scared when small insects fly by. I guess I¡¯m dependent on the barrier now. When I first came to the other world, I used to go into the forest alone, but now that I¡¯m back in a different living environment, I¡¯m getting weaker and weaker. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so nervous, Wataru-san. We will protect you.¡± ¡°Thank you, Claretta-san. But I still get nervous.¡± ¡°Fufu, that may be true if you are not used to it. But you will be tired, so let¡¯s calm down and relax as much as possible.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Hmm, I feel much more nervous when I¡¯m not in the barrier area. I had a plan to use a rubber boat, but I decided against it because I would have to give permission every time I moved, and I would not be able to act quickly¡­ I regretted it. Well, I heard that most of the monsters could be easily dealt with by Girasole, Ines, and Felicia, so the current formation will be the best. The sooner we can explore, the sooner we can get out of the Demon Forest. I try not to see the insect monsters that attack us by accident as much as possible. They can be killed in an instant, so I am not traumatized by them, but I do wish the insect monsters would stop attacking us. ¡°Oh, Wataru-san, that¡¯s the Frenzy Monkey.¡± I look in the direction Claretta-san pointed and see a monkey with light brown fur¡­ about the size of a kindergartener on a tree branch a short distance away? There are several monkeys about that size. ¡°¡­They¡¯re surprisingly cute.¡± ¡°They may look cute, but they are monsters, so don¡¯t let your guard down.¡± ¡°Yes, I know, so don¡¯t worry.''¡± No matter how much I say it, I wouldn¡¯t let my guard down just because a monster with a name like ¡°upset¡± or ¡°frenzy¡± is cute. If I approach it anyway, it will probably bare its teeth and attack me. As long as I am prepared for it, it will not show its ugly face. ¡°Are you going to beat them?¡± ¡°If they attack us, we¡¯ll take them down, but if they don¡¯t move, we¡¯ll just ignore them. We don¡¯t know much about the trigger, but it is very likely that an attack will trigger the switch.¡± Dorothea-san answered my question. It¡¯s not that everyone is on their guard when they check the monsters, but they are natural¡­ experts? They¡¯re A-ranked, so I guess they¡¯re experts. We proceeded deeper into the forest, avoiding the frenzy monkeys. As we move, the Frenzy Monkey follows us, jumping from tree to tree. It doesn¡¯t attack us out of the blue but rather observes us, which I don¡¯t like. It doesn¡¯t seem to be in a frenzy or upset at all. We walk for a while, but Frenzy Monkey follows us at a distance. ¡°They follow us all the way. Are they planning something?¡± I asked Claretta-san, who was walking next to me. ¡°Plan? Maybe they are just trying to get an opening in case we are attacked by other monsters.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s troublesome.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. We can handle a monster of that size with no problem.¡± It doesn¡¯t feel right when Claretta-san talks about that degree or dealing with it. She¡¯s a kind, big-breasted priestess¡­ but when she got angry, she was scary. And she¡¯s a first-class adventurer, so it¡¯s only natural. I must have imagined it all on my own. But I want to be wrapped gently by those big breasts, so I guess it can¡¯t be helped. ¡°Please take care of me.¡± ¡°Fufu, leave it to us.¡± After that, we continue walking towards the depths, taking breaks until night. We were attacked several times by vindictive wolves and insect monsters, but Girasole handled them easily. But I can¡¯t rest my mind thinking about the possibility of the monsters being triggered by it. By the way, Frenzy Monkey is still following us. After finishing our meal, I summoned three hut boats and a rubber boat for lookout, and we each split up to rest, with Frenzy Monkey watching over us from a distance. Should we defeat the Frenzy Monkey yet? I doubt it. Come to think of it, there were no tickets, just like we had in Palermo, so the lookout changes only with who is awake at that time. I¡¯m soberly glad. Incidentally, my lookout was exempted again this time. After entering the hut ship and falling asleep with Ines, Felicia, and Rimu, I heard a lot of noise outside. When I opened the door of the hut boat, a frenzy monkey attacked the rubber boat, baring its teeth and screaming furiously. So they were looking for a night raid. Marina-san and Carla-san, who were on watch, quickly took down the frenzy monkey. In two or three minutes, the frenzy monkey was annihilated. ¡­It seems that the monsters weren¡¯t triggered. I can sleep in peace. Morning¡­ I kiss Ines and Felicia firmly and walk out of the hut ship with Rimu on my head¡­ We greet each other and finish breakfast. I hear the story, and they say the frenzy monkeys attacked them several times while they were on watch. ¡­I¡¯m glad they were not triggered. It¡¯s a nasty wake-up call when you wake up in the morning, and everything around you is a monster. I heard that sometimes just going into the forest can trigger the switch, so maybe we¡¯re lucky so far. Their level is only 15 at most. ¡­I don¡¯t know if I think too deeply about it, so we resume our search. At any rate, we proceed toward the center of the forest. If there are no dark elves in the center, what should we do after that? I¡¯d like to find some clues as soon as possible. We continue through the same Demon Forest as yesterday. I finally got used to the atmosphere and walked around while holding Rimu. The attack of the monsters was easily dealt with, and we were able to act calmly when it happened. After Girasole took care of the attack by the vindictive wolf, the atmosphere of the Demon Forest changed drastically. The howling of the vindictive wolves echoed throughout the forest. ¡°Wataru-san, please summon the rubber boat.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Following Alessia-san¡¯s instructions, I summoned three rubber boats in a row. ¡°Come on in, everyone.¡± At the sound of my voice, we split up into groups of three and boarded the boats. The howls come closer and closer, and once a vindictive wolf appears, there is no stopping it, and in no time, the area is filled with vindictive wolves. ¡°This is definitely a trigger, isn¡¯t it?¡± I checked with Ines and Felicia while looking at the vindictive wolves that were constantly crashing into us. ¡°Right. If this weren¡¯t a switch on, I¡¯d be scared to death.¡± ¡­Ines has a point; if this isn¡¯t a switch-on, then it¡¯s too scary when it is. ¡°Ah, yes.¡± ¡°So, Master. What are we going to do now?¡± ¡°Hmm, well, let¡¯s discuss it together.¡± I answered Felicia¡¯s question and looked around. Well, the number is so large that it doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s decreasing at all. On the contrary, they are increasing. ¡°Everyone, why don¡¯t we discuss what we are going to do?¡± I asked Girasole, who was separated on both sides of me. ¡°Well, it won¡¯t make any difference if we reduce the number a little now.¡± Alessia-san says and moves over to the rubber boat on which I¡¯m standing in the middle. The other members stop attacking and gather around. It¡¯s too cramped when everyone gathers in one rubber boat, so only Alessia-san moves to the boat, but everyone can hear us because I summon the boats right next to each other. ¡°Phew, I had heard that a great number of them would gather, but it¡¯s more than I imagined. I honestly don¡¯t even want to imagine what it would be like if we didn¡¯t have the barriers¡­ In addition to the insects and the frenzy monkeys¡­¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true. The vindictive wolves alone are in this number. If the insect monsters and the frenzy monkeys join in, we will either be able to retreat just in time, or we will be crushed by the numbers.¡± I try to imagine what I hear from Alessia-san and Dorothea-san¡¯s conversation. ¡­There is no way. It¡¯s going to be sickening. Even now, the whole area is filled with vindictive wolves. ¡°Well, we have Wataru-san¡¯s ship¡¯s barrier, so let¡¯s reduce it slowly. Is that okay with you, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Yes, that would be fine. We can move on by repeatedly summoning and repatriating ships, but it will take a lot of time and effort. I¡¯m sure other monsters will join in sooner or later, but let¡¯s wait and see for a while, shall we?¡± Deciding on a plan, Girasole, Ines, and Felicia attacked the vindictive wolves. I¡¯m going to attack with Rimu and Fuu-chan, too. When I get tired of attacking, I rest. After I rest, I resume my attack. It¡¯s a simple job to thrust spears at the vindictive wolves that are overflowing in front of me. Will it improve my spearmanship skills? When the members of Girasole wield weapons and release magic, they are easily cut, pierced, burned, and shot away. Well, they gather one after another, so the gap will soon be filled. More importantly, even though Rimu is still working on it, Fuu-chan is also firmly releasing wind magic to cut through the vindictive wolves. ¡­I was content with my daily life magic, but I should learn offensive magic too. I had room for such thoughts, but that was until the insect monsters and frenzy monkeys entered the fray¡­! Volume 7 - CH 2 Chapter 2 ¨C Large Army of Monsters and the Resumption of the Exploration After the vindictive wolf trigger is switched on, the insect monsters and the frenzy monkey are also switched on, and the area around the barrier is filled with monsters above, to the left, right, front, and back. There is no problem with the frenzy monkey. Even the insect monsters can be managed if we are patient. But not the small insects that follow the insect monsters. They invade the small gap between the rubber boats and stick to the barrier in large numbers. Many wriggling, oozing insects have attached themselves to the barriers on both sides, and Girasole is no longer visible. ¡°I can¡¯t do this. It¡¯s too disgusting.¡± ¡°What are we going to do even if you say you can¡¯t? I think the only way is to reduce the number of insects.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I have an idea. Ines will attack with flame magic right in front of us. Girasole, can you hear me? Ines will now unleash her flame magic, so please focus your attacks on that spot at the right time.¡± ¡°I understand. But what are you going to do?¡± ¡°After blowing away the trees around the target, I will summon the Hideaway there.¡± I responded to Alessia-san¡¯s words, and she took care of the rest. I thought it might be okay to summon the Lutto, but the bigger, the better to get away from the insects. Ferry is indeed overkill, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Then a ranged attack would be better. You all heard me, attack on count zero.¡± With Alessia-san¡¯s count, everyone¡¯s ranged attacks were fired. With a tremendous roar, trees and monsters were blown away, and a cloud of smoke rose up. Then, I immediately summoned the Hideaway. I had expected to see the Hideaway tilted like a wooden boat when the smoke cleared, but instead, the Hideaway appeared, sitting normally with a flat bottom. A happy miscalculation, but before buying a boat, I¡¯d better check out the other things as well as the facilities. The Hideaway, which I thought was a happy miscalculation and sat normally, also had its drawbacks. The place to board the ship is more than 2 meters higher. ¡­What am I going to do? I think I can jump over because my level is higher now¡­ but it would be bad if I fail. In the end, another attack blew away the monsters, and in the meantime, Ines gave me a piggyback ride to the Hideaway. After scattering the monsters several times, we all climbed aboard the Hideaway, and then I repatriated the rubber boat. I should have summoned the Hideaway quickly when the vindictive wolf¡¯s trigger switched on. ¡­Well, what matters is the result, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Thanks for your help, Wataru-san. I feel safer on a larger ship. It¡¯s easier for us to coordinate with each other.¡± ¡°Haha, yes, that¡¯s true. Well, the view is terrible.¡± Alessia-san is right; just having a bigger ship makes a big difference. ¡°The view certainly isn¡¯t great.¡± ¡°I hate it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s disgusting.¡± Ilma-san, Carla-san, and Claretta-san seemed to agree with me. All of the other ladies don¡¯t seem too happy either, as we move more than two meters higher, high enough to see the frenzy monkeys and vindictive wolves as they jump at us. As a result, the monsters in the view from the sundeck are almost all insects that can fly. Too creepy. This makes it hard to take a bath; I don¡¯t want to take a bath while looking at the insects. I move to the dining room to take a break and have a light meal. ¡°It¡¯s strange how many times I¡¯ve experienced that I can eat slowly even though we are surrounded by such a large number of monsters.¡± ¡°Alessia is right. Normally, we have to take turns eating while dealing with a large number of monsters.¡± The ship summoning was very well received. The other members of Girasole nodded in agreement with Alessia-san and Dorothea-san¡¯s conversation. As expected of a skill given to me by Creator God-sama. ¡°So what should we do now?¡± ¡°Well¡­ we can¡¯t do anything unless we reduce the number of monsters, so we¡¯ll just have to keep reducing them day by day. They are all weak monsters, so we can cut down a large number of them from inside the barrier, and if we do it steadily, we can get by.¡± Well, I guess Alessia-san is right. Even with the rubber boat, we have killed countless monsters in a few hours. We haven¡¯t gotten any materials or magic stones at all, though. ¡°Yes, there are other ways; well, it would be a wild move, but let¡¯s say it¡¯s possible to repeatedly use the rubber boat and proceed while blowing away all the obstacles in front of us, including the monsters.¡± I don¡¯t want to pick that one, if possible. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s not impossible to do that either. But it would take a little longer to advance, and it would be less stressful to destroy them on the Hideaway.¡± Stress, huh¡­? Good thing Alessia-san agrees with me. I don¡¯t want to go on with the insects all over me. ¡°Master. May I have a word?¡± ¡°Hmm? Sure. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we just wait until the monsters calm down?¡± It would be helpful if the monsters would calm down as Ines said, but I thought they wouldn¡¯t calm down until the intruder was removed from the forest or killed? Wasn¡¯t that a rare thing to hear? ¡°They said the monsters won¡¯t settle down until the intruders are removed from the Demon Forest.¡± Thinking about it, I began to feel that the dark elves weren¡¯t here either. If the trigger is switched on, the dark elves will have no choice but to flee or be wiped out, but how can they stay in the Demon Forest? But there are traces of people here¡­ I wonder what¡¯s really going on? ¡°I know that. But we¡¯ve been doing battle so far, defending and such, right? But with Master¡¯s ship summoning, so if we don¡¯t show ourselves, we don¡¯t have to fight, won¡¯t they just give up?¡± ¡°Hmm? ¡­I think there are barrier masters in the Kingdom of Jerah, so I¡¯m sure they¡¯re trying not to fight as well.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, your assumption is wrong. If you are attacked endlessly by a large number of monsters, no matter how many excellent barrier masters you have, you won¡¯t be able to withstand it. Wataru-san¡¯s ability is extraordinary. ¡­I think Ines¡¯ idea is worth a try too.¡± ¡­I¡¯ve reaffirmed the excellence of ship summoning. It got high praise from Alessia-san as well. That¡¯s great, ship summoning. ¡°Hmm, well, let¡¯s give Ines¡¯ idea a try. How long shall we wait and see?¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know, maybe ten days?¡± Is that so? How can we know? No one has tried it before. ¡°Then, let¡¯s stay on the Hideaway for about ten days. We¡¯ll see what happens and think about it.¡± After having decided on a plan for the future, we ate our meal and returned to our room. It¡¯s a little late to say this, but even if the monsters withdraw in 10 days, if we resume the exploration of the Demon Forest and the trigger switches on again, do we have to wait another ten days? How many years would it take to explore the Demon Forest? Well, we can try at first; maybe we¡¯ll find out something unexpected. If not, then we¡¯ll destroy the monsters. When it gets dark, we don¡¯t turn on the lights and spend time flirting in the pitch dark. With the lights on, it seemed unlikely that the insect monsters would retreat, right? The next day, I sneak a look outside and find that the scene is as unpleasant as ever. There¡¯s nothing much to do except at night, so I decided to cook up some dried-up shark fins. I hope it¡¯s a success. ¡­I look at my notes on how to cook shark fins¡­ and see that I am missing some ingredients. I didn¡¯t think too much about it because I was looking at how to prepare the shark¡¯s fin itself, but in my notes, I see the names of Shaoxingjiu and oyster sauce. There wasn¡¯t any Shaoxing wine or oyster sauce on the ferry, was there? If I bought a luxury liner, I would be able to get Shaoxing wine at a Chinese restaurant, but would I be able to get oyster sauce? Let¡¯s wait until we get the luxury liner to cook the shark¡¯s fin. I¡¯m afraid to try a difficult dish when I don¡¯t even have all the ingredients. Well, we can¡¯t watch DVDs because they will be repatriated when the ferry is repatriated, so what should we do? I can¡¯t think of anything special to do, so I spend an uneventful time cooking, playing Reversi and Jenga. If we could have at least taken a bath, I could have seen Girasole in their bathing suits¡­ I sometimes peek outside and see insect monsters and small bugs clinging to the barriers and attacking them. I suppressed my disgust and looked at it carefully. The insect monsters clinging to the bottom are sometimes eaten by vindictive wolves¡­ Wolves eat insects¡­ If the insects are wiped out like this, it will be a great help. It was midnight on the fourth day of our stay on the Hideaway, fighting boredom. Marina-san came to wake me up. I wonder if there has been any progress. Leaving Rimu, who was sound asleep, the four of us headed for the dining room, rubbing our sleepy eyes. Fuu-chan is on top of Marina-san¡¯s head. Rimu falls asleep immediately, but I wonder if Fuu-chan can handle being up at night. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san, it¡¯s the middle of the night. But the monsters are retreating, so I thought we should all check in and discuss the matter.¡± ¡°I¡¯m interested too, so it¡¯s okay. Thank you, Alessia-san.¡± After saying that, I sneak a peek at the outside. ¡­I can¡¯t see it. It¡¯s completely dark in the forest in the middle of the night. It was pointless to get up. Well, it¡¯s not a total waste of time because we have a discussion to have. I think about it while listening to the observation reports of Marina-san, Ilma-san, and Felicia, who have good night vision. I can¡¯t confirm the vindictive wolves and frenzy monkeys from here, but I hear that the insect monsters were sticking to the barrier without gaps, but now the gaps have increased, and they are flying away one after another. ¡°It seems to be settling down surprisingly quickly. Shall we resume our exploration when the sun rises?¡± ¡°I think it would be better to wait until the monsters have dispersed, so I think it would be better to start the exploration tomorrow.¡± Alessia-san answered my question. The majority of the monsters had gathered, so it would take some time for them to disperse. It would take time because they are not all dispersing at the same time. Marina-san, Ilma-san, and Felicia also observed seriously and looked for the cause of the calm down. According to Marina-san, Ilma-san, and Felicia, they don¡¯t know how the insects are feeling from the looks on their faces. ¡­I don¡¯t know either. But maybe we can find out something, so I ask them to continue their observation. As the sun rose, I could see outside. By that time, most of the insect monsters had flown away, and only a few remained. ¡°Well, I can see now, but I can¡¯t understand a thing when I look at the insect monsters.¡± ¡°Well¡­ how about everyone else?¡± The other girls shook their heads at Alessia-san¡¯s words¡­ and, in the end, couldn¡¯t understand anything? ¡­It¡¯s a shame because if it wasn¡¯t an insect, at least we might have learned something. After all the insects had flown away, I asked Marina-san to go check on the frenzy monkey and the vindictive wolf. Marina-san bent down and quickly approached the edge of the ship, and peeked outside. Immediately she moves to another spot and peeks outside. Well, it¡¯s a very sophisticated move, but Fuu-chan on the top of her head makes me feel nervous. Besides, even if Marina-san only has her eyes out over the edge of the ship, Fuu-chan is still in full view, isn¡¯t she? Is it okay for slime to be visible? Should I ask her? Since Marina-san circled the ship and came back, walking normally. I assume it is safe and ask her. ¡°Um, Marina-san, during the scouting, Fuu-chan was in full view from the outside. Is it safe?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± After being startled by my question, a long silence ensues¡­ ¡°Um, Marina-san?¡± ¡°T-the monsters were gone. I can feel the presence in the distance, but I think we are safe now.¡± ¡°I-I see. Then let¡¯s discuss it over breakfast. ¡­But I didn¡¯t understand anything, so I don¡¯t really have anything to tell you.¡± That reaction, she completely forgot that Fuu-chan was on top of her head. Her face is reddening. Well, it can¡¯t be helped. I don¡¯t feel any discomfort since it¡¯s normal for me to have Rimu on my head. So, putting Fuu-chan¡¯s matter aside for the moment, we all headed for the dining room. We get out some ready-made food from the pantry ship, put it on the table, and have breakfast. Since we didn¡¯t learn anything new, we decided to start our exploration tomorrow. After taking a nap today, we decided to take a bath. I¡¯m looking forward to it. After taking a nap, we enjoy a bath with a lot of drinks. We¡¯ve bathed together so many times, but I never get tired of it. I¡¯ll try my best to take a bath with a completely naked Girasole someday. Volume 7 - CH 3 Chapter 3 ¨C 2 Months and Discovery After the monsters have retreated, we leave to resume our exploration toward the center of the Demon Forest. The search proceeds cautiously, but the monsters¡¯ trigger switches on several times, and the team is forced to wait in the Hideaway. ¡°Hmm, I have no idea what causes the monsters to switch on.¡± Surrounded by a large army of monsters, we discussed the situation inside the Hideaway. ¡°Yes, whether or not we defeat the monsters of the Demon Forest; on the contrary, they attack us even though they are not even visible. Has anyone else noticed anything?¡± All the girls shake their heads at Alessia-san¡¯s question. No clue, huh? ¡°I know that if we don¡¯t show ourselves to the monsters, the situation will settle down in three or four days, but it¡¯s taking too long. Should we switch to exterminating the monsters?¡± ¡°Dorothea is right; it would be quicker in the end if we destroy them¡­¡± ¡°Wait a minute, it¡¯s honestly not something we should be thinking about, but we do have a problem.¡± What¡¯s the problem? What kind of problems will occur when the monsters are gone? ¡­I can¡¯t think of a problem that Ilma-san says, even after thinking about it. ¡°What is the problem, Ilma-san?¡± After some hesitation, Ilma-san answered my question. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry to the beastmen of this country, but if we defeat too many monsters in the Demon Forest and the pioneering of the Kingdom of Jerah succeeds, the country of human supremacy will gain power, right? It doesn¡¯t make me happy to think of the beastmen as a whole.¡± Ilma-san said her opinion with difficulty but clearly. ¡°Ah, I see. If this country can afford it, there is a possibility that it will make a move on other countries, isn¡¯t that right?¡± ¡°Yes, and the beastmen will be used for those deals. This country is on good terms with the empire, and it would be even more troublesome if they started helping the empire that is being pushed into a corner.¡± I see, so the trouble is connected to this place too¡­ Hmm, to be honest, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s any of my business, but if the empire gets stronger, they might try to get in touch with me as well. There is no problem except that it takes time, so I¡¯ll take my time. ¡°Then I¡¯d rather take my time than work hard for human supremacy. Shall we proceed slowly?¡± We decided to stop exterminating the monsters and proceed slowly because it would be troublesome if the empire regained its power. We resumed our exploration and proceeded toward the center of the Demon Forest. I found out that it is difficult for the monsters to switch on as long as we keep our presence off and carefully avoid them as much as possible, but it seems that this is not the only reason, and although the exploration time has increased, we are still surrounded by many monsters and have to take shelter on the Hideaway. Now that I think about it, let¡¯s say we find the dark elves, and they accept the migration¡­ how do we get them out of the Demon Forest? If they live in the Demon Forest, maybe they know the conditions under which the monsters can be switched on. If they don¡¯t know, I¡¯d have to reveal the ship summoning to get out of there, which I can¡¯t do¡­ Hmm, basically, it seems that the dark elves are in the danger zone, but could it be that no matter where you go, you can¡¯t escape without the ship summoning? I don¡¯t know. I guess we¡¯ll just have to go there and see what happens. I haven¡¯t told the people on the dark elf island just to be on the safe side, but the risk of information leaking out is small, and if we can find them, it will depend on the situation at that time. After about two months of repeatedly going through the Demon Forest and retreating back to the Hideaway, we arrived at a large lake. ¡°¡­..¡± The beautiful sight in front of us left everyone speechless. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± We just stared at the lake, and Alessia-san¡¯s words brought us back to our senses. Well, I was so surprised to find such a mysterious place in the middle of the Demon Forest that I couldn¡¯t help but admire it. Was it like Lake Moraine in Canada that I saw on TV? The bright turquoise-blue color of the lake, similar to the one I saw on TV, shimmered in the sunlight. I thought I remembered Lake Moraine had something to do with melting snow, but there¡¯s no snow in the Demon Forest¡­ Is it something otherworldly? I¡¯m having trouble believing that all of this can be put in those terms. ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful lake, but it¡¯s in the Demon Forest. For now, I¡¯ll summon the Lutto to the lake so we can take a break.¡± I feel like it¡¯s kind of punitive to float a ship on a beautiful lake, but¡­ in the end, we¡¯re going to explore by ship, so it¡¯s a little late for that now, right? I summon the Lutto and enter the living room. ¡°Fufu, how could such a beautiful lake be found in a place feared as the Demon Forest? This is why I can¡¯t quit being an adventurer.¡± ¡°Yes, we have been to many places and seen many beautiful landscapes, but this place stands out from the rest.¡± The other girls joined in with Alessia-san and Dorothea-san¡¯s words and chatted about the beauty of the scenery. I was impressed, too. I have traveled to places in Japan that are said to have spectacular views, but I had seen them on the Internet or in guidebooks beforehand. Seeing a beautiful view after having done my homework and seeing a beautiful scene without knowing anything about it are two different impressions. I went out on the deck and drank a cup of tea while looking at the view. It¡¯s a wonderful sight, but I feel too uncomfortable and sad about myself drinking tea while watching the scenery on a ship on a beautiful lake. ¡°Rimu, it¡¯s beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± On the edge of the Lutto, Rimu observes the scenery with few words. ¡­Is it just me, or does it seem awesome to have slime to admire the scenery? Oh, Fuu-chan comes up to me and sits on top of Rimu. ¡­I want to take a picture. Hmm?¡¡The color is a little different and shimmering, but if Dorothea-san can tame a pink slime, we¡¯ll have a tri-colored dumpling¡­ It¡¯s starting to look tasty. Pink slime, huh¡­? It would be nice. ¡°Wataru-san, shouldn¡¯t we go around the lake soon?¡± ¡°Yes, I think so. Let¡¯s go around in a circle.¡± I went up to the flying bridge at Alessia-sana¡¯s request. ¡­After thinking for a while, I went downstairs. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°I saw from the top that there were many places that looked shallow, so I think it would be better to go by a Japanese boat.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, it is a lake, so there are shallow places.¡± Alessia-san looked at me as if she was impressed. No, I just saw that it looked shallow, so I decided to go with a Japanese-style boat. I don¡¯t know why she is impressed. I summon a Japanese-style boat and repatriate the Lutto. ¡°Then we¡¯ll go.¡± The Japanese-style boat is going on a beautiful lake. Hmm, there are quite a few big fish in the clear lake. I have heard that clear water has no nutrients¡­ but there are some swimming around that¡¯s about 1 meter deep. They don¡¯t attack us, but I wonder if those fish are monsters? After running the boat for a while and going around the lake, I saw a big rock sticking out in the distance. It looks so big even from this distance. ¡°Would you like to go to that rock, everyone?¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go there.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, Alessia, we should approach it with caution. I can see artifacts around it.¡± Hmm? Artifacts? Marina-san¡¯s words made me look around the rock¡­ I can¡¯t see anything at all. But if it¡¯s man-made, there must be people there if they haven¡¯t been wiped out. It would be bad if we startled them, so let¡¯s approach carefully. ¡°I understand. I will approach slowly.¡± There is still some distance between us, but we proceed at a reduced speed. It could be beastmen, but I hope it¡¯s the dark elves. Is it possible it could be an elf¡­? If possible, I would like it to be a dark elf. The forest exploration is just as unsuitable for me. After some progress, there are rafts lined up around a huge rock and a wooden house built on top of it. ¡­I wonder if they live on the lake for protection against monsters. As we approached more slowly and at a reduced speed, we saw a dark elf holding a bow toward us. ¡­I¡¯m very happy to discover a dark elf, but I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s in an attack posture¡­ well, they¡¯re hiding because they¡¯re being targeted, and when someone approaches them, they¡¯re going to be on their guard. ¡°Wataru-san, good for you; it¡¯s a dark elf. They¡¯re very wary, though.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m glad. It would have been better if they weren¡¯t so alert.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible. We are very suspicious, after all.¡± Well, Alessia-san is right. If Girasole came to me¡­ I¡¯d suspect it to be a beauty pageant. Yeah, we have to start by relaxing their guard. ¡°I¡¯ll probably have Felicia do her best to convince her, so please do.¡± ¡°Yes, Master. I¡¯ll do my best.¡± She¡¯s really going for it, isn¡¯t she? Well, it¡¯s what Felicia wants, of course. ¡°Stop.¡± For the time being, we follow the instructions and stop the boat. We need to get them to lower their guard, but will it work? ¡°How did you get here? How do you know this place?¡± A great sense of rejection. There is no point in lying, so we¡¯ll just tell the truth. ¡°Oh, we came here with my skills. I didn¡¯t know about this place, but we came here looking for the dark elves.¡± ¡°Are you trying to enslave us?¡± I knew it. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not thinking of capturing you guys and making you my slaves. Do you mind if we come a little closer to you since the shouting is getting a little loud?¡± ¡°No.¡± I knew it was no good. ¡­It¡¯s hard to talk like this, but I¡¯ll do my best. ¡°Um, we¡¯re here to encourage you to relocate. If you feel comfortable in this forest and have no intention of moving here, then we will leave quietly.¡± ¡°Relocation? Did the world change while we were holed up here? Are there no more slaves, and the race supremacists are extinct?¡± Wow, that is a tone of voice that doesn¡¯t have a shred of that in it. I feel like a bow and arrow is going to come flying at me if I say that. ¡°No, there are slaves, and the race supremacists are still in existence.¡± ¡°Nonsense. Why would I go out of my way from this forest to be targeted?¡± ¡°Well, I understand what you are saying very well, but it is true that I have a lot of relocation options. I have a dark elf slave. I came here under contract with her. Will you at least listen to what she has to say?¡± (Wataru-san, if you say something about a dark elf slave, they will get angry. What are you going to do?) Alessia-san, please don¡¯t look at me as if I am an idiot because it will hurt me. (I know they will be angry, but which do you think is better, Alessia-san, that they find out there is a dark elf slave after we tried our best to put them off their guard?) (Well, I guess it would be better if we told them first?) (That¡¯s what I meant.) ¡°You expect us to believe the words of a man with a dark elf slave?¡± His voice is so calm. People who get angry in silence are stiff and scary, aren¡¯t they? ¡°I see your point, though. But I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a problem because it¡¯s a legitimate slave contract through the God of Commerce, not an illegal slave contract. You may have the contract checked at your place.¡± ¡°¡­Do you think there is any way to confirm the contract in a place like this?¡± ¡°Oh, there isn¡¯t, huh¡­?¡± Well, I had considered the possibility that there might not be since they live in hiding, but it would have been easier to talk to them if there had been. Come to think of it; I don¡¯t know the fundamental thing. How can I tell the difference between a legitimate slave and an illegal slave? ¡°Felicia, after all this time, can you distinguish between a legitimate slave and an illegal slave?¡± ¡°Yes, it is possible. Those who were forced to become slaves by magic are bound by their will and actions, so it is obvious at a glance.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you.¡± Good, there is no need to prove that she is a legitimate slave, is there? I¡¯ve never seen an illegal slave, but that¡¯s what¡¯s supposed to happen. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t prove the contract, but since it¡¯s a legitimate slave, would you at least listen to what I have to say?¡± ¡°Do you think we¡¯d be happy about our people being enslaved, legitimate or illegitimate?¡¡Are you saying that the dark elf over there is being enslaved because she wants to be?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s an understandable reaction. She, too, had no choice but to become a slave. But she took a chance nonetheless. Do you guys have a future here?¡± I think it¡¯s cool that she took a chance, even though it¡¯s a bit awkward. Well, that chance is me. I feel embarrassed. ¡°¡­..¡± They¡¯re silent. Well, there are only a few houses, and they live in the Demon Forest, so I guess they don¡¯t have an easy life. ¡°If you just listen to me for now, I¡¯ll leave the decision up to you. Of course, we won¡¯t force you to do anything just because you refuse, and we¡¯ll keep this place a secret. What do you think?¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll listen to you if it¡¯s just that dark elf of yours. But when I come to pick her up, you will order her not to lie, to reveal everything, and not to harm us.¡± ¡­Reveal everything? Order her not to lie? They¡¯ll always ask about me, too. I can¡¯t reveal everything. I don¡¯t want them to ask about the otherworlder or unique skills, and I¡¯d be too embarrassed if they asked about my sex life. ¡°What about you, Felicia? It might be dangerous. What if they take you hostage?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will definitely persuade them, so please let me go.¡± ¡°Hmm, all right. But don¡¯t do anything reckless.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Felicia, you¡¯re really determined. I hope it¡¯s not a fruitless effort. ¡°Oh, I can¡¯t do all of that. I have my secrets, too, and there are some things I don¡¯t like to be told. The only thing I can offer you is why you should relocate. As for not harming you, I can give the order that as long as you don¡¯t turn against us, you won¡¯t be harmed. The rest is up to Felicia, the dark elf slave, and I¡¯m ordering her to use her own judgment.¡± ¡°¡­I understand. I¡¯ll listen to what she has to say for now. I¡¯m going to pick her up now, but don¡¯t behave suspiciously.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± The other dark elf comes to pick her up in a small boat. They were very alert and demanded that I give the order, so I gave Felicia the order that had just been told earlier. Felicia moves to the small boat and is taken to the raft. I¡¯m a little worried. Volume 7 - CH 4 Chapter 4 ¨C Felicia¡¯s Discussion and Wataru¡¯s Turn? Felicia boarded a small boat and headed for the dark elf raft¡­ I know it¡¯s too late now, but should I have put in a threat to destroy Felicia if she messes with her or something? I think it¡¯s okay because she said she was one of the brethren or something like that. ¡°Master, Felicia will be fine. She¡¯s not stupid enough to act hostile in this situation.¡± ¡°¡­Was that in my face?¡± ¡°Fufu, I can see it.¡± It seems that I don¡¯t even have the talent for a poker face¡­ I don¡¯t know what would have happened if I hadn¡¯t gotten the ship summoning¡­ I¡¯ll stop imagining scary things. It¡¯s going to take a while, so I chat with Rimu, hugging him. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯d like to take the food storage ship out for a cup of tea, but it would be very conspicuous indeed, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to join you, but it would be too conspicuous, so it¡¯s best not to. You want to hide as much as you can, don¡¯t you?¡± Alessia-san, you¡¯ve completely read my behavior. Is it the power of love? ¡­I¡¯ve always tried to hide it, though, so even without love, she¡¯d know. ¡°Yes, well, by the looks of it, if they decide to relocate, they¡¯re going to find out about the ship summoning.¡± ¡°Yes, but there¡¯s still a chance they won¡¯t relocate, so we shouldn¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°Yes. From now on, when I board a Japanese-style boat, I will at least bring out the tea utensils.¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s a good idea.¡± We continue chatting while paying attention to where Felicia is. I should have conditioned the discussion to take place in a visible position. I think I¡¯m thinking about it, but there are too many things I¡¯m missing. I want to be able to think about more things. ¡«Felicia¡¯s POV¡« I part ways with Master and the others and get into the small boat. Master looked very worried, but I think I¡¯ll be fine. Master gave me a chance, and I must use it to my best advantage. ¡°You say your name is Felicia. I am Gael, and I am in charge of the men in this village.¡± ¡°I am Felicia, again, and it is a pleasure to meet you.¡± Despite my wariness, he looks at me with sympathetic eyes. He must be a kind man. He doesn¡¯t say much, but he gives me a few words of concern. When we arrive at the raft, I am shown into the house. When we enter the house, two men are sitting on chairs. There is almost no furniture except for a chair and a table, and in some places, there are signs that the house has been broken down and repaired. Could they have been attacked on the lake? ¡°Village Chief, there was a dark elf among those who showed up in the village, so I brought her here to talk to you. They say she is a legitimate slave, but she has been ordered to tell no lies and to speak at her own discretion, so the discussion will be fine.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you for your efforts. Are the guards all right?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve got the men on guard duty.¡± ¡°Fumu, I understand. Well, thank you for your patience, young lady. My name is Iasanto, the village chief. Can you tell us your story, young lady?¡± ¡°Yes, my name is Felicia, daughter of the village chief of a dark elf village in the southwestern forest of the Kingdom of Latina. Pleased to meet you.¡± Both the village chief and Gael-san are competent people. I guess power is necessary to survive in the Demon Forest. ¡°¡­Since the daughter of the village chief is enslaved, so something must have happened. But first, let me ask you about your companion. This is the first time someone has come to this village, and we are having a hard time dealing with it.¡± First time? It makes sense, considering the route we took to get here, but how did these people get here? ¡­They didn¡¯t trust me enough for me to ask them, so they wouldn¡¯t answer me. ¡°I came here with my master, another slave, an escort adventurer, and an A-rank party called Girasole. We have no intention of harming this village and are looking for a dark elf for the contract I made with my master when I became his slave.¡± ¡°A contract, huh? A contract with you to come to such a dangerous place. ¡­That seems far-fetched. What is the nature of your contract?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe it either. I knew my terms were absurd, and yet I couldn¡¯t give up, so I made the terms. I thought that even the fact that I would eventually be sold at auction would bring in as much money as possible to the village. Even now, I sometimes wonder if it might have been a dream. The village moved to an empty island, and I lived a happy life. I am not despised as a slave, I eat delicious food, and I see a world I have never seen before¡­ I have wondered many times if it was a convenient fantasy created by my mind because I am so happy. After Master embraced me, I strangely came to accept that it was real. I wondered if my mind and body recognized that it was real because it was the first time, and he had asked for it so many times until morning. ¡°Felicia, Felicia, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. You said you couldn¡¯t believe it, which made me remember that until recently, I didn¡¯t have any sense of reality either.¡± I must be distracted. I¡¯ve been brought here to get what I want, and now I¡¯m remembering what I¡¯ve been through. ¡°You¡¯ve been through a lot. If you want our protection, we can help you. There is a way out of this.¡± ¡­..? Oh, they took it as a bad sign that I don¡¯t have a sense of reality. ¡°No, sir. It¡¯s not that I was unhappy and had no sense of reality, but that I had no sense of reality because I couldn¡¯t believe in happiness.¡± ¡°Hmm? Is that so? ¡­I¡¯d like to know the details of the contract.¡± ¡°Yes, the contract was for him to find a safe haven for the dark elves, to help them migrate, and to help other dark elves migrate when we find them.¡± ¡°A safe haven for dark elves? Can you elaborate on that?¡± I explained the story, from the attack on the village to the festivities on the island, in as much detail as I could, except for something that was a secret. ¡°¡­I see. A safe haven for dark elves¡­ singing and dancing at the festival. I never would have thought of something like that.¡± I know, right? It never occurred to me in the forest village or even after we moved to the island, and it¡¯s even more difficult when you live in such a harsh environment. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°Hmm, before we draw any conclusions, can you tell us how you guys got here?¡± ¡°¡­I apologize, but I can¡¯t give you an explanation as to my master capabilities. If you are willing to move, you may see it yourself.¡± ¡°¡­I see. I will have to discuss this with the villagers, but I would also like to speak with your master. I will send a messenger tomorrow. I will have Gael send you.¡± ¡°I will tell him. Lastly, I know this has been hard to believe, but I hope you believe me. If you have nothing to complain about here, it may not be necessary, but please think about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think it over. Thank you.¡± ¡°No problem, then, excuse me.¡± I wonder what¡¯s going to happen? I¡¯ve told them as best I can, so I hope they believe me¡­ Gael-san was asked to take me to the Japanese-style boat. Master welcomed me with a relieved look. ~Felicia¡¯s POV ends~ Felicia has returned safely. She doesn¡¯t seem to be injured, and her expression is cheerful. Was there a good response? The dark elf, who introduced himself as Gael-san, informed me that the village chief wanted to have a discussion with me tomorrow. He told me that he couldn¡¯t let us stay in the village, so I told him that we would camp at a suitable place and it would be fine. As expected, I don¡¯t want to stay in a tense village on guard, so it was a helpful offer on the contrary. I told them I would be back here tomorrow afternoon, so I decided to leave for the day. ¡°Felicia is back safe and sound, so let¡¯s just go somewhere out of sight of the village and rest for the day.¡± With everyone¡¯s agreement, I drove to a place out of sight of the village and summoned the Hideaway. We listen to Felicia¡¯s story while drinking tea in the dining room. The village is not in good spirits, and Felicia¡¯s story seems to be half-believed, although they are interested in it. Well, if someone shows up out of the blue and says they¡¯re going to take you to a nice place, it¡¯s something to be alerted to, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s not like they rejected me because they said they wanted to talk to me tomorrow, so it¡¯s up to me from now on¡­ It would be sad if they refused to talk to me and refused to move. I think about tomorrow while talking to Felicia. ¡­I¡¯ve come to the conclusion that I¡¯m just going to have to take it where it comes from. There is too little information. I¡¯m going to eat a meal, get plenty of energy for tomorrow, and go to bed. In the morning¡­ I kiss Ines and Felicia and go to the dining room with Rimu in my arms. I think about finishing breakfast and relaxing until the appointed time, but I am restless. If this migration is successful, the number of dark elves on the island will increase, so I think it will be enough to recruit the dark elves we meet without having to go out of our way to try to find them. At any rate, I can put a break on my contract with Felicia, and I¡¯d like to make it a success if I can. I¡¯d like to refrain from going into the forest anymore. I¡¯ve already paved the way to buy a luxury liner, so once I¡¯m done with the migration and have bought the luxury liner, all I have to do is enjoy myself. Oh, I want to help Dorothea-san with her taming. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing what kind of slime will join us. After spending a restless time, we headed for the dark elf village on a Japanese-style boat. I was getting sick to my stomach, especially since I was so bad at negotiating. When we reached the village, Gael-san came to pick us up in a small boat. ¡°Hello. You said we were going to have a meeting.¡± ¡°Yes, but I can¡¯t take everyone with us. Felicia and Felicia¡¯s master, I want you two to come with me.¡± ¡°Wait a minute. I know you want to reduce the number. As an escort, we also need at least one of us to go with them.¡± It is true that three people are better than two. It¡¯s never safe, much less in a Demon Forest, so it¡¯s better to be as safe as possible. We can count on you, Alessia-san. She didn¡¯t say anything when Felicia went, but that¡¯s to be expected since she¡¯s not Felicia¡¯s escort. I want to believe that it¡¯s never because Felicia can handle it but because she¡¯s worried about me being there. ¡°¡­You are the ones who made it through the forest to get here, and even one more person would make us nervous. If possible, please refrain from doing so.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t just accept that, can I? I¡¯m also making a big concession to your situation by asking you to allow only one escort. If you can¡¯t make a decision, can you go back to the village and discuss it?¡± ¡°¡­Alright, I¡¯ll allow one more escort.¡± Don¡¯t you have to go ask? Isn¡¯t it pretty great to be in charge of a group of men? ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll go.¡± Alessia-san said she was coming with us. ¡°¡­Are you taking that slime with you?¡± ¡°¡­Is it not good?¡± ¡°You might think I¡¯m nervous, but I¡¯d appreciate it if you¡¯d refrain.¡± Hmm, it¡¯s not a quirk to insist that Rimu and I are a set here. ¡°Rimu, can you wait here for me?¡± ¡°Wait?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m going out for a bit, so you¡¯ll have to stay here.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± I can¡¯t help but pet the cute little Rimu. ¡°¡­Is it okay already?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s alright.¡± As I was stroking Rimu, Gael-san was looking at me curiously. Does he not know how good the slime is too¡­ Should I go proselytizing? We arrive at the village with me, Felicia, and Alessia-san. It¡¯s quiet. I wonder, but I don¡¯t want to ask because it¡¯s our influence nine times out of ten. Several rafts are floating around a huge rock, and houses are built on the rafts. The rock, which looked huge from a distance, looks even bigger up close. In terms of size, the visible portion alone is about the size of two ordinary Japanese two-story houses side by side. It is huge when you consider the area below the water¡¯s surface. But the houses in this village are almost the same shape. It seems like they are adapted to the rafts. Two men greeted us as we were led into the house. ¡°I am Iasanto, the village chief.¡± The other man and Gael-san stood behind the village chief. I guess those two men are his guards too. But three beautiful men? Is it my sick mind that makes me uncomfortable when beautiful middle-aged men line up? ¡°I am Wataru. Pleased to meet you.¡± They offered me a chair, and I sat down, and Felicia and Alessia-san settled in behind me. ¡­There¡¯s another chair, and it would be helpful if you could sit next to me. Definitely, I will be the main person in the discussion. The pressure has increased, but I¡¯ll do my best for the sake of my happiness. Volume 7 - CH 5 Chapter 5 ¨C Wataru¡¯s Negotiation and the Dark Elves¡¯ Decision The discussion with the dark elf village chief began in a subtly tense atmosphere. ¡°So, Village Chief-san, you said you were going to have a discussion in the village; what have you decided to do?¡± Please tell me you¡¯ve decided to go¡­ that would be incredibly helpful. ¡°After our discussions, we are all interested. ¡­But we cannot deny the possibility that we are being deceived. We need you to give us reason to believe.¡± It¡¯s a hassle, but¡­ from the dark elves¡¯ point of view, they¡¯re abandoning the village, and I¡¯m the one who came to invite them, so I guess I¡¯ll have to show them what grounds I have. I know a great place, do you want to go? I¡¯m not a smooth talker. If I had the beauty of a dark elf, I might succeed, but if the other party is a dark elf and where they are going is to abandon the village and move to an island¡­ I think it¡¯s an impossible task. The only way to get a good deal is to use my humanity when I can¡¯t use a contract. I don¡¯t have charisma or military might. All I have is money, though. ¡­All I have is money; it¡¯s amazing that I can say such an arrogant line; the other world is amazing, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m a rich man with hundreds of platinum coins. So I don¡¯t need to deceive them¡­ No. If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t trust rich people and would kill them if they said that to me. Plus, I¡¯d be sure to lose the trust of those around me. It¡¯s too risky. Would they put their trust in God? The God said he was watching us, and if they prayed desperately to the Goddess of the Forest, they might take pity on the dark elves and expect some help in persuading them¡­ Is that too indefinite? ¡°Wataru-san, what happened?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I was thinking that it would be better if I could get people to believe in me for now, but it¡¯s difficult. I don¡¯t have any proof that it is safe to believe me. I will answer what I can to your questions, so could you please judge for yourself?¡± It would be different if I had something like the seal case of a grandfather who is a middle-aged man and a deputy general*. Next time we meet, could I get a seal case from Creator God-sama or something like that? It¡¯s very reliable, isn¡¯t it? [T/n: I¡¯m not sure about this reference.] ¡°I understand. Then, how did you get here?¡± As I thought, they are curious, aren¡¯t they? But I can¡¯t tell them everything when there is a possibility that they might not come to immigrate. ¡°Well, to put it simply, I have a barrier that even a large army of monsters can¡¯t penetrate. When a large army of monsters came, we holed ourselves up in there and got through it, and here we are. The details are a secret.¡± ¡°I heard about the contract, but the price for you and Felicia is not balanced. Why is that?¡± I¡¯m getting a little annoyed when people call her Felicia without ¡®san¡¯ or anything. Is it possessiveness? I¡¯m afraid if I tell the truth, I¡¯ll be rejected, but it seems impossible to lie¡­ so I¡¯ll just tell the truth. ¡°I needed an escort, and Felicia was strong and beautiful. Felicia¡¯s terms were also doable, so I signed the contract.¡± I was unsure about Ines because she had sold herself for a gamble, but Felicia seemed serious, and above all, a dark elf, silver-haired, big-breasted beauty, I¡¯d go for it. ¡°I-Is that so? ¡­There are dark elf women in this village, but we won¡¯t offer them to you. Would you still like to continue our conversation?¡± This was a check because he might be trying for me to ask him to give me a woman. A beautiful dark elf woman, Felicia, would be enough to satisfy me, but I¡¯d be happy with more. If I had persuaded him well, I could have taken a step forward to a harem, but nope, that was a mistake. ¡°I won¡¯t ask you to give up any of your women. I¡¯m here because I promised Felicia I wouldn¡¯t ask for any consideration.¡± If you insist, I¡¯ll gladly take it, though. ¡°I see.¡± I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need to be so bluntly relieved. ¡°Is there anything else you want to ask me?¡± ¡°Yes, what you said to Gael yesterday about whether we have a future if we stay here, really stuck in my mind. I guess we have no future even if we stay here. When the monsters go crazy, we hide in the hollowed-out rocks and survive. Only insects can fly in, which saves our lives but destroys our houses and furniture. We have very little space in the rock and very little food, so we can¡¯t even increase our population.¡± Whoa? Something has suddenly changed. I wonder if they¡¯ll decide to emigrate at this point? I mean, is there space to hide in that rock? I wonder if it¡¯s like we¡¯re taking refuge on the Hideaway. ¡°How wonderful it would be to hear you and Felicia¡¯s story, if it were true. Singing whenever we wanted, that alone was unimaginable to us.¡± It wouldn¡¯t be fashionable for monsters to attack them en masse if they were singing. ¡°But as the people in charge of the village, I couldn¡¯t take the gamble either. It¡¯s too risky to make a decision based on what you¡¯ve told us without knowing what¡¯s out there.¡± The conversation took a turn for the worse¡­ Is it a no? ¡°So, will you take Gael with you? I want him to check out the safe haven of the dark elves.¡± This is getting troublesome. I understand that you want to check, but does that mean I have to go along with him there? ¡°Village Chief-san, that¡¯s a tough call. It takes two months just to go through the forest. It will take even more time to get to a safe haven. And then we have to go back and forth again, so the burden on us will be considerable. Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s terrible?¡± ¡°¡­Yes, that¡¯s right. Is it still not good?¡± I don¡¯t like the idea of saying no. It might be faster to take Gael-san with us, even if it takes longer than to search for the dark elves again from scratch, but I don¡¯t want to go back and forth through this forest again just for peace of mind. Well, if I can¡¯t find them elsewhere, I might come back here¡­ but I¡¯d be pretty shocked if I did. Even just for the sake of it, my plan to wholesale pepper every two months is falling apart from the get-go, and¡­ I¡¯d indeed rather not go back and forth again. ¡°Yes, I understand that you want reliable information, Village Chief-san. For me, it would be a waste of time. I hope you will make a decision this time.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± Hmm, did I say too much? But if I get swept away here, I will have to go through the Demon Forest at least three times. I can¡¯t be swept away. Is there any way I can convince them? Even if I reveal that I¡¯m from another world, it¡¯s no guarantee that I won¡¯t deceive them. The same goes for my ship summoning skills. So I have to play with my own personality¡­ ¡°Um, I know it¡¯s a cowardly way, but why don¡¯t you try some of the food out there? You can eat it in the safe haven because I¡¯m the one bringing in the food.¡± I don¡¯t have confidence in my character, so let¡¯s catch them with food. I have a large stock of delicious food, even if it is not from another world. If I can get them to eat this, they might be more willing to emigrate. ¡°Does that mean that eating good food will make life here less difficult?¡± ¡°Well, it does. It is certainly dangerous out there, but there are a lot of things you can¡¯t get here. I think it would be a good opportunity to emigrate, and it would appeal to people that once you arrive in the safe haven, you will be able to eat delicious food and not have to live in fear.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, we are happy about the delicious food, but the question for us is whether we believe you or not.¡± ¡°I understand. But if you guys emigrate, we won¡¯t have to force ourselves to look for dark elves afterward. If I could reach them with food, I would. If you know there¡¯s such good food in your safe haven, you¡¯ll want to believe it, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Maybe so, but wouldn¡¯t it mess them up if I told them?¡± ¡°I am confident that if I offer you food and let you try it, you will like it. But if I let you eat it without saying anything, you would be very suspicious, wouldn¡¯t you? As for me, I don¡¯t want to deceive you; I just want to tell you how attractive it is out there.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll stop. I will not gamble with the future of the people in the village because of the food.¡± I guess it¡¯s still not good. I think it¡¯s too obvious, but if I let them eat without saying anything, that¡¯s going to make them lose faith in me. I wish I had been honest with them and they had been interested. ¡°Wataru-san, if we were to decide to emigrate, would it be possible for us to get out of the forest safely?¡± ¡°Yes, I think so. We don¡¯t know what will happen, so I can¡¯t say for sure, but I think it will be fine. Does this village have a way to move freely through the forest?¡± ¡°No, as I said before, we can hide in the rocks.¡± ¡°I see. Then, if you want to migrate, shall we do it my way?¡± I¡¯ll give them tickets, and when the monsters¡¯ trigger switches on, they can jump into the magic circle of the Hideaway, and there will be no problem. ¡°I understand. I would like to discuss it again with everyone. How much time can you give us?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to take too long, but I can give you a couple of days.¡± ¡°If so, can you give us another chance in two days?¡± ¡°I understand. Okay, I will leave.¡± After having Gael-san take us to the Japanese-style boat, I summoned the Hideaway to a remote and out-of-sight location, just as I had done yesterday. I moved to the dining room and explained the contents of the meeting. ¡°I see, but Wataru-san, was it okay to refuse to take that Gael-san with you? Wouldn¡¯t it have been safer and easier to show him around?¡± ¡°Ilma-san is right, but if I accept, we will have to go through the Demon Forest three more times for sure. If they decide to migrate this time, we will only have to go through it once. If not, we will look for another place, and if we can¡¯t find it, we will come back here again.¡± ¡°Fufufu, if you can¡¯t find them, it will be a very long way.¡± ¡°Yes, but if we look for another forest, it will be quicker in the end because it will be in a place without strange obstacles, and we will be able to save time if the monsters do not come in a group like in this Demon Forest.¡± The Demon Forest is a place that we can pass through in our situation, but it would take an incredibly long time. I don¡¯t want it to take two months one way. ¡°Well, that may be true.¡± The girls seemed to agree with me. ¡°That¡¯s why, Felicia, we¡¯ve found a place for them, but if they refuse, we¡¯ll have to find another place. Sorry.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s up to those people whether they want to emigrate or not. I¡¯m just glad to know that my brethren are alive in another place.¡± You really don¡¯t mind, do you? It may be a masked smile on the surface, but I¡¯ll believe it. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ From then until the appointed day, I lived an elegant life, enjoying the beautiful scenery and being at a lakeside vacation home. I¡¯ve never been to a lakeside vacation home before, though¡­ Two days later, I, Felicia, and Alessia-san boarded Gael-san¡¯s small boat that came to pick us up as we headed to the dark elf village, and we were guided to the village chief¡¯s house. ¡°Hello, Village Chief-san.¡± ¡°Hello. Thank you for coming.¡± Hmm, I can¡¯t tell which way it went from his expression, but I wonder what happened. If possible, it would be more convenient if they decided to immigrate, but I guess that¡¯s not possible since they had strong suspicions. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to be so quick, but did you reach a conclusion?¡± ¡°Yes. Can you please let us immigrate?¡± ¡­Oh, I succeeded. My persuasion made them decide to move¡­ If I have negotiation skills, I might be able to do it easily, though. I see a nice smile on Felicia¡¯s face. It¡¯s a nice thing to see. ¡°I understand. I will do my best to help you, don¡¯t worry. But I was afraid you would refuse. To be honest, I was surprised.¡± ¡°Haha, people in the village are still anxious. But the idea of being able to live without fear was very appealing. Life here is a life of hunger and fear of monsters. We decided we wanted to have fun rather than just live.¡± I guess their life was tougher than I thought it would be. It seems that they hated their life here more than my persuasion. ¡°I see. I promise you that, at the very least, you will eat well and live without fear. How many people are in your village, and how long does it take to prepare for migration?¡± ¡°There are 25 people in the village. We don¡¯t have much to carry, so it won¡¯t take more than three days.¡± Well, it¡¯s surprisingly small. But it¡¯s not like the monsters¡¯ trigger doesn¡¯t get switched on during the migration, so the Hideaway will surely be discovered. If that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s just take it apart and get the luggage loaded. Or maybe I should just keep the ferry hidden? The ferry is going to be quite a mess since the people on the dark elf island don¡¯t know about it. Or should I buy a ship that¡¯s a reasonable size? ¡­Hmm, pulling the Hideaway with the Lutto would take quite a while to get to the dark elven island. Maybe I¡¯ll buy a ship while I¡¯m through the forest. ¡°Understood. Then tomorrow I will show you how to get through the forest safely, so please gather the villagers in the morning. Pack up as much luggage as you can so that we can load it into the ship.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ We returned to the out-of-sight area and gathered in the dining room of the Hideaway. ¡°They have made the decision to emigrate. Starting tomorrow, we will disguise the interior of the Hideaway to match this world.¡± ¡°Understood. Wataru-san, why don¡¯t we take a bath today?¡± Oh, Ilma-san, nice suggestion. Good things keep coming. Now that we¡¯re on track for the appointment, we¡¯ll have a light drink and enjoy the bath. Let¡¯s have plenty of fun, do plenty of lovey-dovey, and nourish our spirits. Today is a good day, isn¡¯t it? Volume 7 - CH 6 Chapter 6 ¨C Return from the Demon Forest and a New Ship After a bath and a good dose of lovey-dovey, I¡¯ll make sure to disguise the Lutto and the Hideaway so that both the exterior and interior of the ship will look right on this world. Now we¡¯re good to go. Changing to a Japanese-style boat, we head for the dark elf village. There will be a lot of preparations to be made, luggage to be loaded, tickets for 25 people to be issued, and we should have enough time to get through the forest, which should be about three months. We proceeded on our way, taking care of some minor things, and soon arrived at the dark elf village. Gael-san, who had come to pick us up, told us that since they had decided to trust us, we could go straight to the village with our boat. It seems that everyone has already gathered, and people are gathered on two rafts that are connected to each other. I¡¯m afraid they might sink or something. Seeing so many beautiful men and women in a row makes me feel the unreasonableness of another world. There are two kids? They said they couldn¡¯t increase the number of people too much. Elves or dark elves raise the face deviation value, don¡¯t they? I¡¯m happy for beautiful women, but I can only learn to be jealous of beautiful men. I greet the village chief, give him my ticket and ask him to promise to keep what will be seen a secret. I summon the Hideaway in front of everyone and show them how to jump onto the magic circle of light and have the villagers experience it a few times. I ask them to confirm that they cannot enter without a ticket and to confirm their safety by having them perform magic and attacks to the Hideaway. The villagers were a bit intimidated at first, but they gradually got used to it and were able to act smoothly. I noticed that the villagers hardly shouted at all. When I summoned the Hideaway and when they jumped on the magic circle of light, they sometimes made small noises, but even the children didn¡¯t shout¡­ I felt like I was getting a glimpse of the harshness of this village. But the ship summoning was finally revealed, too. I¡¯m worried that if other people find out about the dark elf island, they might inadvertently give out my name or something. I wonder how to get the magic circle of contract? If I need an expert to install it, I can¡¯t take him or her to the island, so it would be difficult. After teaching them the rules of the ship and completing the training, I told them to load their belongings for the move on the deck of the Hideaway. ¡°Village Chief-san, is it okay if we leave as scheduled? If it¡¯s too difficult, we can postpone it, okay?¡± ¡°Wataru-san, it will be fine. Our luggage is small, to begin with, so we can finish our preparations with plenty of time to spare. Thanks to Wataru-san¡¯s strength, we can carry things that we had given up on as impossible to carry.¡± ¡°No, but that ship will be our place to stay while we are going through the forest. There are not enough rooms, so please prepare blankets and such.¡± ¡°Yes, I will let everyone know. ¡° ¡°Haha, well, if people find out, there will be trouble, so I ask you to keep it a secret.¡± ¡°Yes, I will let them know that too.¡± The village chief was much more cheerful as if he had been blown away by the decision to emigrate. It¡¯s a good thing, right? After that, no problems occurred, and all the preparations were completed on the day before departure. We held a banquet, as it was somehow the start of the journey. I served delicious food and drinks and made a lot of noise on the deck. Well, since we were in the middle of the Demon Forest, everyone didn¡¯t make loud noises, but it seemed that there were few seasonings in the village, so they were surprised at the variety of flavors and were eating enthusiastically. It¡¯s a great feeling when people enjoy something you¡¯ve made, isn¡¯t it? I wondered if Claretta-san felt the same way, and we were both smiling. Well, it was Carla-san who ate the most. Rimu and Fuu-chan were being held and fed by the two dark elf children while they were being cuddled. These kids have a lot to offer if they know how cute slime is. The party is over, and everyone seems to have had a good time lying around on blankets. Beautiful men and women are drinking and rolling around. It¡¯s a very strange feeling. Well, tomorrow we¡¯re going to be in the Demon Forest, so it wouldn¡¯t hurt to have a little fun, at least today, right? Unless you¡¯ve been drinking so much that you¡¯re hungover, though¡­ Well, tomorrow we¡¯ll start walking in the forest. I¡¯m not going to get too excited because everyone is here, but I¡¯m going to quietly enjoy lovey-dovey time with Ines and Felicia and then go to bed. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ I can see the ocean through the trees¡­ it¡¯s kind of relaxing. It took us almost three months to reach the ocean because of the large number of people and the time it took to travel. I guess I underestimated how long it took to move with a large group of people. It was hard in the beginning. Originally, the women in the village never went out into the dangerous forest, and they were not at a high enough level or physically strong enough. And since there were also children, we were inevitably slow. Girasole surrounded the dark elf villagers and us, and the two children were carried on piggyback by turns by the stronger men as we carefully made our way through the forest. We had a bit of a rough time when the monsters¡¯ trigger was switched on for the first time, but we all managed to get aboard the Hideaway and made it through without a hitch. Slowing down means longer time in the forest, which in turn means more time in the Demon Forest, which in turn means more monsters. It was a vicious cycle. It was a little uncomfortable to have thirty-four people on board, but the villagers said it was heaven compared to being stuck in a small space carved out of the rock. I don¡¯t want to imagine how harsh the environment must have been. Perhaps because they had endured the harsh environment, once they realized that they would be safe even if monsters attacked them, they stayed calm and didn¡¯t make a fuss inside the ship, and they acted calmly when evacuating. There were few problems in defeating the monsters because the men in the village could handle it as long as the trigger was not switched on. If they hunted near the village, they would sometimes not be able to evacuate in time if the switch went on. That would reduce the number of people. As for the food, it seemed to be much better than in the village, and even though they were not used to being in the Demon Forest when it was time to eat, they forgot how tired they were and ate their meals, which was a good stress reliever, and they were able to proceed in a good mood until we reached the ocean. Meals are important, aren¡¯t they? While we were in the Demon Forest, the thing that bothered me the most was the purchase of a ship. We could travel by pulling the Hideaway with the Lutto, but it is slow, and it would be tough to slow down even more when we are months over schedule just to get there. I thought about taking the ferry through the open sea and pulling the Hideaway with the Lutto from near the dark elf island, but with the ferry, I would have a direct connection with the mage in case information leaked out. Well, I guess it¡¯s too late now when I show the ship summoning, but I would like to avoid the ferry because of the impact it would have on the public. I looked for a variety of ships. Especially the sightseeing ships were full of attractive ships. Some were castle-shaped, some were swan-shaped, some had windows on the bottom, some looked like pirate ships, and others were exciting. It doesn¡¯t make sense, though, because it stands out so much that it has to be disguised as a ship. I want the Sunseeker 155 yacht the most out of all the ones I found. But it costs 25 platinum coins¡­ and I want a luxury liner as soon as possible, so I¡¯m having a hard time. But it¡¯s cool and luxurious, and I want it¡­ I also looked at cargo ships, but if I buy this one, it looks like it would have no problem carrying a lot of pepper, and if I don¡¯t mind showing off my closeness to the mage, I want it, but¡­ it doesn¡¯t look like it would be suitable for transporting people, so I¡¯ll hold off this time. After much deliberation, I decided to buy the Sunseeker 155 yacht. The size is the same as a mid-size boat, and the 25 platinum coins are expensive, but I think it¡¯s best to buy the ship you want. I know it¡¯s just an excuse, though¡­ But it¡¯s cool because it¡¯s divided into four floors and has a Jacuzzi at the top. It has a spinning thing at the top of the ship that looks like a radar. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s usable or even what it¡¯s for, but it¡¯s a nice thing. The Hideaway on land, the Sunseeker 155 yacht at sea, there¡¯s a proper use for both, and it¡¯s not a waste, it shouldn¡¯t be a waste. Now that it¡¯s a medium-sized ship, it could be used to wholesale a lot of pepper if I give up the mage-related stuff, and it¡¯s not a waste. ¡­I feel guilty, like I¡¯m on a diet, and I¡¯ve been indulging in something sweet. Even after buying it, I wonder if it was the right thing to do, but I¡¯ve already bought it, so I¡¯ll try not to think about it. By the way, buying this ship did not raise the level of ship summoning. I guess I have to buy a luxury liner to raise the level. Now I have to think of a name for the ship¡­ because it means something like going to a warm place¡­ I can¡¯t think of one. Even if I think of it from the outside, I can¡¯t get an image of it without seeing the real thing¡­ I guess the Seeker would be fine. It means someone who is searching for something so it¡¯s perfect in an otherworldly way. It¡¯s after I found the dark elves, though. As I walk along, remembering the past three months, the ocean that I had seen between the trees is already in front of me. Finally, we pass through the Demon Forest. If the monsters¡¯ trigger is switched on here and now, it would be the most troublesome thing, so we quietly exit the forest. I don¡¯t know how many generations have lived in that place, but it seems they have never seen the sea, and the dark elves are amazed at the sight of the sea. Even at a time like this, they don¡¯t make a sound. At any rate, me, Ines, and Felicia board the Galette and leave the land. After making sure no one sees us, I summon the Seeker. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s cool. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± ¡°Fufu, I guess so. It¡¯s about the size of a medium-sized ship, but ships in Master¡¯s world have a mysterious charm, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very nice. It seems to be easy to use in terms of size. Master, does this ship go into the harbor?¡± Ines and Felicia seemed to like it too. ¡°I¡¯m still trying to figure out if we can get it into the harbor. If I pretend that I bought the ship from the mage unreservedly, I¡¯ll have to deal with a lot of trouble.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to take the time to explore the ship, but if Girasole or any of the dark elves saw it, it would be a problem, so this time, I¡¯ll just disguise the ship and return immediately.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We board the ship and return to land while making tickets for the exterior and interior to match the standards of this world. Since it would be troublesome if we were to be inspected, I asked them to quickly board the ship and head out to the open sea. The exterior of the ship is a little stocky, but it now looks like a normal medium-sized ship. The interior is divided into four floors, which is strange. I wonder if mid-size ships in this world are divided into four floors? After safely getting out to the open sea, we set our destination to the island of the dark elves and gathered in the living room for a breather. ¡°Village Chief-san, now that we¡¯re here, we should be fine. We will reach our destination just by getting on the ship. There are not enough rooms on the ship, but the distribution will be decided by the village chief, just as on the Hideaway. I¡¯ll tell you later which rooms are for us and Girasole.¡± Hmm? The chief seems surprised. What¡¯s going on? ¡°¡­..¡± Huh? There¡¯s no reply. ¡°Village Chief-san, what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Eh? No, the distribution is fine, but if we stay on the ship, will we arrive at the safe haven of the dark elves?¡± ¡°Yes, we will arrive. Is there any problem?¡± For some reason, the village chief¡¯s face was getting cloudy. ¡°I heard it was an island, but since it is a safe haven, I thought there would be more difficulties ahead, so is everything alright?¡± Ah, so that¡¯s what you mean. If it¡¯s not a dangerous place, then there¡¯s a possibility that people will come soon, and that¡¯s why he got anxious. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It is a distance that would take five days, even for a normal magic boat. There is no route to a safe haven, and sea monsters are quite dangerous, so there is a risk to your life. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be attacked many times before we reach the island, so I can confirm that.¡± ¡°Is that so? I understand.¡± That¡¯s it, you have to pass through a dangerous place to feel uneasy, or you¡¯re mentally in trouble. I was surprised that he agreed to move to the island since I had only explained it to him as a safe place to live. ¡°What should we do, Wataru-san?¡± Oops, I had to show everyone around before I could talk to them, didn¡¯t I? ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. There are rooms on the first floor, so let¡¯s go there first. Village Chief-san, please come with us.¡± I led everyone to the front of the rooms. ¡°There are four two-person rooms and five one-person rooms, so, yes,¡­¡­ Girasole will use three of the two-person rooms, and one two-person room and the one-person room will be distributed by the village chief. I¡¯m sorry, but the rest of you can rest in any available space.¡± There is another room on the third floor, but it is connected to the wheelhouse, so let¡¯s make it off-limits just in case. ¡°Wataru-san, we don¡¯t have to be in a room either, okay? We are adventurers, so just having a roof over our heads is enough.¡± ¡°No, we are accustomed to living in large rooms, so just having five private rooms is enough for us. It would be more helpful if the Girasole people could use our rooms.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, it might be easier if the Girasole use the rooms rather than the dark elves having to share them with the others.¡± ¡°If you put it that way, then yes. What room are you going to stay in, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°There is a room on the second floor, so that¡¯s where I¡¯ll stay.¡± After the room assignments were made, the village chief returned to the living room to talk with the villagers about the room assignments. ¡°Everyone, how about a cup of tea in the upstairs room? I¡¯ll take off the disguise so you can see a little of what this ship is all about.¡± ¡°Fufu, that sounds exciting.¡± We go to the room and drink tea while bragging about our luxurious room. It¡¯s gorgeous, as only a luxury yacht can be. After we drop off all the dark elves, I¡¯ll put all the decor back, and we can enjoy this ship. Volume 7 - CH 7 Chapter 7 ¨C Arrival and Migration Preparation Sailing to the dark elf island¡­ The dark elves like living on this ship. They say it is more spacious than the Hideaway and more comfortable since it is not the Demon Forest, and they can go out on deck. They were also calm about the monsters attacking the ship during the voyage, as I explained to them that the barrier is the same as on the Hideaway. They were happy that strong monsters would make the island safer. Well, the stronger the monsters are, the safer it gets, so it¡¯s a strange story, isn¡¯t it? The last time we moved the dark elf village, the inside of the ship was in an uproar, so it felt a lot easier. Considering that the place where they usually lived was often surrounded by monsters, I was strangely convinced that people are creatures that adjust to the situation. The group that loves to maneuver the ship requested to play an escape game, but I asked them to put up with it this time. There is no problem in terms of safety. But when I explained to the dark elves, who knew little about the outside world, how it would be to show them a game of escape with monsters, they were surprisingly open to the idea. The interior is also disguised to resemble the ships of this world, except for my room, so I don¡¯t really feel the joy of buying a new ship. I just let the autopilot take over, and we arrived at the place where I could see the dark elf island without any disturbance. ¡°Village Chief-san, that island is the safe haven. I¡¯ll go to the village over there first to let them know. In the meantime, please prepare to disembark.¡± I pointed proudly at the island and explained. ¡°That island? It¡¯s much bigger than I imagined¡­ Okay, I will prepare to disembark.¡± The village chief¡¯s face was bright, and I could somehow tell that he was filled with joy at seeing the island, but¡­ his reaction was too indifferent, and it was hard to understand. I think it would be good to have a more flashy reaction, though¡­ I took Ines, Felicia, and Rimu on the Lutto to the dark elf island. Aside from the dark elves, I should get permission for Girasole to enter the island. When we arrive at the island, the village chief is already waiting for us. So the watch is functioning properly. Huh? The chief of this island and the chief of the migrated village¡­ It¡¯s confusing. Well, they will talk to each other and work it out. My role is to bring them here, and that¡¯s it. ¡°Village Chief-san, it¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Wataru-san. Where¡¯s that ship?¡± Suddenly, well, he must have found the Seeker and come here, so it¡¯s only natural that he¡¯s curious about it. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here to explain it to you. The new dark elf migrants, the human and beastmen we hired to escort us, are aboard that ship, so I thought it would be a good idea to ask permission to enter the island.¡± I know it¡¯s a bit sudden on my part, but it can¡¯t be helped, can it? I didn¡¯t know if I¡¯d find any dark elves¡­ and I feel like I should have talked about Girasole first, though. ¡°Oh, a new resident, the village is going to be lively. If Wataru-san brought the escort, there would be no problem. In the meantime, I will inform the villagers in advance, so don¡¯t worry.¡± The village chief said so, and then he went to the young? ¡­Signaling the young-looking dark elf, and then that young-looking dark elf ran to the village. He is well-trained. ¡°Thank you very much. There are 25 dark elves and six escorts. I will go back now and bring them here.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll have everything ready.¡± Leaving Felicia behind for a detailed explanation, Ines and I board the Lutto. Come to think of it; this is the first time we¡¯ve entered the island in a mid-size ship class, but what if we are stranded¡­? Stranding at the start of a new life is not good. Let¡¯s see; the Seeker should be fine with a maximum weight of 2 meters 70¡­ so it¡¯s not much different from the Lutto¡­ Why is it the case when it¡¯s so much different in size? Well, the Lutto can afford considerably, so the Seeker should be fine, too. Back on the Seeker, everyone was ready to disembark, so I brought the ship to the island of the dark elves and anchored it. When everyone disembarked from the Seeker, the people of the dark elf village also came out to welcome us. We received a loud welcome with an order from the village chief, Federico (Felicia¡¯s father). The dark elf villagers of the lake who were approached were bewildered but returned smiles. They are awkward with each other but somehow trying to build a good relationship. It was somewhat embarrassing to see them as if they were a couple at the beginning of a new relationship. In the midst of all this, the six children find the two new potential friends and charge at them. They talk to the two bewildered kids in a goofy manner without regard for them. I don¡¯t know what happened, but they ran up the hill with the two of them in tow. I¡¯m glad they got along right away¡­? One adult chased after them, so I guess it¡¯s okay. They were talking amongst themselves, but we decided that we couldn¡¯t stay here talking forever, so we moved to the village on top of the hill. ¡°Wataru-san, that¡¯s amazing. I¡¯ve heard about this island, but it¡¯s so much more amazing than I imagined. This place can really be a safe haven for dark elves. It¡¯s amazing. Have you explored the island yet?¡± Alessia-san is excited. She seems to have a feeling of a new adventure. It would be a lot safer if we could get Girasole to explore, but should I ask them? ¡­I have a feeling they¡¯ll be out exploring without me having to ask. ¡°I think they have explored the forest to some extent, but they have only lived on the island for about a year, so I don¡¯t think they have explored all of it. There don¡¯t seem to be any strong monsters, but I¡¯ll ask the village chief later.¡± ¡°Yes, please do.¡± The other members of Girasole are also very interested, and they¡¯re in good spirits even though it hasn¡¯t been that long since we finished exploring the Demon Forest. But even if I get them to go exploring, it will be after we return to the Southern City. I have to wholesale pepper, and I have to buy some things I need in this village. I¡¯m pretty busy. The dark elf village is even more developed after the first time in about six months, and the houses of the villagers should have been completed, but there are more houses. Upon closer inspection, I think they are working on the completed houses as well, or maybe they are adding more decorations. It seems that there is plenty of room to spare, and the houses of the new villagers will be completed soon. Until the houses are completed, they will be living in tents, so they immediately start preparing the tents. So far, there has been no friction, and they are talking well and respectfully with each other. I don¡¯t like the fact that they talk about the hardships they had to go through when they lived in their old place. Why talk about hardships when you can talk about your future life in a positive way? I don¡¯t understand, but since they are consoling each other, I let it go. The newcomers are surprised when the villagers start singing a song while they work. It¡¯s a culture shock. There was an anime like that¡­ though that was a different race. I wonder if it has any effect if they are the same dark elves? I talked to Cecilia-san, who was nearby. ¡°Cecilia-san, I see that everyone who is working is singing. When we were here, they were practicing their singing, but has it been the same since then?¡± ¡°Fufu, not only have they not changed, but they are even more enthusiastic. We sing songs that we¡¯ve forgotten, but we try to put together the parts that we all remember and sing them whenever we have time.¡± ¡­Music boom was coming. Maybe I should go find some instruments from this world and buy some. ¡°I see. Then there will be songs also from the migrant villages, and that will add to the fun.¡± ¡°Ara, that¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it? What kind of songs will there be? I¡¯m really looking forward to it. ¡­Is it really a nuisance to ask about the songs now?¡± ¡°They are busy at the moment. But you will be living in the same village from now on, so there will be plenty of opportunities for you.¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s true. Wataru-san, since we moved to this island, every day has been very rewarding. After the festival, singing, dancing, and playing Jenga and Reversi, we had much more fun, and everyone was more cheerful. Thank you for everything.¡± ¡°What can I say, ¡®You¡¯re welcome?¡¯ Well, Felicia did most of the work, so please give her credit.¡± Cecilia-san nodded happily as I said this while looking at Felicia, who was running around helping with the migration. Everyone pitched their tents and provided food to make a large amount of food for all of us to eat. Oh, by the way, I forgot to give them the Jenga and the Reversi. Everyone is busy right now, so it¡¯ll be good for later. ¡°Thank you for providing the ingredients, Wataru-san.¡± Oh, Village Chief-san (Felicia¡¯s father) looks busy, but he seems to be in a good mood. ¡°No, no, there are suddenly more people here; it¡¯s only natural. I¡¯ll be shopping in Southern City again, so please talk with everyone and summarize what they need. We are thinking of leaving the day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°I understand. I am sorry to keep relying on you, but thank you very much.¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m the one who brought you here, and I¡¯m enjoying watching this village grow and develop, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± After chatting with the village chief for a while, he returned to his work. After dinner tonight, they are going to have a meeting to discuss various issues. He requested my participation, but I declined. I don¡¯t care if they are planning a festival, I don¡¯t want to attend a village meeting. The eight children were running around during the preparations. They seem to have adjusted to the new surroundings, and it¡¯s amazing how adaptable children are. After the meal preparation and tent pitching were finished, everyone gathered for dinner and ate noisily as if it were a party. If it weren¡¯t for the after-dinner meeting, I would offer alcohol. After the meal, the villagers go to a meeting, and we walk back to the Seeker. ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯m glad that there was no trouble and that everyone seems to be getting along well.¡± I¡¯m glad you were concerned about how they would get along, too, Alessia-san. She is my escort, so she has nothing to do with the dark elf village itself, but I appreciate all the help she gives out. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m looking forward to getting to know each other and helping the village grow even more.¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s true.¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost night, but I¡¯m going to put the Seeker¡¯s interior all back together. There is a bath upstairs, the same kind as on the Hideaway, so why don¡¯t we go in?¡± ¡°Ara, that¡¯s nice. I¡¯ve used the showers on occasion, but it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve had a bath. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± It¡¯s been a while since we all took a bath together, and even though everyone was all wearing bathing suits, I was looking forward to it. We arrive at the Seeker and remove all disguises except those visible from the outside. ¡°¡­It¡¯s amazing. The atmosphere is totally different. Wataru-san, do you mind if I take a look around?¡± ¡°Yes, there is a bath at the top, so let¡¯s change into our bathing suits and take a look around, starting from the bottom. ¡­Let¡¯s start with the room that everyone used to use.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± We all look around the luxurious interior of the ship with the disguise removed. The rooms and living rooms are furnished with sophisticated and cool furniture; everyone is excited and makes noises when they see them. ¡­I thought about this on the Hideaway, too, but why are there sofas placed all over the place on luxury ships? There must be some reason that I, a commoner, don¡¯t understand, but there are too many. No matter where I walk in the living room, on the deck, or in the spacious interior of the ship, there is always a sofa nearby. It¡¯s a mystery. Also, I was aiming for it, but since I had them change into their bathing suits, my eyes were more drawn to the one that plopped down every time they moved than to the ship¡¯s facilities. I think it is inevitable that I hugged and cuddled Rimu for some reason. Rimu is also happy, so there should be no problem. I look to my right and squeeze Rimu. Look to the left and squeeze him again. If it were in Japan, I feel like I would be sued, but there would be no sexual harassment in another world. If I offended them, they might cut me down, but on the ship, there would be no problem. I think I¡¯m a small and miserable man¡­ but that¡¯s okay because I¡¯m happy. I¡¯ll be happier in the bathtub. Small or cunning, if I can take a bath with a beautiful woman with big breasts, I¡¯m satisfied. ¡­No, I¡¯m still not satisfied. If I can, I¡¯d like to go even further, like not having a bathing suit, or being able to touch, or even if I can¡­ ¡°Wataru-san, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Eh? When I looked at the front of my eyes as someone spoke to me, I saw two big bulges¡­ Huh? I was supposed to be leading the way, but it seems that while I was being delusional, I was overtaken by them. ¡°No, I was just thinking about something. Shall we continue?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± But Claretta-san¡¯s breasts have tremendous destructive power, don¡¯t they? It takes a lot of mental energy to avert my eyes. I¡¯m about to sink into a world of delusion again, but I keep my mind strong and continue exploring the ship, and reach the bath. It is a little smaller than the baths on the Hideaway, but no problem. The girls were excited to take a bath for the first time in a long time; it was so wonderful and enjoyable. Volume 7 - CH 8 Chapter 8 ¨C Love? And Steady Operations Onboard the Stronghold, leaving the dark elf island for the Southern City. I have a serious problem now. On the dark elf island, there was no problem. At a meeting with all the dark elves, they decided to gradually become one, with the village chief Federico continuing as village chief and the village chief of the lake village settling in as vice-chief. They also discussed what was needed in the village, and there were various requests, but it was a simple job; I just had to throw them all to Camille-san and have her bring them to the ship. The migration of the dark elves was almost over without any friction, and as I was slumped over in bed, Ines¡¯ comment to me earlier brought up a serious concern for me. ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong with your difficult face? Did I say something so strange?¡± ¡°Hmm? No, well, it¡¯s something I hadn¡¯t thought about, so I was puzzled. Why did you bring it up in the first place?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no particular reason. I¡¯m just asking because I thought you were thinking of marrying everyone at Girasole since you¡¯ve been talking so much about your secret and getting along so well with each other.¡± Marriage? I¡¯d forgotten that word. ¡°Hey, Ines, can you marry more than one person in the first place?¡± No, it¡¯s a standard thing in otherworldly stories, and there are royalty and nobility, so I suppose it¡¯s possible. I had never thought about marriage, so I didn¡¯t care about it. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s possible. But it¡¯s different in your world, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes. In my country, you could only marry one person.¡± But I¡¯m thrilled to hear that I can legally create a harem. Huh? But why not just buy a lot of slaves without worrying about the Girasole? No, no, those breasts are non-negotiable. ¡°Heh, I see. But if you weren¡¯t thinking of getting married or anything, why were you trying to be so friendly with them?¡± ¡­As I recall, up until about halfway through, I was thinking that it would be nice to have a romantic relationship with someone or something, and I was thinking about romance. ¡­But before I knew it, I thought I was only looking at their bodies. Of course, I think I know their good points and bad points. But when I think of them, all I see in my mind are their service shots. Especially the feeling of being hugged by a drunk Ilma-san and her raw breasts burned in my mind. Thinking about it, I must have seen them as nothing but breasts. Before I knew it, I was thinking of them not in terms of love or marriage but only in terms of wanting to see them in a sexual or, if possible, physical relationship. Then I wondered why I was trying to be friends with those girls¡­ ¡°Because they¡¯re big-breasted beauties?¡± ¡°¡­Master, maybe it¡¯s not for me, a slave, to say, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea.¡± She is absolutely right. But I want people to understand that I, an average college student, who has never been particularly popular in Japan, and who has never been told that things are all done, can¡¯t help but think about marriage. Well, since she doesn¡¯t know anything about Japan, she wouldn¡¯t understand if I told her that even at my age, I am still a student and not actively involved in society. No, the problem is that I forgot about love and other things in the first place. I¡¯m surprised by such a casual question because all I think about is carnal desires. I¡¯m only thinking about likability and other things that have no sense of reality, like a love game. Especially since I came to this other world, I feel like my sexual desire has directly connected to my brain before the formal procedures of love and marriage. Is it because I¡¯ve lost the fences I had, even though I¡¯m a student, like society or something? ¡­That¡¯s possible. Maybe it¡¯s because I have become arrogant, especially since I started earning money. Instead of thinking about how cute that girl was when she was in Japan or how much I wanted to be friends with her, I¡¯m going straight to eroticism. ¡°Master, Ines and I are your slaves. We will stay by your side no matter what. But the members of Girasole are different. They are trustworthy people, but if you don¡¯t engage them with proper consideration, you will get into trouble.¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Felicia is right. But you know, Ines and Felicia are slaves, so it makes sense for them to be by my side, but¡­ I can¡¯t imagine what it would be like to be in a relationship with a bunch of beautiful women with big breasts like Girasole. I¡¯m sure Girasole is pretty fond of me too. They wouldn¡¯t take a boat trip with someone they didn¡¯t like, and they wouldn¡¯t bathe with someone they didn¡¯t like. It¡¯s possible that it¡¯s for the purpose of the ship summoning ability or to return the favor for saving Lucca, but I can hope. Well, to be honest, I don¡¯t mind if they join my harem, whether it¡¯s for my ability or to return the favor. That thought made me greedy. If things go well, all of them will become my wives¡­ ¡°Hey, Ines, Felicia, do you think I could marry everyone at Girasole if I tried hard enough?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. From my point of view, I think they have a liking for you, but I don¡¯t feel that it has gone as far as love or romance. But Master, is it okay for us slaves to advise you on love?¡± ¡°¡­I feel like I¡¯m not supposed to, but Ines and Felicia are the only ones I can talk to about it.¡± ¡°Rimu, too.¡± Rimu bounces on my head and appeals to me. ¡­I love Rimu, but I think it¡¯s tough to ask him for love advice. It should be good because I love Ines and Felicia so much, although I¡¯m not sure about romantic advice to a woman bought with money. Asking for love advice from a slime is too sad. ¡°I would be happy if Rimu would support me.¡± ¡°Support?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s really cheering me up to have Rimu tell me to do my best.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll support.¡± Oh, I can feel how motivated Rimu is. ¡°Wataru, do your best.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll do my best. Thank you, Rimu.¡± I hug Rimu and stroke him around. Rimu is the best, isn¡¯t he? He probably doesn¡¯t know what he¡¯s cheering for, though. ¡°So, back to the point, is there anyone else you can talk to about this besides us?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have anyone.¡± ¡°Come to think of it; I haven¡¯t met any of Master¡¯s friends.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any.¡± I¡¯ve been in another world for quite some time now, and I haven¡¯t made a single person I can call a friend. I¡¯ve already made up my mind. ¡°If I had to say, I would say that everyone in Girasole is my closest friend.¡± ¡°¡­Master, you should get to know people a little better.¡± ¡°Creator God-sama said the same thing to me as Ines. I answered, ¡°It¡¯s just the beginning; you¡¯ll see.¡± The result is as you can see.¡± I¡¯ve expanded my relationships a lot since Creator God-sama told me, so I think I¡¯m okay. ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know what to say, but I think you should try harder to make friends before you think about romance with Girasole. Also, I didn¡¯t hear you mention Creator God-sama.¡± ¡°I agree. I also didn¡¯t hear about Creator God-sama either.¡± ¡°¡­You know, Creator God-sama said I should think of a way to make friends¡­¡± It seems that they are going to pretend that they didn¡¯t hear about Creator God-sama. But a harem with Girasole is more important than making friends now. ¡°But when I say friends, I don¡¯t want to bring people on my ship unless there¡¯s a reason to. That way, since we¡¯ll be at sea most of the time, we won¡¯t have time to get to know each other.¡± The only people I let on my ship in the first place, other than for migration, were the guild master and the others at the time of the experiment. ¡°¡­Master doesn¡¯t intend to tell your secrets to men?¡± Felicia, I wish you wouldn¡¯t look so troubled. ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t mind telling them if I can trust them. It¡¯s hard to get to know someone well enough to trust them, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°You talked to the Girasole so easily, but that¡¯s because they¡¯re¡­ beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, well, Felicia is right.¡± I took the risk because Girasole was right in the middle of my tastes, but I honestly can¡¯t imagine taking a risk and telling a secret to a guy I don¡¯t get along with very well. ¡°Oh, but now that it is called the ship I bought from the mage, I can let it go by, thanks to the mage.¡± ¡°Then the ship summoning would be almost unusable.¡± No, it is too inconvenient not to be able to use the ship summoning. I don¡¯t like the idea of having to disguise the inside of the ship. ¡°¡­Let¡¯s stop with that. Well, I don¡¯t have to force myself to make friends; I can make friends naturally. Maybe.¡± ¡°Master, you won¡¯t make friends after all if you keep talking like that.¡± I hope Ines doesn¡¯t look so dismayed. ¡°Well, if I find someone I think I can get along with, I¡¯ll invite them out for a drink or something.¡± It¡¯s definitely better to have friends than no friends, so I¡¯ll do my best if I get the chance. It¡¯s fun to fool around with male friends. ¡°That¡¯s right. Well, that¡¯s a good idea. But Master is the center of attention, so you have to be selective about who you go out with.¡± ¡°¡­Ines, don¡¯t you say things like that to demotivate me.¡± I can¡¯t judge people. I can only judge whether I like them or not. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But somehow, I had a feeling that if someone told you that they were going to introduce you to a beautiful woman, you might go with someone shady. There are always people who want to know about the mage. Schemes involving beautiful women are a common practice of people like that, so be careful.¡± That¡¯s a great lack of trust, isn¡¯t it? Well, it¡¯s shameful that I can¡¯t say I¡¯m absolutely sure I¡¯m safe. I¡¯m confident that if someone like Ilma-san comes along, I¡¯ll follow her around in a daze. Come to think of it, Enrico-san would get mad at me too. ¡°Haha, I won¡¯t act alone, so I¡¯ll be fine. Ines and Felicia will stop me, right?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll stop them, too, but we can¡¯t help it if Master moves secretly. If someone you know a little better invites you two to go to a fancy restaurant, wouldn¡¯t you give us the day off and sneak away?¡± ¡­I have a feeling that Ines knows my personality so well. As you can imagine, I was too scared to do such a thing in another world, but when I was in Japan, I used to go to such stores secretly. It was fun. I would check out the best times and get excited. An Ecchi shop in another world¡­ What kind of stores do you think? There are so many races, and the dreams are wide open. Oh, by the way, are there succubus? ¡°Well, I know I¡¯m being targeted, so it¡¯s okay. And you know I don¡¯t have the guts, right?¡± Ines and Felicia nodded at me instantly. I¡¯m aware that I¡¯m a loser, but it¡¯s sad when they immediately agree with me. In the end, it¡¯s up to me to do my best for Girasole. As for friends, it also depends on my efforts. I have come to the conclusion that I should do my best. It¡¯s only natural, but I would like some support. I have to build up my relationship with Girasole. If it doesn¡¯t develop into a relationship, I¡¯ll catch them with something. A good drink, a good meal, a big bath, fun entertainment, a comfortable living space, a ship that reaches uncharted territory. I heard that it¡¯s hard to lower the grade of life once it¡¯s been raised, and if I contribute a lot, they won¡¯t be able to leave the ship summoning rather than from me¡­ Is that too crude of an idea? But hey, I don¡¯t even want to think about all those beautiful women belonging to other men. I am confident that I would go crazy with jealousy. I¡¯ll do what I can do, even if it¡¯s a nasty thing to do. It would be best if I could have a natural romantic relationship with one of them. They are so beautiful that I can¡¯t even imagine having a romantic relationship with one of them. And if I want to have them all for myself, it¡¯s¡­ too difficult. If it¡¯s just one person, if I put in the effort to show that I like her, whether I succeed or not, she may be aware of me, but if she rejects me¡­ it¡¯s going to be tough for the other members of the group as well. If it¡¯s the protagonist of a novel, before he knows it, Girasole will like him, he¡¯ll be pressured intensely, and I¡¯ll be worried that I¡¯m Japanese and married to a large group of people; that¡¯s just not right. Also, if it were an erotic game or something, a number of beautiful dark elf women would be coming onto me because I helped them emigrate, but that doesn¡¯t happen in the slightest. I knew I should have demanded physical relations by contract when I was in Lucca. If I hadn¡¯t screwed up there, by now I¡­ I like to start over. As for friends, I want them, but I don¡¯t want to put a guy on a ship and then have Girasole taken away from me. Let¡¯s find friends that I can be friends with without bringing them on my ship. It should be okay to have friendships like that. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ We reached the open sea near Southern City. Since that discussion, I¡¯ve been diligently preparing Girasole delicious food, evangelizing movies and anime, and steadily creating a comfortable and enjoyable life for them. For now, I don¡¯t know what to do in the area of romance, so I just proceeded with the strategy of making them depend on the ship summoning. I don¡¯t know how effective it is. Overall, alcohol was well received. After that, let¡¯s individually contribute what they like. But I feel like our relationship has deepened if I¡¯ve been actively talking to them and promoting interesting things. And they told me again to stop using polite language, which they had told me before. ¡­But it¡¯s hard to stop using polite language. It¡¯s usually embarrassing. Well, we¡¯re getting to know each other better, and I¡¯ll stick with this approach for now. For some reason, Ilma-san praised me for finally getting into the swing of it. Is Ilma-san on my side? I¡¯m afraid that if I soar, she¡¯s going to take me off the ladder¡­ Volume 7 - CH 9 Chapter 9 ¨C Southern City and Merchant Guild After a Long Absence I switched from the Stronghold to the Lutto in order to get to the Southern City. I thought about taking the Seeker but decided against it because I would be introducing a new spark if my commotion in the Southern City had subsided. If the commotion is still raging, I¡¯ll make a return visit aboard the Seeker. If it¡¯s still burning, throwing in a spark won¡¯t make a difference. Who knows what¡¯s going on? If it was forgotten, I don¡¯t have a problem with it, but six months¡­ is a long time from my point of view, but I guess it¡¯s a short time from the country¡¯s point of view. ¡­The plan was to wholesale the pepper every two months, but it¡¯s been six months. How about selling the stored pepper all at once¡­ That¡¯s just unnatural, and you want to repeat that? But if I give up, it will take even longer to buy the luxury liner¡­ It¡¯s all because of the Demon Forest. It¡¯s a very dangerous name to give a cursed name to such a place. I¡¯d like to wholesale a large amount of pepper somehow¡­ but if it¡¯s unnatural anyway, should I say that the mage cooperated with me and wholesale all the pepper? Hmm¡­ I¡¯ve decided, let¡¯s just wholesale 20 boats¡¯ worth of pepper on the Lutto as usual and then tell Camille-san about the Seeker alone. Well, I think the guild master will get the message, but that can¡¯t be helped. If I¡¯m going to mention the same mage, it would be more convenient later to tell him about the Seeker. If there seems to be no problem with the Seeker coming into port, I can board it, and if there seems to be a problem, I can ask if we can do business outside of town. It sounds like drug trafficking, but it¡¯s pepper, so no problem. This way, I can get a large amount of pepper wholesale either way. The Seeker could easily do about 100 ships¡¯ worth¡­ Or maybe I can do 120 ships¡¯ worth. ¡­It looks like I¡¯m going to run out of platinum coins, but if I can buy a luxury liner in one go, I might as well wait. Is that a cheap idea? I guess I¡¯ll ask everyone else. ¡°¡­I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything we can¡¯t do. Normally, the merchant guilds wouldn¡¯t be so accommodating, but if it¡¯s Wataru-san and the cargo is pepper, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be flexible.¡± ¡°I agree. But, Wataru-san, it is safer to take your time and not rush, okay? Or you could pretend that the cargo was stored on the island like before and that you made several trips back and forth.¡± Alessia-san is okay with this. Dorothea-san is also okay, but if there were a less risky way, I would choose that way. ¡°If I didn¡¯t rush it, it certainly wouldn¡¯t be noticeable, but I can¡¯t wait. The method of storing the pepper also made Camille-san look at me with suspicion because of the freshness of the pepper. If there are drawbacks to both methods, then transporting it on the Seeker would be easier, in addition to allowing us to wholesale it in larger quantities.¡± In the end, everyone agreed with me. I guess my habit of talking about it has rubbed off on them. Ilma-san told me that if things got troublesome, we could just escape by ship, and we¡¯ll be fine. I was reassured that Girasole would accompany me if I had to flee. Before entering the harbor, I put the pepper on the deck and got everything ready to go. When I docked the ship, I felt a rustle in the air around me¡­ am I worrying too much? ¡°Whew, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been in Southern City. Wataru-san, are you going straight to the merchant guild?¡± Alessia-san asked as she turned her body. ¡­It would have been a sight for sore eyes if she wasn¡¯t wearing equipment, but alas. ¡°No, I¡¯m going to have Camille-san come over to carry the pepper. That¡¯s when I¡¯ll go. I¡¯m also going to ask her to arrange the shopping, so it may take a little time. Is that alright?¡± ¡°By shopping, do you mean the things needed in that village?¡± ¡°Yes, I am going to ask the merchant guild to help me because of the number of items.¡± ¡°Well, leave the shopping to us. The merchant guild will be interested in what you¡¯re doing with the contents of that shopping. Well, even if we disperse our purchases, they will know if they look into it in detail, but you should be cautious.¡± I thought it would be more noticeable if I went around the store, so I thought it would be better to ask the merchant guild to do it for me, but¡­ wouldn¡¯t it be less noticeable if I askedGirasole to do it for me? ¡­I feel like it would stand out even more, though. ¡­Well, it¡¯s a favor, so let¡¯s just ask for it. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give you the list later.¡± ¡°Yes, leave it to us.¡± I asked an employee of the merchant guild at the port to call Camille-san. She should bring the carts with her now. So far, Camille-san has never failed to show up, but what if I had called her even when she was on vacation? If it were me, I would be very annoyed. ¡­After waiting for a while, Camille-san came with the cart in tow. She¡¯s as beautiful as ever. ¡°Wataru-san, it¡¯s been a while. You haven¡¯t been here at all, so I thought something had happened.¡± ¡°It has been a long time. I¡¯ve been in a lot of trouble, but I¡¯m fine. I have the pepper, but it¡¯s not a problem, is it?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. Let¡¯s talk about all that later, shall we? First of all, let¡¯s get the pepper away from here.¡± ¡­I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll end up talking about a lot of things, so I¡¯ll have to be careful. Camille-san¡¯s smile is dangerous. While thinking nonsense, I carry the pepper from the ship to the cart and head to the merchant guild, surrounded by Girasole, and am taken to a room in the back. As I sat down and waited, Camille-san and the guild master came in¡­ I don¡¯t like it when the guild master is present because I can¡¯t talk to Camille-san very much¡­ ¡°Wataru, it¡¯s been a long time. I thought you had run away or been kidnapped.¡± I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something to talk about cheerfully. ¡°I¡¯m still alive somehow. Although I don¡¯t have any souvenirs this time.¡± ¡°¡­Well, that¡¯s too bad, but that¡¯s fine. So what have you been up to?¡± It¡¯s interesting that he seems really sorry. It seems that even the master of the merchant guild is happy to receive a souvenir. ¡°Let¡¯s see; please keep this a private conversation. Although, there¡¯s not much I can tell you.¡± ¡°¡­Well, go ahead and say it.¡± ¡°No, you have to promise to keep it confidential. Why are you trying to listen so normally?¡± I am afraid of merchants, who make some strange pause and give an air as if they understand, but they don¡¯t promise their words at all. ¡°Umu, well, I get it. But not if it¡¯s a crime or something that will cause trouble in the country or the continent.¡± No, not if it¡¯s a crime, but a country? A continent? What kind of a dangerous person am I in the guild master¡¯s mind? If this is taken so seriously, it¡¯s very hard to say that I bought a new ship from the mage because it seems shabby. ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal. Please say that you promise me with words.¡± Is the guild master wary of me? ¡°I promise.¡± ¡°¡­Will you also sign a contract?¡± ¡°¡­Can¡¯t you trust the word of a guild master?¡± ¡°I feel like I can¡¯t trust you because you¡¯re the guild master.¡± ¡°Do you want to leave the guild?¡± Straightforward threats. It¡¯s just plain scary. ¡°I understand. But you have to promise me too, Camille-san.¡± ¡°I understand. I promise.¡± Well, I was going to tell them from the beginning if this was okay, and if they really wanted to cheat me, there was nothing I could do about it. ¡°Well, I helped Mage-sama and had him sell me a new magic ship. I can¡¯t tell you what I helped him with, though.¡± ¡°¡­Does the ship have Mage-dono¡¯s barrier on it? What size is it?¡± ¡°Yes, it has. It is a medium-sized ship.¡± The guild master looked at me with a terrible frown. ¡°A medium-sized magic ship with barriers that can withstand S-rank attacks unharmed¡­? Wataru, do you realize that you have become a dangerous person? If not for Mage-dono¡¯s threats, at best, the ship would be confiscated. At worst, you¡¯d be killed.¡± I knew it. If you have a good ship, they will confiscate it. Without the mage¡¯s threat, there would be a lot of trouble. ¡°I am very well aware of that. That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you to keep it a secret. Speaking of which, is there anyone investigating the mage?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve lost count. The guild knows a considerable number of people. And they are probably dispatching good people whom we don¡¯t know, so it¡¯s useless to look for them.¡± They won¡¯t give up in six months, will they? It¡¯s a good thing I got the second prince prostrate. If the mage had been underestimated, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do business in the Southern City. ¡°I¡¯ve been targeted, haven¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Of course it is.¡± After finishing my business, let¡¯s quickly go to the dark elves¡¯ island. If I can buy a luxury liner, I¡¯ll come back in a year or so. ¡°So, by the way, I bought a large quantity of pepper with that magic ship I bought. I have about six times as many peppers as before. What do you want me to do with it? I came here in the Lutto because it would be conspicuous if I entered the port, but if we can do the trade somewhere out of sight, I can drop it off?¡± ¡°Umu, we¡¯ll take it all. Of course, we¡¯ll add some extra. If it¡¯s somewhere out of sight, the place where we experimented with Paris would be fine. Camille, please make the arrangements.¡± ¡°I understand. But although we have the platinum coins for the pepper, we don¡¯t have enough platinum coins to buy six times as much. Also, Paris-san came to visit Wataru-san. He wants us to establish contact between you and him.¡± An experiment. That was the first time I learned how monstrous the S-rank was. Paris¡­ I don¡¯t want to see him again. So I won¡¯t allow the contact. I¡¯m even thinking of finding a friend, but I can assure you that guy is different. ¡°A cash deal would be more helpful. Should I drop off the pepper first like last time? Also, I don¡¯t want to be in contact with Paris-san, so if you could tell him that, that would be great.¡± ¡°Cash, yes. I would appreciate it if you could unload the pepper first. I will let Paris-san know, but I don¡¯t think he will give up, do you?¡± Whether he gives up or not, he will come when he can get in touch with me. He¡¯ll come up with a good idea, let him try it out, or something light like that, and then he¡¯ll slam some ridiculously powerful technique into my ship. I trust the board rejection¡¯s power, but I don¡¯t feel comfortable just having such a monster-like person nearby. The right thing to do is to avoid him at all costs. ¡°Even if he doesn¡¯t give up, I¡¯ll keep avoiding him. Please don¡¯t give my information to Paris-san.¡± ¡°We will not pass on information from the merchant guild, but there are informants there, and they will find out, won¡¯t they?¡± It will be about two years before I come to the Southern City again. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to avoid him, so don¡¯t worry.¡± I don¡¯t know why Camille-san is looking at me like that, like it¡¯s a problem. It¡¯s hard not to see her for two years, so let¡¯s say a year and a half. ¡°So Wataru, I¡¯m going to ask you to sell your boat to me. I asked you before to ask the mage if you could sell the ship to me. Did you ask him?¡± Guild master, now is the time for Camille-san and me. Please read the air. As for the magic ship, I don¡¯t think you asked me to do that, but I won¡¯t sell it. ¡°Ah, I asked him, but he said he doesn¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°¡­Did you ask properly?¡± ¡°I asked him very earnestly.¡± ¡°Why do you look so sharp just now? It doesn¡¯t suit you, and it smells fishy.¡± Just leave me alone. It¡¯s hurtful to be told that much just because I put on a serious face. ¡°Anyway, it didn¡¯t work, so please give up.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± I can¡¯t help it if he looks at me with terrible resentment. I pretended not to notice and decided on my future plans with Camille-san. It seems that she was telling the truth when she said she had some platinum coins waiting for us, and she bought the pepper we wholesale today for 75 platinum coins, cash on the spot. It was also decided that the rest of the pepper would be delivered at the place tomorrow around dawn when there would be few people around. ¡°Camille-san, that¡¯s a lot of money, isn¡¯t it? We¡¯ve already sold quite a bit of pepper, but is there still enough to go around?¡± ¡°Fufu, pepper is a very popular product among royalty, nobility, big merchants, and those who have a lot of money. It is also a consumable product, and we are still doing well.¡± It seems they are making a lot of money. I wonder how much profit they are making? I¡¯ve made a lot more money just by wholesaling directly to the stores. I wonder how much profit I would make if I brought pepper directly to the royalty¡­ ¡°Camille-san, the merchant guild makes a lot of money from the pepper I wholesale, doesn¡¯t it? What does the merchant guild do with the profits? It seems strange to me that a merchant guild would make a profit in the first place.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a misunderstanding. It is true that we make a profit, but it is more important to increase our influence by distributing pepper to the merchants. Thanks to Wataru-san, who distributes large quantities of pepper wholesale, the merchant guilds in the Southern City are making a tremendous amount of influence and profit. Our salaries have also gone up. Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± I didn¡¯t know it was that kind of system. I guess the pepper must be very powerful to make a lot of money in order to increase influence. Naturally, the ranks of the merchant guild would be important, too, and that would be all smiles. ¡°I see. Well, if it helped Camille-san, I¡¯d be happy too.¡± We parted ways with the guild master of the merchant guild and Camille-san and returned to the Lutto. After returning to the Lutto, we separated from Girasole, we stayed on the Lutto, and Girasole went off to the adventurers¡¯ guild and shopped for the list. Oh, I forgot to check the patent fee for Reversi and such. Funds on Hand: 48 gold coins, 19 silver coins, 77 copper coins. Guild account: 0 platinum coins, 70 gold coins. Savings ship: 995 platinum coins. Pepper ship: 405 ships. Volume 7 - CH 10 Chapter 10 ¨C Trading and Dark Elf Village Before dawn, Ines and Felicia gently wake me up, and I savor my happiness with a routine kiss. ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Hmm? Nothing. Let¡¯s get going right away, shall we?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± Last night, we went out to the open sea and boarded the Seeker. If we sailed directly from the port, we would be tracked by people investigating the mage, and since it was a secret deal, we had to be careful. If we spend the night in the open sea, we can almost shake off the pursuit. It¡¯s a simple method, but one that I wouldn¡¯t be able to do if I didn¡¯t have the ship summoning power. ¡°I¡¯ve set the autopilot to our destination, and we¡¯ll have breakfast a little early.¡± ¡°Yes, but what about the Girasole?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just have something ready-made, so don¡¯t bother waking them up. We can just summon the ship again at the usual time.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± I say this to Felicia and head to the dining room, gently holding Rimu in my arms so as not to wake him. The dining room is simply a place to eat¡­ For some reason, everyone in Girasole is here. ¡°Good morning, everyone. It¡¯s okay if you still want to sleep, you know. Did I wake you up?¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. It¡¯s okay; I only woke up because the ship started moving. I could have slept again, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± They wake up when the ship starts moving. I didn¡¯t know that because I was always the last to wake up. I guess they are sensitive to changes in their surroundings, except when they are hungover. I summoned the ship for now and laid out breakfast. Ah, Rimu and Fuu-chan started to move. Even if it¡¯s earlier than usual, they wake up when it¡¯s time to eat. How cute. After we all had breakfast, we arrived at our destination, so I summoned a rubber boat and brought it down to the land. It would be quicker if I summoned the rubber boats on land, but the magic circle of light stands out, and there is a possibility of being seen by accident, so I summoned them in the ship and carried them to land, though it is troublesome. It is a great amount of pepper¡­ as much as 120 rubber boats. I couldn¡¯t have carried it so fast if I hadn¡¯t leveled up and my strength hadn¡¯t increased. All this pepper will be sold all over the continent. How much can be transported before there will be surplus pepper in this continent? I¡¯m afraid the platinum coins will run out before then. While we were talking over tea on the deck of the Seeker, a mid-sized galley ship approached us. Is that Camille-san? If it¡¯s not, it¡¯s too much trouble, so please be Camille-san. Camille-san came down from the galley anchored near the Seeker. I also headed for Camille-san¡¯s place, surrounded by the girls. ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. That¡¯s the new ship, isn¡¯t it? There are very few merchants who own a medium-sized magic ship. That¡¯s amazing.¡± I feel like I¡¯m being told that since they are so few, I have to be careful. I¡¯m not good at reading what was behind the words, so if possible, I¡¯d like some straight advice. ¡°Haha, thank you. Oh, the pepper is unloaded over there. Please check it.¡± ¡°I understand. I will check it as I load it. We did not bring any staff with us for this transaction. I will order the slaves to keep this a secret, and you don¡¯t mind if they help me?¡± ¡°Yes, as long as you order them to keep the secret.¡± I didn¡¯t think about the manpower to carry the cargo. As expected of Camille-san, she is very attentive to details. She¡¯s the kind of woman who knows what she¡¯s doing. Maybe I¡¯m just not paying attention, but there is no doubt that Camille-san is capable. Can¡¯t you recruit people from the merchant guild? I want to be pampered by Ilma-san and Camille-san, two big-breasted fox-eared Onee-sans. Maybe things¡­ should be really incredibly happy. ¡°Thank you very much. Then let us begin.¡± After saying that, she called the slaves from the galleys and loaded them into the galleys while checking the quality of the pepper. ¡­I think this is the first time I have seen slaves outside of the slave trading house. All of them are muscular men, perhaps assigned exclusively to the galleys. They didn¡¯t make any sound¡­ but they didn¡¯t seem to be treated harshly, even if they were slaves. The merchant guild doesn¡¯t waste their property, does it? ¡°¡­I¡¯ve finished checking. We are very grateful for the pepper that Wataru-san supplies us wholesale, as the quality is always excellent. The payment will be in nine days, as promised. Is that acceptable?¡± Since time stopped, that means it¡¯s fresher than if it had been shipped directly from the place of origin. If it weren¡¯t for the pepper, could I have made a lot of money if I delivered the fish from the sea fresh inland? I guess the land trip would be too much trouble, and I¡¯d have to give up in the end. ¡°Yes, I will visit the merchant guild in nine days.¡± ¡°Thank you. We¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± We parted quickly without so much as a greeting or a chat. It¡¯s a secret deal, so it¡¯s a game of speed. I¡¯m not doing anything wrong, but I¡¯m nervous. I feel like I¡¯m playing a game of make-believe. After parting with Camille-san, we went out to the open sea and changed to the Lutto before returning to the Southern City. We stayed on the Lutto as we did yesterday, asked Girasole to do some shopping, and received the luggage that was brought to us. If this much luggage has been delivered, it looks like we can leave for dark elf island this evening. It¡¯s hard to go out when I¡¯m in the Southern City, and if there¡¯s no problem with Girasole, I¡¯ll leave today; when I come back in nine days, I¡¯ll be on a luxury liner. ¡°Welcome back; thanks for your hard work.¡± ¡°I¡¯m back. I got everything on the list. They¡¯ve been delivered, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I received them all. Thank you very much. So, I was wondering, if you, Girasole, don¡¯t have any plans, would you be up for heading out to the dark elf island tonight?¡± ¡°I wonder¡­? What do you girls have in mind?¡± ¡­After discussing, it was decided that since there was no pressing business, they could head for the dark elf island. I took their word for it, and we set sail immediately. ¡°Everyone, now that we have reached the open sea, we are going to change ships; which ship do you prefer?¡± Normally, I would have made the decision on a whim, but today I decided to ask for a request. Unexpectedly, the girls got into a heated discussion. Let me summarize. The Fortress group. Alessia-san and Ilma-san. The reason was alcohol in the vending machine corner. The Stronghold group. Carla-san and Claretta-san. The reason is the all-you-can-eat buffet and the ufo catcher. The Seeker group. Dorothea-san and Marina-san. The reason is that they want to look around the Seeker, which they have not fully enjoyed yet. It is divided neatly two by two troublesomely. They repeatedly try to persuade each other to pull into their camp. ¡°Master, you made an unnecessary suggestion¡­¡± I don¡¯t want you to look at me like that. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°Master, do you think we should stop them?¡± ¡°Felicia, do you think I can do anything by entering the ladies¡¯ discussion?¡± Please don¡¯t avert your gaze quietly. ¡°Which ship do you prefer, Wataru-san and the others?¡± I got involved. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of the Fortress where we can drink?¡± ¡°I prefer the Seeker. I¡¯d like to take my time and look around.¡± ¡­Huh? Ines? Felicia? I shouldn¡¯t be the one who answered first, right? Look, everyone¡¯s eyes are on me. What should I do? To be honest, I asked because it wouldn¡¯t matter with any ship, but now I¡¯m in a situation where it would matter which ship I chose. ¡°¡­Maybe after we eat the buffet on the Stronghold and play some ufo catcher, we can go on the Fortress and buy a bunch of whatever we want, and then have a drink on the Seeker?¡± ¡­I took everyone¡¯s opinions as far as I could safely, for now. ¡­It seemed to be fine. I also wanted to watch a DVD, so I decided to rent a DVD on the Fortress and watch it on the Seeker. It¡¯s in the open sea, and I¡¯m going to leave the ferry summoned. If anyone finds it, it won¡¯t matter because they won¡¯t be able to get in, and I can just repatriate it when I¡¯m done watching the DVD. From now on, I¡¯ll decide according to my mood without asking for opinions. Maybe we could go out to the open sea for a day or so on a dark elf island and put the Fortress, the Stronghold, and the Seeker side by side for a vacation. Thinking about it, I¡¯ve always summoned these ships separately, and it would be nice to enjoy them side by side. It¡¯s not that inconvenient to have only one summoning slot available. It would be fun. We all went to eat at the all-you-can-eat buffet, played some ufo catcher, and then went back to the Fortress to buy some drinks and snacks. You can buy drinks and snacks on the Stronghold, but they seem to like the hot menu at the vending machine corner. I also agree with them. I like the hot menu. But I originally stocked them on the food storage boat¡­ If they wanted to drink while they bought, I wonder if they cared? Well, let¡¯s get the ship lined up on the next dark elf island and let them enjoy it to the fullest. While changing to the Seeker and continuing on to the dark elf island, we drink our drinks while watching a DVD on the Seeker¡¯s big TV. Ilma-san is having a drink too, and I¡¯m going to enjoy her raw breasts once again¡­ She¡¯s wearing a T-shirt right now, so I guess it¡¯s impossible¡­ The no-bra t-shirt is great, but I can¡¯t dismiss the Yukata either¡­ I wish someone had liked the Yukata, but everyone liked the t-shirt better; things don¡¯t work out. It would have been more fun if they wore different kinds of clothes. Costumes, huh¡­? There are clothing stores on the luxury liner, right? If there were a Chinese dress or something for sale, it would look good on everyone since they all have long legs. I wanted someone with a deep slit, though. ¡­I know they sell bras on the luxury liner. What am I going to do, say I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re for? It would honestly suck if bras went viral. What should I do? Luxury liner or no bra¡­ It¡¯s difficult. I want a luxury liner, of course, I do, but if bras are worn by Girasole, that would be a disaster. As for Ines and Felicia, I wouldn¡¯t let them wear bras even if I had to order them too, but not Girasole. Can¡¯t I just return the bra or something? Do I absolutely not have to explain the bra or tell them it¡¯s for men to use? ¡­Yeah, there¡¯s a swimming pool, so I¡¯m sure they sell swimsuits too. Is it hopeless? ¡­I can¡¯t think of a good idea. Should I go to the cathedral¡­ and ask Creator God-sama to meet me when I can buy a luxury liner soon? No. It would be too painful if he didn¡¯t meet me. The last time I met him, the God of Light-sama was angry with him, and there was a chance he¡¯d be annoyed if I went. I¡¯m troubled. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ We arrived at the dark elf island. After unloading the supplies we had bought from the Seeker, the people of the village who greeted us carried them. The more people there are, the faster they¡¯re carrying the goods. ¡°Village Chief-san, Vice Village Chief-san, how are things in the village? Are there any problems happening?¡± ¡°There is no problem. Both of our villages were lacking in numbers, so it is a joy to see the number of people increasing.¡± ¡°Village Chief is right. Especially in the village of the lake there was no freedom, so now that we have come to this village, everyone is full of joy. The children are very excited to have new friends.¡± I¡¯m glad it¡¯s going well. Let¡¯s not think about the children who are easily making friends. As we headed to the village, I heard that they were building houses quickly, using human-wave tactics. Originally, they had an abundance of dried lumber from the forest, so they were able to start building houses right away. They could afford to burn it on the campfire. But I wondered about the dark elves who cherish the forest and cut down the trees without a second thought. When I asked them about it, Village Chief-san and the others replied that it was an untouched forest and that it had to be thinned out. Come to think of it; I think I¡¯ve heard that before in Japan. So even after the village has finished building their houses, they still send the thinned wood. They have no choice but to dry it and store it for now. It¡¯s good that it¡¯s useful this time, but it¡¯s a big forest¡­ and the village will eventually be flooded with wood, don¡¯t you think? Everyone is so enthusiastic about carpentry work. If there is an overabundance of wood, they might create all kinds of interesting things. It might be fun to bring some architecture books or something if I can find them. Dark elves living in Japanese-style architecture¡­ Is it a mismatch? When we arrived at the village, as I had heard, the inside of the village was noisy with thumping, clanking, and the sound of cutting wood. The supplies I bought included carpentry tools, so it must be even noisier. ¡°Huh? Did you change the location of the fence?¡± ¡°Yes, the number of people has increased. We will probably have children in the future. It was a good opportunity, so we decided to expand the area of the village.¡± You are doing a great job, Village Chief-san. I heard that he is very concerned about Felicia, so I hope he doesn¡¯t work too hard. Well, if it¡¯s worthwhile, it¡¯s good. I think it¡¯s not right for me to worry about Felicia since I bought her. They are planning to increase the number of people staying in the forest and build a small village. It seems that when you can do whatever you want without worrying about anyone else, you can find a lot of things you want to do. Volume 7 - CH 11 Chapter 11 ¨C Hot Spring Possibilities and Holiday While looking at the dark elf village, I decided to ask the village chief what Girasole wanted to know about the state of exploration on this island. Oh, I had Felicia go to help Cecilia-san. It is impressive that the village chief looks a little disappointed. ¡°The status of exploration on this island, is it?¡± ¡°Yes, they are adventurers, so they are curious when there is an uncharted area. It would be helpful if you could tell us the status of the island.¡± ¡°I see, adventure, huh¡­? The young people of the village also seem to enjoy themselves when they go out to explore, so I can understand how they feel. But because there are so few of us, we haven¡¯t been able to explore a large area. Is that information sufficient?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s enough. The more places that have not been explored, the more they will be happy. They just want to know where it has been explored in order to go where it hasn¡¯t been explored.¡± Girasole nodded at my words. It¡¯s like they can¡¯t stop being excited. ¡°I see, I understand. We are focusing our exploration so far on the forest between here and the mountain. So we have hardly explored the other side of the mountain. The only monsters are slimes, horned rabbits, and goblins. There are a lot of plants and animals, and it seems that there are many goblins in the forest. We are thinning them out a bit because there are so many of them. Oh, and I heard that there is a place behind the mountain where you can smell rotten eggs, so be careful. I hear a harsh smell is always lingering in the air.¡± ¡­Mountains¡­ Rotten egg smell¡­ Is that sulfur? A hot spring? Perhaps it¡¯s a hot spring? What is that, was Creator God-sama rewarding me for my hard work? The island I discovered was the best island, with weak monsters and hot springs. That¡¯s the best kind of convenience. ¡°Where is the place that smells like rotten eggs, Village Chief-san? Can you approach it without difficulty?¡± ¡°Eh? Yes, I heard it is on the back side of the mountain, a little lower than the middle of the mountain. I heard that the smell wafts through the air, so I think you¡¯ll be able to find it right away.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you.¡± What should I do? Should we go now? No, I can stay only two more days this time, and if I¡¯m going to go anyway, I want to be prepared and take my time to enjoy it. No, I don¡¯t know if hot springs have poisonous gases in the first place. Also, I think the temperature of the water may be too high or too low. I¡¯m also worried about the amount of hot water. It¡¯s going to take some time just to investigate. Hmm, but if there is a possibility of hot springs on an island where we can freely walk around, I should do my best. What would it take for me to enjoy the hot springs? Was it a patch test to see if it¡¯s safe to go in if there¡¯s hot water? I would have to do something like that. The place that smelled was halfway up the mountain, wasn¡¯t it? It¡¯s going to be hard to find a space where I can summon the Hideaway. Should we shoot some magic into the ground and get the ground leveled? I¡¯ll summon the Hideaway there and take my time to check out the hot springs. ¡°Um, what¡¯s wrong, Wataru-san? Did I say something funny?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad story since Master is taking it seriously. Maybe he came up with something interesting.¡± The village chief and Ines are talking. Did I think it over a bit? I can¡¯t go there now, so I¡¯ll think it over later. Luxury liner and a hot spring¡­? I am getting busy, aren¡¯t I? ¡°I just had an idea about the smell of rotten eggs. I¡¯ll look into it next time.¡± ¡°Is that so? I¡¯ve issued a warning to anyone exploring the area to stay away from it, but isn¡¯t there a danger?¡± ¡°Well, if it¡¯s what I think it is, I think it¡¯s safe, but it could be dangerous, so could you please stay away from it until I investigate? I should be able to check it out to some extent.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯d appreciate it.¡± In the meantime, I decided to think about the hot springs later, so I looked around the village and met up with Felicia. ¡°Hello, Cecilia-san.¡± ¡°Hello, Wataru-san. Thank you for giving me time to talk to Felicia.¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t worry about it. How are you doing with the increased number of people in your village?¡± ¡°Yes, we are having a lot of fun and teaching each other new songs. The village has become more lively, and that¡¯s a good thing.¡± There seems to be no friction among the women. When the number of people increases, I have an image that there will be trouble, but is there a difference between humans and dark elves? After chatting for a while about the village and Felicia, I told them that I was leaving the island from this evening until the morning of the day after tomorrow before returning to the Seeker. ¡°Wataru-san, why are we leaving the island?¡± Alessia-san asked curiously, which was strange since I had told her we would be staying on the dark elf island for three days. ¡°That¡¯s because, you know, last time I asked you which ship we should change to. Everyone¡¯s opinions were so varied at that time, so I thought I¡¯d summon the Fortress, the Stronghold, and the Seeker side by side for a good night¡¯s rest. What do you think?¡± ¡°Fufu, I think that would be fun. We can come and go as we please, can¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Yes, although you need a ticket. It would be fun to be able to do whatever you feel like, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true. It sounds fun. The drinks are different on the Fortress than on the Stronghold, so it¡¯s nice to move from one ship to the other depending on how we feel at the time.¡± Alessia-san, you are ready to drink, aren¡¯t you? ¡°Drinking is fine, but don¡¯t drink too much. Be careful not to fall overboard, especially when moving from one ship to another.¡± ¡°Haha, as expected, I won¡¯t do anything that dumb.¡± Although it is not a ship-to-ship transfer, there is a person in front of you who got drunk, sat on the guardrail, staggered, fell into the sea, and even fell into another world, you know. I won¡¯t tell you because it would be embarrassing. ¡°Haha, but be careful. Sometimes, when you get drunk, you make unexpected mistakes.¡± ¡°Fufu, I understand.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give Ines and Felicia the day off too, so you¡¯re free to do whatever you want. I¡¯ll give you your allowance later.¡± ¡°Ufufufu. Thank you, Master.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, Master.¡± ¡°Oh, but should Felicia stay in the village? You can do as you please during your day off, you know?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve had a good enough talk with my mother, and I¡¯m fine. I, too, will enjoy myself on the ship.¡± I don¡¯t think she¡¯s talked enough with the village chief, though¡­ Shouldn¡¯t I go into it? ¡°Yes, alright. Then, after we go out to the open sea and summon the ship, we will rest until the morning after tomorrow. Let¡¯s take it easy and freshen up.¡± At my words, the ladies happily start making plans. ¡­It¡¯s good that they are having fun while giggling, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s good that almost half of the ladies are discussing in which order they will drink their booze. I have a quick drink at the vending machine corner on the Fortress and go to sleep. When I wake up, I¡¯ll drink while eating the breakfast buffet on the Stronghold, and then at noon¡­ I plan to drink my way through my vacation. Well, it¡¯s my day off, so there¡¯s no need for me to interfere. Let¡¯s act with the idea of having a lucky strike with these drunken girls. ¡°Master, would you like us to take care of Rimu-chan?¡± ¡°Hmm? No, it¡¯s fine. I may ask for a little help along the way, but it¡¯s my day off, so I¡¯m going to take it easy with Rimu.¡± ¡°Play?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll have lots of fun together.¡± ¡°Together, a lot.¡± ¡°Yes, a lot.¡± Rimu is also looking forward to it, bouncing around me. Fuu-chan joins in and bounces around me too¡­ I think my nose is going to start bleeding. ¡°Okay, we¡¯d be happy to play with Rimu-chan too, so anytime is fine.¡± ¡°Really? Well, please do then.¡± After running the ship to the open sea, I summon the Seeker, the Stronghold, and the Fortress, lining them up in that order. I put the Stronghold in the middle because I plan to basically go on a movie binge on the Stronghold. If I get a luxury liner, I¡¯ll be watching movies on a luxury liner. I¡¯ll make sure to enjoy the movies on the Stronghold while I can. Walking around with the ships lined up is surprisingly fun. With the stamina I had when I was in Japan, I feel like I would have stayed indoors instead of moving around, but with my improved stamina, I have no problem with that. Let¡¯s just play! ¡­It doesn¡¯t seem too different from my usual life, though. We enjoyed our vacation in our own way. The group that loves to drink. Alessia-san, Marina-san, Ilma-san, and Ines. The four of them basically made the vending machine corner their home for the duration of their vacation. They would just drink, and when they felt like it, they would go to the concession stand or cafeteria where their favorite snacks were available and shop. ¡­Just drink and eat the snacks. ¡­I feel like they are no different than a bunch of old geezers who love to drink. But I guess it¡¯s okay because they are talking happily and making a lot of noise. It was glamorous when the other members joined them at night. But it was troubling that they wanted to steer the Galettes even though they were drunk. As expected, I was too scared to let a group of drunken people who love to steer a boat blast off in a powerboat, so I refused, citing my summons quota. Dorothea-san, Felicia. They liked to explore, going back and forth between all the ships, comparing them, and trying to use rooms they didn¡¯t normally use. They seemed to be having quite a lot of fun because they were so vivacious; they both seemed to get along well with each other as they moved from one to the other. Two brown busty beauties on a date¡­ It¡¯s moe. [T/n: Moe (ÃȤ¨, Japanese pronunciation: [mo. e] ( listen)), sometimes romanized as mo¨¦, is a Japanese word that refers to feelings of strong affection mainly towards characters in anime, manga, video games, and other media directed at the otaku market.] Carla-san. She enjoyed the various buffets and went back and forth between the concession stand and the cafeteria. I meet her at a high rate when I pass by places where there is food. In a way, she is easy to find. Claretta-san. She is taking this opportunity to merge the stuffed animal rooms of the Fortress and the Stronghold. She is happily carrying the stuffed animals to her room on the Stronghold and thinking about their placement. I guess it¡¯s good that she seems to be having fun. Me, Rimu, and Fuu-chan¡¯s group. Fuu-chan joined us when Marina-san started drinking. A holiday spent with Rimu and Fuu-chan. It was fun. It was a day to purify my greedy heart. We watched a movie on the Stronghold as planned, and after the movie, I took Rimu and Fuu-chan to the kids¡¯ corner on the Stronghold. A pool of small balls, a plastic slide, and a jungle gym. Rimu and Fuu-chan, who had never been inside before, were very curious and moved around the room. They are so cute. They jump into the pool of balls and, perhaps thinking it is not high enough, climb on top of my head and dive into the pool of balls from there. Rimu and Fuu-chan, who seemed to like it, took turns climbing on me and diving into the pool. I¡¯ve been turned into a jumping board, but this is better. The slide is more of a roll-down than a slide, but it seems to be fun. Movie => dinner => movie => bath => movie => party We enjoy the day with a movie in between. While I was playing with Rimu and Fuu-chan in the Jacuzzi with a view of the Seeker, Dorothea-san and Felicia came to the bath. It seemed to be quite a good time to take a bath with these two brown-breasted beauties. It was a bath with a different and exotic atmosphere. Well, Dorothea-san was so happy to hug Rimu and Fuu-chan that it didn¡¯t turn out to be sexy at all¡­ In the evening, we all gathered for a party. I kept a spot next to a drunken Ilma-san, but I didn¡¯t have the same luck as last time. I thought about accidentally tripping and sticking my face into her ample cleavage when she was right in front of me, but I couldn¡¯t do it. The alcohol wasn¡¯t strong enough. If I had had a few more drinks, I might have been able to do it. In the end, I think I was too scared to do it. I think Claretta-san would have laughed and forgiven me, but an angry Claretta is scary¡­ The ladies seemed to have enjoyed this holiday and thanked me with smiles. There were some who looked a little too drunk and bitter¡­ but my likability must be rising steadily. After the vacation, I show up at the dark elf¡¯s island. I talked to the village chief and others and asked if there was anything missing, but they said they had enough supplies. Well, I will come back soon to check the possibility of hot springs, and it will be okay next time. First, I need to go back to Southern City and receive the payment for the pepper. I guess I have to worry about whether I should check the hot springs first or enjoy the luxury liner first. Volume 7 - CH 12 Chapter 12 ¨C Saved Money and Appeal for Compliments I left the dark elf island and came back to the Southern City. I always thought that except for training and defeating the monsters that attacked us, being on a voyage was like a holiday. I docked the Lutto in the harbor and headed for the merchant guild, surrounded by a group of women. Finally, I saved up enough money to buy a luxury liner, which was my goal. Finally, it¡¯s about¡­ 2 years? When I think about it calmly, it¡¯s impossible to buy a luxury liner in 2 years. A cheat is really a cheat. Thank you, Creator God-sama. Recalling the hardships I went through after coming to another world¡­ honestly, the biggest hardship was falling into another world and getting to the Western City¡­ there were kidnappings and danger to my life, but other than that, I don¡¯t feel like I went through much hardship. No, I¡¯m sure I made efforts like hunting horned rabbits every day and building hut boats while sleeping in a big room with a bunch of people. Even being involved in the war was a big deal, and I¡¯m proud to say that I did my best. I worked very hard in the other world, overcame many hardships, and got the luxury liner of my dreams. It¡¯s more impressive to think that way. I¡¯ll fabricate a lot of great adventures and hardships in my head. I entered the merchant guild with a silly thought in my mind and called out to Camille-san. ¡°Hello, Camille-san.¡± ¡°Hello, I¡¯ve been waiting for you. Let me show you to the back room.¡± Camille-san leads me to a room in the back and offers me a cup of tea. ¡°Wataru-san, here are the 450 platinum coins for the pepper. Please check them.¡± Camille-san, you work fast, don¡¯t you? I received the platinum coins and continued my conversation with Camille-san while checking them. ¡°Wataru-san, are you thinking of doing the pepper trade again?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not thinking about it at the moment. I¡¯ve made a lot of money, and I¡¯m going to take it easy for a while.¡± I am going to buy a luxury liner. I¡¯d like to finish things off with Ines¡­ and get my hands on some hot springs. I¡¯m not going back to Southern City for the foreseeable future, so I¡¯m not going to put any plans in my schedule. It¡¯s not a big hassle since I¡¯m just coming to wholesale pepper, but I don¡¯t feel comfortable with a deadline. ¡°Well¡­ it would be very helpful if you could wholesale the pepper, and I would appreciate the opportunity to do so.¡± ¡°Yes, I think there will be a pause, but I will come back to wholesale again. I would appreciate it if you could do that for me.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± After confirming the platinum coins, I parted ways with Camille-san after greeting her. Finally, a luxury liner¡­ I am deeply moved. I have to go back to the Lutto and discuss the future with Girasole. I can¡¯t hold them forever, but I want them to stay with me. Let¡¯s tempt them by pushing the luxury liner to the forefront. They are curious people, and there is still the dark elf island adventure to be had. It should be doable. ¡°Everyone, I¡¯d like to discuss our plans for the rest of the day. Is that all right?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine. Is there something?¡± ¡°Yes, this deal has saved me enough money to buy the ship I wanted, which I mentioned before. My estimate is that it will take me a month to fully enjoy that ship to my satisfaction. After that, I have some things I want to do on dark elf island, so I don¡¯t even know when I¡¯ll be back in Southern City. What will you all do?¡± I sprinkled in a few words that might be of interest. I hope I got them interested. I thought about asking her to come with me as my escort, but I felt that if they came with me in a no-holds-barred situation, it would deepen our relationship. ¡°You mentioned that when we were coming back from Palermo. Then you bought the Stronghold and the Seeker. Is that a different ship?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s different. The new ship is much more awesome.¡± ¡°¡­It takes you a month to fully enjoy the ship? That sounds interesting. Can you take us with you?¡± ¡°Yes, I would love it if you could come.¡± ¡°Fufu, that sounds fascinating. Can you give us a moment to talk about it?¡± ¡°Yes, no problem. And I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯d like to ask the Girasole to do some shopping for me if that¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll talk it over with them. I¡¯ll go shopping right away. What do you need?¡± ¡°I would like to get some food to last a while, some carpentry tools, and any tools that might be needed for construction. Is that alright?¡± ¡°Construction work? What are you going to do?¡± ¡°It was mentioned that there is a place on the dark elf island that smells strange, wasn¡¯t it? If that¡¯s what I think it is, then I need to do some construction work there.¡± ¡°? Is it something good?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s called a hot spring, kind of like a bath, but it¡¯s a very popular spot in my world. But I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s the same in this world or not, and I have no idea what the benefits are until I try it. It might be a place that is totally different from what I expected and just stinks¡­¡± ¡°Hot springs? If it¡¯s anything like a bath, you can get it in your ship, right? Does it have something to do with benefits?¡± ¡°Yes, in my world, it can cure diseases, make your skin beautiful, and so on, depending on the hot water.¡± ¡°Beautiful skin is very interesting.¡± In my mind, women are beautiful, and they shine because they use shampoo, conditioner, and body soap¡­ Is there no end to the pursuit of beauty even in this world? To begin with, I think they are different from the Japanese when they are adventurers and spend a few days in the forest while camping out in the wild, and their skin is clean. Are there any benefits or effects? I¡¯m afraid of getting my hopes up; let¡¯s not raise the bar. ¡°First of all, I don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s a hot spring or not, so the benefits will come after that.¡± ¡°I see. But it sounds interesting. Oh, I¡¯ll go shopping first.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Please take care of it.¡± I gave her one gold coin and asked her to make the arrangements. But will they come with me? Everyone seems interested, so the bait should be good, but¡­ the problem is work and money. I¡¯ve received almost all of my money from the Lucca case, so money is going to be tight. And yet they accepted to be my escort for ten gold coins¡­ Is this a bad idea? ¡°Master, you¡¯re buying a luxury liner, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, I am going to do that. It is indeed an expensive purchase, so I am going to compare the luxury liner I am thinking of buying with another luxury liner again, so I guess I will buy it tomorrow?¡± ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m getting nervous. I¡¯m going to be in your embrace soon, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m getting nervous too. I¡¯m sorry, Ines, but I can¡¯t resist.¡± I want to buy a luxury liner from now on when I am about to have a special moment with a beautiful woman with big breasts in front of me. And I want to be holed up in the best room. ¡°Fufu, I have no problem with that. That was my plan from the very beginning of the contract. Besides, Felicia is very lively, isn¡¯t she? I¡¯m interested too. Let¡¯s have lots of fun on the luxury liner and at night.¡± ¡­No, well, I¡¯m going to enjoy it as much as I can, but if you¡¯re so open about it¡­ I wonder if Ines is being stubborn or something. I¡¯m not going to give up even if she¡¯s being stubborn, though. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± I looked at Ines¡­ She talks with Felicia saying that the casino sounds like a lot of fun. Wondering if they have good drinks or not. They are discussing it. ¡­I have no idea. Either way, I can¡¯t stand it, so let¡¯s stop worrying about it. We finish our chit-chat and compare luxury liners while drinking canned coffee. Each ship has many exciting facilities. The more I look at them, the more I get lost. Every luxury liner is made with a lot of money, and they all put their best effort into it. It may not be to everyone¡¯s taste, but all of them must be good. In general, I think it¡¯s wrong to make such an expensive purchase just by clicking a button like online shopping. In the end, while I was idly looking at the screen without being able to decide, Girasole came back. When I realized it, quite some time had passed. ¡°Welcome back. How was it?¡± ¡°Yeah, no problem. I got the carpentry and construction tools. I ordered enough food to last for a while, and they will deliver the rest tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Girasole went into the guest room, saying they would discuss what to do now. They will come to a decision by dinner. What will happen? When I think about it, I¡¯m trying to have a moment with Ines for the first time, and I¡¯m trying to get some women¡¯s attention on that ship and ask them out¡­ That¡¯s just appalling and insensitive. ¡­Hmm, let¡¯s pretend I didn¡¯t notice. Again comparing a luxury liner to another to find the ship I want. What I finally found out is that looking and comparing is inconclusive. Let¡¯s compare them until the very last minute before buying, and finally make a decision based on the feeling at that moment. At dinner time, Girasole came out of the guest room, and we ate together. ¡°Wataru-san, we don¡¯t have anything else to do except for Claretta going to the orphanage, so can you wait until tomorrow afternoon?¡± Hmm? Does the wait that Alessia-san says mean the departure of the ship? If I wait, it means they¡¯re coming with me, right? ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine. We were originally planning to leave tomorrow night, so there¡¯s no problem.¡± ¡°Then please allow us to go with you. It would be a shame to miss out on Wataru-san¡¯s new ship.¡± Oh, I feel like the plan is going well. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ve awakened a new talent or not. If I continue to devote myself to it, I may be able to have a harem constitution unique to the main character. ¡­Something is starting to make me sad. A harem constitution¡­ I wonder if there is such a skill. I wonder what would have happened if Creator God-sama¡¯s whim had not been the ship summoning but the charm, seduction, and other 18-restricted skills? It seems like the goal would be to create a harem of big-breasted beauties of all races or something. I have to reply to Alessia-san and the others instead of having weird fantasies. ¡°You can expect it. It¡¯s great. If it surprises you, please compliment me on the thing.¡± I haven¡¯t decided which luxury liner to buy yet, but they¡¯ll be surprised no matter which one I buy, won¡¯t they? ¡°Fufu, you¡¯re confident, aren¡¯t you? I understand. The whole party will give it an amazing compliment. But you have to surprise us all with something amazing. If it¡¯s just a regular surprise, we¡¯ll just give you a regular compliment.¡± ¡­Where¡¯s the line between surprised and incredibly surprised? But all the Girasole are going to give me incredible compliments? That makes my heart flutter. I was supposed to get Camille-san¡¯s compliment, but we talked about business, and she forgot about it. Maybe I should¡¯ve asked her to be more flattering than praiseworthy? It¡¯s too late now¡­ ¡°You¡¯re going to be in for an incredible surprise, so you¡¯d better think of a way to give me an incredible compliment.¡± ¡°Yes, you can count on it. We¡¯ll think of something incredible.¡± The use of the word ¡°incredible¡± is too much. It¡¯s very uncomfortable to talk about. The words that can be changed to ¡°incredible¡± are¡­ very, quite, unbelievably, and so on. I want to be a man who can have a sophisticated conversation with a beautiful woman. ¡°I expect incredible things from you.¡± No, I know. You don¡¯t have to say ¡°incredible,¡± just say, ¡°I¡¯m very much looking forward to it.¡± That¡¯s fine. But perhaps, because I used ¡°incredible¡± so much, Alessia-san used ¡°incredible¡± to match, and I didn¡¯t have the option to use another word here. I think it¡¯s part of the sophisticated adult conversation to appreciate the other person¡¯s thoughtfulness. Maybe. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ I wake up in the morning and get a kiss from Ines and Felicia. My head is in a daze, but as soon as I wake up, the tension rises. Today should be a memorable day. I head to the living room, excited, and have breakfast. I receive the luggage that has been arranged for me, and I compare the luxury liner till Claretta-san comes back from the orphanage, and when she comes back, we will set sail for the open sea. I can¡¯t help but be excited. I continued to check the luxury liner while repatriating the luggage brought to the storage ship and the food storage ship. ¡°Wataru-san, are you alright? You seem busy smiling, making difficult faces, staring off into the distance, grinning¡­¡± Does my facial expression really change that much? Smiling means I¡¯m looking forward to seeing the amazing facilities on the luxury liner. The difficult face is when I¡¯m worried about the other luxury liner. The faraway stare is when I was escaping from too many things, and the grinning face would have been when I had an erotic fantasy. I think that the fact that they go to the trouble of separating smiling and grinning means that when I¡¯m grinning, I¡¯m full of desire. It¡¯s embarrassing. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s alright, Alessia-san. Did my facial expression change that much?¡± ¡°Yes, very much.¡± Alessia-san looked around at the other women. I was also taken aback and looked at the women¡¯s faces, and they were all nodding. I see¡­ it¡¯s bad for a merchant that his inner feelings can easily show on his face. ¡°I see¡­ well, I¡¯ve already decided which ship is my best choice¡­ but I¡¯ve been looking at other ships, and my emotions have been wavering, so I guess they showed on my face.¡± ¡°What kind of ship is it? Can you tell me a little bit about it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not good. I have to make Alessia-san and the others surprised and compliment me incredibly. I¡¯m a confident guy, so you¡¯ll have to think of a way to give me a great compliment.¡± ¡°Fufu, I get it. I¡¯m going to go to the guest room to talk about it, even though Claretta is not here. No peeking, okay?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t. It¡¯s more fun if I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± Alessia-san and the others laughed and went into the guest room. Was I a little persistent? But with all this appeal, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get a big compliment. I have a lot to look forward to today. Funds on Hand: 47 gold coins, 12 silver coins, 32 copper coins. Guild account: 0 platinum coins, 70 gold coins. Savings ship: 1445 platinum coins. Pepper ship: 285 boats. Volume 7 - CH 13 Chapter 13 ¨C Ship Summoning Ability and Oasis of the Seas After receiving all the arranged luggage and Claretta-san¡¯s return from the orphanage, we set sail for the open sea on the Lutto. ¡°Wataru-san, have you already purchased the ship?¡± Alessia-san asked me. She seems interested in what kind of ship I am going to buy. ¡°No, not yet. I haven¡¯t made up my mind yet.¡± ¡°Ara, really? Are you going to decide?¡± ¡°Well, at this rate, it won¡¯t be decided no matter how long it takes, so I¡¯m going to buy the favorite one. There is no doubt that this ship is wonderful.¡± It¡¯s probably not a good idea to show too much indecision¡­ I¡¯m showing a pretty lame part of myself, so I guess it¡¯s too late. As for other luxury liners I am interested in, I can just buy another one. As long as I don¡¯t end up flooding the whole continent with pepper, I¡¯ll still make money. If I decide to do it, I¡¯ll just buy it quickly. If I keep putting it off, I¡¯m going to start worrying about it again. ¡°Then I¡¯ll buy it.¡± I summoned the savings ship and put the platinum coins into the coin slot on the ship summoning screen. 1255 coins¡­ It¡¯s also a lot of work; if it were a vending machine, the money would come back due to the time limit. Forgetting that each platinum coin costs 100 million yen, I just throw in the coins mindlessly¡ªfinally, 200 coins. I just need 1055 more coins¡­ It¡¯s so hard. ¡°I know Wataru-san is making a lot of money because I¡¯ve seen him do it, but it¡¯s amazing to see so many platinum coins right in front of my eyes. I wonder if there will be a shortage of platinum coins?¡± ¡°Alessia, of course, it¡¯s going to be fine. Wataru-san¡¯s unique skills were given to him by Creator God-sama. There should be no problem.¡± Claretta-san, you sound very confident, but wasn¡¯t that Creator God-sama who was forced to seiza and scolded By the God of Light? [T/n: Seiza is the formal, traditional way of sitting in Japan. It involves a specific positioning and posture in a kneeled position so as to convey respect, particularly toward elders. It developed among samurai during the Edo period and was later widely adopted by the public.] ¡°That¡¯s right. It was a skill given by Creator God-sama, wasn¡¯t it? It¡¯s no use worrying about it.¡± That¡¯s not true, Alessia-san. He overdid the statue of himself in the cathedral because he thought it looked cool. I have my doubts about believing it¡¯s perfect. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Y-yes, he is Creator God-sama, after all. Claretta-san is right.¡± I can¡¯t say that I have any doubts in the face of the spirited Claretta-san. I finished putting in 1255 platinum coins and clicked the buy button¡­ It was so quick and easy that I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯ve made a 12.5 billion dollar purchase at all. Now let¡¯s check the screen. Oh, the level of ship summoning has gone up. ¡°I have completed the purchase of the ship. The level of the ship summoning has been raised, and its ability has increased, so I¡¯ll check it first.¡± ¡°I understand. Fufu, I¡¯m so thrilled.¡± Alessia-san and the other women were discussing what kind of ship they were imagining. Ines knows some of it from the screen when she signed the slave contract, so she watches on with a smirk. But I think Ines would be surprised, too. It¡¯s bigger than the one I showed her before¡­ But hey, I don¡¯t want the ladies to have a big imagination. Perhaps their imaginations were stimulated by a large amount of platinum coins, but they imagined that it was as big as a mountain, or that it was a shining ship, or that it looked more impressive than the ship I bought. I¡¯m in trouble because if I don¡¯t surprise them incredibly, I won¡¯t be able to get them to compliment me on the amazing things I¡¯ve done. Let¡¯s find out what it¡¯s capable of and summon it quickly. If it takes too long, they might say it can fly. Ship Summoning Level 5 (NEW) You can summon the purchased ship. +4 (NEW) You can keep your purchased ship in the best condition and control it at will. Can purchase a new ship from the purchase screen. Autopilot Linked to the mapping system, if a place has been mapped, it is possible to set a destination and automatically reach it, although it is limited to water. Mapping Places you have been to are automatically mapped. Ship disguise You can change the appearance and texture of the ship without changing its performance. Issue boarding tickets You can select a ship you own and issue a ticket for a specific period of time. You can board the ship as many times as you like within the time limit. The issuer can cancel the ticket at his/her discretion. If a person is designated, only that person can use the ticket. If a room is designated, only that room can be used except for shared spaces. Staff Appointment When a staff member is appointed, he/she will be able to perform tasks in the assigned area. Summoning Support Staff (NEW) You can summon a support staff member to the location of the ship you summoned. The support staff can only do the minimum amount of work in their assigned area. This is an auxiliary staff member in case the staff appointment is not sufficient. (I changed it to the one Wataru-kun likes. By Creator God) Rate setting Can set room rates. The shipowner can add a fee to the base rate for the ship¡¯s facilities. The room charge and the additional amount will be the shipowner¡¯s property. Release of special ships (NEW) A special ship can be purchased. This ability is unlocked by purchasing a luxury liner. Initial Rowboat (wooden): Capacity limit 2 Characteristics: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Purchased Rubber Boat: Capacity limit 2 (Bath boat) x 1 (Food storage ship) x 12 (Trade goods storage ship) x 515 (Ryu material) x 1 Characteristics: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Purchased Big Fishing Rubber Boat: Capacity limit 4-5 (Hut boat) x 3 (Storage boat) x 1 Characteristics: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Purchased Japanese-style boat: Capacity limit 12 Characteristics: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Purchased Exult 45 (Lutto): Capacity limit 15 Characteristics: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Purchased Orsos (Hideaway) Characteristics: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Purchased Ferry (Fortress): Capacity limit 632 Characteristics: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Purchased Ferry (Stronghold): Capacity limit 777 Characteristics: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Purchased Sunseeker 155 yacht (Seeker) Characteristics: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection Purchased Oasis of the Seas: Capacity limit 5400 Characteristics: Unsinkable, indestructible, boarding rejection I see it on the purchase screen. It would indeed be unfashionable if I hadn¡¯t been able to purchase it after paying 1255 platinum coins. The increased ability is¡­ Hmm? I¡¯m pretty sure I got a message from Creator God-sama before the bottom right corner of the screen blinked¡­ Is it the same this time? I looked at the blinking message and reminded myself strongly, and the message opened. ¡°How are you doing, Wataru-kun? I am fine. It must have been hard for you to get used to living in another world. But I¡¯m having a hard time too. When I summoned you to the divine realm at the cathedral in Barletta, I accidentally gave out some information, but my incomprehensive subordinates made me, the creator god, seiza, and give a lecture. It¡¯s unbelievable, isn¡¯t it? After that, I lost count of the number of times I was asked to recite the reasons why I should not interfere in the lower realms, and I went into a mental breakdown. God of Light is scary, isn¡¯t she? After that, the God of War and the God of Magic attacked me, and for some reason, other gods joined in the fight. It¡¯s like defying the Creator God. But don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already thoroughly beaten up the gods who defied me, and I¡¯ve put the ringleaders, the God of War and the God of Magic, in the asylum, preventing them from recovering. I think they¡¯re probably feeling sorry now. Useless subordinates are really annoying. I¡¯m a benevolent creator god, so I forgave them just by beating them up, but normally they would be obliterated. Is it wrong that I am too kind? The other gods who are living idly are complaining about the creator god who is working so hard. I am wondering if I should be stern with them as a boss. As a gentle person, it is hard for me to be strict. But when I think of my subordinates, I think I should be strict and guide them. It is difficult. Even the creator god has endless worries. I hope we can meet again. Good luck to you, too. PS Congratulations on the purchase of the luxury liner. I have unlocked a special ship for you, so use it well.¡± ¡­What about this one? It¡¯s mostly a complaint from Creator God-sama, he¡¯s sending me a message even though he¡¯s not supposed to interfere with the lower world, and the item that is probably the main topic is just a line in the PS. Is it okay to complain to me about some kind of mental breakdown, or a revolt of the gods, or returning and beating them to a pulp? ¡­Let¡¯s not think too deeply about it. If not, the God of Light will take care of it. Let¡¯s see, let¡¯s look at the ship purchase screen¡­ Rubber Boat 50 copper coins and up Swan Boat 30 silver coins and up Motorboat 40 silver coins and up Fishing Boat 4 gold coins and up Cruiser 20 gold coins and up Ferry / Cargo Ship 100 platinum coins and up Luxury Liner 500 platinum coins and up Special Ship 4 gold coins and up Special ships, that¡¯s right. Or rather, this list will increase. So then, as time goes on and new ships are developed, will the ship catalog be updated? Well, okay, let¡¯s take a look at the contents of special ships. Let¡¯s see¡­ I see, special ships. A lot of exciting ships are being unlocked. I wish I had this list from the beginning. Amphibious vehicles, amphibious buses, hovercrafts, Jetfoils, glass boats, submersibles, and drift ice sightseeing ships¡­ There are many. There are also a lot of ships that I don¡¯t understand. I¡¯m sure they make getting around easier, but can they be used effectively in this world? Could it be? I thought and tried to find an airship, but I couldn¡¯t find one¡­ Is the sky indeed impossible? If there are submersibles, it seems like there should be airships. I am curious about amphibious vehicles. First of all, is this a ship? Not a car? ¡­Oh, I¡¯ve heard that you need a marine license. Is it treated as a ship? I¡¯d like to have a Quadski and a Gibbs Aquada. The Quadski would be useful to drive around in the woods like a buggy. Five cars for two people? Or five boats? If it¡¯s a 2-seater, I can summon five cars or boats, and we can all move together. I¡¯d like to have an amphibious car like the Gibbs Aquada that I saw on TV, but in another world, an amphibious car like a Jeep would be more convenient. But I want it. What about an amphibious bus? It would be convenient for all of us to ride in, but it would be hard to drive on the harsh terrain of another world. If it doesn¡¯t break down, would it be okay if we just endure it? ¡­I¡¯d hold off. ¡­No, I have to prioritize checking on the luxury liner now. I won¡¯t be able to do it with Ines by the end of the day. I¡¯ll think about the special ship later. Let¡¯s see, the level of ship summoning has been increased, and the number of ship summoning slots has been increased by one. The rest of the increased ability is¡­ support staff? What¡¯s the minimum amount of work? Do I really need a support staff in the first place? Even on the ferry, I just appointed a security guard, and the rest of the time, I didn¡¯t need it at all, but on a luxury liner, I wonder if it¡¯s necessary. Then it¡¯s possible I¡¯ll need staff too. Also, a change to my liking? Creator God-sama changed the support staff to one I like. I wonder what it is? A beautiful woman with big breasts? A slime? It would be great if I could summon big-breasted beauties. Suppose there were cute slimes bouncing all over the place. It would be so cute. I¡¯m starting to look forward to it. But when I bought a luxury liner, Creator God-sama suddenly started interfering. Is there a reason? ¡­It seems like he¡¯s going to say it¡¯s for some reason or other. Let¡¯s not think about it. If not, the God of Light will just get mad at him again. And the release of special ships, I guess those are the two that have increased this time¡­ Speaking of which, does the ship summoning go up to level 6? There shouldn¡¯t be any more ships than the luxury liner I bought this time¡­ Well, if there is a level 6, it will go up eventually if I buy a ship. I guess that¡¯s all the confirmation I need for now. There¡¯s nothing else to check¡­ Now that we¡¯re on the open sea, should I summon it? But it¡¯s a pretty big ship, so it¡¯s going to be visible from a distance right after we go out to the open sea. I don¡¯t think I can do anything if anyone sees us, but I¡¯ll take precautions if I can. ¡°Phew, I¡¯m done checking. I¡¯ll summon it when we¡¯ve advanced another hour or so.¡± ¡°Advance for another hour? You usually summon it a little after entering the open sea, so why?¡± Alessia-san asked curiously. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s a secret. Well, please look forward to it.¡± ¡°Ara, you¡¯re going to tease me, aren¡¯t you? If you keep teasing me, I¡¯m going to have to give you a hard time, you know?¡± I don¡¯t want it to be too severe, but I¡¯m sure it will be fine. I am ready to be complimented. ¡°No problem. Alessia-sana and the others should be ready to compliment me immensely.¡± ¡°Fufu, I understand. We talked about it, and Ilma devised a way to make Wataru-san extremely happy. It¡¯s embarrassing for us, too, so we¡¯ll be very strict in our evaluation.¡± ¡°Ilma-san¡¯s idea is something you¡¯d all be embarrassed about? ¡­I am very much looking forward to it.¡± I¡¯m thrilled. I¡¯m sure Ilma-san will add some erotic elements. It would probably be soft erotic if Alessia-san and the others are okay with it, but I¡¯d expect a lot. After chatting for a while and getting out to sea enough, it¡¯s time to summon the luxury liner. ¡°Well, let¡¯s summon it. Shall we go out on the forward deck?¡± The women were excited and gathered on the forward deck. Rimu and Fuu-chan followed happily, bouncing along. How cute! ¡°Summon!¡± I stand at the front of the forward deck and summon it, looking a little smug. As soon as I say the word, a huge magic circle appears on the sea. I was quite surprised at the ferry, but an even bigger magic circle of light appeared. A luxury liner appears from the magic circle¡­ This is¡­ big. The length, width, and height are overwhelming. The women are also just staring at the luxury liner in front of them in amazement. The Oasis of the Seas. I knew it was one of the world¡¯s largest luxury liners on the purchase screen, but I didn¡¯t realize how impressive it was when I saw it in person¡­ 220,000 tons is no exaggeration. Yes, including customers and employees, it can accommodate more than 8,000 people with room to spare. In this world, that¡¯s the same as the population of a city. Since the ship can accommodate that many people, it¡¯s no wonder it¡¯s so big. While looking at the Oasis of the Seas, I desperately think about the name of this ship with a head that can¡¯t get it together for some reason¡­ Funds on Hand: 47 gold coins, 12 silver coins, 32 copper coins. Guild account: 0 platinum coins, 70 gold coins. Savings ship: 190 platinum coins. Pepper ship: 285 ships. Volume 7 - CH 14 Chapter 14 ¨C Royal Promenade and the Store Oasis of the Seas¡­ 360 meters long, 64 meters wide, and 65 meters high, it looks like a castle. It looks more elegant than a castle, so maybe it¡¯s a palace? If it were a palace, I would be the king. I don¡¯t have any vassals, though. I wonder if I should name it the Palace¡­ The name is kind of similar to the S-rank adventurer Paris; I don¡¯t like it¡­ Let¡¯s call it the Castle. To the stunned ladies, I call out to them. ¡°Everyone, were you all surprised by the whole thing?¡± The women respond to my words. ¡°Y-yes, it was amazing. We were joking about the ship looking like a mountain, but it was more than we imagined.¡± Oh, that settled it before I could show them the facilities inside. I thought they could tolerate a big ship with a ferry, but it looked like it was bigger than they imagined. Okay, I¡¯ll take that as a compliment. There is a good chance they will forget if I show them around the ship like this. ¡°Now, please give me your compliments on the thing.¡± Alessia-san and the others remembered the promise I had made to them. ¡°W-wait a minute.¡± ¡°What should we do?¡± ¡°Ilma, are you sure about this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a little embarrassed.¡± ¡°We made a promise, and we were so surprised, weren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± The subtle sound of Girasole¡¯s discussion raises my anticipation. How will they compliment me? ¡°I understand. Wataru-san, come over here.¡± Oh, finally. I stand in front of Alessia-san, who looks a little red. ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll take it in turn to compliment you. ¡­I-it¡¯s amazing, Wataru-san; I¡¯ve never seen a ship like this before.¡± She stuttered a little, and after complimenting me, she gave me a kiss on the cheek. Oh, what? That¡¯s the very first time; that¡¯s what this is. I don¡¯t know what the connection is between compliments and kissing cheeks, but I guess that Ilma-san was very good at getting this conversation going. One after another, they gave me compliments and kissed me on the cheeks at the same time. Dorothea-san kissed me earnestly, Marina-san with Fuu-chan on her head without expression, Carla-san with a smile and a kiss, and Claretta-san with a face so red that I could hardly believe it. Lastly, Ilma-san said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for their inexperience, but did you enjoy it?¡± She gave me a kiss right next to my mouth after saying that. Ilma-san is on my side. Well, I¡¯m curious about her hidden agenda, but she is a valuable ally. She guides the inexperienced members of the group well. I¡¯ll have to give her a follow-up later. However, a kiss on the cheek from the shy big-breasted beauties, huh¡­? A different, happy, shy, faint feeling from doing erotic things is surprisingly moe. Ilma-san is really terrific. ¡°I¡¯m so happy. If you see the inside of the ship and are surprised again, please do it again.¡± It should be quite a surprise on board, and hopefully, I can enjoy the play now one more time. ¡°No, Ilma put us on board, and it was quite embarrassing. And if you think about it, I don¡¯t understand the point of kissing someone on the cheek when you¡¯re giving them a compliment.¡± Alessia-san rejected me with a bright red face. Apparently, she had realized that there was no point. But what kind of life did she lead, getting all red with just a kiss on the cheek? I guess she has been fighting off male adventurers ever since she formed the party, right? Is she sulking beautifully? ¡°Really? But I was very happy to get a kiss on the cheek, you know? I guess that counts as a compliment.¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s still not good.¡± ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate and it can¡¯t be helped. Shall we go on board?¡± I can¡¯t convince her very well, apparently. I wonder how Ilma-san managed to convince them. I repatriate the Castle, re-summon it and give permission to everyone and jump on the magic circle to go to the Royal Promenade. ¡°Amazing. It¡¯s like a shopping mall.¡± My first words aboard the luxury liner are somehow full of life, and I¡¯m disappointed myself. But I guess it can¡¯t be helped that I got that feeling from the rows of stores on both sides of the ship. On the screen, it said that it was a reproduction of a New York cityscape, but I¡¯ve never been to New York, so I don¡¯t know, I guess. It¡¯s just us present in this huge space, and it¡¯s subtle and scary. It¡¯s not so bad because there is music playing, but it would be lonely if I were alone. ¡°Wataru-san, are we on a ship? There are so many things I¡¯ve never seen before. It¡¯s amazing. I don¡¯t totally understand, but it¡¯s amazing.¡± Alessia-san and the other women seemed a little confused. They seem to be excited by the atmosphere they have never experienced before. ¡°Alessia-san, please calm down. This is a place on the ship called the Royal Promenade. On both sides are stores where you can buy what they are selling. First, let¡¯s have a cup of tea and a piece of cake at the caf¨¦ there to calm down. After that, we will take our time and look around.¡± ¡°Cake? Let¡¯s go, Wataru-san.¡± Claretta-san was ignited. I remember that she was very interested in cakes. The other ladies also like sweets, so we entered the caf¨¦ without any problem. There are a lot of cakes lined up inside, and it looks like you can pick them out yourself. ¡°Wataru-san, it¡¯s amazing. There are a lot of cakes that you can¡¯t find on the Fortress or the Stronghold. I wonder how much they cost? I want to eat them all.¡± Claretta-san is going wild. That¡¯s unusual. She¡¯s wearing normal clothes, but she¡¯s so plump and voluptuous that I feel like I¡¯ll be going out of control, too. ¡°Well, it looks like this restaurant is free of charge.¡± ¡°Free? You mean this awesome place is free?¡± ¡°Yes, this is a ship that you have to pay a lot of money to get on. So many places are just for free, except for those with special prices. Let¡¯s just take a piece of cake, order some tea, and then sit down and talk.¡± For the time being, I said at the counter for coffee, and it came out as if it had moved instantly. Is this the same system as the Stronghold? ¡°It¡¯s delicious. This cake is delicious, Wataru-san.¡± Claretta-san with a big smile on her face is lovely. ¡°Claretta, we came here to calm down. You shouldn¡¯t get too excited.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Thank you, Dorothea.¡± ¡°So, Wataru-san, could you please continue with your earlier explanation?¡± That¡¯s unusual. I¡¯m not really involved in the conversation when Alessia-san is around. When I looked at Alessia-san in question, she was chewing on the cake enthusiastically with Carla-san¡­ It convinced me. ¡°I understand. You can have your cake while you eat it, so please just listen to what I have to say.¡± All the ladies nodded at my words, so there would be no problem. ¡°As I said before, since you pay a lot of money to board the ship, basic meals, and entertainment are free of charge. Well, even in shopping, casinos, and free stores, special menus are sometimes offered for a fee, though. The women¡¯s eyes glow suspiciously when they hear the word ¡°free.¡±¡­ I guess even A-rank adventurers will bite at free things. ¡°Everyone. No matter how free it is, as I warned you on the Fortress, I will ban you from this ship itself if you are binge drinking or eating. I think this ship, unlike the ferry, has a collection of alcoholic beverages from all over my former world. There are many places to drink alcohol. There are cocktails, too, so you won¡¯t be able to count the varieties. You have to have moderation, or you¡¯ll be banned before you can enjoy all of it.¡± ¡°I-I understand. I will be very careful. Don¡¯t suddenly ban us all.¡± Alessia-san and her group of drinkers look at me with sullen expressions. Basically, I thought my sexual preference was M, but there might be a little bit of S in me. I felt a thrill of pleasure when I saw their clinging eyes on me. I feel that my personality has grown in a dangerous direction without proper growth since I came to the other world. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s alright. I wouldn¡¯t do such a thing if you didn¡¯t do something reckless. Carla-san, it¡¯s not just about the alcohol. There are many delicious foods on this ship, but if you eat too much, you will be banned from the ship.¡± Carla-san, who had been eating the cake without any concern for me, looked at me as if she were shocked. She is cute. ¡°Yes, as we discussed last time, we will try not to eat and drink too much. But Wataru-san, we didn¡¯t pay a lot of money to come aboard. Is that okay?¡± Dorothea-san is very calm. That helps a lot. ¡°Yes. I am the owner of this ship, so I don¡¯t think there will be any problem. If I have to take other people on board, I will charge them a higher fee. I don¡¯t take money from the Girasole people. I¡¯ll be happy if you enjoy the ship with me.¡± Did I succeed in appealing that we are close friends? ¡°Fufu, thank you very much.¡± Dorothea-san¡¯s kind smile¡­ It¡¯s a success, maybe? At least it¡¯s not a negative thing, right? ¡°Well, since that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s take a look around. There are probably a lot of things you don¡¯t know about, so it should be interesting. It¡¯s too big to look around all at once, so let¡¯s take our time and look around.¡± ¡°Is it that big?¡± ¡°If you just want to look around, I don¡¯t think it will take that long, but there are so many fun things to see and do that it will take some time to explain them and experience them.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. If you take the time to enjoy this store alone, it will take you a while. I also want to take my time and enjoy the sweets here.¡± Dorothea-san is talking calmly, but this is her third cake. She doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s being stubborn, but she¡¯s eating the cake quickly and naturally. It¡¯s an amazing ability, in a way. Is it a skill? ¡°There are so many varieties.¡± While we were talking, my coffee ran out. I was going to order some at the counter, but then I remembered the support staff and decided to give it a try. ¡°Everyone, I¡¯m going to try out my new ability, so please don¡¯t be surprised.¡± ¡°New ability? What is it?¡± Alessia-san was biting into it. She had eaten some cake and had calmed down. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say. I heard that I can summon a being to assist me with the work in this spacious ship.¡± And it was changed to something I like. Big-breasted beauties are moe. Slimes are moe, too. Which is it? I¡¯m nervous. ¡°Support? Isn¡¯t that different from appointing us as security guards?¡± ¡°Yes, staff appointments can ripen the job when you appoint them, but I heard that support can only do the bare minimum. Let me summon it first, shall I?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I summoned the support staff as an employee of the caf¨¦. A magic circle of light appeared in front of me, and out of it appeared a¡­ horned rabbit? A large, plush, deformed, stocky, horned rabbit-like creature with a small horn on its head appeared. It was dressed as a waiter and carried a silver round tray. It¡¯s very particular. No, it¡¯s not. No, Creator God-sama. What I like are big-breasted beauties and slimes. If you¡¯ve been watching me, wouldn¡¯t you know that? I like to hunt horned rabbits because they¡¯re profitable, not because I like them, you know. If anything, I¡¯m afraid that they will take revenge on me because I was slaughtering them. Please, Creator God-sama, please. Please change it. Should I go all the way to the cathedral in Barletta? I only hunted horned rabbits until I came to the other world and left the Western City. Why did you choose the horned rabbit? Was it because they looked so good when roasted whole? Is it because it can be turned into something like a food source? Even if the big-breasted beauties were impossible, if you can do horned rabbits, you should be able to do slime, too. ¡°Ara, so cute. A horned rabbit? It¡¯s strange since it¡¯s a monster, but it¡¯s not dangerous, is it?¡± Cute? To me, it looks like there¡¯s resentment in its eyes. Is it paranoia? ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any danger. At the very least, it can do the job it was summoned to do.¡± Maybe¡­ ¡°Well, let me ask it to do its job. Waiter, can I have another cup of coffee?¡± It nodded its head, picked up the empty cup of coffee, and went into the back. If it¡¯s the same as the Stronghold¡¯s dining room, the dishes should disappear on their own¡­ I¡¯ll have to try a lot of things. The ladies seemed to like the horned rabbit waiter and were screaming about how cute and pretty it was. The horned rabbit is a monster that attacks me, and I¡¯m sure Girasole has defeated it before, but is it different when it is deformed? The horned rabbit waiter comes back and puts the coffee in front of me. It¡¯s not poisoned or anything, is it? I say thank you, and it nods and is about to go away. ¡°Kyaaa, cute!¡± Alessia-san and Claretta-san couldn¡¯t hold back and started hugging the horned rabbit waiter and cuddling it. Well, Claretta-san likes stuffed animals too. The horned rabbit waiter is being cuddled and mofu-mofu¡¯d as it is. I envy it. When I drank the coffee, it was an ordinary coffee. Was it really paranoia? But you know what? I don¡¯t have the mofu attribute. I would definitely prefer a smooth, soft, and supple one. I patted Rimu, who was eating the cake I¡¯d brought over with all my heart. ¡°Wataru?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. Is it delicious?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I see; that¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± As I watch Rimu get absorbed in the cake again, I¡¯m convinced that the slime is cuter than the horned rabbits. What¡¯s that? If the support staff is horned rabbits, will they do musicals and stage performances, too? Will the horned rabbits going to do ¡°Cats¡± and so on? I feel so uncomfortable. [T/n: Cats (musical).] Well, let¡¯s try it on the stage. Now let¡¯s think about the future route of the luxury liner tour, shall we? It¡¯s only the first one, right? When will we finish seeing them all? Volume 7 - CH 15 Chapter 15 ¨C Saporabi and Royal Promenade 2 I was thinking about the tour course while watching Alessia-san and Claretta-san cuddling the support staff, but there was no end in sight for the two of them. I should call out to them and go on to the next one. Is it okay to leave the support staff as it is? It doesn¡¯t seem to reduce my magic power. ¡­If I summon a lot of them, won¡¯t they start to run amok in groups like in some panic movie?¡¡I¡¯m a little scared that Creator God-sama might have put in some weird gimmick. ¡°Alessia-san and Claretta-san, we¡¯d better get going.¡± My voice brings them back to their senses with a startled look on their faces. When they understood the situation, they apologized a little shyly. ¡°What is this child¡¯s name, Wataru-san?¡± Claretta-san suddenly asked me. ¡°Eh? Its name? I checked the screen, but there¡¯s nothing on it, and¡­ it doesn¡¯t seem to have a name.¡± ¡°Is that so? But it¡¯s kind of sad if it doesn¡¯t have a name to call it, isn¡¯t it?¡± Ah, come to think of it, I heard that she also gave names to the stuffed toys she took from the ufo catcher. I was a little taken aback, but don¡¯t tell anyone, okay? ¡°But I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be summoning them to other stores as well, so it¡¯s hard to name every single one of them.¡± Even the name of the ship I had bought was a difficult decision to make, but if the same type of support staff were to be summoned, a name would be too difficult a task. ¡°Is that so¡­? Can you decide on a name for the species, or rather, a way to call this child in general? It would be pitiful to call them just horned rabbits.¡± It would be more convenient to have an overall name. Horned rabbit¡­ Support staff¡­ Saporabi¡­ It¡¯s easy to understand. [T/n: Sapo from Sapoto/Support. Rabi from the rabbit.] ¡°Then, let¡¯s call the whole horned rabbit ¡°Saporabi,¡± shall we? Oh, by the way, I named this luxury liner Castle.¡± ¡°Saporabi and the Castle¡­ aren¡¯t you good at thinking of names, Wataru-san?¡± Alessia-san, aren¡¯t you indirectly dissing my sense of naming? Well, I¡¯m aware of it. ¡°I¡¯m not very good at it. It¡¯s difficult.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s certainly difficult. Saporabi, Castle. I will make sure to memorize it.¡± Well, I hope it was enough to convince them. I don¡¯t want to go into too much detail about the name; it could be dangerous. ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯d better move on.¡± We walked out of the store and walked along the Royal Promenade in the light shining through the large glass dome. ¡°Master, that¡¯s pizza, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Hmm? Yes, that¡¯s right. That¡¯s the proper pizza store that I made in Siena Village. We¡¯re going to eat in the main dining room today, so we¡¯ll come back next time. Well, we¡¯re going to eat at all the restaurants on the ship.¡± ¡°Fufu, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, there are that many restaurants? Are they good?¡± Carla-san is biting it. Her eyes are sparkling. It doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s drooling¡­ her anticipation level is maxed out. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s so much; I don¡¯t think we could eat it all in one day; we¡¯re going to enjoy the Castle for a month. After you¡¯ve eaten at all of the restaurants, you can go back to your favorites as often as you like, so you can look forward to it.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± Rimu, who had been listening to the conversation over my head, jumps at the happy Carla-san. ¡°Wataru-san, what¡¯s wrong with Rimu-chan?¡± ¡°¡­He said he¡¯s going to follow Carla-san when you go out to eat.¡± Rimu¡­ Certainly, if he follows Carla-san, he will be able to eat a lot of food, but¡­ I was feeling a little sad, and Fuu-chan also jumped on Carla-san. The reason seems to be the same. ¡°Fufu, Rimu-chan, Fuu-chan, let¡¯s eat a lot together.¡± The gluttonous trio is now complete in an unexpected way. If all the food on board was to be paid for, I¡¯d have to worry a great deal about food expenses. ¡°Wataru-san, this is the magic vehicle from the movie, isn¡¯t it?¡± What Marina-san asked me was a¡­ car. A ship with a town on board and a car on display¡­ I don¡¯t understand what that means. If I couldn¡¯t afford an amphibious car, I would have tried to use this car somehow. It seems difficult, though, because the effect of indestructibility would have been affected. Come to think of it, they didn¡¯t ask about the car in the movie, either. Magic vehicle? Did they have an understanding of it? ¡°It¡¯s a vehicle called a car in my world.¡± It looks cool. It must be an old car, but it has a unique atmosphere. I wonder if it¡¯s a great car because it¡¯s being carried on a luxury liner. If I had known much about cars, I might have been overjoyed. ¡°It¡¯s amazing. It¡¯s very valuable!¡± Marina-san¡¯s tension soared. I heard there is a vehicle called a magic vehicle. Then maybe an amphibious car would be less conspicuous. No, she said it¡¯s valuable. How valuable is it? ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a magic vehicle before. Is it as valuable as a magic boat?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ they are less likely to be discovered than large magic ships. I¡¯ve heard that some countries don¡¯t even have them.¡± That¡¯s the level of fuss that would be made if we were on board. Why is that? Cars are more likely to be found, though. ¡°In my world, as you have seen in the movies, there were more magic vehicles than magic ships, but is it different in this world?¡± After a little hesitation, Marina-san answered. There are many magic vehicles found, but almost all of them are broken. But although they have been studied, they have not been understood in the same way as the magic ship.¡± ¡­You mean to say that the magic vehicles were not enchanted for protection because they are easier to use than the magic ships? That would limit the use of amphibious cars. ¡°I can now summon something similar to a magic vehicle, but that would be a problem, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°¡­It would be a big problem if found out.¡± Not only Marina-san but the other ladies nodded their heads. ¡°Wataru-san¡¯s ability is extraordinary. It may be natural because it¡¯s an ability given by Creator God-sama¡­ but if it¡¯s just big attention and it¡¯s great on land too, the chances of them coming to recruit you with risk will increase.¡± Alessia-san, please don¡¯t say that with a serious face. I¡¯m scared. It¡¯s true that I¡¯ve never even seen a magic vehicle or something like that¡­ I wonder if I could do something with the ship disguise? If I disguise it like a carriage and disguise the horse shape in front of it, can I get away with it from a distance? ¡­I¡¯d have to try a lot of things to do this too. ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll think it over. Shall we take a tour of the ship now?¡± Let¡¯s postpone the problem. I¡¯m not that attached to land-based activities. Land doesn¡¯t matter when you¡¯re holed up on a luxury liner. It would be fun just to ride around in a place where there are no people. We visit food shops, bars, and so on. ¡°What kind of store is this, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°¡­This is a store that sells alcohol, it seems.¡± When I answered Alessia-san, the eyes of Alessia-san and the other alcohol-loving group members lit up. They looked like they wanted to go into the bar, too, so there would be no stopping them here. Once inside, I saw a line of high-end liquors that I had never seen or drunk before, but I had heard of them. I make enough money to buy one, but I don¡¯t know what liquor tastes like. What¡¯s the point of drinking it? Will I be able to taste it when I get used to drinking it? ¡°I see that the alcohol is in this beautiful bowl. ¡­Hey Wataru-san, am I wrong that the price of the alcohol ranges from a few dozen copper coins to a few dozen silver coins? It¡¯s this little vessel, right? They don¡¯t sell it in kegs, do they?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve never had it myself, but this is a collection of some of the finest liquors in my world. At my words, the eyes of the alcohol-loving group turn lusty. ¡°I see, so it¡¯s a high-class drink in Wataru-san¡¯s world.¡± Marina-san, Ilma-san, and Ines gather around to discuss the matter. ¡°I¡¯d like to try it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll buy it.¡± ¡°The question is which grade to try first.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad I saved up the allowance Master gave me.¡± They¡¯re ready to buy. Ines is a natural participant in the consultation. Isn¡¯t the allowance you¡¯ve been saving up for spending at the casino? ¡°Everyone, there are many bars in the casino, so it would be better to drink at one of them and buy the drinks you like.¡± The group of drink lovers agreed with my words, but their eyes became even more suspicious as they checked out the bars. Anyway, we left the bar and looked at the next store. ¡°This is¡­ the store that sells cosmetics, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Cosmetics?¡± ¡°Is it a beauty shop?¡± ¡°What kind of products are there?¡± The women were very excited. ¡°Y-yes, well, yes, but I don¡¯t know anything about cosmetics. Oh, right, I¡¯ll summon Saporabi.¡± For the time being, I summoned Saporabi, and a Saporabi in a female shopkeeper-like uniform appeared. Are there males and females? I don¡¯t know what the difference is except for the clothes. ¡°Saporabi, please explain about the cosmetics.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Huh? Doesn¡¯t the minimum job description include explaining cosmetics? Can they speak in the first place? ¡°Um, can Saporabi speak?¡± She nodded her head and then shook her head to the side¡­ Which is it? ¡°Are there cases where you can speak and cases where you can¡¯t? And you can¡¯t speak in this job?¡± She nodded her head again. I wonder if they can speak in jobs where there is vocalization, for example, on stage? Even if it¡¯s a clerk in a store or something like that, should they be able to speak in explaining products¡­ Doesn¡¯t the minimum job include explaining products? Is it chore-only? ¡°It seems she can¡¯t explain the products. What should we do? Would you like to try it at random?¡± ¡°Wait, Wataru-san, will you appoint me as a staff member of this store?¡± Oh, Ilma-san, you are so smart. That way, you could understand how to use the products. ¡°I understand. I will appoint Ilma-san as a staff member.¡± When I appointed her to the staff, a magic circle of light was sucked into Ilma-san. ¡°Wow, this is amazing. I didn¡¯t know Wataru-san¡¯s world was so concerned with beauty. It¡¯s amazing.¡± Ilma-san¡¯s sex appeal is more amazing as she is so excited. A bewitching sexuality is being radiated. It is erotic. The women swarmed around such an erotic Ilma-san. Spell-like words started to be exchanged among the women. ¡­It would be quicker if I appointed all of them to the staff of this store, but¡­my words don¡¯t reach them. The women¡¯s quest for beauty is extraordinary. They probably didn¡¯t hear me, but I just said a few words and left the store. My voice didn¡¯t reach the ladies, but Fuu-chan seemed to have heard me and jumped on me. I bought a cup of coffee, got some cupcakes, and sat down on the bench. I gave cupcakes to Rimu and Fuu-chan and played with them. It¡¯s going to take a while, so we should take it easy. It¡¯s possible that everyone will become even more beautiful. I can¡¯t even imagine it, but I wonder if I can control my desires. While we were relaxing and playing, the women came out. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san. I got carried away.¡± Alessia-san apologized sincerely. The other women also bowed their heads. But it seems that all of them are buying the products. ¡°Haha, I also had fun with Rimu and Fuu-chan, so I don¡¯t mind. Let¡¯s see what¡¯s next.¡± I look around the rest of the store and see¡­ Huh? Is this okay? Is it okay that I can get it?¡¡In the store in front of me are video cameras and digital cameras. What I have always wanted is right in front of me. Then there¡¯s the possibility of getting a computer or a tablet, even though they don¡¯t have internet access¡­ Will I be able to use it much if I don¡¯t have internet access? Oh well, good. For now, it¡¯s a digital camera. With it, I can capture images and videos of wonderful sights. ¡­But if they checked their appearance seriously¡­ they might stop wearing no-bra T-shirts, bathing suits, or other ero dresses. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Wataru-san? What was that?¡± Oh no, if I looked at them dumbfounded, they would be interested in it. Should I fool around with it or be honest about it? ¡­Let¡¯s hide the pictures and videos that look a little sexy. They might not particularly care. And I¡¯d like to record them with impunity. ¡°That¡¯s called a camera. It¡¯s a tool that allows you to keep a picture of yourself. I¡¯ll buy one, and we can try it out.¡± I went into the store and wondered which one to buy. I don¡¯t know much about cameras at all. I¡¯ve only used cheap digital cameras or smartphone cameras. Whoa, there¡¯s a Sony product. I don¡¯t know much about them, but I wonder if Japanese manufacturers are easier to use. Whether it¡¯s a video camera or a regular digital camera¡­ let¡¯s decide after looking at it. As I read the description, a camcorder called HDR-PJ680 caught my eye. It seems to be the latest model. The description says that it has 30x optical zoom, but to be honest, I don¡¯t really understand it. But it has a projector function¡­ and this one is very good¡­ and it can project recorded video. Seven silver coins¡­? I¡¯ll take this one. I choose a product, a coin slot appears, and I buy it. I walked out of the store, opened the box, and got my digital camera ready. At first, it would be better if the camera didn¡¯t capture too much breast swinging and such. I ask the ladies to line up side by side and introduce themselves. After everyone has introduced themselves, we watch the video together. Since I was holding the camera, I was surrounded by the women, and we all watched it together. ¡­It smells good. Oh, it¡¯s soft¡­ They make a fuss about the fact that they are in the video, and they are happily fussing about how uncomfortable they sound in their own voices during the self-introduction. Thank goodness I didn¡¯t say anything about my soul being taken. I thought they would want a camera, but they don¡¯t seem to have the sense to use it by themselves, probably because they don¡¯t have the culture to preserve memories in images. Well, if I record a lot, they will want one soon. Volume 7 - CH 16 Chapter 16 ¨C Rooms and Bar After shooting the video, we next entered a jewelry store. The women are excited to see the glittering store. I guess even adventurers like jewelry and stuff. ¡­Maybe it¡¯s because they are adventurers, searching for treasures and such. I¡¯m not particularly interested, so I wander around and see a watch. Watches¡­ are they necessary in this world? I¡¯m sure they could make a lot of money if made into a product, but there¡¯s no need to go out of my way to stand out. So far, the only one I probably want to meet is Girasole, and I don¡¯t particularly need to keep time with them¡­ Luxury watches are cool, but I didn¡¯t wear a watch in Japan either¡­ If I want one, I want one. If I say I don¡¯t want it, I don¡¯t want it¡­ I¡¯ll put it on hold. The women were satisfied with their purchases, and they gathered around to leave the store. When we left the store, the sun went down, and the darkened interior was lit up with lights and neon. Oh, the atmosphere is so much cooler at night. ¡°What is this? It¡¯s so bright even though it¡¯s nighttime. It¡¯s just like the movie Wataru-san showed us. ¡­That¡¯s right, this ship is from Wataru-san¡¯s world, isn¡¯t it? Everyone looked around with interest. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. The atmosphere in my world is like this.¡± Although it has a slightly different atmosphere. ¡°I¡¯m hungry. Shall we have dinner soon?¡± ¡°Oh, come to think of it, yes. I¡¯ve seen so many unusual things I¡¯d forgotten about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± Everyone seemed to be hungry, too, so we headed for the main dining room. ¡°Wataru-san, something just came down. What is it? What is that?¡± Alessia-san told me to look, and I saw a neon-rimmed object slowly descending from above. ¡­Oh, I¡¯ve seen it by accident, but when the neon lights up, it stands out even more. I wonder if the ladies didn¡¯t notice it before. ¡°Well, that, they say, is the Rising Tide bar. That¡¯s the bar that¡¯s slowly going up and down three floors.¡± ¡°A bar! Can I have a drink there?¡± ¡°Yes, you can. Well, it¡¯s getting dark now, so let¡¯s have dinner in the main dining room, decide on the room we¡¯ll stay in today, and then have a drink at the Rising Tide Bar. We can go somewhere else tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yeah, that sounds like fun. Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± Alessia-san was smiling. The group of people who love to drink are also smiling. It seems they are happy that we have decided on a drinking schedule. When we arrived at the main dining room, the third floor was an atrium, creating a luxurious atmosphere. I¡¯m a poor person, so the atrium seems like a waste of space to me, but I guess it¡¯s luxurious in that way, too. I wonder how many rooms can be built in this space, but I guess I am still a commoner. I have a lot of money, but my spirit is not yet rich. Since I have money, I must have become a rich man¡­ How can I become a truly rich man with a high society? Is it too much to think about now? Let¡¯s enjoy dinner. I sat down at the appropriate table. ¡°Everyone, everything on the menu is free, and you can eat as much as you like. Oh, but you have to pay for the drinks.¡± In my words, each of them opened the menu and asked what they wanted to try. The dishes appeared in front of them as if they were moving instantly. ¡°¡­Wataru-san, is there any risk in summoning Saporabi-chan? Like magic power problems?¡± ¡°Well, for the moment, there is no problem. I didn¡¯t lose any magic power when I summoned them.¡± If I summon a large number of Saporabi, and Saporabi doesn¡¯t run out of control or something, it won¡¯t be a problem. ¡°Then can I ask you to summon Saporabi-chan? I don¡¯t have a problem if the food comes at a moment¡¯s notice, but I think it would be nice if Saporabi-chan carried it for me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Is there anyone other than Alessia-san who would like me to summon Saporabi? I¡¯ll make it exclusive anyway.¡± The first one is Claretta-san, who quickly raises her hand, followed by Dorothea-san. I summoned three Saporabis and asked for the exclusive use of each of them. They nodded their heads, so it should be fine. Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, and Claretta-san patted their exclusive Saporabi on the head and asked them to prepare the food. ¡°I will summon the others anytime you need them; just let me know.¡± Well, it seems they don¡¯t need them right now, so I go back to my meal. Now, what shall I eat? The appetizers are lobster bisque and beef tail soup. The salad is Caesar salad. For the main course, beef filet steak and top-quality black beef sirloin with aromatic butter. The fish dish was seared Norwegian salmon. Dessert is a strawberry souffl¨¦. Is it like this? A filet steak and a sirloin steak¡­ two main courses are a little too much, don¡¯t you think? Well, it¡¯s okay; it¡¯s free, after all. But I have to be careful not to eat too much because tonight is Inez and hmm¡­ Mufufu. By the way, Rimu has the same menu. The food appears as soon as you ask for it, and although it¡¯s not very emotional, I don¡¯t have a problem with it. Carla-san also ordered one dish after another and ate them all. Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, and Claretta-san are waiting happily for Saporabis to bring them their dishes. When Saporabis bring the food, they pat their heads gently. They look happy, too, so I guess there is no problem. I ordered a glass of red wine and ate my food with some sense of elegance in mind¡­ I¡¯ve heard that red wine is good for meat, but to be honest, I have no idea about the harmony between food and wine. But it¡¯s good because it¡¯s delicious. The ladies also seemed to like the food, ordering different dishes and sharing them. Next time, I would like to try Japanese food. But I also want to eat a hamburger. ¡­No, Italian food is also worth trying. I am so happy to be able to worry about the next place to eat. After everyone has eaten until they are satisfied, we go to check out the room we will be staying in next. We pass through a wide, luxurious hallway and arrive at our destination, the Royal Loft Suite. ¡°This is the room we will be staying in, the Royal Loft Suite. Would you like to see it?¡± ¡°Yes, I would love to see it.¡± Alessia-san was curious, too. ¡°Let¡¯s go in, then.¡± Once inside, there is a room that can only be described as luxurious, with a grand piano in the room¡­ What¡¯s the point? Can all rich people play the piano? ¡­Maybe you can invite a pianist? A pianist dedicated to the room comes to play. A dedicated stage for overnight guests¡­ I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s good or not, but it¡¯s gorgeous. Big L-shaped sofa and massage table? Big TV. Luxurious interior. It¡¯s amazing. ¡°Let¡¯s go up the stairs.¡± Climbing up to the loft, there is a double bed. Hmm? What¡¯s that? I put it down and see¡­ a screen with a projector to watch movies. Going to the back, there was a toilet, a shower, and a Jacuzzi. ¡°Wataru-san, these are the bubbling baths on the Hideaway and Seeker, right? It¡¯s amazing that you have one in your private room.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s unexpected even for me, Alessia-san. It¡¯s really amazing. I¡¯m looking forward to staying here.¡± We went down from the loft and went out onto the balcony. There is a sofa, and if you go to the back of the L-shaped deck, there is a Jacuzzi¡­ ¡°Wataru-san, there¡¯s another one, isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Alessia-san, yes, there¡¯s another one.¡± ¡°I wonder if they put another one in there so you can get in with a view?¡± ¡°Probably¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a great room.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a great room, isn¡¯t it?¡± Two Jacuzzis in the room. This is the kind of place you¡¯d expect on a luxury liner. After taking a look around the rooms, I show them the room where Girasole will be staying. ¡°This is the Royal Suite, isn¡¯t it?¡± I looked around the luxurious room. ¡°The bath in this room is normal, but the one on the balcony has a Jacuzzi.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m looking forward to it. But this one is round. I¡¯ve never seen this type before, so I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Alessia-san, may I come and join you?¡± ¡°Fufu, yes, but remember to wear a bathing suit.¡± Oh, I wondered if there was a way to come in without a bathing suit, but I was stopped. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the next room, then.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, we can all stay in this room, can¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Well, this room is for five people, and there are too many other rooms left, so let¡¯s just check.¡± ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s really a big ship.¡± Alessia-san was convinced. There are so many rooms that even one room per person would be too much. ¡°Yes, it can accommodate 5,400 people. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s too big?¡± ¡°Fufu, you bought the ship knowing that, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Well, yes, I did. So let¡¯s see what¡¯s next.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± We walk to the next room. What about the next room? I heard it could accommodate 14 people¡­ ¡°This is the Presidential Family Suite.¡± I take a look around the luxurious room. ¡°¡­It¡¯s awesome, but it¡¯s way too big.¡± ¡°Alessia-san, maybe it¡¯s luxurious because it¡¯s too big a room for just one person?¡± ¡°Hmm, would anyone like to stay here?¡± All the ladies shake their heads¡­ Girasole are common people, aren¡¯t they? I guess the very rich are not afraid to use this room. Oh, the very rich don¡¯t stay alone, do they? Wife, mistress, beautiful secretary¡­ It makes me jealous. After that, we looked around the Skyloft Suite and the Aqua Theater Suite. We decided to stay in the Royal Suite, Skyloft Suite, and Aqua Theater Suite for two people each because it would be lonely if you stayed alone. For now, we decided to head to the Rising Tide Bar for drinks now that we had a room. Now I¡¯m just worried that Ines will get so caught up in the booze that she¡¯ll forget about the night. She¡¯ll be fine, right? We arrived at the Rising Tide Bar and got in just as it was coming down. The ladies don¡¯t sit down and wait for it to start moving again. When it starts moving, there are shouts of joy¡­ even though I¡¯ve ridden the elevator and escalator before¡­ well, it¡¯s a different atmosphere. Finally, they all settle down and sit down and ask for some drinks. ¡°Wataru-san, what kind of drinks do you have?¡± ¡°Hmm, yes, that¡¯s right. There are many kinds, so it might be better to look at the menu and share the drinks. You want to enjoy the variety, don¡¯t you?¡± It¡¯s a strange way to drink, but it¡¯s a different world, so it¡¯s okay, right? It¡¯s not fashionable if you get a martini or a capa-capa. I don¡¯t want you to get acute alcohol poisoning or something. ¡°Fufu, there are so many kinds of drinks? I wonder if I can drink all of them.¡± I mean, you won¡¯t be able to get up tomorrow, will you, Alessia-san? ¡°Cocktails are easy to drink, but be careful; they are made with strong alcohol more often than you think.¡± I have a feeling that saying it won¡¯t stop them, but strong, easy-to-drink alcohol, huh¡­? They¡¯re going to get drunk, and more lucky chances are likely to increase. If I didn¡¯t have a night with Ines, I¡¯d be serving strong drinks all over the place here. Well, I only know the famous ones. And I like Kahlua milk. Excuse me for the childishness. ¡°I¡¯ll summon the Saporabi as well.¡± I summon two Saporabi for the time being. They are dressed as bartenders. I wonder if they can shake a shaker with that body shape. At any rate, I didn¡¯t want to get drunk today, so I asked for Kahlua milk. The Kahlua milk appears on the tray and is brought to me by Saporabi¡­ So it¡¯s not the Saporabi who makes the drink¡­ The ladies each asked for a different cocktail and started sharing. Eight people in a bar mean a lot of different kinds of cocktails are brought in. Come to think of it; I¡¯ve only been to a proper bar twice. I am more suited to izakaya (Japanese-style pubs), so I had heard of the drinks but had never experienced them before. Come to think of it, the bar I went to didn¡¯t have a menu, and they asked me what kind of drink I wanted. They just asked the customer. Is it normal for a bar to have no menu? The atmosphere was great, and the drinks were delicious, but¡­ Oh, Pink Lady is really pink. I had heard that it was pretty strong, but I wonder if it¡¯s okay? Not only martinis and margaritas, which even I know, but also cocktails I¡¯ve never heard of are ordered and brought to the bar. I wondered if Ines would be okay. I¡¯ll have one more drink and leave early. I¡¯ll have an¡­ Irish coffee. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s great, Wataru-san. Why is there a tree on the ship?¡± Hmm? A tree? Oh, Central Park. Oh, I forgot that this bar is moving up and down. I thought Alessia-san was preoccupied with her drink, but I guess she was watching her surroundings too. ¡°That is Central Park, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s a park on the ship. It¡¯s a fun place with good restaurants and cafes. Let¡¯s visit tomorrow.¡± ¡°Ufufufu, the Castle is full of fun places, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s so much fun.¡± Alessia-san, your laugh is different from usual. Are you already drunk? I¡¯m finished with my Irish coffee, so I¡¯ll take my leave. The question is whether I can go back naturally¡­ I can¡¯t do that kind of trick. Let¡¯s just go back normally. Volume 7 - CH 17 Chapter 17 ¨C Ines and¡­ and SeaPass Card I try to escape with Ines and Felicia as the ladies get excited about a drink they¡¯ve never had before. But cocktails with beautiful women, huh¡­? It¡¯s going to be a cool sight when I get used to drinking. Right now, though, it¡¯s not a very adult atmosphere, with all the noise about how good this and that tastes. When the Rising Tide Bar is on the Royal Promenade, I¡¯m calling it out and getting off. I made sure to ask only for Claretta-san. She¡¯s the one I can count on when it comes to alcohol. She promised to take them back with her, so I was relieved. Furthermore, the ship tour for tomorrow has been set for noon. I wanted to relax, and Girasole, who had been drinking, would be able to move around more easily if we started at noon. I also told them that breakfast would be served in the main dining room. I knew it would be hard on Carla-san if she didn¡¯t have breakfast. On the way back to the room, Felicia came to me with Rimu in her arms. ¡°Then, Master. I¡¯m going to take a rest in another room.¡± ¡°Hmm? ¡­It¡¯s a big room, so it won¡¯t be a problem¡­ It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m sorry for making you feel uncomfortable.¡± I don¡¯t know what kind of behavior I¡¯m going to have, so it¡¯s safer to have her stay in the other room. I¡¯d like to try my best to eventually have a threesome, though. I don¡¯t want to get weirdly excited and bring Felicia to my first night with Ines and then rush into a threesome. When I go full throttle with my desires, even if it¡¯s outrageous, somehow I think it¡¯s not a problem or something. ¡°No, Ines took care of me when it was my time, so it¡¯s only natural. Then I will join you at lunch.¡± Saying that, Felicia went into another room¡­ ¡°¡­I¡¯m getting kind of nervous.¡± Last time, I went out of control, so this time I¡¯m going to do my best to be nice and work on the girl. ¡°Fufu, right. But it¡¯s okay. Felicia is teaching me how to do it.¡± ¡­Eh? I heard some disturbing words¡­ What did Felicia teach you? ¡°H-hey, Ines, what did Felicia teach you?¡± ¡­I haven¡¯t done anything abnormal, but I have demanded something a little embarrassing¡­ ¡°Fufu, don¡¯t worry. I didn¡¯t ask about the content. I was just asking about how to be prepared.¡± Then it¡¯s safe, right? Well, I¡¯m thinking eventually with the two of them, so it might be useless. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Phew, morning, huh¡­? I look beside me and see Ines sleeping. Things don¡¯t always go as planned. I ended up pushing it until morning. I was aiming for a nice feeling of working on a woman and restraining myself from going out of control, but I didn¡¯t expect that Ines would go out of control. It felt good, and I was deeply satisfied, but it wasn¡¯t what I had planned. Being attacked is dangerous because it suits my personality. I¡¯ll do my best to take the initiative. That¡¯s what I¡¯ve made up my mind to do and go to sleep. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ When I woke up, my eyes met Ines¡¯. ¡°Good morning, Master.¡± ¡°Good morning, Ines.¡± ¡°Fufu, it¡¯s a little embarrassing, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Haha, indeed.¡± Sweet and sour, sweet and sour. It doesn¡¯t fit my character or Ines¡¯ character, so we both blush. I¡¯m not good at this atmosphere. ¡°Shall we take a bath?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± I soak in the bath with a few words. ¡­But when Ines is in front of me, I can¡¯t stand it. The tension is heightened by the fact that there are no longer any restrictions, even the little ecchi things that I had been bound to do. After getting out of the bath and enjoying lovemaking for a while, Felicia arrived. ¡°Master, Ines, it¡¯s almost time for the Girasole to be here, is everything alright?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. I¡¯ll be ready in a minute.¡± As I was getting dressed, Ines and Felicia were talking happily. I can hear them saying things like they had a good time and were surprised, but they¡¯re talking cheerfully, so I don¡¯t see the problem. I¡¯m wondering what surprised them. I put on my clothes and meet up with Girasole. It seems that everyone is not hungover, and I guess it is thanks to Claretta-san¡¯s hard work. After talking to her, it seems she had a hard time after all. They got pretty drunk, and they wanted to drink more, so she and Carla-san dragged the group of alcohol lovers back to their rooms. When I said thank you for their hard work, they nodded at me with a bitter smile. They must have been really tired if they didn¡¯t deny it. Carla-san, Felicia, Rimu, and Fuu-chan ate breakfast together in the main dining room. Carla-san was satisfied that it was delicious, so next time, I¡¯ll go have breakfast, too. ¡°What would you like to eat for lunch?¡± ¡°Hmm, well, I don¡¯t know what kind of restaurants there are, so I¡¯m going to ask for Wataru-san¡¯s recommendation.¡± ¡°Recommendations, huh¡­?¡± What should I do? I think Japanese food is good at night, so maybe Italian or hamburger?¡¡So Italian is in Central Park, and hamburger is in Boardwalk¡­? Hmm, it¡¯s lunchtime, and I¡¯m in the mood for a hamburger. I hear it¡¯s a famous restaurant that¡¯s been around for a long time, so let¡¯s go there. And a tour of the Boardwalk sounds like fun, too. ¡°Let¡¯s go for a hamburger then. We¡¯re going to a place called the Boardwalk right now.¡± I headed for the Boardwalk with the ladies in tow. I opened the door and went outside, and a merry-go-round appeared in front of us. ¡­I wondered if the ladies would be pleased with the merry-go-round. ¡°Wataru-san, what is this? A big horse doll?¡± As expected, they are curious about it because it stands out. ¡°Well, how should I put it? It¡¯s just a ride on that horse and carriage that goes round and round. Would you like to try it?¡± ¡°This is interesting, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡­I don¡¯t think people who usually ride horses and carriages would find it interesting¡­ What do you think? ¡°I don¡¯t know if you would enjoy it since it is playground equipment that children prefer. But wouldn¡¯t it be nice to give it a try?¡± ¡°Well, yes, please.¡± Girasole, Ines, Felicia, Rimu, and Fuu-chan went on the merry-go-round, and it started to move up and down and around with fun music¡­ At first, the women were surprised to see the carousel in motion, but soon their expressions became more subtle. Well, I understand how they feel. It is a surreal sight to see from the outside. Rimu and Fuu-chan must be enjoying themselves because they are bouncing happily. Hmm¡­ is it just me who feels an obscene sense of eight beautiful women on a carousel¡­? ¡°How was it?¡± I asked Alessia-san when she came back. ¡°¡­Well, I¡¯m glad it was such a strange experience.¡± She chose her words very carefully. The other ladies also looked very delicate. Well, I understand how they feel. Rimu jumped on the conversation. ¡°One more time, Wataru!¡± ¡°¡­More¡­¡± I knew he liked it. Fuu-chan wanted to ride it one more time too. ¡°Rimu and Fuu-chan want to ride again, so can I have some time?¡± The ladies nodded their heads, indicating that they wouldn¡¯t ride it again, so I took Rimu and Fuu-chan for one more ride. Sounds like fun. ¡°I didn¡¯t know it worked like this. It¡¯s gorgeous to watch.¡± ¡°I agree. It looked even more glamorous with Alessia-san and the others on it.¡± ¡°Fufu, is that so?¡± We pass the time talking nonsense until the merry-go-round comes to a halt. ¡°One more time.¡± ¡°¡­More¡­¡± They seemed to like it quite a bit. But there¡¯s no end to it in sight, so let¡¯s go get a hamburger. ¡°Rimu, Fuu-chan, we¡¯re going for a hamburger now. So let¡¯s do it another time.¡± ¡°Hamburger?¡± ¡°¡­Delicious¡­?¡­¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been around for a long time. It¡¯s a famous restaurant, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be good.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡± ¡°¡­Eat¡­¡± Good. I picked up Rimu and Fuu-chan in my arms and headed out to eat a hamburger. But it¡¯s boarded up. That¡¯s what ¡°boardwalk¡± means, right? I had no idea. A fairy tale? ¡­We pass through a place with an atmosphere that children would like and arrive at a hamburger shop. As soon as I sat down, the coin slot opened¡­ Why? Checking the screen, I see that they charge a seating fee¡­ 5 copper coins, or why do we have to pay for a seat when the meal is free? Well, it¡¯s all you can eat for five copper coins, so it must be cheap. ¡­Hmm? There¡¯s a SeaPass card on the screen of the luxury liner¡­ What¡¯s this? I read the description, and it says that you can charge money to it¡­ so you don¡¯t have to carry around a lot of coins¡­ and it will debit the card on its own. You don¡¯t have to go out of your way to use a SeaPass card; you can just take the cash. Is that not allowed? But I wish I had known that earlier. ¡°Ah, everyone. I just realized that there is something called a SeaPass card. It seems that if you deposit money like a guild card, you can use it inside this ship. It¡¯s also supposed to debit your card when you buy something.¡± Everyone needs one, it seems. The coins are quite bulky. I summoned the card for the time being. But how do you deposit the money? There is a coin slot next to the card¡­ which is convenient, but I¡¯m not convinced. I explained how to use the card and handed it over. All the members of Girasole put in one gold coin¡­ It¡¯s a million yen, you know? Somehow I also put one gold coin in each of my, Ines¡¯, and Felicia¡¯s cards and gave them to them. We¡¯re making so much money, and it¡¯s a luxury liner, after all. It would be nice to have a bonus, wouldn¡¯t it? ¡°Master. Is it really worth it?¡± ¡°Master, it¡¯s too much.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a luxury liner, and there will be plenty of things you want and plenty of things you want to eat. It¡¯s a commemoration of the purchase of the luxury liner, which is different from your allowance. ¡° The contract is to enjoy the luxury liner to the fullest, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to spend a lot of money at the casino, so please enjoy it to the fullest with that amount. If Ines gets into the casino, it would be a terrible thing if I don¡¯t put a limit on it. Would it be caught in the contract? If the money runs out soon and it looks like it¡¯s going to be a problem, I¡¯ll consider adding more. But let¡¯s not tell anyone about it. Thank you, Master.¡± ¡°¡­Master, I think one gold coin is enough to have fun, but will it run out soon?¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know about the casino on this ship, but with the high rates, would it be surprisingly easy to lose it?¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll be careful with it. Thank you, Master.¡± ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s time for us to order. I¡¯ll have a hamburger, onion rings, fries, and a carbonated beverage. You can order whatever you like, too. Except for the seat charge, everything else is free.¡± The hamburger that appears in front of me is huge. It has two patties, even though I didn¡¯t order a double. Two pieces of cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a large pickle. It looks delicious. I open my mouth and bite into it, and the juices flood into my mouth. The burger patty is full of juices¡­ I am surprised that it is not dry, but it is delicious. The rich cheese and juices mix with the pickles, onions, and lettuce to give it a crunchy and crispy taste. Well, it¡¯s hard to describe, but it¡¯s delicious. In between, I pick up fries and onion rings and have a carbonated beverage. ¡­Delicious hamburger, but for some reason, I¡¯m craving a McDonald¡¯s. I want a teriyaki burger. This hamburger is superior in taste, but it reminds me of that familiar taste. There was also a luxury liner where McDonald¡¯s opened a restaurant¡­ Is it reasonable to buy a luxury liner costing tens of billions of dollars for McDonald¡¯s? Phew, it¡¯s so big that even one hamburger will fill your stomach. But if the price doesn¡¯t change, no matter how many I order, I¡¯ll have to eat one more. I asked Rimu, who had already finished his meal, and he said he still wanted one, so he ate another kind of hamburger. I looked around and saw that everyone had finished eating except Carla-san and Fuu-chan. According to the number of packages, Carla-san is eating her fifth one right now. That¡¯s great, isn¡¯t it? I wait until Carla-san, Rimu, and Fuu-chan are satisfied before leaving the restaurant. ¡°It was delicious. I¡¯m so full. What¡¯s next, Wataru-san?¡± Next, huh¡­? We¡¯re full, so let¡¯s take a walk in Central Park and go to the casino. I¡¯m worried about the casino if we don¡¯t decide how much money we¡¯re going to spend. Ines is losing her money through gambling, and it would be unfortunate if Girasole goes bankrupt. I¡¯ll have to explain it to them. ¡°Then, let¡¯s go to Central Park and take a walk.¡± ¡°Central Park is the park you were talking about at the bar yesterday, isn¡¯t it? It would be fun to take a leisurely stroll there.¡± ¡°I agree. After we finish our stroll and get hungry, let¡¯s go to the casino.¡± We walked toward Central Park while explaining about the casino. By the time we arrive, we may be hungry, and¡­ that¡¯s not likely the case. Volume 7 - CH 18 Chapter 18 ¨C Casino and a Bit of a Shock After a full meal of hamburgers, we move on to Central Park. It¡¯s amazing. Even the pillars are crawling with plants. I was surprised to see trees planted inside the ship, but I guess they planted them for the scenery. It is relaxing. To be honest, nature in other worlds is too harsh. Dense forests, huge insects, and ferocious monsters¡­ It would mean taking a walk in the woods would be suicidal. Central Park, on the other hand, has easy ground to walk on, moderate vegetation, no dangerous creatures, and birdsong (recorded). If you get tired or hungry, there are cafes and restaurants. As a frail Japanese person, man-made nature is definitely the right choice. There are no bandits, no monsters, not even people. It is lonely to see no people at all, so I should summon three Saporabis and place them there. ¡°Wataru-san, what a beautiful but strange place. Why are there plants here when we are on a ship?¡± It seems that Alessia-san doesn¡¯t understand the meaning of planting vegetation all the way inside the ship. Well, it¡¯s a harsh environment, and nature is a lot of things in this world. ¡°I think the parks are built for a relaxing environment because this ship can make long trips. A place with vegetation, where there is no danger, is a place where people can relax.¡± But there is also a possibility that the ship¡¯s designers just thought it would be cool to have trees and such growing inside the ship! The possibility of just thinking about it is not zero, but it¡¯s different, isn¡¯t it? The ladies are also walking leisurely. But they are not showing much interest in the vegetation. I wonder if Claretta-san is interested in the vegetation? It would be interesting if the earth¡¯s plants had some special power, but there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything like that. I take a leisurely stroll through the park, which is somewhat relaxing for me, although I am curious about the many rooms on both sides of the park. I walked from one end to the other, but¡­ I got tired of it. I¡¯m hungry, so I¡¯ve had enough. Let¡¯s go to the casino. I¡¯ve seen Italian food, steaks, and elegant restaurants, so this is good this time, right? ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go to the casino.¡± Ines smiles at my words. It¡¯s amazing that she doesn¡¯t feel any remorse for the cause of her enslavement. Well, I guess it doesn¡¯t matter since she has an allowance. We arrive at the front of the casino, and before we go in, let¡¯s have a proper talk. I don¡¯t want to make anyone go bankrupt. When I asked them before, they gave me the money as a reward except for living expenses, and after that, they were with me, and they were not working so much. If it¡¯s not good, there¡¯s a chance they only have the ten gold coins I paid them. I have to be careful. ¡°Everyone in Girasole, if you get addicted to the casino, you could lose a lot of money. I¡¯ll explain the rules but don¡¯t get too carried away. ¡­Yes, and today, never spend more than five silver coins.¡± Five silver coins¡­ 5 million yen, that¡¯s a lot of money, but you wouldn¡¯t spend that much if you were cruising the minimum rate, would you? Probably. I just had a little experience with it when I traveled to South Korea, too¡­ There¡¯s so much I don¡¯t know and don¡¯t understand since I¡¯ve been on a luxury liner. I can see how my life has never been involved with luxury liner before. It¡¯s a little sad. ¡°Five silver coins, I get it. We¡¯ve hardly ever gambled, so we¡¯ll be careful.¡± Hmm, maybe I should have just come with only Ines and Felicia and not brought Girasole? Well, it¡¯s too late now, isn¡¯t it? Let¡¯s have fun anyway. After paying attention, we entered the casino. It¡¯s gorgeous. What should I play first? Is roulette the obvious one? I played table games, and then maybe the slot machines. I sit down at a table where the minimum rate for roulette is five copper coins. ¡­What are you going to do with it? Let¡¯s see; the screen says I need a dealer. I don¡¯t really think it would matter if they skip forward to the next moment. I can¡¯t figure out the system anyhow. Is it because it¡¯s not elegant? When I summoned Saporabi, a Saporabi dressed as a dealer appeared. ¡­He handed me something like a menu that he had, and when I checked it, I found the rules written on it. In a regular casino, they don¡¯t have these things, right? Do they even have this stuff to keep them from talking? I think they put too much effort into Saporabi. I don¡¯t think it would be a problem if they could speak in the first place. Didn¡¯t they talk in roulette when it stopped or something? ¡­Oh, did that ring a bell? Something doesn¡¯t feel right, but I guess there¡¯s nothing I can do when the dealer is a horned rabbit¡­ Anyway, I ask for 20 5-copper chips. They should have been deducted from my SeaPass card. The ladies exchange chips in the same way. ¡°Wataru-san, why are all the chips different colors?¡± Alessia-san asked, comparing everyone¡¯s chips. ¡°In roulette, the chips are placed where the letters and numbers are written, so it¡¯s easier to tell whose chip it is, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I understand.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s bet on the outside this time to get a feel for it. These three separate places are three times the number of hits, and the choice is red or black. A choice of even or odd numbers; a choice of 1-18 or 19-36. These are doubled when hit. After that, 0 and 00 are outliers if you bet on the outside. Shall we try it?¡± I don¡¯t need to explain the rules; I can solve this with a staff appointment. ¡­I don¡¯t want to do that because I think it would be dangerous if they understood. Stretching out a small amount of money while worrying about it will not cause serious damage. ¡­I¡¯m assuming we¡¯ll lose, but there¡¯s a chance we¡¯ll win big¡­ Well, you can play with small bets at first. If anyone loses more than one gold coin in a month, they will be banned from the site for that month. ¡­Huh? If they get addicted to the casino and lose their wealth, I may be able to do this and that with the help of money¡­ Hmmm, a beautiful woman with big breasts who has a gambling addiction¡­ I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s a good thing or not; it¡¯s hard to say. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to start, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Eh? Oh, I¡¯m sorry, Alessia-san. Shall we begin?¡± Saporabi says in a cute voice, ¡°Place your bets.¡± [T/n: The Saporabi dealer talking in English.] ¡°¡­He spoke!¡± Eh? Are you talking normally after having kept it up all this time? I was surprised, and Saporabi threw a ball into the ring. The ladies were surprised, too, but they put down their chips. I put one chip on the red one. I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just a little bit too small. ¡°Last call.¡± It means that the deadline is almost over. ¡°No more bets.¡± It means you can¡¯t bet anymore. Saporabi, you¡¯re supposed to say it out loud. ¡­The ball went into the red 32¡­ I won it, but I¡¯m more concerned about Saporabi. Saporabi collected the chips from the lost ones as if nothing had happened and overlapped the chips¡­ ¡°Hey, Saporabi, tell me something¡­¡± Saporabi nodded his head. Alessia-san and Claretta-san make a fuss about how cute it is. ¡°You can only talk about certain things?¡± Saporabi nodded his head. That¡¯s a pain-in-the-ass limitation. Is that it? Like the villagers in an RPG who can only speak a certain language? Let¡¯s stop worrying about it and keep going. The ladies who have learned the rules also happily put down their chips. When the ball is thrown in, they cheer for the ball to go where they bet. This is something, isn¡¯t it? If it weren¡¯t for my ship, they would have been kicked out of the ship. They are making so much noise that they might be banned. In between betting, I continue to play roulette, sharing trivia such as the fact that betting on two places with three choices is more likely to win than betting on two choices, even though the profit is smaller. After playing for a while, Ines said she wanted to bet on the numbers as well. She told me that depending on the timing and speed at which the ball is thrown in, you can usually predict where it will land¡­ ¡°That¡¯s fine, but I¡¯m going to go to the other games¡­ so just three more times.¡± ¡°Okay. Watch and see, Master. I¡¯ll show you how good I am.¡± The one who sold herself through gambling confidently proclaims to me. ¡­It must be a waste of time. I enjoy it with Rimu, making predictions in red or black. Maybe it¡¯s because of the luck involved, but Rimu is more likely to hit the mark than me. My luck is constant in terms of status, but I wonder if it doesn¡¯t matter if I have a good day or a bad day. If my total luck is 15, that¡¯s pretty depressing. ¡°No, Master. I really know. Just one more time. H-hey, it¡¯s okay, right?¡± After easily losing three number bets, I quieted Ines¡¯ cries for one more and moved on to the blackjack table. The result of the roulette game was that Alessia-san and Ines lost all their chips, while the others won a little and lost a little. Alessia-san was lured by Ines into betting on the numbers and lost all the bets. I explained to her that she could have bet in two places or four places by placing a single chip at the intersection of the lines, but she was so focused on one point that she missed all the bets. Ines is not a gambler; she just likes to gamble. I sat down at the table and summoned the Saporabi. By default, he hands me a piece of paper with the rules. Everyone reads it around thoroughly to make sure everyone is familiar with the rules. Teach them the hand signs for hit and stay, and explain doubles, splits, etc., as you play the game. Saporabi still only talks about place your bets, no more bets, etc. I explain the rules, and since we can¡¯t all sit down together, we take turns going over the rules and playing the game. It¡¯s as noisy as ever. And it¡¯s interesting to see the personalities. The most exciting ones are Alessia-san, Carla-san, and Ine. Carla-san¡¯s being so easygoing is a bit strange. Dorothea-san, Marina-san, Ilma-san, and Felicia are orthodox players who check their own hand and the dealer¡¯s hand carefully and make a decision. Claretta-san is cautious or has extremely few hits over 15. ¡­This shows her personality, doesn¡¯t it? After finishing blackjack, we go on to enjoy poker, baccarat, craps, etc. For some reason, Ines is awakened in baccarat and is winning all over the place, and she¡¯s very happy. I¡¯m worried about her later. I lost two silver coins, and among the ladies, Ines won 33 silver coins. Alessia-san lost five silver coins. The rest of the group won a little and lost a little. ¡°How was the casino?¡± ¡°Well, I lost, but it was fun. There are many games I haven¡¯t played yet, so I want to come back again. Next time I will win.¡± Alessia-san was not satisfied with her biggest loss, and she was eager to get her revenge. Ines, on the other hand. ¡°Look, Master. Isn¡¯t it great?¡± She is beaming with a big smile on her face. ¡­They¡¯re absolutely faking it, aren¡¯t they? First, they let her win, and then later, they will take all of her money. That¡¯s what I would do. Saporabi is supposed to do the bare minimum of work, but I think that is among the bare minimum of work. The other members seemed to enjoy themselves. I think it¡¯s Alessia-san and Ines who are likely to go on a spending spree at the casino. I have to be careful. ¡°Then let¡¯s go to dinner. I want to eat my hometown food today. Is that okay?¡± Finally, Japanese food. I love hamburgers and steaks, but the very name ¡°Japanese food¡± is very appealing to me. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m looking forward to it because everything Wataru-san has cooked for us so far has been delicious.¡± ¡°I hope it will live up to your expectations.¡± I was looking forward to the Japanese restaurant with great anticipation. ¡­..This is not what I was expecting¡­.. The sushi was delicious. The ladies love this Japanese restaurant because it¡¯s delicious and fun. But when I ordered teppanyaki, I found out that I needed a Saporabi, and since I was ordering teppanyaki, I summoned a Saporabi, thinking that I would need one if it were going to be cooked right in front of me. That was the beginning of the discomfort. Saporabi was using a teppanyaki iron? Saporabi started to make a loud action with his teppanyaki iron. He spun the eggs around on the griddle and began lifting them with the iron. Finally, he threw an egg into the air up above and caught it with his cocked hat. After that, he continued to grill meat, seafood, and vegetables with various actions¡­ Is fried rice a Japanese dish? It tasted good, but I would say this is not Japanese food. The Japanese teppanyaki restaurants I have been taken to did not have such intense action. I am torn between clearing up the misunderstanding and not clearing up the misunderstanding, but it is hard to say to the ladies who are enjoying themselves that this is not Japanese food. Now let¡¯s buy a Japanese luxury liner. I think it was Asuka II, right? Japanese food should be okay on that ship. Let¡¯s gently clear up the misunderstanding about Japanese food. There is a possibility that they will be disappointed with the lack of action when I take them to a Japanese restaurant on Asuka II¡­ That¡¯s kind of sad. Let¡¯s go to the bar, have some drinks, and go to bed with Ines and Felicia spoiling me. Volume 7 - CH 19 Chapter 19 ¨C Swimsuit Induction and Show ¡°Wataru-san, what are you going to do today?¡± Alessia-san asked me as I was having a leisurely cup of tea after finishing breakfast in the main dining room. Well, the Japanese food I was looking forward to yesterday was different from what I expected, and I was somewhat shocked. Let¡¯s change our mood by exercising today. I bought a video camera, maybe the pool? The possibility of a bra might be noticed, but I¡¯m sad to pass up a pool with a group of ladies. ¡­Let¡¯s push it through by saying it¡¯s a special outfit for getting in the water. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I want to exercise today, so why don¡¯t we go to the pool and play in the water?¡± ¡°Pool? What do you mean by playing in the water?¡± ¡­Don¡¯t you play in the water? Oh, come to think of it, there are monsters. They don¡¯t swim and play in the river or the ocean. Maybe they can¡¯t swim? ¡°Well, do you all swim?¡± The women looked at me with a puzzled look. ¡°We have never swum before. Fishermen, sailors, and naval officers only learn to swim in case of emergencies.¡± ¡­So the group who loves to maneuver the ship was blasting along on a ship when they couldn¡¯t even swim? ¡°Didn¡¯t you ever have a chance to swim in a river or the ocean during your adventures?¡± ¡°No, because it¡¯s hard to get wet during an adventure. There are people who specialize in exploring watery places.¡± Oh, it¡¯s certainly difficult to get wet, isn¡¯t it? You can¡¯t even take off your clothes in a place where there are monsters¡­ Come to think of it, the cave where we got the Ryu scales was almost untouched, right? It was a place you could get to if you went against the headwind. Was the water blocking the valuable medicinal herbs and the tens of billions of Ryu scales? I guess if you have a ship, you can still discover more treasures. ¡­I¡¯ll think about it when I can¡¯t sell pepper anymore. ¡°I see¡­ Well, what can I say? The Castle has a place that looks like a bath, many times bigger than it is, and you can play in it. If you can¡¯t swim, why don¡¯t you play in the kiddie pool first?¡± If it¡¯s for kids, they won¡¯t drown, and they can have fun playing with each other, like splashing each other. ¡°You want to play in a kiddie place? That¡¯s a little embarrassing.¡± ¡°Alessia-san, we¡¯re the only ones in this place, so there¡¯s nothing to be embarrassed about.¡± We¡¯re not going to be in the middle of a bunch of kids screaming, so I don¡¯t see the problem. ¡°¡­This was inside Wataru-san¡¯s ship, wasn¡¯t it? I knew that, but I still feel like I¡¯m in a foreign town.¡± Not so much a foreign country as an otherworldly town, though. When I¡¯m on the Castle, I feel like I¡¯m in a foreign country, too. We decided to play in the pool for now, so we went to buy swimsuits. ¡°Wataru-san, there¡¯s hardly any cloth left.¡± ¡°This is a special outfit for playing in the water. If there is too much fabric, it will be difficult to play in the water.¡± If possible, I¡¯d like them to choose a swimsuit that looks like it¡¯s backward with a T, but if it looks like this, it¡¯s going to be difficult. Should I order Ines and Felicia to do it? ¡­Hmm, but hey, there¡¯s the tail, too, and a bikini is just about right. I wouldn¡¯t go so far as to say micro bikini, so I¡¯d like to at least direct them to a regular bikini. I don¡¯t mind the one-piece type, but I prefer the ones with less fabric area. Oh¡­ you have to cut a hole for the tail. But I can¡¯t sew. Huh? I don¡¯t think we can go to the pool today. ¡°Is that so? What about the one with lots of fabric over here?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t recommend the one with a lot of fabric. This type is easier to swim in.¡± I just can¡¯t recommend it because of my preference. I am the only otherworlder in the world, right? If I lied this much, they wouldn¡¯t know. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yeah, and I just realized that there isn¡¯t a swimsuit here that has a hole in the back for a tail. Unless you make a hole and sew it on, you can¡¯t use it. So we couldn¡¯t go to the pool today.¡± ¡°Speaking of which, there are no swimsuits with holes in them¡­ Claretta can sew, can¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m used to working with holes for tails, so I can do it today. I can also take care of Ines¡¯ swimsuit.¡± Alessia-san¡¯s words were followed by Claretta-san¡¯s confidence in her ability to take on the task. She even took care of Ines¡¯ part, so that¡¯s a big help. I managed to stop the one-piece, tankini, etc., and succeeded in inducing bikinis. Let¡¯s switch the pool to tomorrow and¡­ what to do today¡­ ice skating. Maybe we can put the ziplining and rock climbing together at the pool. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll leave the swimsuits to you, Claretta-san. Let¡¯s postpone the pool until tomorrow. Let¡¯s go ice skating today.¡± ¡°Ice skating? What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a game where you skate on ice with special shoes.¡± ¡°Ice? I¡¯ve heard that water freezes where it gets cold.¡± Come to think of it; it¡¯s never been winter¡­ It¡¯s been warm all the time. I didn¡¯t pay attention to it at all because there¡¯s so little change. I heard there are places where it gets cold, so there are seasons, right? Or maybe that place is winter all the time. If I ask Creator God-sama, will He answer me? Anyway, let¡¯s buy some swimsuits and then some socks and head to the skating rink. It¡¯s a surprisingly small rink¡­ Well, just having a skating rink on a ship is awesome. ¡°It¡¯s amazing, Wataru-san. It¡¯s such a big ice rink. Do you play there?¡± My impression is that it¡¯s a small skating rink, but from the ladies¡¯ point of view, it¡¯s different. ¡°Yes, Alessia-san, you¡¯re right.¡± Can we borrow shoes here? Let¡¯s just say at the counter. ¡°27cm skates, please.¡± A pair of skates appears. ¡°Wataru-san. Is this shoe a weapon? They look kind of inconvenient.¡± I understand what Alessia-san wants to say. If I didn¡¯t know any better, it would look like a pair of shoes with a blade on the bottom. ¡°They¡¯re not weapons. It¡¯s hard to walk on, but on the ice, it¡¯s slippery. Let me put on my shoes, and I¡¯ll explain.¡± ¡°I understand. So how can I borrow the shoes?¡± ¡°What¡¯s your shoe size, Alessia-san?¡± ¡°¡­Size?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the size of your foot.¡± ¡°Hmm, I bought shoes that fit when I tried them on, so I don¡¯t know what size they are.¡± ¡­I guess you could say that. I was the same way. Since I¡¯ve been on the Castle, my sense of detail has gone back to when I was in Japan. I rent shoes by comparing them to my shoes and checking the approximate size. I change my shoes near the entrance of the skating rink. When I stand up, the ladies are pulling up as if it is hard for them to move. That¡¯s what happens at the beginning, even if you¡¯re at a higher level. Once you get the hang of it, though, it seems to go faster. ¡°I guess the first thing to do is to practice standing on the ice.¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s pretty scary.¡± The women are pulling themselves up and slightly slouching. I teach them how to walk and stand on the ice slowly. They practice walking with their legs open in a ¡°c¡± shape while holding onto the railing. The little screams that leak out slightly are sexy. But the women, despite what they say, are very athletic and don¡¯t fall. It¡¯s a little frustrating because when I started skating, I fell all over the place. Even when they let go of the handrail, they stand steady and have no problem walking. They are improving very fast. ¡°Now that you have learned to walk, the next step is to slide. I¡¯ll show you an example, so please watch me.¡± I have been skating a few times, so I am secretly confident. Although not quite light in front of the ladies, I skate smoothly. I can¡¯t jump, but do I look cool?¡± ¡°Ara, you can skate like that. I finally understand what these shoes are for.¡± Alessia-san says and kicks her back foot, and she quickly moves forward. ¡­I had a feeling that this was going to happen. The women¡¯s athleticism has been incorporated within them. ¡°Fufu, I could skate.¡± Alessia-san smiles happily. She was still a little awkward, but she skated on the ice without any problems. The other women followed her lead. ¡°It¡¯s a strange feeling.¡± Dorothea-san, looking a little mystified, shows off her steady skating. ¡°It¡¯s interesting.¡± Marina-san skates quickly. ¡°Ufufu, Wataru-san, skating is so much fun.¡± Ilma-san looks very sexy as she skates. ¡°So fun.¡± Carla-san is skating smoothly. She has a dazzling smile. ¡°It¡¯s a little scary.¡± Claretta-san is a little timid, but she¡¯s skating steadily. ¡°It¡¯s fun. Watch me, Master. I¡¯ll win.¡± Ines is competing with Alessia-san for some reason. ¡°Master, it¡¯s interesting.¡± Felicia is smiling and skating at her own pace. I can see their personalities in the way they skate. This rate of progress is as expected. Let¡¯s teach them to run backward from here and have them try jumping. I have no idea how to jump, but I have a feeling these girls can handle it. All that¡¯s left is to record everything. As I was making my pathetic plans, something unexpected happened. Rimu, who had been standing on top of my head, jumped off the ice. ¡°Rimu! Are you okay? It¡¯s cold!¡± Slime doesn¡¯t freeze, does it? Is he okay? ¡°It¡¯s freezing; I¡¯m fine.¡± He doesn¡¯t seem to mind the cold. The slime moves around in front of my eyes but hardly moves forward. Is it possible that he is trying to move forward and failing? This time, he moves his body slightly¡­ but he¡¯s making just a little progress. ¡°Wataru, move¡­ I can¡¯t¡­¡± Shocked by his inability to move, a sad thought flies through the air. For some reason, when I approached him to comfort him, Fuu-chan charged at him and bounced Rimu off. ¡°Suu¡­¡± Rimu happily bounced away with a thought that I didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Fuu-chan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I talk to Fuu-chan. ¡°¡­Wind¡­¡± and she chased after Rimu while being blown away by the strong wind. It¡¯s like a pinball. ¡­I wonder if billiards would be more appropriate. ¡°Marina-san, Fuu-chan slid down with great force¡­¡± I talked to Marina-san, who was skating nearby, and it seems that Fuu-chan is now able to move on the ice using wind magic on her own. That¡¯s a wonderful sense. There is no magic that Rimu remembers that could be used for propulsion. But he is using the recoil from being bounced off the ice by Fuu-chan to move across the skating rink, bouncing back strongly when he hits the wall. It¡¯s not pinball or billiards; it¡¯s airfield hockey. ¡­Slime doesn¡¯t frostbite, does it? Satisfied after skating for a while, he slides toward me, climbs up my body, and settles in place on my head. Rimu¡¯s body feels cold and subtly hard. ¡°Rimu, aren¡¯t you cold? Are you getting cold?¡± I take him down from the top of my head and hug him to warm him up. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡­Are you okay? I don¡¯t know any doctor who can examine slime; I¡¯m a little worried. I look at Marina-san and see her warming Fuu-chan in her arms as she returns. I guess we¡¯re thinking the same thing. When I teach the women the reverse, they master it right away. I don¡¯t know how to jump, so I¡¯m struggling with it. Hmm, is there a skating book or something in the library? Oh, I just thought of a good idea. Let¡¯s try it after the shoot. I recorded the women skating happily with the video camera I bought. They fall down a lot when they try to jump. They understand that I am recording them, so they try to jump in front of the camera and look at the camera with a big smile on their faces. And they are beautiful women. ¡­I¡¯m happy that I was able to capture a little happening video. It¡¯s time to try something I¡¯ve been thinking about. ¡°Everyone, may I have a word?¡± The women gather at the sound of my voice. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Alessia-san asked me on behalf of the group. ¡°I just thought up an idea, but I think we can put on an ice-skating show with a staff member appointment. Would you mind trying it out?¡± ¡°Fufu, staff appointment. Sounds fun; I¡¯d love to try it out.¡± Everyone was enthusiastic. It¡¯s going to be a great show. I appoint everyone to the ice show staff. ¡°Ara, I didn¡¯t know you could do this. May I ask you to do this for me, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± According to the ladies who have gained knowledge of ice shows, they need music and lighting. I summon the Saporabi and place them in place. The ladies are skating to get used to their bodies¡­ much better. I wonder what it feels like to become proficient at the job you¡¯ve been assigned to do? I¡¯ll give it a try next time. It seems that the breaking-in was over, and on cue, the ladies began their show. ¡­Busty beauties were skating with various techniques. ¡­Wonderful. It¡¯s wonderful, but the clothes are very uncomfortable. The lighting, the music, the skating, it was a real show, but the clothes were so rough that it looked like a practice scene. ¡­Dressing is important, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Phew, how was it, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Alessia-san, you were wonderful. It was just a pity that your clothes didn¡¯t match the show. Next time, let¡¯s think about the costumes.¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, you¡¯re right. I didn¡¯t think that much of it. But it was fun. I think I understand a little bit how the people in the troupe feel.¡± Theater troupe? I¡¯ve never seen one, but I wonder if I can go to the royal capital to see one. It seems like a lot of nobles and rich people are going to see it. ¡°Let¡¯s watch the recorded video later, shall we? I think it would be quite fun.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯m hungry.¡± I checked the time at Carla-san¡¯s words and found that it was past 3:00 p.m. I was too engrossed in skating. Let¡¯s go have a late lunch. Volume 7 - CH 20 Chapter 20 ¨C Room Service and Swimming Pool After enjoying the ladies¡¯ skating show, we decided to have a late lunch. ¡°Wataru-san. What are we going to eat today?¡± Carla-san asked me with an expression of uncontrollable interest. When it comes to food, Carla-san¡¯s expression increases by 50%. Well, what shall we eat? ¡°Hmm, well, let¡¯s try the eat in the room method today, shall we?¡± Let¡¯s show them how to use room service. But, you know, you can order as much alcohol (for a fee) and food as you want, right? I¡¯m worried. ¡°Can we eat in our room?¡± She¡¯s curious. I feel like I¡¯m being a bit hasty¡­ I¡¯m going to tell her, just in case. ¡°Yes, you can eat in your room. However, no matter how much you can eat and drink freely in your room, binge drinking is prohibited. Then, let¡¯s go to my room.¡± We all head to my room. I choose the menu on the TV. ¡­The characters are in a different world style. If they were in English, it would have prevented binge eating and drinking. Oh, no, when I hover the cursor over it, a picture of alcohol appears. I¡¯m sure the girls would understand just this. ¡°Can we order this? Wow, they do have alcohol, though it¡¯s for a fee. It¡¯s expensive, but if you consider that you can drink drinks from another world, it¡¯s incredibly inexpensive.¡± Alessia-san¡¯s words were met with a reaction from the group of drink lovers. ¡­I guess it¡¯s going to be like this. At any rate, there are a few of us, so we order from one end of the table to the other. Soup, two kinds of salad, three kinds of sandwiches, pizza, sausage, and potatoes. Each time I make a selection on the TV, a dish appears on the living room table. Even if you don¡¯t order on the TV, I think you could order it if you ask for it verbally in the room. ¡­Should I not try? Too much convenience is also a problem. One thing that amazes me is the sandwiches. There is steak or chicken on a piece of bread. There are knives and forks around it. I¡¯ve never eaten a sandwich with a knife and fork before. This is high society life, isn¡¯t it? I think it¡¯s a bit troublesome, but I guess I¡¯m not a high-society person. There are many dishes on the table. The atmosphere is like a simple party. We eat lively. The topic of conversation is mostly about skating. It seems to have been a lot of fun, and there is no end to the conversation. Also, it is amazing how the ladies are completely familiar with the remote control. How can they use all those buttons without getting lost? They are crispy additions to the food that they like. That¡¯s not to be underestimated. After a late lunch, we all watched the skating video projected on the screen in the loft, which was shot with a video camera. ¡°Somehow, it¡¯s strange to see yourself in it. Are movies made like this?¡± Ilma-san asked me a difficult question. It¡¯s the same thing as filming, but¡­ ¡°Is it safe to say it¡¯s like this? I think they¡¯re making the films by having specialized people shoot with bigger, more expensive camcorders that I bought.¡± I¡¯m sure they use CG or something, but I can¡¯t explain something I don¡¯t understand, so I¡¯ll stop. ¡°After all, there are people who specialize in that. Of course, I know that an amateur couldn¡¯t make a story like that.¡± It seems that she understands the difference between an amateur and an expert. That¡¯s good. I wondered what I would do if she said she wanted to make a movie, too. They are watching the video while making noise and giving their impressions. They seem to not care about the plump and boing-boing. Is it because it¡¯s normal to shake in this world? ¡­A happening scene was played. I say the happening scene, but it was just that Alessia-san took a big jump in front of the camera and failed to land on the ground. The foot she landed on slipped as if she had stepped on a banana peel in a cartoon, and her foot raised up like overhead, and her head hit the ice. The scene on the ice was quiet, and everyone rushed to Alessia-san¡¯s side. I was in such a hurry that I ran to her, too, so the image was blurry. Claretta-san hurriedly applied a heal to Alessia-san¡¯s head. Alessia-san, with teary eyes, is so cute. I wonder if we could have borrowed helmets? I should have borrowed one if it was available. That fall is dangerous. I went to the counter and asked for a helmet, and there it was¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Alessia-san. I handed out helmets to everyone, but they refused, saying they would be careful and it would be fine. I didn¡¯t understand how women could refuse helmets even after such a catastrophe. ¡°Wataru-san, um, can¡¯t you erase the part where I fell?¡± Alessia-san asked me with a bright red face. ¡­I wonder about it? Can I do it if I have a computer? ¡­I guess I¡¯ll have to download software to do it. ¡°It seems impossible.¡± Alessia-san turns a disappointed expression on her face. I know how she feels. It¡¯s incredibly embarrassing when you get carried away and screw it up, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Well, just keep it in the back of your mind as a memory.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯d like to forget it, but I can¡¯t seem to, so I¡¯m going to seal the memory away. If possible, please try not to remember it either.¡± So you¡¯re treating it like black history. That level of embarrassment is mildly funny to me but not to Alessia-san, apparently. She must have had a smooth sailing life. I envy her. The happening scene was over, and the women¡¯s show started. ¡°As Wataru-san said, you¡¯re right. It feels so strange to be wearing normal clothes.¡± Alessia-san and the women nodding at her words seem to agree with her. Can¡¯t we make some kind of clothes suitable for the show? As expected, brand-name clothes suitable for shows would not be sold. But if there were dresses, we might be able to make it work. ¡°But the moves aren¡¯t bad. It was fun, and I¡¯d like to try it again with a new outfit.¡± Dorothea-san is enthusiastic, too. Oh, yes, there is a show at the Marine Theater, isn¡¯t there? Girasole in a swimsuit, that¡¯s exciting. But I want to teach them how to swim while having a good time, so I¡¯ll appoint a staff member after I teach them how to swim. I¡¯m sure the ladies will master it soon, so it won¡¯t be a problem. Since lunch was late today, we decided to have dinner on our own and parted ways with Girasole. Claretta-san said she would finish processing the swimsuits by the end of the day, so tomorrow, we would go to the swimming pool. ¡°Ines, Felicia, and Rimu, dinner isn¡¯t ready yet, is it? Shall we take a bath on the balcony?¡± ¡°Fine. Hey, master, I¡¯d love to have a drink while watching the sunset.¡± Drinking alcohol, huh¡­? I feel like I drink every day, but¡­ it isn¡¯t a lot, and a little bit would be nice. ¡°Then let¡¯s just have a bottle of champagne.¡± ¡°Fufu, thank you, Master.¡± Soaking in the bath with two beautiful women and drinking champagne while watching the sunset. I don¡¯t know what champagne tastes like, but at least I¡¯ve made it. Now if I can just manage to get Girasole to join my harem, I¡¯ll be all set. ¡­The problem is that I have no idea how to add them to my harem from here. ¡­In parallel with the strategy I thought of before to make them unable to leave the ship summoning, I¡¯ll try my best to manage to have an adult relationship with them. ¡°Is there something wrong, Master?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about something.¡± ¡°I see. The sunset is beautiful, so why don¡¯t you think about it later?¡± Felicia told me, and when I looked at the setting sun, the sky was tinted red. The sunset over the entire ocean¡­ this is beautiful, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Sure, it¡¯s an awesome sight.¡± I stare at the sunset while slowly soaking in the hot water. Thinking about it, I was so preoccupied with the ship¡¯s facilities that I didn¡¯t pay much attention to the scenery. A few times, I had seen the scenery on the Lutto and the Hideaway, but once I got the ferry, I was satisfied with the ship and didn¡¯t look at the scenery. The Seeker also had a nice view, but I didn¡¯t watch the sunset. What a waste. I watched the scenery until the sun went down, then went to room service for dinner and fell into bed because I didn¡¯t feel like going out. Today¡­ I¡¯m going to bed early again today. Let¡¯s spend some adult time. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Today, we had breakfast at a cafe and received Ines¡¯ swimsuits from Claretta-san. I change into my swimsuit in a nearby room and head to the pool. Hmm, this is nice. Eight beautiful women with great style and great breasts are in bikinis. I¡¯m glad I did my best to lead them to the bikini. ¡°This is pretty embarrassing.¡± Alessia-san, looking a little shy in her red bikini, is fantastic. But Ilma-san is the most amazing. ¡­Even though she is already bewitching, Ilma-san, wearing a black triangle bikini, is wearing a tangled and erotic aura. I want to forget everything and jump on her. Is she a succubus or something like that? I get on the elevator with my eyes wandering dazedly. This is wonderful. Even the wonderful view of the ship through the glass walls is no match for the bikini beauties around me. I feel like the elevator could stop at this point. The elevator arrives without stopping. ¡°Wow, so this is what it¡¯s like. Wataru-san, is that a swimming pool?¡± There are several pools filled with water on the rooftop, zip lines, rock climbing, mini-golf, sports courts, and lots of fun. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Let¡¯s go to the kiddie pool first.¡± ¡­We arrive at the kiddie pool. We do some light flexibility exercises (eye-opener) and get into the pool¡­ unexpectedly, it¡¯s too shallow. Practicing swimming here is conversely dangerous. I explained the reason to Girasole and moved to the adult pool. When I entered the pool, the water was about chest-deep, so there was no need to go all the way to the kiddie pool at all. I felt a little empty. ¡°Then everyone gets in the water. Don¡¯t be afraid; your feet will be safe.¡± At my words, the women came into the pool. They seemed a little nervous, but as they got used to the water, they began to splash each other happily. ¡°Then, it¡¯s time for some swimming practice.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that¡¯s right. Then I¡¯ll ask you to start.¡± Alessia-san volunteered to start, so I grabbed both of her hands and began practicing the fluttering motion. I guess her motor nerve must be different; her momentum of fluttering is different. Alessia-san mastered the flop easily. I immediately switched with Dorothea-san. ¡­I was about to lose all reason when I held both hands of Ilma-san, but my eyes were glued to Claretta-san when she got up from her butterfly feet with great vigor. ¡°Whew, Wataru-san, swimming feels good, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, it does. I love swimming too. I¡¯m glad you like swimming, Claretta-san.¡± ¡°I never thought such a pleasure existed. Without monsters, even the water is a playground, isn¡¯t it?¡± Claretta-san says with a smiling face and a really happy smile. Her smile is dazzling. Having mastered the crawl and breaststroke easily, it was time to practice the backstroke. Floating on her back, Alessia-san supports her back as she practices her fluttering legs. I think it¡¯s inevitable that my eyes are focused on the fruit that is bountifully ripe. By the way, Rimu and Fuu-chan are floating in the water. Fuu-chan¡¯s wind magic seems to be unsuccessful on the surface of the water, perhaps because the resistance is too great. When they drifted close to me while floating, they sent out their thoughts like throwing them out. It would have been cool if they could run on the surface of the water with the force of the wind, like a hovercraft. We may see a hovering Fuu-chan in the future when her magic skills improve. In the morning, they mastered the crawl, breaststroke, and backstroke. As for the butterfly, I can¡¯t do it, so there is nothing I can do. I enjoyed the pool with the ladies who had learned to swim without any problems. It¡¯s a lot of fun, to be honest. I never thought that I would be chasing after beautiful women in a swimming pool¡­ I am so happy. Thank you, Creator God-sama. ¡°Master. Please be careful.¡± ¡°Thank you, Felicia.¡± You know what that means. A startling incident occurred when I got out of the pool to get ready for lunch. I was jumping on one foot to get the water out of my ear, and Claretta-san saw me do it and imitated me. The two piles that almost jumped out of the water in a frenzy¡­ I looked for the video camera, but it was on a table in another pool¡­ Why didn¡¯t I put it within easy reach? What a painful mistake. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Wataru-san?¡± Since the video camera was not in my hand, Claretta-san called out to me as I was concentrating on trying to imprint it in my brain. As expected, I couldn¡¯t say that I was staring at her breasts. ¡°I was thinking about where to have lunch.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I was hungry because I exercised a lot. Is this a new restaurant today?¡± She asked with an excited look on her face. I noticed behind Claretta-san was Carla-san since they both love to eat. ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s go to a nearby restaurant called Healthy Menu & Romantic Bistro.¡± The name is too romantic. All I know is that it¡¯s healthy and romantic. ¡°It sounds amazing. I can¡¯t imagine what kind of food they serve.¡± You think so too, don¡¯t you, Claretta-san? I totally agree with you. Volume 7 - CH 21 Chapter 21 ¨C One Month and Claretta-san¡¯s Outburst? It has been a month since I bought my luxury liner. We are now on our way to the dark elf village on the Stronghold. ¡°Master, I¡¯m looking forward to exploring the dark elf island, but I haven¡¯t had enough fun on the luxury liner yet.¡± ¡°Haha, I thought a month would be enough time to enjoy the luxury liner, but it¡¯s amazing, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯d like to go to the same places over and over again, so one month is not enough.¡± ¡°Fufu, you¡¯re right. A month is not enough for me, even if it¡¯s just for the casino. But it was sad that it was just Alessia and me.¡± After visiting all the facilities, we had more free time, but Alessia-san, who lost the most last time, and Ines, who won the most last time, went to the casino together. Alessia-san, Ines, and Saporabi in the glamorous casino. Saporabi was almost silent and felt cold when they were alone. After that, they started to gather as many members as possible when they headed to the casino. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a big ship, so it¡¯s lonely when there are only a few people on board. I¡¯ve summoned Saporabi a lot, so it¡¯s a little better, but Saporabi is quiet except in special cases.¡± ¡°Yes, but there is music playing, and since Master has placed Saporabi in the live music area, it¡¯s much different.¡± I was surprised to find that when I placed Saporabi at the performance table, they were summoned along with the instruments¡­ I guess anything is possible. ¡°Master, what are you going to do today?¡± ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m going to relax in my room today. Ines and Felicia are free to do as you please. Oh, and if you¡¯re going out, take Rimu with you.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯m going to enjoy the Stronghold for the first time in a while.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be on my way. If you need anything at all, you can call me anytime.¡± ¡°Okay, thanks. Have a good day.¡± The two leave the room with Rimu. The Stronghold is so relaxing. With the Castle, I felt it was a waste of time to stay in the room, so I basically went somewhere else. It¡¯s all right because it¡¯s fun, but sometimes it¡¯s important to spend some time lying around. I look back on my time on the Castle while lying slumped in bed. At the pool, I tried the flow rider. It¡¯s a facility where the water is flowing, and you surf on it. I had never surfed before, so I easily fell and was swept backward. Rimu has also swept away with me, but I guess it did not matter because I received happy thoughts from him. I tried again with a body board, but I was swept away in a short time¡­ What¡¯s the effect of the level-up? If this is how it is now, I wonder what would have happened if I had started surfing when I was in Japan. The ladies tried it too. They fell down a few times and were swept away, but they seemed to enjoy it and tried again, getting the hang of it after a few times. What¡¯s the difference? Is it the difference in real-world experience? Maybe it¡¯s a great sense of balance honed in a life-threatening situation. I want to believe that I am not athletically weak because even a child can handle the challenge of riding a Flowrider. Marina-san and Felicia liked the Flowrider. Marina-san, in particular, with Fuu-chan on her head, is performing various tricks. Rimu, too, was enjoying Flowrider on Felicia¡¯s head, perhaps with a sense of rivalry. At first, they rolled and flowed together, but he gave up on me, who was not improving and was playing on Felicia¡¯s head. ¡­Rimu, you are so refreshingly quick to give up on me. You¡¯re doing a lot of damage to my heart. When the Flowrider finishes, he comes back on my head, but when it¡¯s Felicia¡¯s turn, he moves away. Is Rimu something of a little devil? I feel like I¡¯m being played with. By the way, I captured the Flowrider scene perfectly on my video camera. You can¡¯t miss a precious sight more than once. Zipline That was fun, too. It was scary, but I could enjoy it if it were on man-made playground equipment. It¡¯s a convenient fear of heights. My legs were wobbly when climbing the rope in the cave where we found the Ryu scales, though. We all loved this one and enjoyed it over and over again. I was so nervous on my first ride that I forgot that there was Rimu above my head. I was impatient with the thought that was conveyed to me by Rimu that he said it would be fun to bounce on top of my head. Since Rimu was not harnessed, a fall would have sent him straight down to the boardwalk, and even Rimu would have been in danger if he had fallen from a height of nine stories. It was more terrifying than ziplining. I¡¯ll have to be careful. Rock Climbing (Bouldering) This is something that is used more for training than for fun. I wonder if it is called ¡°overhang¡±? The slightly warped places are popular. I was able to climb easy routes with no problem. But it was not a sport for me. Basically, I am not an active person, so I felt tired and scared, which made me slightly reluctant to go. The women seemed to like it and were moving smoothly up the wall. Rimu and Fuu-chan climbed up the wall normally. ¡­Is climbing directly up the wall called rock climbing? If it is rock climbing, I think it is correct, but if it is bouldering, I think it is not. Mini Golf The statues placed here and there are subtly creepy, but I proceeded to hit the golf balls with a putter. Dorothea-san is very good at this. She plays in a calm atmosphere and sinks her putts with exquisite force. When the ball lands in the cup, she smiles gently as if she is happy. What a gentle smile of a brown-skinned, big-breasted beauty. It¡¯s beautiful. Alessia-san and Carla-san are not good at mini-golf. Both of them are not good at using delicate force and end up going over the cup. Alessia-san¡¯s personality may not be suited for it, but she gets passionate every time the ball misses the cup. The way she loses at the casino makes me worry if she is okay as a leader. Well, he is well-liked, so is he okay? In contrast, Carla-san goes around the course laughing happily, even when the ball is misplaced. Having fun is the best, so there¡¯s no problem, right? Rimu and Fuu-chan are not interested in the ball but are playing by approaching and climbing up and down the various statues. Teen Disco I¡¯m not a teen, but I went in. When the facility was put into operation, a space was created with various lights flitting about. Music was also playing, but there was a place for a band to play, so I summoned Saporabi. A Saporabi with a smaller instrument, perhaps customized for Saporabi, was summoned. Saporabi with a guitar. Saporabi with a bass guitar. Saporabi sitting on a keyboard. Saporabi sitting on drums. Saporabi holding a microphone. Background music disappeared, and Saporabi started to play. The sound of the explosion and the sound of Western music that I have heard somewhere is being played. ¡­How can Saporabi¡¯s hands play the guitar so fast? Saporabi with a microphone starts to sing¡­ he¡¯s so good. This is the minimum level of playing and singing at a disco? I¡¯m surprised. The ladies are happy, but there is one serious problem. ¡­I have never been to a disco. So I don¡¯t know how to dance. The ladies are from this world, so they don¡¯t know anything about discos. There is nothing I can do about it. In the end, we all left the disco after listening to Saporabi¡¯s live performance. Disco, huh¡­? I should have gone to a disco at least once in Japan. But there is no disco around me. I heard there are clubs, but I have never been to one. I wonder if discos and clubs are the same? Solarium & Observation Jacuzzi This place was great. Soaking in the glass-walled indoor Jacuzzi at night and gazing at the stars. Lying on a beach chair in the sunlight during the day is nice, but I prefer it at night. It¡¯s a little eerie, but the pale glow of the Jacuzzi and the black lights somehow create a mystical atmosphere. I soak in the Jacuzzi and drink a cocktail from the bar. I¡¯m the owner, so there¡¯s no problem, but normally I¡¯d probably be scolded. But I can¡¯t stop because the ladies are so happy to have a drink. When alcohol is involved, there is more skinship. I got drunk, and for some reason, Claretta-san nudged me. There are so many good things for me that I can¡¯t help but pretend to forget about the promise not to drink too much. Oh, by the way, Claretta-san had a triple outburst. Claretta-san¡¯s outburst. First shot. Library. Though unsure about the characters, we all came to the library because the TV menu had been changed to another world¡¯s specifications. The books in the library were in this world¡¯s characters, perhaps a service of Creator God-sama. Dorothea-san, Marina-san, Ilma-san, Claretta-san, and Felicia were the ones who were interested in the books, and the other members were free to do their own activities after reading the books lightly. The members who were interested in the book also returned to their rooms after some time had passed, except for Claretta-san, but she continued reading the cookbook and did not look up. It was getting late, so I called out to her. ¡°Wataru-san, it¡¯s amazing. I didn¡¯t know there were so many dishes. There are so many cooking methods and dishes I¡¯ve never seen before. There are so many desserts over there.¡± I was scared of Claretta-san, who came to me with her eyes shining. I felt it was dangerous to keep her in the library, so I persuaded her and agreed to let her enter the library only during her free time. During the day, she started spending time with us, cutting off her sleep, so I decided to close the library after 11:00 p.m. Well, is it too weak to call it an outburst? Claretta-san¡¯s outburst. Second shot. Kids Avenue Workshop. Kids Avenue also has a game corner, but since no one but me uses it much, I thought it was just for Rimu and Fuu-chan to play on the playground equipment. I went on with the intention of taking a quick look around, but things changed in the craft room. Whether by the grace of Creator God-sama or just coincidence, a class on making stuffed toys was being held there. The class was open, but there were only tools, materials, paper molds, and an instructional book on making stuffed toys. From this moment on, stuffed toys changed from something to be picked up with a ufo catcher to something to be made. I told her that she could do sewing in her room, so she started to have trouble sleeping. I had no choice but to ban sewing after midnight. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something I should be in charge of, but it¡¯s bad for my heart when Claretta-san¡¯s eyes, which had been smiling gently, light up. Claretta-san¡¯s outburst. The third shot. Chapel. In our exploration of the ship, we stopped by the chapel. Inside, it had been transformed into a divine statue of the gods from the cathedral in Palermo. ¡­This is definitely the work of Creator God-sama. I remember that the statues of the gods personally handed down by Creation God-sama were supposed to make the place a sanctuary. Could it be that he made this place a sanctuary? I wonder? Did he just bring the statues of the gods? Creating a sanctuary or interfering with the lower world all the time, right? Maybe not, because the God of Light-sama would be angry with him. ¡°Wataru-san. It¡¯s amazing. It has a sacred atmosphere like the cathedral in Palermo. It¡¯s a wonderful church.¡± In front of me is Claretta-san, who is burning with a sense of duty. ¡°Wataru-san, would you be willing to entrust me with the management of this church?¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t mind, but you¡¯ve been busy lately, haven¡¯t you, Claretta-san? Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. No problem.¡± Claretta-san appealed to me with a pose of making a strong fist. She is full of motivation. ¡­Is this church a sanctuary, after all? I¡¯m going to try to pray. If it is a sanctuary, Creator God-sama may explain it to me. I tried praying, but it ended without being summoned. It doesn¡¯t seem to be a sanctuary. I can¡¯t be sure because there is a possibility that Creator God-sama is busy. I will come back to pray again. From there, Claretta-san¡¯s enthusiastic activities began. She woke up early in the morning, cleaned the church and the area around the church, and seemed to be doing something as a priest that I didn¡¯t understand. I told her that there was no need to clean because everything would be clean if I wished for it, but she said it was part of her training and continued to clean. She seems to have no problem since she gets everything done in the morning, but I worry that she is too enthusiastic. She seems to like this church very much. Maybe because she¡¯s an adventurer, she doesn¡¯t get time to come to church very often. I wonder if she¡¯ll settle down after a while. I think Claretta-san is the one who has had the most fulfilling life in the past month. She manages the church, explores the ship with us, and reads cookbooks and stuffed toys instruction books in her free time. After that, she cooks and makes stuffed toys in practice. Just looking at her makes me worry if she¡¯s overworked or not. Well, she has a high level of physical fitness, and other than church administration, it¡¯s her hobby, so she should be fine. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s getting less sleep, but she¡¯s full of energy. When I think about it, luxury liners, especially this Castle ship, are awesome. I felt like I looked back for quite a while, but I don¡¯t think I can remember half of the facilities. Volume 7 - CH 22 Chapter 22 ¨C One Month and a Dazzling Light I was remembering the events of the past month, and they kept coming up one after the other. That¡¯s how many facilities there are on a luxury liner. There is still time, so let¡¯s take it easy and reminisce. Adult Nightclub. The atmosphere here was the same as that of the teen disco. Even the adult nightclub was not suitable for me. Where can I find a disco or club that suits me? ¡­Maybe it¡¯s useless if I don¡¯t change my mind about it. I don¡¯t think I could get used to that atmosphere if I didn¡¯t have the courage to dance without worrying about it, especially if I had never danced before. The problem is that if I do that here, I feel I will become the standard in this world. ¡­I¡¯ll let the ladies study the disco-related stuff when disco and other stuff come out on DVD. I¡¯ll look for a book in the library later on about how to have a good time at a club. Promenade Parade. We need more people, and I need to summon a large number of Saporabi. The Saporabi has been working well so far, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem, but I¡¯m stuck on the idea of mass-summoning them in the same area¡­ I have other things to look at, so let¡¯s put it off. Fitness and Spa This place was pretty much a winner. The fitness center had a variety of exercise equipment, but I wasn¡¯t really interested. The ladies were having fun trying out all kinds of equipment, but I¡¯d be sad if they became muscular, so please don¡¯t do that if possible. I¡¯d rather they be satisfied with treadmills or fitness bikes. Please don¡¯t lift barbells that look heavier than people like that so easily, Carla-san. So far, I regretted coming to this facility a bit, but the spa part was wonderful. When the ladies learned that the various creams and machines on display were beauty-related, they were overjoyed and asked to be appointed as staff. After gaining their knowledge, the ladies got dressed and happily treated each other. Ines and Felicia offered to give me a treatment, but I declined, as there was nothing I could do to make my skin beautiful. Is it the application of some unintelligible cream on the face, or is it the vibration? They are doing things I don¡¯t understand, such as applying maracas-like machines to their faces. I got bored too, so I summoned Saporabi to check the menu, which included a steam sauna, massage, and even needles¡­ I should have asked Ines and Felicia to do this for me. I made the mistake of thinking it was beauty related. I¡¯ll ask them next time. I¡¯ll ask Saporabi for a massage and needles for now. I changed my clothes and lay down on the table. The table is not high enough for me, so Saporabi prepares another table and massages me slowly. Phew, this feels good. I¡¯m sorry, Saporabi, I¡¯m sorry I was afraid you might get revenge on me. I fall asleep to the slow massage. I¡¯m in a silly crisis because I fell asleep at this point. ¡°Ara, you¡¯re awake, Wataru-san.¡± Ah, I must have fallen asleep. For some reason, Ilma-san is in front of me. It is stimulating to see Ilma-san when I wake up from sleep. I get up and talk to Ilma-san. ¡°Ilma-san, is there anything wrong?¡± ¡°No, nothing. I came to see how Wataru-san is doing because you are not moving. Saporabi-chan was troubled because you didn¡¯t wake up even though he shook you.¡± Was I sleeping that soundly? I guess I was tired. To be honest, I only played around. Tired of playing¡­? That¡¯s a word that seems to irritate working people¡­ ¡°Haha, the massage felt so good I fell soundly asleep.¡± ¡°Are you tired? I¡¯ll continue the massage for you. Just lie back down.¡± Ilma-san said something surprising and a little worried. ¡°Eh? I¡¯m fine. The effect of the esthetic treatment is amazing, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s so glossy, Ilma-san.¡± I have to say no somehow, or else I¡¯ll have a tent in my crotch¡­ I¡¯ll have to divert the conversation. ¡°Really? Thank you, Wataru-san. Now, let me give you a massage. You don¡¯t have to hesitate.¡± Both of my shoulders are held, and I lie down on my back. I quickly covered my crotch with the bath towel that was hanging over my head, but it was a dangerous position. Moreover, Ilma-san is more glamorous and smells good after her beauty treatment. ¡°Fufu, staff appointments are wonderful, aren¡¯t they? Not only can I give you massages, but I can also give you beauty treatments.¡± Ilma-san is so sexy. She sits by my bedside and massages my head. When I open my eyes, I see her breasts. ¡­I don¡¯t think the tent is going to fit. It¡¯s a hell of a thing that feels so good. I didn¡¯t know what to do, but I was exposed after all. I¡¯m so embarrassed. ¡°Ufufu, you¡¯re a boy, aren¡¯t you?¡± What a sexy sister. I love her. I was thrilled. Now that I¡¯ve been exposed, I open up and surrender myself to Ilma-san¡¯s massage. I am aware that I look sloppy. I wonder if it is the difference between the staff appointment and the Saporabi, who can do minimal work, that Ilma-san¡¯s massage is definitely more comfortable than that of the horned rabbit. I also feel that Ilma-san¡¯s massage is quite an added bonus. Steam sauna and needles will have to wait for next time. I was embarrassed, but the total was positive. Let¡¯s call it a good memory. Hordes of Monsters ¡°Wataru-san, can I talk to you for a minute?¡± Marina-san, who usually doesn¡¯t change her expression much except when it comes to Fuu-chan and Rimu, looked very uncomfortable. It looks like some kind of trouble. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Yes, can you take a look outside?¡± Marina-san told me to go out on the balcony and look at the sea. I went out to the balcony and looked at the sea. ¡°Wataru-san, look down.¡± I peeked down from the railing and saw that there were many monsters gathering around. ¡­This is it? ¡°I understand well. It¡¯s very troublesome.¡± Come to think of it, a large horde of monsters swarmed us just like that when we were on the ferry. I had been thinking so much about playing on a luxury liner that I hadn¡¯t thought about the monsters. I was looking at the ocean on the balcony and in the observation Jacuzzi, but I didn¡¯t bother to look down. When I was soaking in the Jacuzzi on the balcony, I thought I heard the faint sound of monsters, but I didn¡¯t pay attention to it. So this is the result. It¡¯s such a big ship. I guess a lot of monsters will come close to it. ¡°Should we defeat the monsters now? Even if we defeat them, they are likely to gather again, so should we defeat them all at once when we leave?¡± There¡¯s no danger in defeating the monsters if we¡¯re on the ship, but it¡¯s a hassle to defeat them all over again. ¡°¡­Yes, if we leave a large horde of monsters unattended, something unexpected may happen, so it would be better to defeat them.¡± ¡­From above, the monsters are cannibalizing each other. It¡¯s like a state of poisoning. No demon king will be born, right? ¡°For now, it¡¯s hard to see in this room, so why don¡¯t we get together with our equipment on the third deck? Let¡¯s discuss it there.¡± We gathered on the third deck to discuss the situation, but the women were so motivated that it felt like a waste of time to discuss it. Is that it? Are they hungry for a fight? It doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s going to stop. ¡°Then I¡¯ll summon two Galettes so we can split up and exterminate the monsters.¡± I think all we have to do is just attack from the deck of the Castle, but I guess there¡¯s no point in saying that. I¡¯m just too excited to say anything. ¡°I haven¡¯t sailed the Galette in a long time. I¡¯m looking forward to it!¡± Alessia-san is very excited. Alessia-san, Marina-san, and Ines will be steering the ship, so I¡¯ll have to put the stoppers in place. Felicia would rather have fun with them, but this time I¡¯ll have her on the side of stopping them. Dorothea-san, Ilma-san, Claretta-san, and Felicia, please be careful not to let the ship-handling lovers go too far out of control. They will approach the surface of the sea from the ramp, all of them will attack, and I will summon the Galette there. Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, and Ilma-san are the first to get on board. After another attack, I summon Galette No. 2, and we get on board as well. All we have to do now is to attack while enduring the swaying of the ship. When this is over, we¡¯ll go to the spa. We¡¯ll get massaged, take a steam sauna, soak in the Jacuzzi, and get another massage. Let¡¯s go for it. After all, we¡¯ve done two more cleanups of the monsters in the space of a month. The Castle, it¡¯s getting a lot of attention from the monsters. Theater & Aqua Theater. These two are great, but it¡¯s hard when you don¡¯t have enough staff. I need more personnel for the show. Additional personnel are needed for a satisfying show. As expected, with only Saporabi, the play looks like a puppet show. The costumes are even more surreal in that they match the play. The large screen in the background shows the background of the play, and it looks quite interesting. The aqua theater is a fancy show with Saporabi jumping off a high diving board, but¡­ again, I feel uncomfortable with Saporabi. I think it would be much different if the support staff were humanoid, at least. I wonder if I pray in the chapel every day in church, wouldn¡¯t it be changed into a beautiful woman with big breasts? Let¡¯s give it a try. While watching the Aqua Theater show, I now realize that there is a large trampoline on the stage. Trampoline, I¡¯ll definitely play on it later. Saporabi¡¯s show is over. Alessia-san and Marina-san showed interest in jumping from a high place, so I appointed a staff member. The two who came dressed in swimsuits jumped in from the lower step and gradually climbed up to a higher position. They jumped into the water from a high position. By the way, Fuu-chan is a spectator because it is dangerous. ¡­I wonder if Rimu and Fuu-chan can be appointed as staff members. It¡¯s dangerous to jump in so suddenly, so let¡¯s appoint them when I find a job that looks safe. The most elegant restaurant on the Castle. When it says the most elegant restaurant, I¡¯m quite curious. For some reason, I brag and head to the restaurant because it is the restaurant that the luxury liner declares to be the best. Claretta-san and Carla-san are also in high spirits. These two are happy when it comes to food-related matters, aren¡¯t they? After entering the restaurant, I immediately summoned about five Saporabi because it is a high-class restaurant. Saporabi guides us to our table. I ordered a course. I¡¯m not used to going to high-class places, so I can¡¯t imagine the dishes on the menu. It is an elegant restaurant, but I am not an elegant man. A lot of buckets are brought in. Butter and salt were served in a bowl that looked like a clover divided into six parts. Let¡¯s see; this looks like six different kinds of salt. I¡¯m going to try each of the six kinds of salt with butter. ¡­I can vaguely taste the difference in taste. Just salt itself makes a big difference. Claretta-san is mumbling about the differences in taste in detail. If I talk to her, she might ask for my opinion, so I leave it alone. Various delicious dishes were served, but what surprised me the most was the caviar decorated around the rare steak. It was the first caviar in my life. Perhaps it is correct to eat it with meat, but let¡¯s just try the caviar. ¡­Is it good? I guess it¡¯s delicious, but I¡¯m not sure¡­ It was very tasty when I ate it with meat. ¡­I had some confidence in B gourmet food, but I was too inexperienced in A gourmet food. I wonder if I will be able to taste it once I get used to it? At any rate, it was delicious, and I¡¯m happy that I got to eat at the most elegant restaurant. Bars, cafes, stores. We enjoyed a steak restaurant, a pizza place, a buffet restaurant, and many bars, pubs, and cafes. As for bars, I enjoyed the Latin bar, the champagne bar, the jazz bar, the piano bar, and the wine bar, depending on the mood of the day. There was also a donut store, an ice cream parlor, a candy store, and lots of other fun things to do. Honestly, sometimes I don¡¯t know if I would have wanted to go to that store. When I think about it this way, we went to many of our favorite places, and it was a pretty productive month. The ladies were also happy to visit their favorite places and stores. By the way, the most popular place was the spa, which made me realize the strength of the beauty-related business. If I had understood the subtleties of this area when I was in Japan, I might have been a little more popular. There are still many things I want to do on the Castle, but it would be a shame to enjoy them all at once, so I¡¯ll enjoy them again after exploring the dark elf island. We will change to the Seeker in the open sea near dark elf island. It happened when we took down the monsters that were clinging to the Stronghold as usual. ¡°Master, Rimu-chan is glowing.¡± Rimu always emits a faint glow, but from the look on Ines¡¯ face, I knew it was different, so I brought Rimu down from the top of my head. ¡­Rimu was emitting a dazzling light in my arms. ¡­Eh? What is this? Is everything alright? ¡°Rimu, what¡¯s wrong? Are you okay?¡± I called out to Rimu in a panic. ¡°¡­Evo.¡± ¡°Evo? What do you mean by evo? You mean you¡¯re not okay? Heal, Claretta-san! Claretta-san! Please heal Rimu.¡± As I panic, the light on Rimu grows even stronger. What should I do? ¡°Wataru-san! I think Rimu-chan is evolving. Please take him inside the ship and put him on the sofa.¡± At any rate, I enter the Seeker as fast as I can and put Rimu down on the sofa. What does evolution mean for Rimu? Volume 7 - CH 23 Chapter 23 ¨C Idle Talk: Creator God¡¯s Plans and Revelations ¡°Hey, how are you? It¡¯s me, Creator God.¡± ¡°¡±¡­..¡±¡± ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re not doing so well, it seems. Well, I¡¯ve got some good news for you. I¡¯ll tell you about Wataru-kun.¡± ¡°¡±¡­..¡±¡± ¡°Creator God-sama. Did you come to see the God of War and the God of Magic to talk about Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Yes. What else would I do? God of Light.¡± ¡°¡­Right in front of you are the God of War and God of Magic who are lying in bed because Creator God-sama is preventing them from recovering, isn¡¯t that right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°If Creator God-sama stops interfering with their recovery, they will get well soon, won¡¯t they?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°But you just want to talk to them?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want them to recover.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Creator God-sama. Will you please stop it? The burden of the God of War and the God of Magic is falling on me as well.¡± ¡°That¡¯s punishment for the God of Light. You¡¯ve been silently watching the gods rebel against me, haven¡¯t you? And the ringleader of the rebellion can¡¯t be forgiven so easily.¡± (Should I have joined the rebellion?) ¡°Did you say something?¡± ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s all right because it¡¯s useless to say it.¡± ¡°Really? Then I¡¯ll tell you a lot about Wataru-kun activities. You must be very happy, aren¡¯t you, God of War, God of Magic?¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Is he finally back? Is the creator god free? God of Light.¡± ¡°God of Magic, please don¡¯t be sarcastic about something you know is wrong.¡± ¡°Sorry. He seems to be irritated by the constant displeasure he hears. How can he talk endlessly to us when we never respond?¡± ¡°God of Magic, do you think Creator God-sama would care that he was ignored?¡± ¡°¡­If he had such normal nerves, we wouldn¡¯t have any trouble at all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what it is. So, God of War, God of Magic, have you recovered at all?¡± ¡°For me, not at all. The amount of rest and recovery is also exactly inhibited. It¡¯s just the details in these places.¡± ¡°I am the same as the God of War. It¡¯s like saying, don¡¯t let him live, but don¡¯t let him die.¡± ¡°Well, then, it seems that recovery will not be possible until you apologize or the whim of Creator God-sama occurs.¡± ¡°I have nothing to apologize for.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s just as God of Magic says.¡± ¡°You have defied Creator God-sama. It is unquestionably the mercy of Creator God-sama that you are here today.¡± ¡°Mercy, huh¡­? Do you really think he¡¯s merciful, God of Light?¡± ¡°¡­Let¡¯s end this conversation.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. No need to bother being obnoxious. So, is it true that that otherworlder was a great success? I heard that he protected the dark elf villagers while cleaving off the monsters of the Demon Forest and that he succeeded in their emigration.¡± ¡°¡­It is true that the migration was a success.¡± ¡°Yeah, I got the gist of it. You don¡¯t have to say anything else.¡± ¡°God of Magic¡­ thank you.¡± ¡°Never mind. Speaking of which, the God of Entertainment hasn¡¯t been here for a while. What is he doing?¡± ¡°Ah, as I recall, he and the God of Gastronomy were very enthusiastic about researching a diet for the sick. It is unheard of for a deity to be unable to recover. I think they are thinking of experimenting with you guys. Well, now that Wataru-kun has bought a luxury liner, he is absorbed in food, drink, and entertainment. It will be a while before he comes to visit you. Do you miss them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t miss him, but I do find the information from the God of Entertainment useful. As for the food, if the God of Gastronomy is with him, there won¡¯t be any funny things. So what¡¯s really going on with the luxury liner? He protects a persecuted race and establishes a maritime nation. He insinuated that he would eventually be king.¡± ¡°For now, I¡¯m more interested in checking out the ship¡¯s facilities. It¡¯s a very interesting ship, and the gods are taking notice.¡± ¡°I see. Do they have any books?¡± ¡°Yes, quite a few books about the other world.¡± ¡°Hey, hey. Screw the books. God of Light, have there been any more new booze?¡± ¡°God of war, you should at least read books. There is only a sad future for a God of War with muscle brains.¡± ¡°Shut up, God of Magic. God of light, what about booze?¡± ¡°There were many stores on the luxury liner that served alcohol. There are more and more varieties.¡± ¡°I see. I hope the God of Gastronomy and the God of Liquor can help with that.¡± ¡°Even if the God of Gastronomy and the God of Liquor answered our expectations, we still wouldn¡¯t be able to drink as we are now.¡± ¡°¡­God of Magic, can¡¯t you do something to interfere with the Creator God?¡± I would do it if I could.¡± ¡°¡­I see. I wonder if there¡¯s anything we can do about that guy?¡± ¡°¡­Then, I¡¯ll take my leave now. See you later.¡± ¡°Yeah, see you.¡± ¡°Next time, it would be great if you could bring me a book or something.¡± ¡°Oh, and booze, please.¡± ¡°Both are prohibited, aren¡¯t they? I¡¯ll bring them when I get permission from the God of Healing.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you forbid books. Can¡¯t you see that I can talk like this, and there is nothing wrong with reading a book?¡± ¡°Those words don¡¯t seem to come from someone who was so interested in a book borrowed from the God of Healing that he used his power and almost disappeared. See you later.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°You finally came back, God of Light. Were the God of War and the God of Magic impressed by my story?¡± ¡°Ah, maybe they were. They were probably moved to tears.¡± ¡°Really? I¡¯m kind of worried about the flatness of your voice, God of Light, but¡­ maybe they understood my awesomeness a little bit.¡± ¡°I think so. Maybe it¡¯s time for you to heal them?¡± ¡°Well, I think it¡¯s a problem to forgive rebellion against the Creator God so easily¡­ Well, maybe it would be good to forgive them a little later?¡± ¡°Yes, that would be¡­¡± ¡°God of Light, there¡¯s trouble.¡± ¡°¡­God of Entertainment, what¡¯s going on all of a sudden?¡± ¡°You know, Creator God-sama did something bad!¡± ¡°Wait, God of Entertainment, you come in here out of the blue and say what? Moreover, you have the nerve to speak out about the Creator God right in front of him.¡± ¡°Oh, Creator God-sama was here, too. It would be easier for the God of Light to get angry immediately if you were nearby.¡± ¡°Hold on, God of Entertainment. I have done nothing to make anyone angry. Besides, you should first realize that you are using a strange word, such as ¡°angry¡± at the Creator God.¡± ¡°Really? But wasn¡¯t Creator God-sama scolded?¡± ¡°¡­No, it¡¯s not, okay?¡± ¡°Why the question mark? Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. You know, God of Light, Creator God-sama was¡­¡± ¡°God of Entertainment, come over here for a minute. ¡­What are you going to say to the God of Light?¡± ¡°What is it that you have so much to say? Creator God-sama, don¡¯t bother the God of Light too much.¡± ¡°¡­God of Entertainment, in order not to cause trouble, let¡¯s not tell the God of Light.¡± ¡°Eh, but the God of Light will definitely find out. The sooner we take action, the less anger the God of Light will have, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°You know, God of Entertainment. Nothing is absolute in this world. Therefore, there is a possibility that she will never find out about it.¡± ¡°¡­If Creator God-sama who made this world says so, then so be it, but¡­ I¡¯m not convinced.¡± ¡°Are you done talking? So, God of Entertainment, what was Creator God-sama doing?¡± ¡°Oh, God of Light, it was a mistake of the God of Entertainment. There was no problem. There was no trouble.¡± ¡°Creator God-sama, the God of Entertainment is looking at you with a pouty face in the back.¡± ¡°Eh? ¡­Oh, I think he was embarrassed by the misunderstanding.¡± ¡°I see. Well, then, God of Entertainment, tell me the story about your misunderstanding.¡± ¡°Yeah, you know, Creator God-sama was¡­¡± ¡°Hey, God of Entertainment.¡± ¡°Creator God-sama, please shut up.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°God of Entertainment, please continue.¡± ¡°Yeah, you know, Creator God-sama has been secretly building a sanctuary on the luxury liner of the otherworlder. And he also modified his own appearance to make himself look cool again. What makes him think we won¡¯t notice when we¡¯re looking at the otherworlder, too?¡± ¡°¡­Creator God-sama?¡± ¡°No, God of Light, I wasn¡¯t hiding anything. Wataru-kun¡¯s ship is a ship based on the skill I gave him, so it¡¯s not like I¡¯m interfering directly with the lower world, right?¡± ¡°Do you think such an excuse will be accepted?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not an excuse. It¡¯s a fact. I didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡± ¡°Creator God-sama, the cathedral of Palermo is the only sanctuary on the continent where Wataru-san is operating. Although it is a skill, it is because it is a skill that a mobile sanctuary was created. The unique skill given by Creator God-sama, which can be said to be extraordinary, and the divine approval of the sanctuary would have a tremendous impact if Wataru-san were to open up his ship. It will also add useful abilities for business, won¡¯t it?¡± ¡°The effect of giving a ship summoning would be tremendous. Isn¡¯t it a little late for that? And I can¡¯t imagine Wataru-kun opening up his ship. He might as well be holed up on the luxury liner.¡± ¡°Creator God-sama, since you seem to have forgotten, let me explain that the decision to give abilities to people from other worlds was made by Creator God-sama to stimulate a world that had stagnated. But sanctuary is a different matter. The people will think that there is divine permission for everything Wataru-san does. In the first place, it was Creator God-sama who decided not to increase the number of sanctuaries and not to interfere in the lower world. What are you going to do if you give God¡¯s will in full force?¡± ¡°No problem. There is no way that Wataru-kun would do something reckless. He has the character of not crossing a stone bridge.¡± ¡°If you had seen him, you would know that, wouldn¡¯t you? He himself is harmless, but he is very weak against women. He will level up and live a long time. In the meantime, how can you say he won¡¯t fall for a woman who wants to mess with him?¡¡If he puts the sanctuary up front and says it¡¯s God¡¯s ship, it will cause chaos.¡± ¡°That¡¯s then and there, and all we have to do is retrieve the sanctuary, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. It would have been a good thing if we retrieved it now. It was not in my mind to retrieve the sanctuary because there was almost no need to retrieve it. Creator God-sama, please retrieve the sanctuary immediately.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Why are you silent? Wouldn¡¯t that make the whole matter go away?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Creator God-sama, what do you have in mind?¡± ¡°Ah! I understand. Creator God-sama, I¡¯m going to play on the luxury liner. That¡¯s not fair, Creator God-sama.¡± ¡°¡­What do you mean? God of Entertainment, please tell me.¡± ¡°You know, you said it before. We can hardly go to the Earth to play, and if we reproduce things from the Earth in the divine realm as they are, the Gods of the Earth will be angry with us. So, I know you deceived it by saying that it¡¯s a unique skill. And you¡¯re leaving the sanctuary to go play on the luxury liner, aren¡¯t you? That¡¯s unfair, Creator God-sama; I¡¯m coming with you.¡± ¡°¡­Creator God-sama?¡± ¡°Hyii.¡± ¡°¡®Is any of what the God of Entertainment said true? ¡­Don¡¯t avert your eyes from me. Can you look me in the eye and give me a serious answer?¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s scary, God of Light. Let¡¯s calm down a little.¡± ¡°Is that so? ¡­I understand. Now that I have calmed down, please speak.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not do that, okay?¡± ¡°Creator God-sama, please be honest with me. That¡¯s okay. I mean, honestly.¡± ¡°¡­T-that¡¯s not true, it¡¯s not for me, it¡¯s for all of us! You see, everyone is interested in the luxury liner, right? So, as the Creator God, I thought I would give everyone a chance to enjoy themselves on a luxury liner. Yes, it¡¯s for everyone. It¡¯s called welfare, I guess.¡± ¡°Hmm, Creator God-sama. Let¡¯s talk over there. I thought I had engraved the reason why we should not interfere with the lower world into your soul, but I guess I didn¡¯t do enough. Shall I inscribe it on both your body and your soul?¡± ¡°Y-you can¡¯t. It is an unforgivable act to harm my body.¡± ¡°I see. ¡­Then, shall I engrave it even deeper into your soul?¡± ¡°No! That¡¯s not good! I thought I was going to die last time. And even if we interfere with the lower world, it¡¯s in the middle of the ocean, so there¡¯s no problem.¡± ¡°Dialogue is useless.¡± ¡°Oh no, Creator God-sama has been taken away. But did they plan to go on a luxury liner for fun, or should I have kept quiet? ¡­Well, they¡¯ll find out soon enough. Oh, Otherworlder-kun came to pray. That was bad timing. Sorry, Creator God-sama, Otherworlder-kun.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Whew, I¡¯m finally cured. But why did he suddenly stop interfering? Even if he healed us, he¡¯d be doing us a favor, wouldn¡¯t he? What do you think, God of Magic?¡± ¡°Probably, something is definitely wrong. Let¡¯s go ask the God of Light.¡± ¡°Yeah, right.¡± ¡°¡­I can¡¯t find her. Where do you think she is?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. If she¡¯s following the Creator God, I have no idea.¡± ¡°Right?¡± ¡°Huh? God of War and God of Magic, you are recovered. That¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Oh, God of Entertainment. Suddenly, the interference stopped, and we immediately recovered. So we¡¯re looking for the God of Light to find out why the interference stopped. Do you know something?¡± ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how it is. You know, I think Creator God-sama is being preached to by the God of Light, so he¡¯s so cornered that he can¡¯t afford to interfere.¡± ¡°Hmm? Preaching? Did he do something wrong again?¡± ¡°Yeah, ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.That¡¯s what happened.¡± ¡°Oh, he wants to go on the luxury liner. That¡¯s an interesting story.¡± ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s what God of Magic thinks, too. I thought I was a little bit premature in telling you, too.¡± ¡°Oh, here comes the God of Light.¡± ¡°Ara, God of War and God of Magic, you have recovered. Congratulations.¡± ¡°Oh, well, thanks to the God of Light, I guess. How is the Creator God doing?¡± ¡°He¡¯s mumbling some crazy stuff, so I decided to take a break. He won¡¯t retrieve the sanctuary of the luxury liner no matter how hard I try to persuade him, so I guess he intends to go play on the luxury liner at will.¡± ¡°Haha, the Creator God is greedy for fun. But if the sanctuary can prevent interference, I, too, would like to go on the luxury liner. Hey, God of Light, can¡¯t you do something about that?¡± ¡°¡­ I suppose so. If I can get Creator God-sama to summon Wataru-san and ask him to lend us an unmanned luxury liner, there might not be a problem.¡± ¡°Yay! Then I can play on the luxury liner. Otherworlder-kun comes to the church occasionally, so we can contact him. Huh? Then, Creator God-sama will not be offended, will he?¡± ¡°No, God of Entertainment, that¡¯s another story. We must be very careful about bad things.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, well, I suppose so. Let¡¯s say that the luxury liner is only after Creator God-sama gets well. First, let¡¯s observe the luxury liner and make a plan. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± Volume 8 - CH 1 Chapter 1 ¨C Shining Rimu and Evolved Rimu I stare at the glowing Rimu on the sofa of the Seeker. I talk to him, but he doesn¡¯t hear me or doesn¡¯t respond; I feel lonely. ¡°Claretta-san, you mentioned evolution. Is everything okay?¡± I can¡¯t help but worry. What¡¯s going to happen? ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I only read about it in a book, so I can¡¯t say for sure. I heard that lower-grade monsters such as goblins do not undergo this phenomenon, and in the case of evolution, they stay in their nests and take their time. It is said that this kind of glowing phenomenon occurs only to special monsters. However, there are only a few cases of sightings, and almost nothing is known about them. I think this phenomenon is happening because Rimu-chan is a special Holy Slime.¡± It is said that special monsters are glowing at the time of evolution, though little is known about it. The situation is fitting, but I can¡¯t shake off my uneasiness. ¡°Do you know how long evolution takes?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know.¡± That¡¯s right. I heard that you don¡¯t know anything. It is precisely in a case like this that I need to calm down. ¡°No, it¡¯s not something you should apologize for, Claretta-san. You said you didn¡¯t know anything, and I¡¯m sorry too.¡± ¡°No, there is no need to apologize. You¡¯re worried about Rimu-chan, so you must be impatient.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, Fuu-chan says it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Really, Marina-san?¡± ¡°It is true, so calm down, Wataru-san; you can talk with Fuu-chan, can¡¯t you?¡± Oh, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m trying to calm down, but I can¡¯t calm down at all. Then, I asked Fuu-chan a question to make myself calm down. ¡°Fuu-chan, is Rimu going to be okay?¡± ¡°¡­Yeah¡­¡± In the meantime, I can rest assured, can¡¯t I? They¡¯re the same slime, and it seems she knows it¡¯s not a problem. ¡°Can you see what¡¯s going on with Rimu?¡± ¡°¡­Becoming awesome¡­¡± Becoming awesome? I guess that means evolution, right? ¡°I guess that¡¯s right. It¡¯s going to be great. Do you know when it will end?¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know¡­¡± You don¡¯t know? It¡¯s hard not to see the end. Evolution started suddenly, but is it the same in other places? I think it would be too dangerous to be attacked during evolution¡­ but then again, doesn¡¯t it take that long? ¡°Is it okay if I just keep watching? Is there anything I can do to help?¡± ¡°¡­No¡­¡± No, huh? It¡¯s hard to just watch. ¡°I see, Fuu-chan; thank you.¡± ¡°¡­Hmm¡­¡± ¡°Wataru-san, did you find out anything?¡± Claretta-san asked me worriedly. You are a good person, Claretta-san. ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t know the details, but I heard that Rimu will be fine, and he will be awesome. Also, Fuu-chan doesn¡¯t know when it will be over, and there is nothing to help with.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯m glad there are no problems. But it¡¯s hard to just wait and see.¡± ¡°Well, all we can do is wait and see; let¡¯s do our best.¡± Thankfully, the ladies will be watching over him, too. Rimu, they love you, don¡¯t they? Is Rimu going to evolve? ¡­I¡¯m happy and worried about it¡­ I¡¯ll be happy if he stays cute. What¡¯s going to happen to him? I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll cry if he starts to rebel or something. As I stood by and watched Rimu, about two hours later, the light on Rimu began to diminish. ¡­I wonder if it¡¯s about to end? As we all watched with bated breath, the light subsided, and a plump and glamorous Rimu appeared¡­ ¡°Rimu, are you okay? Is there anything that hurts?¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m fine.¡± I¡¯m glad to hear he¡¯s okay for the time being. The light is a little stronger than before, but I can¡¯t tell the difference¡­ ¡°Rimu, you evolved, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Do you know what changed about yourself?¡± ¡°¡­Hmm?¡± He doesn¡¯t seem to understand it well. What¡¯s going on? ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Wataru-san?¡± Alessia-san asked a little worriedly. I have to explain. Everyone was watching over me with concern. ¡°Rimu is fine. I¡¯m sorry for worrying you all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief. Congratulations, Rimu-chan!¡± Alessia-san said so while gently stroking Rimu. It¡¯s a nice scene, isn¡¯t it? The other ladies also congratulate Rimu and stroke him gently. I guess they care about Rimu after the evolution. I appreciate it. Fuu-chan is also cuddling with Rimu and seems to be having some kind of conversation with him. I¡¯m a little curious about what they are talking about. ¡°So, Wataru-san, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s okay to ask, but you looked a little troubled. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just that I asked Rimu how things had changed, and he didn¡¯t really seem to understand either, so I wondered what was going on.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I can tell by looking at his status. I¡¯m curious too, so have a look at it.¡± ¡­Come to think of it, there was a useful thing called status. I forgot about it because I never opened it at all. Name: Rimu Race: Angel Slime Age: 2 Occupation: Wataru¡¯s follower Level: 300 Physical Strength: 6000 Magic Power: 648 Strength: 601 Intelligence: 613 Dexterity: 605 Luck: 30 Skills: Holy Magic Level 3 Healing Magic Level 1 Digestion/Absorption Physical Resistance Angel Level 1 (Unique) (NEW) ¡°Let¡¯s see, his race is now Angel Slime, his level is 300, and he has an additional unique skill called Angel.¡± Rimu¡¯s age is now two years old. If I had checked his status carefully, I would have found out about Rimu¡¯s birthday. I don¡¯t really pay attention to the status, so I forget to look at it. But the status numbers are so high. How strong is he? But Rimu¡¯s thought is a word, right¡­? Age, huh? He probably evolved because he reached level 300¡­ I thought he¡¯d be level 1 when he evolved, but that¡¯s unfortunate. It would be even more awesome if he went back. ¡°That¡¯s kind of awesome. ¡­I honestly don¡¯t feel comfortable with level 300¡­ Level 300 slime, I mean Angel Slime. On top of that¡­ what¡¯s up with the unique skill?¡± Surely Alessia-san is right; level 300 for a slime is awesome. Maybe Rimu was the first to become an Angel Slime. Moreover, it is a unique skill. But I think Holy meant sacred. Holy Slime and Angel Slime¡­ is it just me that the one that is holy seems to be more awesome? ¡°Haha, it sure does. I got up here because of the ship summoning, but it seems like it would be difficult under normal circumstances.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true. So what about the unique skill Angel?¡± Oh, I was satisfied with just the surface. ¡°I hadn¡¯t checked in detail yet. I¡¯ll take a look now.¡± Let¡¯s see, I strongly think of the angel part. Angel. It is possible to change into angel form. When you change into the angel form, all stats will be increased by 1.5 times. The higher the skill level, the higher the increase. Angel form? Is it possible that Rimu is transformed into a human? What about it? I don¡¯t care that much about strength, but I don¡¯t like the idea of Rimu¡¯s form changing¡­ ¡°Well, it is said that Rimu can change into angel form. I¡¯m kind of nervous.¡± ¡°That¡¯s hard for me to imagine.¡± ¡­I know. I¡¯m afraid to see the change, but if I don¡¯t see it, I can¡¯t help but wonder. ¡­I¡¯ll have him try. ¡°Rimu, do you think you can use your angel skill? If you can use it, can you give it a try?¡± ¡°I can do it.¡± Apparently, he can. I¡¯m getting scared. ¡°Then, please do it.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡­While I watched nervously. Rimu began to shine again. The light that intensified changed. A circle of light forms and floats above Rimu. The light forms wings and clings to both sides of Rimu. T-this is it? It¡¯s too cute. While maintaining his soft and round form¡­ A halo and tiny wings shine on Rimu, making him look extremely pretty. But it¡¯s unexpected. I didn¡¯t expect it to be so cute when the slime had a shiny white gold halo and tiny shiny white gold wings. ¡°Rimu, you¡¯re extremely pretty. You look amazing, Rimu.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. I wonder if those feathers can make Rimu fly?¡± ¡°¡­Fly?¡± Huh? If he grows wings, he can fly, right? Is that impossible? In terms of size, it¡¯s not very big enough to lift up Rimu¡¯s body, but since it¡¯s originally light, it looks like it could float with some kind of magic. ¡°Fly.¡± When he said that, he started to move his little wings as hard as he could. Seriously cute. Oh, he floated a little bit. The speed of the wings isn¡¯t that fast, but I still wonder if it¡¯s something magical. After flying up to my knees, he lost his balance and fell to the floor. At the same time as he fell, the halo and the angel¡¯s wings returned to light and vanished. ¡°Rimu, are you okay?¡± ¡°Difficult.¡± ¡°It was hard to fly, wasn¡¯t it? But it was your first time to fly, so it¡¯s already very impressive.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. Rimu is very amazing.¡± I couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and hugged and rubbed Rimu. Rimu, you are too cute. ¡°Ahaha, it¡¯s really interesting to be around you, Wataru-san. Rimu-chan is also very cute.¡± It seems that this event has hit the spot with Alessia-san, and she is laughing hysterically. I think it was a mystical sight, but where is the pressure point? ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯m sorry about Alessia. Rimu-chan¡¯s atmosphere was so divine; it was so awesome.¡± ¡°No problem, Claretta-san. Thank you.¡± Rimu was also praised and happily jumped to Claretta-san¡¯s side. She smiled and gently stroked Rimu. What a beautiful sight, isn¡¯t it? ¡°What will happen to Fuu-chan when she evolves?¡± Marina-san is asking Fuu-chan a question. I don¡¯t think she would understand. Fuu-chan is a wind slime, so I think she will evolve in a way related to wind. I¡¯m looking forward to it. After conversing for a while, Marina-san stood up, hugging Fuu-chan. ¡­Did she understand? She seems to be full of some kind of motivation. ¡°Marina-san, did you find out what kind of evolution Fuu-chan is going to go through?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. She didn¡¯t know. That¡¯s why she wants to do her best to level up.¡± Ah, so she¡¯s full of motivation. Marina-san is easy to understand when it comes to slime, isn¡¯t she? I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be proactive in defeating the monsters, so that¡¯s a big help for us. Now that Rimu¡¯s evolution is finished and everyone and I are relieved, we can have dinner in peace. Actually, we would have arrived at the dark elf village, but, well, it can¡¯t be helped. If we had gone there now, we would have arrived at midnight, so it would be bad if there were a commotion. We¡¯ll have to go on until the dark elf island is out of sight, and then we¡¯ll wait there. It was a fun dinner as everyone celebrated Rimu¡¯s evolution. When Rimu and Fuu-chan go out on their sharing spree, all of them congratulate them and give them food. Each time, they expressed their joy with their bodies before eating the food they received. What is interesting is that Fuu-chan also expresses her gratitude when she is congratulated. I wonder if she knows why she is being congratulated. We finish dinner and return to our room. It¡¯s been a good day, even though I¡¯ve been a bit impatient with the sudden evolution. ¡°Master, we will be on the dark elf island tomorrow morning, right? Are we going to explore it right away?¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ll have to see how the village is doing. If things are going well, we should be out exploring in a couple of days.¡± Now that I know that the Hideaway can be utilized on land as well, I can go exploring with a lot more ease than before. Now that the special ship has been unlocked, we can try out all sorts of things. What shall I buy? ¡°It¡¯s been a month since the villages merged, and both villages have been cooperative and happy, so I think things are going to be okay.¡± Ines is certainly right. They have much more freedom than they did in the past. As long as they don¡¯t get into personal fights, it¡¯s going well because even with the two villages merging, there are still so few of them. ¡°Felicia, if it¡¯s like that and there are no problems, we¡¯ll leave the village in a couple of days. Is that okay with you?¡± ¡°Yes, no problem at all. We just met the other day, so it¡¯s not a problem if I leave right away.¡± ¡­1 month, yeah, it feels like just the other day. I don¡¯t think we should worry about that much. The village chief seems to be sad, though. After dinner, we spend a leisurely time relaxing and chilling out. Rimu seems to enjoy changing into an angel, and whenever he feels like it, he comes in front of me and says, ¡°Look,¡± and shows me how he changes and flies. For now, his limit is still up to my knees, but I wonder if he will be able to fly around freely in the future. That looks fun too, but I think Rimu is cute, too, as he moves from one place to another. ¡­That¡¯s what worries me. After he showed me how he flies in front of me, he asked me, ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± I praise him with all my might. I¡¯ve done this many times, but it¡¯s always fun. But he has to be careful not to transform in public. He is so cute, but if he stands out so much, he might be kidnapped. ¡°Fufu, Master, Rimu-chan, if you don¡¯t go to bed soon, you¡¯ll have a hard time tomorrow.¡± Oh, I¡¯ve been so absorbed in Rimu that quite a lot of time has passed. Let¡¯s take a bath and go to bed. After taking a bath and after Rimu went to bed, I would run into Ines and Felicia. It¡¯s fun when there are two partners, but there¡¯s no chance of winning at all. But I believe that if I keep challenging them, one day, I will get some reassuring skills. ¡­Good night. Volume 8 - CH 2 Chapter 2 ¨C The Village¡¯s Situation and Preparation for the Party The sun is up, we have breakfast and then head for the dark elf island. We had been approaching the island on autopilot during the night, so we would be there soon. When I docked the Seeker, the people of the village had already gathered. We greeted them and unloaded the luggage we had bought. After unloading the luggage, I greeted the village chief and vice-chief again, and about ten villagers were asked to carry the luggage to the village. ¡°Once again, good morning, Village Chief-san and Vice Chief-san.¡± ¡°¡±Good morning.¡±¡± ¡°How are things going? Is everything going well in the village?¡± ¡°Yes, thanks to Wataru-san, the number of people and supplies has increased, and everyone is thriving. With the cooperation of the vice chief, it looks like the two villages will be united without any problems.¡± ¡°No, no, I haven¡¯t done anything¡ªa new and free environment. Once the confusion was gone, the rest was full of hope and joy. The village chief was also very considerate, so we didn¡¯t even have any arguments.¡± The village chief and vice chief also seem to get along well with each other, despite their mutual care. They don¡¯t seem to be arguing in the village either. Is it strange that I think there is something unusual about this? I thought that when one group joined another group, there would be a little friction. ¡°I see. I am glad to hear that there is no problem. Then, let¡¯s go to the village.¡± We headed for the village while talking with the village chief and vice-chief. The number of people in the village has increased, and the village is growing even more. Even so, with the number of people nearly doubling, there are probably more things that can be done. By cooperating with each other in building houses, a sense of solidarity was born, and even though it has only been a month or so, the village has become so well integrated that it can be called a single village. When we arrived at the village, new houses were being built in the spacious village. I can hear singing mixed with the sound of pounding tones. I wonder if the dark elves sing a lot of beautiful songs or if it is just a strange feeling to be at a carpenter¡¯s site. ¡°It¡¯s still early in the morning, yet it¡¯s so lively.¡± ¡°Is it? I think it¡¯s normal.¡± The village chief looks at me strangely. ¡­Speaking of which, even though there is a magic light, they don¡¯t stay up too late, do they? If they get up when the sun rises, now would be the time to work¡­ ¡°Oh, no, sorry. It just felt that way because I woke up so late. Ah, I see the kids are getting along.¡± I feel like I¡¯ve embarrassed myself for no good reason. Let¡¯s change the subject. ¡°Yes, they got along right away, and now the eight of them are running around the village together.¡± Both the village chief and vice chief were looking at the children with gentle smiles. They completely diverted the conversation. As usual, I sent Felicia to help out at Cecilia-san¡¯s place and looked around the village while listening to their stories. It¡¯s only been a month, but I feel like the number of houses has increased. ¡°Village Chief-san, are you going to build the houses like before, making only the outside and the interior detailing later?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Everyone is used to it, and it¡¯s done pretty quickly. Even those who were in charge of carpentry in the village are laughing, saying that they will lose their jobs when they finish building the houses.¡± A group of dark elves who are good at carpentry work, huh¡­? From a fantasy point of view, that¡¯s not right. They show me around the village, and we each find a job we think we can do and help out. I worked hard with Ines, carrying lumber, carrying lumber, carrying lumber. After lunch, I joined Rimu and Fuu-chan, who were playing with the children because, for some reason, there was no more work to be done. They asked me to tell them a story, but without really thinking about it, I hadn¡¯t had any adventures of any kind. So I taught them how to play ¡®Keidoro¡¯ and ¡®Daruma-san fell down*,¡¯ which can be played without using tools. [T/n: Keidoro is like hide-and-seek, and Daruma-san fell down is a children¡¯s game similar to Statues or Red Light Green Light, Bodhidharma fell down.] There were already similar games of tag and hide-and-seek. Keidoro was manageable with soldiers and criminals. But I didn¡¯t know what word to use for Daruma-san fell down, so I played Daruma-san fell down as it was. Surprisingly, Daruma-san fell down was very heated, which was interesting. At first, I was able to fool the children with appropriate feints even though I was the demon, but soon they got used to it, and I lost several times. It is surprisingly sad when I lose when I really try to win against children. I was so frustrated that I taught them the true or false game and won all the games. The children¡¯s words, ¡°Wataru-niichan is strong,¡± and the look of respect in their eyes pierced my heart. Whether I win or lose, my heart hurts. It is best to give them a win. I played with the children until the evening and returned to the Seeker. It was kind of an unexplainable day, wasn¡¯t it? After dinner, I took an early bath because I was tired. ¡°Master, the village was in a good mood. I was worried that they were over-exerting themselves.¡± That reminds me. There were a lot of people running around, not even taking a break. ¡°Oh, yeah, that¡¯s right. I guess it¡¯s okay that everyone seemed to be having fun¡­ but hey Felicia, did Cecilia-san and the others say anything?¡± ¡°My mother says they¡¯re all in too much good spirits. After work, they don¡¯t sleep well, playing Reversi, and Jenga, singing songs, and preparing drinks!¡± Huh? Don¡¯t they go to bed early after sunset? Wasn¡¯t it like that in the previous village?¡¡Reversi, Jenga, singing¡­ I¡¯m often the trigger. ¡°They seem pretty busy working, don¡¯t they? If they¡¯re playing at night on top of that, they¡¯re going to collapse.¡± ¡°Yes, my mother was worried too. The people in the former village are very excited about their new friends, and the people in the village on the lake are very energetic with free life and entertainment.¡± ¡­I think that¡¯s just the high tension continuing, and they don¡¯t even realize how tired they are. When the tension wears off, they¡¯re going to fall asleep at once¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s the case. It is necessary to take a rest, isn¡¯t it? We all collapse when our fatigue outweighs our energy.¡± ¡°The women in the village are aware of it, but they can¡¯t seem to control it very well.¡± ¡­I was thinking of offering them alcohol and having a party, but I wonder if it would have the opposite effect? ¡­If I just let them drink it, will they fall asleep the next day? Let¡¯s cut the strings early and put them to bed. It would be better than collapsing from physical exhaustion. ¡°Then, let¡¯s have a party tomorrow. If they finish their work early and let them drink, I think it will give their bodies a rest.¡± Hangovers are hard, but if they sleep, it will be a break for their bodies¡­ right? I¡¯m starting to lose some confidence. I¡¯m strangely tired after a hangover, so it¡¯s possible I¡¯m draining my energy. I want to look it up on the internet. Well, once you fall asleep, the tension will probably go down. ¡°A party? I¡¯m sure everyone will be pleased, but won¡¯t all the commotion tire them out?¡± ¡°Yes, I think if they drink and make a lot of noise and get a hangover, the tension will drop, and they¡¯ll calm down.¡± During the hangover, I¡¯ll regret having had too much to drink. I can¡¯t stay in high tension. ¡°I understand. Thank you very much. I¡¯ll talk to my mother tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes, I will let out the liquor, so please ask them to cook.¡± ¡°Yes, Master, thank you for everything. I will do my best to repay you in any way I can.¡± I was a little intimidated when she suddenly bowed down to me. ¡°Felicia, don¡¯t worry; I¡¯m enjoying the village building too.¡± I don¡¯t want to tell you because you might get angry if I did, but I feel like I¡¯m playing a portable game about building a village, so I¡¯m having fun. Well, I can¡¯t interfere with the arrangement of the houses or anything like that, though, can I? Tomorrow is the party, so let¡¯s sleep in peace today. In the morning, we gather in the living room for breakfast. When I told Girasole about the party, they were enthusiastic about it. Of course, they love to drink, don¡¯t they? The people in the dark elf village will be fine; they were in good spirits at the festival. ¡­To suddenly ask them to have a party this evening? Is that what we are saying? ¡­I don¡¯t have to think about it to be annoying. Well, if it looks like it won¡¯t work, let¡¯s postpone it to tomorrow. Arriving at the village, I immediately looked for the village chief and spoke to him. ¡°Good morning, Village Chief-san. May I have a word?¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san and everyone. Of course, it¡¯s fine, is something wrong?¡± I looked at the village chief when I heard about the strange tension, and sure enough, his eyes were a little red¡­ I don¡¯t know him well, so it¡¯s subtle, but his movements also seem to have become larger, so there seems to be no doubt that the tension is getting higher. ¡°Yes, I heard that everyone is working hard without a break, so why don¡¯t we have a party this evening for a little relaxation? I¡¯ll provide the drinks.¡± ¡°A party? It is true that the villagers have been working hard recently, so it would be nice to have a party. We have been brewing alcohol in the village as well, so I am looking forward to it.¡± The village chief¡¯s eyes seem to be shining. The tension has risen even higher. After a short discussion, a party in the evening was decided. The village chief ran off as he communicated throughout the village and into the forest. ¡­I think it¡¯s good that the village chief is full of vitality, but he shouldn¡¯t go too far. That man will definitely drink a lot, and he will probably calm down a bit with a hangover. We¡¯re going around helping out in the village as we did yesterday. Girasole seems to be surprisingly enjoying helping out in the village and joins in helping out with the house-building while laughing. Felicia is going to spread the word to the women in the village through Cecilia-san. In the morning, we carry wood as we did yesterday. There are shouts of joy everywhere as word of the feast spreads. The people in the village on the lake are puzzled, as if they don¡¯t understand what is happening. The people around them are trying to explain, but they are not keeping up with the rising tension. Well, they wouldn¡¯t understand if someone suddenly started shouting, ¡°It¡¯s a festival!¡± It¡¯s not a festival; it¡¯s a party, you know. This is a far cry from the fantasy image of the dark elves. A dark elf who likes to drink and is good at carpentry work¡­ That¡¯s different. That should be the role of dwarves. Dark elves are supposed to be shady and live in the dark. They shouldn¡¯t be shouting, ¡°It¡¯s a festival!¡± ¡­Is it because of me? I hope things will calm down once the house-building is done. I have lunch and play with the kids as I did yesterday. Somehow I feel doubtful about the natural flow of playing with children, but I can¡¯t say that to the children who are frolicking in front of me. Let¡¯s play together like adults. ¡°Wataru-niichan. Today is a festival, right?¡± It¡¯s not a festival; it¡¯s a party. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to the food.¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± We just had lunch, though, didn¡¯t we? ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± I should clear up the misunderstanding, right? I think as I watch the excited children. ¡°You know, today is not a festival; it¡¯s a party.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°¡­Festival is to thank the gods, and the party is to drink alcohol and make a lot of noise, right?¡± It¡¯s probably right, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Is there a feast?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good, then it¡¯s okay to have a feast.¡± If there is a feast, there is no problem? I know how you feel, so I can¡¯t say anything. When I was in Japan, I was only interested in opening stores. Now that I¡¯ve met Creator God-sama, I¡¯m praying seriously. Like yesterday, I kill time until dinner while playing with the children. They said they would play a lot and get hungry with the goal of having a feast at night, so I convinced them that they would get sleepy and miss the feast as soon as they got tired. Children¡¯s full strength is scary. It¡¯s hard to play with children who play around in high tension. In the evening, I parted from the children and returned to the Seeker to unload the liquor with the villagers who were our cargo carriers. Hmm, wine and ale are no problem, but we¡¯re running low on distilled liquor. It would be a hassle to go stock up again, so what should I do? When we arrived at the village with the liquor, we found people gathered in the square. It looks like they are already preparing. As we proceed through the good smells, a campfire is being built¡­ ¡°I see that you have built a campfire, Village Chief-san. Is it alright? You need wood to build a house, right?¡± ¡°Ah, Wataru-san. Thank you for the drinks. We needed wood, but we made it because we wanted the new residents to see that scene. We can get by with replenishing the wood later.¡± Apparently, the campfire was remembered by the people who helped me build it. Well, if the party is going to be fancy, what¡¯s the problem? The more showy it is, the more alcohol will go down the drain. Tomorrow will be a quiet village like the last time. There are many dishes on the table, some of which I taught them and some of which I think were adapted from the dishes I taught them. As for the alcohol, I wonder if those unknown barrels are alcohol made in this village. I wonder if I should drink¡­ which sounds both intriguing and scary? ¡°Wataru-san, I love the atmosphere here. Lots of food, lots of alcohol! Everyone is waiting for the party to start right now!¡± Alessia-san with a big smile on her face¡­ I guess it¡¯s not my imagination that there was a special accent on the alcohol. She¡¯s definitely targeting alcohol. Preparations are finished, and the party begins just before the sun goes down completely. Volume 8 - CH 3 Chapter 3 ¨C The Peaceful Village and the Add The party in the dark elf village has begun. No one would dream that this party was a strategy to drive the dark elves into a hangover and lower their tension. As soon as the party began, the people of the village were swarming around the drinks and food. They are just dancing in my palms¡­ It¡¯s a perfect strategy. ¡°This village is safe, so everyone is welcome to join the party.¡± ¡°Hmm, it looks fine in the daytime, but when it¡¯s dark, and the booze is flowing, it¡¯s best to leave a couple of guards behind.¡± Alessia-san started to say something serious. I was a little surprised, but what she said was reasonable. Is it absolutely safe? As a result of our discussion, it was decided that Claretta-san, Carla-san, Ines, and Felicia would be my escorts. I told them that Ines and Felicia were enough for me, but¡­ I¡¯m glad to see that they seem to be taking great care of me. Anyway, let¡¯s go get some food. Fried chicken, mixed fries, croquettes, all the dishes I taught them are being prepared. I sit down and eat the food. ¡­Delicious. The fried food tastes mostly the same, but the croquettes are different. It has a flavor I¡¯ve never had before. Is it wild herbs? It has a unique flavor, but it¡¯s strange. It has its own peculiar taste, but it is a taste that strangely matches with the others. While eating, I gave Rimu and Fuu-chan some of the food I had brought. When Marina-san stormed over to the alcohol area, Fuu-chan moved over here without hesitation. She has completely learned that it is the correct thing to eat food here when she is drinking. Well, there is nothing wrong with Rimu and Fuu-chan eating side by side because they look so cute. When it gets dark, daily life magic is used, and countless balls of light float around the party hall. I guess this is a normal scene for people in this world, but for me, it is a scene from another world itself. It¡¯s fantastic, isn¡¯t it? The plaza is buzzing, and the people of the lakeside village are happily drinking. I guess they had never been this noisy in the month since they came to this village, so when the party started, I was a bit bewildered. The village chief stands up and tells them to turn off the ball of light¡ªfinally, the campfire. A spark ignites in the dark square, and it gradually burns. The people of the village cheer, and the party gets into full swing. ¡°This is fun. We used to make campfires when we were exploring, but it¡¯s a different feeling when it¡¯s big and lively.¡± Claretta-san smiles at me. Campfires are going to be a regular part of this village¡¯s festivals and parties, aren¡¯t they? It makes me kind of happy. ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t know why, but it¡¯s fun when everyone gathers around the fire.¡± In fact, since childhood, I¡¯ve always been told not to play with fire, and I expect it¡¯s a reaction to that. Fire must be scary in this world, too, so I guess we can share the same kind of immoral fun. That¡¯s my personal opinion. ¡°Fufu, I enjoy it too, so maybe that¡¯s the case.¡± Eight beautiful women, including Cecilia-san, sang in front of the campfire. Dancing also began, and the atmosphere of the previous festivities started to take on a more festive feel. The drunkenness will come intensely from here because Alessia-san is dancing. ¡­Alessia-san is very beautiful, but her dancing is not so subtle. She¡¯s just a little too drunk and excited to dance. ¡°Claretta-san, Alessia-san is dancing¡­¡± ¡°Yes, you are right. Alessia must have been enjoying herself.¡± Is everything alright? Oh, Dorothea-san took her. Dorothea-san seems to be having a hard time, too. It seems like people around here are drinking the distilled liquor. The party was getting noisy, so I decided to leave and returned to the Seeker with Ines, Felicia, and Rimu. Carla-san and Claretta-san probably want a drink, too, right? I tried to show them how mature I was. ¡°Ines, Felicia, you two can go back to the party. You haven¡¯t been drinking at all, have you?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯d like to have a drink, but I¡¯d rather do it while I¡¯m in the bath. What about you, Felicia?¡± ¡°I, well, my father was devastated, so I don¡¯t want to go back if possible.¡± Oh, the village chief was certainly in high spirits. It¡¯s fun to watch, but embarrassing for his family? ¡°Then, let¡¯s have a light drink in the bath.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± They wanted to drink Japanese sake, so I brought out some sake and drank it while soaking in the bath. Surprisingly, I was tired, but I got drunk more than I imagined I would, and I sank right away. I was just playing with the kids, though. In the morning, when I went to the living room, only Carla-san and Claretta-san were there¡­ It¡¯s as I expected. ¡°Good morning. Are the others still hungover?¡± ¡°Yes, I tried to wake them up, but they were just letting out groans. I don¡¯t think they will be able to move today. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Claretta-san apologized profusely. I had expected that too, and we had a party, so if anything, it was my fault. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s no problem. It¡¯s the day after the party, after all. Let¡¯s take it easy today.¡± We finished breakfast and went back to the room. ¡°Master, you said you were going to take it easy, but aren¡¯t you going to do anything?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, I have a selection of things that might help me get to the place where the village chief said before that there was a strange smell, and maybe just check out the dark elf village.¡± I have a boat I¡¯m trying to get to. This island is an easy place to try it out, so let¡¯s take advantage of this opportunity. ¡°You¡¯re buying a new boat? I wonder if it¡¯s more impressive than a luxury liner?¡± Oh, no wonder Ines thinks so. The prices have been basically going up until now. ¡°This time, it¡¯s a little different. But it¡¯s something special, and I think you¡¯ll be surprised.¡± I¡¯ve seen classic cars on the luxury liner, and I was surprised to learn about the magic vehicle. They say they are rarer than large magic ships. It would certainly surprise them. ¡°Everything I¡¯ve seen has surprised me, so I¡¯m sure it will surprise me this time, too. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Master. Are you sure you don¡¯t mind that the people of Girasole are not in their best condition?¡± What about it? I¡¯m just going to run around the area, so I guess it¡¯s not a problem. ¡°Felicia, don¡¯t worry, it will be fine. We won¡¯t be moving much. I¡¯m going to choose a boat now, so you two are free to go.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I look at the special ship on the purchase screen. There are many ships that I don¡¯t know in what situation I will use them. I guess there are two that I would choose to use right now. One is Gibbs Aquada, 15 gold coins. This is a car? Or a boat? It¡¯s a car no matter how you look at it. But you need a marine license, and I guess they included it in the ship summoning. I¡¯ve admired this boat since I saw it on TV, so I really want it, but it¡¯s a two-seater and subtle and difficult to use. And it¡¯s not suitable for this time because we¡¯ll be traveling through rivers, forests, and mountains. The other one is the Quadski XL, for five gold coins. This is a two-seater, and on land, it becomes a buggy and is smaller in size. It can be used on rivers, in the forest, and in the mountains, and if I had to buy one, this is definitely the one I¡¯d buy. I also found a Rinspeed Splash and Rinspeed sQuba, but I was afraid to try them out of the blue. The sQuba one, in particular, is a convertible, but it can also dive. To be honest, I don¡¯t understand what it means, and I¡¯m scared. It is impossible. ¡­I¡¯ll save Gibbs Aquada for later and go for Quadski XL. Once it is decided, let¡¯s get moving¡­ Let¡¯s go check out the village first. ¡°Ines, Felicia, now that I have decided which boat I want to buy, let¡¯s check out the village first, and then we¡¯ll try it out.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be ready soon.¡± Well, shall I change my clothes too? I put Rimu on my head and headed outside. ¡°Ara, Wataru-san, are you going out?¡± Claretta-san and Carla-san are having a cup of tea in the living room. Fuu-chan is also relaxing on Carla-san¡¯s lap. I guess Carla and Fuu-chan are getting along well, aren¡¯t they? ¡°Yes, Claretta-san. I¡¯m going to go check out the village for a bit and try out the new boat I¡¯m buying.¡± ¡°I see. I will accompany you, so can you wait a bit?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I will not go to any dangerous places. Please take care of Alessia-san and the others.¡± I stopped Claretta-san, who had started to move in a hurry. ¡°Hmm, then please take Carla with you. I will take you at your word.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± When I look at Carla-san, she nods her head while eating tea cakes, so it seems that there is no problem. ¡°Then, Carla-san, please take care of me.¡± We headed for the village with Carla-san, who was probably bored, and Fuu-chan, who was perched on top of Carla-san¡¯s head. Well, it¡¯s just a short walk up the hill, so it¡¯s not nearly as dangerous as it sounds. When we arrive at the village, it is quiet as planned. But compared to the festival, there are a few women out and about. I don¡¯t see any men. I wonder if all male dark elves can drink alcohol? Aside from the people from the lakeside village, it¡¯s not good to not learn. I got drunk and fell into the sea, so I learned. I¡¯m glad I came to this world now, but I¡¯ve learned that drinking too much is dangerous. ¡°You¡¯ve been quiet, Wataru-san.¡± Carla-san asked me with a look of ¡°Why?¡± on her face. ¡°Most of the people are with Alessia-san and the others.¡± Oh, I see. Her understanding is outstanding since the group of people who love to drink are hungover quite often. We walk through the quiet village and arrive at the village chief¡¯s house. ¡°Hello, Cecilia-san.¡± ¡°Hello, Wataru-san. Thank you for yesterday. We had a big party, and everyone was happy. Well, my husband and most of the villagers are suffering now, though.¡± Cecilia-san said with a bit of a wry smile. The village chief, who was the most enthusiastic, is also hungover. Just as planned. This will calm things down a bit. I can¡¯t handle it if they start to get excited again. ¡°Haha, everyone was drinking, after all. Did anything go wrong?¡± ¡°No, nothing. We ate, drank, made noise, and had a good time.¡± How was the singing? I did my best to praise them. It was actually a great song, so I guess it was good that I praised them sincerely, and they were in a pretty good mood. We chatted over a cup of tea and left the village chief¡¯s house. Now, to try out the Quadski XL¡­ the buggy was fine for off-roading, right? Would a secluded grassy area be better? It might get tangled up in the long grass, but it won¡¯t break, so that¡¯s not a problem. I feel like it¡¯s too late to hide it from the dark elves, but there¡¯s no need to force them to see it. ¡°Wataru-san, why are we going to the meadow?¡± ¡°What I¡¯m buying this time is amphibious. I¡¯m thinking of riding it in the meadow.¡± ¡°Amphibious?¡± She looked like she didn¡¯t understand it at all. I may not have said it well enough, but it was difficult to explain it in any way. It would be better to have her see the actual thing. ¡°Well, you¡¯ll understand when you see it. I¡¯ll buy it and summon it when we get a little further along, so please keep your eyes open for it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Now that we are a distance away from the village, I buy the Quadski XL¡­ color selection. There are red, blue, yellow, and silver? I decided to go with red because it looks faster. I paid five gold coins for it. ¡°Then, I will summon it. Summon Quadski XL. From the magic circle of light, Quadski XL appears. ¡­I know it¡¯s a different category, but it¡¯s a little sad that it¡¯s a rubber-boat class magic circle. ¡°It¡¯s small.¡± Carla-san mumbles. Well, I know what she means. ¡°Master, you said it¡¯s amphibious, but how does it work?¡± ¡°I think it would be quicker if you saw it, so I¡¯ll show you now. Also, I¡¯m going to name it the Add.¡± ¡°¡­I won¡¯t ask too much about the name.¡± Ines, thank you. It¡¯s very helpful that you don¡¯t ask too deeply. To be honest, the most difficult part of buying a boat is the name. No matter how many times I think about it, I never know the right answer, so I have to rely on my feeling on the spot. I get on the Add and start the engine. Twist the gas pedal, and the Add starts to move. Behind me, I hear a surprised voice. It seems they were surprised. It feels good, doesn¡¯t it? It is said to be capable of over 70 kilometers both on water and on land, so it is dependable. Even on uneven ground, I don¡¯t feel that much vibration, probably due to the good performance of the suspension. And it¡¯s fun. I¡¯m afraid of going full speed, but once I get used to it, I think I can go 40 to 50 kilometers. Rimu is also excited, and it¡¯s bouncing around between my legs. I¡¯m afraid he might fall off. I turn around and go back to where I started. Hmm, it¡¯s fun, and the Add will certainly make it easier to get around on land. I wonder if a hovercraft or something like that would be better for moving a large group of people since I would need several of these vehicles. Well, let¡¯s try the Add and think about it if I need something else. Funds on Hand: 38 gold coins, 5 silver coins, 68 copper coins. Guild account: 0 platinum coins. 70 gold coins. Savings ship: 190 platinum coins. Pepper ship: 285. T/n: Gibbs Aquada Rinspeed Splash Rinspeed sQuba Volume 8 - CH 4 Chapter 4 ¨C Confirmation of the Add and Mitigation After a test run of the Add, I returned to Carla-san, Ines, Felicia, and Fuu-chan. ¡°Master, isn¡¯t it amazing? I thought it was a boat, but it¡¯s a magic vehicle.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a magic vehicle, but is it something similar?¡± I¡¯ve never seen a magic vehicle before, so I can¡¯t say. ¡°It¡¯s amazing.¡± Carla-san came up to me and observed with great interest. ¡°Thank you. It¡¯s easy, so let¡¯s all take a ride.¡± I made the tickets, and then I let Carla-san and Felicia ride in the back in turn, and then we rode around. They put their hands around my waist and hugged me from behind. I¡¯m happy, but it¡¯s a shame that they¡¯re wearing equipment. I don¡¯t enjoy the feeling. It¡¯s a simple way to drive, so I explain as I drive. ¡°How was it riding in the back, Carla-san?¡± ¡°It was fun!¡± Her words are short, but she must be telling the truth because she is moving her hands around. She seemed a little excited. Felicia seemed to be enjoying the ride. The problem was Ines. She looks excited, and her eyes are different. This is the face she makes when steering the ship. I had a bad feeling about this, so I made her wait until later, but it seemed she got even more excited because she had to wait. Obviously, I failed. ¡°Master. It¡¯s my turn next, isn¡¯t it? Now, let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Y-yeah.¡± I take Ines, who is in high spirits, in the back, and we depart. Ines is holding on to me tightly, and I expect her to make a fuss when we start to drive. She seems to be watching my maneuvering with rapt attention. Ines¡¯ face is next to mine. It would have been easier if she had made a fuss. I wondered if I needed to explain the controls to her. I thought so, but I would explain it properly. I¡¯ll be especially careful about the precautions I take. Even if I couldn¡¯t see her excitement, I could feel it. ¡°Ines, how did it go?¡± I can tell without asking, though. ¡°It¡¯s very interesting! I wonder if it¡¯s as fast as a horse. But the atmosphere is different. I was thrilled just watching from the back.¡± Yes, it looks like fun. Ines likes this kind of ride. I wonder if Alessia-san and Marina-san will have the same reaction. ¡­I can¡¯t see a future where they won¡¯t like it. They will ride around happily. Even if they fall over, they¡¯ll have a better chance of being safe than the Japanese because of their level of skill¡­ It¡¯s difficult. Let¡¯s limit the speed at first; even 40 km/h is fast in this world. ¡°Well, now let¡¯s see if you can drive. Carla-san, you get in the front, and I¡¯ll get in the back.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± This time, I¡¯m going to teach from the back. Twist the gas pedal slowly and drive through the meadow. We avoid areas with long grass and take it easy. We enjoy the ride while looking at the scenery. This is the best way to ride. Felicia also follows the instructions and drives with a sense of security. Ines also understands if I explain things properly, so as long as she doesn¡¯t get too excited, she¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s easy for her to get excited, though. ¡°It¡¯s almost lunchtime, isn¡¯t it? Carla-san, shall we have lunch?¡± She nodded with a smile, so I prepared lunch. I thought about summoning the Hideaway, but since we were going all out, I decided to have lunch in the middle of the meadow to enjoy the picnic atmosphere. I would have just put out the hot dishes I had bought, but eating a meal in the middle of a pleasant meadow is different. Well, I usually summon at least a rubber boat, but that¡¯s because I was told that no monsters could break Felicia¡¯s barrier here. ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong? You have a big smile on your face.¡± ¡°Hmm? I thought it would be fun to do something like this.¡± In front of me, I watch as Carla-san, Rimu, and Fuu-chan eat their meals with single-minded devotion. It¡¯s peaceful. ¡°It sure is. It¡¯s so laid-back, I feel safer than the area around Southern City.¡± ¡°Haha, right.¡± I hardly know anything about the Southern City. Aside from the time I arrived in the Southern City, I only went to the Siena Village by boat. I waited for the trio of gluttonous eaters to be satisfied with their meal while sipping canned coffee. But they ate so much. Now that we were used to driving on land, the next step was to drive on the water. I am afraid of the sea, so I will take the river. Everyone in the village is hungover today, so the river is probably not being used. ¡­I realized something serious. I was thinking of going up the river to the other side of the mountain, but that doesn¡¯t work if you¡¯re going to hide the Add. ¡­Something is getting tedious. I¡¯m starting to feel like I could at least show all the dark elves. They got the luxury liner in the first place, so there¡¯s no need to force them to spread the word, but there¡¯s no need to sneak around and hide it either. If everyone is back tonight, we¡¯ll discuss it. We¡¯ll move to the river and slowly enter the water from where we can get in. ¡­Huh? There was no word of surprise like ¡®It¡¯s amazing, or ¡®Is it okay to go on the water?¡¯ I pressed the button and finally got a cheer when the tire was about to move. I get cheers here. I don¡¯t understand. I later asked them, and they said, ¡°You said it was amphibious, didn¡¯t you?¡± I was told that they were wondering about this. They were convinced that it was just like that. It¡¯s not a generation gap but a different world gap. The Add travels on the water. It¡¯s a bit bumpy. Is the current of the river dangerous? The bigger the boat is, the more stable it is. But a Japanese-style boat is more convenient for this river. I can change the boat immediately by summoning, and I prefer the ¡°Add¡± to be used exclusively on land. It¡¯s just great to be able to drive on land. When I get back to the others, they¡¯re all ready to ride. They take turns going out on the water. They enjoy raising and lowering the tires. Rather than driving on the water, they repeatedly lower the tires, go to land, move to the water again, and raise the tires. The purpose of the use is different. After running on the water and being satisfied, we returned to the Seeker. ¡°Welcome back, Wataru-san.¡± Claretta-san welcomes me with a smile. It¡¯s soothing, but I¡¯m worried about the five stuffed toys in the back. She was probably making the stuffed toys while taking care of Alessia-san and the others. Considering the speed at which Claretta-san makes stuffed toys, I am a little afraid of what is going on in her stuffed toy room. ¡°I¡¯m back. How are Alessia-san and the others doing, Claretta-san?¡± ¡°Well, they seem to be a little better, but they¡¯re not in their best condition yet.¡± ¡°I see. Tomorrow I would like to go to the place mentioned before where there is a strange smell. Do you think it will be okay?¡± Should we take tomorrow off too? ¡°It will be fine. Even if they drank too much, they would recover at night, so tomorrow should be fine.¡± If there is no problem, then let¡¯s leave tomorrow. Over a cup of tea with Claretta-san, we talked about today¡¯s events. Carla-san is trying her best to explain to Claretta-san about the Add. It¡¯s rare to see Carla-san trying so hard to talk, isn¡¯t it? Carla-san is trying her best to talk, and Claretta-san is happily listening to her talk. It¡¯s a heartwarming and beautiful scene. It would be an ugly scene if I were to join in, so I¡¯ll just keep my mouth shut and watch. ¡°Heh, is that so? It can run on land and water. I can¡¯t even imagine, but I¡¯ll ask Wataru-san to show me tomorrow. Thank you for telling me.¡± ¡°Yeah, but you know what, if you ask him now, he¡¯ll show it to you, you know?¡± I want to show it to her and show off and have her ride behind me without her having to ask. If I barge in here, I¡¯ll ruin it. But isn¡¯t Carla-san getting slightly childish? I sense motherly feelings from Claretta-san, too, and it¡¯s a weird relationship. Basically, Claretta-san and Carla-san are together. It¡¯s unusual for them to be like this after they split up. It¡¯s also rare that Claretta-san doesn¡¯t use polite language for some reason. ¡°Fufu, I¡¯d love to see it, but I¡¯m sure Alssia and the others will want to see it too, so I¡¯ll hold off until then.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, how about dinner?¡± Oh no, I¡¯ve been dumped over here. It would have been nice to just sit here and watch. ¡°Well, I guess Alessia-san and the others aren¡¯t in the best of condition, so let¡¯s get what each of us wants to eat out of the food storage boat, shall we?¡± ¡°Thank you very much. That would be very helpful.¡± The paid dishes on the Castle are bought and stocked well. I haven¡¯t touched the free ones, though, because I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll be punished if I get greedy. I have nothing in particular to do, so I spend my time playing Jenga for the first time in a while until dinner time. Lately it¡¯s been all about entertainment on the Castle, but Jenga is just as much fun as ever. It¡¯s a great thing to think about. While we were fussing, Alessia-san and the others woke up. Her glowing mood is shaded, and she has a dusky look on her face. I guess a hangover can cloud even the most beautiful woman. Huh? Ilma-san is in an erotic mood. She looks painfully dull, but I wonder if it¡¯s called decadence? I feel her sexiness is increasing. It¡¯s amazing how sexy she is even in this situation. I love her pheromones. ¡°Is everyone all right?¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re fine. We had a lot of fun, so we drank a little too much.¡± Alessia-san says with a wry smile. Not a little; you¡¯ve drank too much. ¡°Oh, by the way, I have a drink that is good for hangovers.¡± I handed everyone a sports drink. It is not good to drink a sports drink right after drinking. ¡°It¡¯s very helpful to know that it¡¯s good for hangovers.¡± Hearing that it is good for a hangover, they gulp down the sports drink. ¡°Phew, I thought it tasted strange when I drank it before, though. It tastes good when I drink it now. Why is that?¡± That¡¯s how they rated sports drinks. I wonder more about it myself. I sat on the sofa for a while and suggested udon noodles to them since they didn¡¯t seem to have anything they wanted to eat. Udon noodles seem to be good for hangovers, don¡¯t they? And it¡¯s easy to eat. While the hungover group members were eating udon, we were having a normal dinner. After dinner, they asked for another bottle of sports drink, so I gave it to them. ¡°Ah, I feel a little calmer now. Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve calmed down.¡± Their complexion is also getting better. Was the sports drink or the udon noodles effective? I¡¯ll give it a try when I get a hangover too. ¡°Oh, I had a thought earlier today. Would you be willing to discuss it with me?¡± I¡¯ll ask them, just in case. ¡°No problem. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see. I¡¯ve been hiding my abilities to the best of my ability, but from now on, I think it¡¯s okay to do things a little more freely. Of course, I don¡¯t want to go out of my way to show off my abilities or sell them somewhere.¡± ¡°If your goal is not to show off your abilities and get an important position in some country or become a nobleman, there is nothing wrong with showing off, is there?¡± Alessia-san asked curiously. Status and honor, huh¡­? It seems to be closer to a harem, but there seems to be a lot of accompanying hassle. Even if a harem is created, it¡¯s meaningless if you can¡¯t live a decadent life. ¡°I don¡¯t really care about countries or nobility. I was able to summon some interesting things this afternoon, but I thought their use would be limited because of their prominence. I also got the luxury liner, which was my goal, so I don¡¯t have to be so concerned about making money. Then I thought that rather than being afraid of being conspicuous and holding back from the things I want to do, I would rather choose to have fun while paying a certain amount of attention. What do you all think?¡± If it looks bad, I¡¯ll live my life as it is, but if it¡¯s going to be fun, I¡¯m willing to be a little more open-minded. I feel it is useless to hide my abilities, especially on the island of the dark elves. I was afraid of the very small possibility, but things were different from when I found this island. When I had only purchased up to the Lutto, and now I have purchased up to the Castle. There should be more choices. ¡°Hmm, I see your point. In terms of safety, it¡¯s definitely safer to hide as much as you can, but¡­ now that you can summon an interesting boat, even if it increases the chances of being found a little bit, you¡¯re willing to take advantage of it, right?¡± That¡¯s pretty much it, isn¡¯t it? I think the general gist of it is what Alessia-san is saying, and I don¡¯t think she¡¯s wrong. ¡°Master, can you tell me what kind of action you want to take anyway?¡± Sorry Ines. It¡¯s just that I felt cramped not having the Add at my disposal, that¡¯s the starting point, so I haven¡¯t thought about it. I thought about turning it into a horse with a ship disguise, but the horse¡¯s legs don¡¯t work with a ship disguise. A horse was galloping down a street without moving its legs. No matter how you think about it, it¡¯s obviously a case of defeat. ¡°I haven¡¯t really thought that far ahead, but I feel it would be futile to keep my abilities hidden even on a dark elf island. I mean, I¡¯ve already shown the summons of the Hideaway to the people of the lakeside village¡­¡± ¡°Certainly, there¡¯s less danger on this island. How do you judge what¡¯s safe and what¡¯s dangerous on this island?¡± It was taken more seriously than I thought. ¡°In the meantime, what about letting the Add ride around freely on this island? Also, what would the reaction be if we rode the Add on the continent? Yes. I haven¡¯t felt that much inconvenience with my other abilities hidden, so I think the biggest obstacle is how to use the ship summoning on land!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure since we haven¡¯t checked out that Add. Shall we go take a look now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind, Alessia-san, but are you feeling alright?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m not in my best condition yet, but I don¡¯t have a problem. Shall we go?¡± We decided to go out to check the Add together. I wonder how they will react? I¡¯m kind of looking forward to it. Volume 8 - CH 5 Chapter 5 ¨C Forest Exploration and Mountain Exploration We step out from the Seeker to check on the Add. It is already dark, so I float a ball of light to get a light. ¡°Then I will summon it.¡± I summon the Add. Yeah, they look complicated. They won¡¯t understand unless I show them how to ride it. ¡°I¡¯ll show you how it works, so please check it out.¡± Then, I ride on the Add and go back around in a circle. ¡°Wataru-san. It¡¯s very impressive, but I thought Wataru-san¡¯s unique skill could only summon ships.¡± That¡¯s a fair question. It¡¯s a ship summoning. But still, Alessia-san and Marina-san aren¡¯t immediately biting into it. I thought they would be interested, like Ines. ¡°Maybe, but the Add is amphibious, so I think they recognize it as a ship as well.¡± ¡°Really? I think I¡¯ve told you before; magic vehicles are more valuable than large magic ships. If they are found, it¡¯s a big deal, so if you¡¯re going to ride on the continent, you¡¯ll have to make sure not to be found. If you are found, you have to flee the country or flee the continent. You aren¡¯t thinking of fighting and subduing them, are you?¡± I don¡¯t want to fight. But flee the country or the continent. That¡¯s a no. ¡°Alessia-san, is the Add similar to a magic vehicle?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve only heard about them. But I¡¯m aware that a magic vehicle is one that can move by itself, so I guess the Add could be considered a magic vehicle.¡± ¡°¡­So the basic premise is that it can¡¯t be found. How about this?¡± I disguise it as a horse-drawn carriage with the ship disguise. I showed it to them, and they asked me to ride in it. Let¡¯s take a ride. ¡°A carriage that makes a sound¡­ where the driver can¡¯t be seen and drawn by a horse that doesn¡¯t move its legs. ¡­It¡¯s going to be a rumor, but it¡¯s not going to make as much noise as a magic vehicle. I don¡¯t know if there will be a request to take it down or something, but¡­¡± Who knows if there will be a request to take it down? I wouldn¡¯t stand still in place until a request is made to take it down. The carriage form is better. ¡°Okay, if I have to ride on the continent, I¡¯ll disguise it as a carriage. How about on this island?¡± ¡°As Wataru-san said earlier, this island has already been exposed to the summoning of the Hideaway, so there¡¯s no point in hiding it now, is there?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Shall we take a normal ride on this island?¡± Do we have to think this much just for the Add? It¡¯s kind of a hassle, isn¡¯t it? After reaching a conclusion, we returned to the Seeker and decided on tomorrow¡¯s schedule. Tomorrow, we will start exploring hot springs in the morning. We have to get into the swing of things. After observing Rimu¡¯s transformation practice, I took a bath and went to sleep. In the morning, after getting ready. I was thinking of going on the Japanese-style boat, but I decided to explore on the Add anyway, so I bought four additional Adds. The colors were two red, one blue, one yellow, and one silver. For now, I¡¯ll just make up tickets for all of them. After repatriating the Seeker, I held a training session with the members I taught yesterday. Yesterday, Alessia-san and Marina-san were not so interested, but when they found out that they could go faster, they became more interested at once. I guess they were not so interested in it yesterday because I only drove slowly in a circle. Speed is important, isn¡¯t it? They started to learn how to operate the boat seriously and started to ride it around. I am sorry that when the village chief and the others saw that my ship had disappeared, they came running in a hurry. Should I have repatriated the ship after I told them? They were relieved when I explained the reason. I am truly sorry. It¡¯s not much of an apology, but we put the chief and the others on the back of the Add and sent them back to the village. They were happy to see it, so that was a bit of a relief. I told them that we were going out to explore and were about to go when the children came running, attracted by the sound. ¡°Wow, this is amazing! What is this?¡± ¡°What¡¯s this? What is this?¡± ¡°Let me ride it. Hey, let me ride it.¡± Eight kids running around the Add. ¡­This won¡¯t stop unless we let them on. We took turns riding them on the back, and we went around the perimeter of the village. The kids are so happy and excited. I was scared that they might fall off. It was bad for my heart. After taking them one by one, we leave the village immediately. If we take it easy, it looks like we¡¯ll have to go around the village endlessly. We left the village and headed straight for the river. At first, we went slowly up the river to get used to it. By the way, Girasole and I split up and boarded the Add, with Ines and Felicia riding alone. When we arrived at the border of the forest, the dark elves appeared with their weapons at the ready. They lowered their weapons after seeing us, but I think we startled them. We were sorry that we had startled the chief and the others in the village, but we neglected to mention that there were dark elves in the forest as well. A man who can¡­ No, if they were normal members of society or something, I wouldn¡¯t have forgotten about them. Romano-san was there, too, but after bowing to us, he was standing by in a stern position. This is scary; he looks like he¡¯s been trained by the Spartans. We parted ways with the dark elves and headed back up the river. Along the way, the river was blocked by a fallen tree, so we moved onshore. ¡­I found a wide place, so I signaled the others, and we stopped. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Wataru-san?¡± Alessia-san asked. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s quite bumpy, and I thought we could discuss whether we should continue on the Add or switch to foot.¡± I can avoid tree roots and check them, so I¡¯ll be fine, but the ground itself is bad, so it¡¯s very uneven. I can stand it, but I wonder if anyone else gets motion sickness? ¡°Well, it¡¯s definitely bumpy, but the fastest way to get there is on the Add. And it¡¯s even faster because we can ignore the goblins even if they do appear.¡± That¡¯s true. Goblins have attacked us a few times, but we can ignore them and proceed because of the boarding rejection. The Add is quite convenient, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Is anyone else feeling sick?¡± No one in the ladies¡¯ group seems to be feeling sick. They were all shaking their heads. ¡°It seems no one is feeling sick. Then we¡¯ll keep going until we can¡¯t go any further.¡± ¡°Wait a minute; this is a good spot, so why don¡¯t we have lunch?¡± ¡°Ah, right. The time is just right, so let¡¯s have lunch.¡± Even though only weak monsters have been found, it is still in the middle of the forest, so I repatriate the Add and surround the area with rubber boats. I summon the food storage boat, and each of us takes a dish of our choice. I¡¯ll have a cup of noodles and onigiri. It tastes strangely good when you eat outside. Rimu said the meat was good, so he had pork cutlet, fried chicken, and onigiri. He¡¯s a growing kid, so there¡¯s no problem, right? I enjoy my meal while looking at the forest around me. ¡°Master. Is there something wrong?¡± ¡°Ah, Felicia. I was wondering why this forest and the Demon Forest don¡¯t look so different under normal circumstances.¡± ¡°Well, the Demon Forest is caused by the special nature of the monsters, so maybe it doesn¡¯t differ as a forest.¡± Speaking of which, that¡¯s true. It¡¯s only troublesome because the monsters go crazy and attack intensively, but the forest itself isn¡¯t so different. No, there were some strong monsters, so it must be a little different. ¡°Well, compared to the Demon Forest, you don¡¯t have to be all nervous, so it¡¯s a lot more comfortable.¡± After finishing our meal, we boarded the Add again and proceeded toward the mountain. ¡°Uhii¡­¡± ¡­Goblins are like that; I guess it can¡¯t be helped that they make loud noises, but it¡¯s scary because they just barge right into you without thinking. While they may not be so fast, they need to stop jumping out in front of us. It¡¯s weird to watch them cling to the barriers until they get bounced off. On top of that, they do little to no damage, so they chase after us in anger and scream like this, ¡°Gyaa, gugyaa, gyaa¨D¨D!¡± It¡¯s like a hit-and-run, so it¡¯s understandable that they are angry, but don¡¯t forget that you are the one who jumped out of the bushes and blocked our way. We continue on, being startled by the goblin a few times. The slope is getting steeper, so we switch to walking to be on the safe side. I don¡¯t want to reenact the scene where we roll over and fall down in the horror TV footage. If I didn¡¯t take my hands off the handlebars, I would probably be safe because of boarding rejection, but if we hit a tree or something and changed direction, I could have been thrown off the boat. Mountain Climbing¡­ I don¡¯t have any physical problems, but as a rather indoor person, I feel tired just hearing the words. Also, when I get off the Add, I am surprised by the insects that suddenly fly in because there is no longer the boarding rejection. Surprised by goblins, surprised by bugs¡­ It¡¯s embarrassing. As the women climb up, cleaving grass and vines as if they are fine, I pretend to be fine and climb up too. When I climbed before, I was fine because I was so determined to do my best in the other world, but now that I¡¯ve got a good ship, my soft spirit is coming back. I climb the mountain thinking pathetic things. ¡°Wataru-san, we are almost halfway up the mountain.¡± Marina-san, carrying Fuu-chan on her head, tells me that we have reached the halfway point. Fuu-chan is jumping around on her head. I wonder if they are telling us together.¡¡Fuu-chan, if you send me a thought, I¡¯ll understand, you know. ¡°Thank you very much. Then let¡¯s move to the other side of the mountain.¡± We switch to moving sideways from near the middle of the mountain¡­ It¡¯s hard to walk. Would it have been easier to get on the Add at the foot of the mountain and move to the other side? It¡¯s too late now. Let¡¯s just try my best and keep walking. We proceeded through the mountain, killing goblins that came out by chance. It took longer to move sideways because of the steep cliff-like slopes in places. Perhaps it would have been easier to climb to the top and go down the other side? I managed to keep going, trying to regain my strength. Frankly speaking, I didn¡¯t want to go through all this trouble to get into the hot spring. And I¡¯m not even sure if it¡¯s a hot spring or not¡­ Don¡¯t you think my thoughts are going in a negative direction? I¡¯m the type of person who would be satisfied just by watching it on TV. I think it¡¯s because of the magic of the word ¡°Hot springs¡± that I got excited for no reason. Most Japanese people would respond to the word hot spring, wouldn¡¯t they? I feel that the Japanese DNA is imprinted with information that makes them get excited when they hear about hot springs. ¡°Wataru-san, there is a strange smell coming from over there. It stinks.¡± I smelled the odor at Claretta-san¡¯s words but could not discern anything. ¡°I can¡¯t smell it. Can you tell which direction it¡¯s coming from?¡± ¡°Beastmen have a good nose, you know. I don¡¯t think Wataru-san can tell yet. The direction is roughly in that direction.¡± ¡°I see. Well, is it going to take much longer?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the distance. I think it will take some time, so it is better to prepare for the encampment today. It will be sunset soon.¡± We could not arrive there by the end of the day, or it would be meaningless if it were dark even if we forced ourselves to go. We¡¯d have to camp somewhere where I could get a rubber boat out. ¡°Then let¡¯s find a place where there is space and camp there.¡± ¡°Okay, Wataru-san, you stay here and wait for us. We¡¯ll go and search.¡± ¡°Eh? Ah, yes, please.¡± At Alessia-san¡¯s command, the Girasole scattered. I¡¯m on standby because, to put it bluntly, it¡¯s probably because it¡¯s dangerous. Or, to put it another way, because I¡¯m a liability. I had an inkling of what was going on. After about 20 minutes, everyone returned. We exchanged information and were directed to the best place. There is no room to summon the Hideaway, but there is plenty of room for the hut boat. We cut the grass lightly, and I summoned three hut boats, a food storage boat, and a rubber boat. We take out food and drinks and prepare dinner. ¡°So, Wataru-san. We¡¯re going to a place that has a strange smell, aren¡¯t we? What¡¯s there?¡± It seems strange to go to a place with a strange smell, doesn¡¯t it, Claretta-san? I understand how you feel. Besides, she seems to have a much better sense of smell than I do. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s what I think it is, and I¡¯ll be disappointed if it¡¯s not, but do you want to hear it?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Alessia, what do you think?¡± ¡°Right. Claretta, does it smell that bad?¡± ¡°Yes, it should be much thinner, but it¡¯s a bad smell.¡± It¡¯s not well-received. Well, it¡¯s not a very flattering smell, is it? ¡°Wataru-san, can you tell us what kind of place it is? I¡¯m afraid to go to a place with such a strange smell without knowing why.¡± That¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it? I would also like to refrain from going to a place that smells bad without knowing what it is about. ¡°If the place is what I think it is, there is a possibility that there are hot springs there. It was in the movie before, and I explained it to you, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Ah, uh, you mean the place where the hot water has various substances dissolved in it to relieve fatigue and cleanse the skin, right?¡± They remember it well, don¡¯t they? I guess they remembered it because it was supposed to make their skin beautiful. The ladies¡¯ eyes lit up when they heard about the hot springs. But I¡¯ve heard that when it comes to beautiful skin, the ingredients in hot water dissolve something on the skin¡¯s surface, making it smooth and silky. ¡­I wonder if the hot water in the other world is safe? I¡¯m starting to get worried. ¡°Yes, but even if it is a hot spring, there is a possibility that there are poisonous gases emitted or the water is not suitable for bathing. Please don¡¯t get your hopes up too high.¡± I had to take precautions. I¡¯m going to be very disappointed if I¡¯m wrong. ¡­The ladies are not listening to it. They are just talking about it while giggling. I can only hope that it is a wonderful hot spring. After dinner, we split up into huts and rubber boats and slept. I went to sleep, hoping that there would be a hot spring that I could at least enter. Good night. Volume 8 - CH 6 Chapter 6 ¨C Guilt and Hot Springs We camped in the mountains in search of hot springs. That morning, after a light morning greeting in the hut boat, we went outside. ¡°Good morning, everyone.¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san.¡± After exchanging greetings with the members of Girasole, I summoned the food storage boat for breakfast. ¡°Wataru-san, what are your plans for today?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to look for hot springs, and the rest will depend on the results. If it looks like it will not be possible, we will return immediately. If it looks like it will work out, I would like to fix up the location of the hot spring.¡± ¡°I guess you never know until you go there. Fufu, I feel like it is good for an adventurer.¡± Are you saying that the hot springs are a treasure? ¡°¡­I¡¯m a merchant, you know.?¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s right. Wataru-san makes money, but you don¡¯t feel like a merchant.¡± I only sell pepper, you know. But if I am making money, I should have no problem calling myself a merchant. ¡°Now, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore.¡± It¡¯s going to be quite sad if we keep talking. After finishing breakfast, we proceeded in the direction where we thought the hot springs were located. I ask Claretta-san to point us in the right direction, but I¡¯m doing a terrible thing by asking her to take us to a place where the smell is even worse than before. As Claretta-san led us onward, my nose began to detect a smell similar to what I would experience at a hot spring resort. I don¡¯t mind this smell, but the ladies don¡¯t seem to like it, so it makes a big difference where you grew up. A little further on, we came to a small river? We ran into it. The width of the flowing water is no more than 50 cm. ¡­I wondered if it was a hot spring. Looking at the end of the stream, I could see a cliff-like place. ¡°Perhaps, there is the source of spring at the place of that cliff. Let¡¯s go there. We will go slowly, so if you feel sick, please tell me immediately. There is a possibility that dangerous gas is coming out.¡± ¡°What will happen?¡± I couldn¡¯t answer Alessia-san¡¯s question. To be honest, I hardly know anything about the dangers of hot springs. What should I do in the first place? ¡°I¡¯ve been to hot springs before, but this is my first time finding the source, so I don¡¯t really know either. What do you suggest we do?¡± I¡¯m being taken aback. Their gazes are cold. Even I know that. I¡¯ve been excited since I realized the potential of the hot springs, but yesterday¡¯s climb up the mountain made me calm down. I don¡¯t know what to do¡­ ¡°It¡¯s potentially dangerous, isn¡¯t it?¡± Alessia-san confirms again. ¡°Yes.¡± After a little thought, Alessia-san spoke up. ¡°Claretta can use detoxification magic, but I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s enough to deal with the situation. Wataru-san, would you be okay with the adventurers making sure it is safe?¡± ¡°Yes, please. I can only think of a way to turn back if I get sick.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, can you get the rope out?¡± ¡°Yes, sure.¡± Marina-san and Carla-san, with the rope, enter the forest under the direction of Alessia-san. ¡­Could it be¡­ ¡°Wataru-san, if it is safe, you will summon the Hideaway to this area, right?¡± ¡°Eh? Yes, I intend to do so. But I want to summon it near the source if possible, so it would be futile to search for it.¡± ¡°I understand. Dorothea, Ilma, please search the area and find a place.¡± The movements are brisk when Alessia-san starts to divide. Is this the quality of a leader¡­? After waiting for a while, Marina-san and Carla-san returned, dragging a goblin wrapped around a rope. I see they also caught a bird in their hands. I somehow had a feeling. As it was, Marina-san ran near the hot spring and came back, leaving the bird and goblin where the steam was. Immediately after that, Claretta-san cast a magic spell. Is that detoxifying magic? If it were in Japan, I think this would be a pattern that would completely piss people off. Goblin aside, they would be pissed off with the birds. ¡°We¡¯ll see how things go for a while with this.¡± ¡°Yes, well, let¡¯s have some tea.¡± Dorothea-san and Ilma-san also returned, so I summoned the food storage boat and served snacks and tea. I drink tea leisurely and watch the birds and the goblin. ¡­I feel like I¡¯m doing something terribly, terribly bad. No, I know I¡¯m doing something terrible. Aside from the goblin, I feel bad for the birds. Dorothea-san and Ilma-san¡¯s patrols have revealed that there is a cave a little further on¡ªa cave on an uncharted island. There¡¯s something romantic about that, isn¡¯t there? The ladies seem happy, and I guess we¡¯ll have to explore. I hope there are no insect monsters. We take our time and observe. After lunch, we head for the source since it seems that both birds and the goblin are alive. ¡°The hot spring is flowing out of those rocks, isn¡¯t it?¡± Hot water is flowing from a crevice in the rocks on the cliff, forming a small river. The quantity of hot water is abundant. It looks as if it could be poured from the source. ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s safe.¡± Alessia-san said a little uncomfortably. I can understand why she would be concerned. ¡°If you get used to this kind of hot water, you¡¯ll be addicted to it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a little hard to believe, but I have high hopes. Next time, we¡¯ll make sure the water is safe, right?¡± Do you really have high expectations? You have a questioning look on your face, don¡¯t you? I¡¯ll do my best to return the favor. Depending on the hot springs, though¡­ ¡°Yes. We¡¯ll have to get the goblin to help us again, won¡¯t we?¡± I feel uncomfortable saying that myself. The goblin looks at me like it¡¯s going to kill me. We roll the goblin under the running hot water. The goblin starts to go berserk. ¡°Is there something poisonous in the water?¡± ¡°Um, Wataru-san, I think it¡¯s hot.¡± ¡­I know, right? The steam is coming out of the water. It¡¯s hot, isn¡¯t it? Claretta-san is right. ¡°Shall we go downstream a little? If it¡¯s downstream, it must have cooled down.¡± Thinking about it, there was no need to check the source of the hot water. Once we got to a place where the steam had subsided to a certain extent, we put the goblin a little upstream from where we were waiting. The bird was likely to die if we put it in, so we soaked it lightly in the cooler water further downstream to see how it would do. ¡°Since there seems to be no problem at the moment, let¡¯s clear the summoning place for the Hideaway, shall we?¡± Since it is so far away, I will cut down a tree near the source and carry it away. After that, let¡¯s use magic to expand the space. ¡°¡­Um, can¡¯t we use earth magic or something to neatly clear the land?¡± ¡°Earth magic? Unfortunately, we don¡¯t have any members who can use it.¡± Come to think of it, I haven¡¯t seen any Earth-related magic. Well, if they can¡¯t use it, there¡¯s nothing we can do about it. How shall we clear the land for the hot springs? In light novels and such, when there is a hot spring, there should be something that can be done with magic¡­ Maybe it should be possible in this world, too. We just didn¡¯t have any members who could use earth magic, though¡­ I¡¯ve bought some tools that can be used in construction, but they were supposed to be supplementary to the magic. If not, maybe I should go to the dark elf village and look for some. I¡¯m sure there are people who can use them. At any rate, I¡¯ll summon the Hideaway to the cleared area and only bring the birds. If they are fine for a while after getting out of the hot spring, it should be fine. By the way, the goblin was left as it was, and it was decided that the bird would be released because it was considered not tasty. Please don¡¯t tell anyone that I was a little relieved. I slaughtered a lot of horned rabbits and sea monsters, but I felt relieved when I found out that the bird we caught to check for poison was released safely. I like being relieved myself. ¡°So, Wataru-san, what are you going to do now?¡± ¡°Well, yes. For now, it looks fine, but just to be safe, we¡¯ll keep an eye on it until tomorrow. I¡¯ll pour a little hot water on my arms later, and if my skin doesn¡¯t get too rough, then tomorrow we¡¯ll finally bathe.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t try it yourself, Master. I¡¯ll do it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry so much. The goblin and the birds are looking mostly fine. It¡¯s just a precaution. I¡¯ll test it.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s fine, then it¡¯s fine with me, right?¡± That¡¯s true, but¡­ I feel like I want to go on and be useful in a place that seems okay, but¡­ I don¡¯t know if I should be a wimp here. ¡°I understand. Ines, please.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°So, Wataru-san, if it¡¯s okay, how do we get in?¡± ¡°Right. It looks quite hot, so I think it would be better to fill the bathtub with hot water and add water to it after a while. If the water is good, we should maintain it well.¡± I think I remember hearing that hot springs start to oxidize and lose their ingredients if they come into contact with air. In Kusatsu and other places, they cool it down in hot water fields and so on, but which is better? Well, let¡¯s try it this time with added water. ¡°Fufu, Wataru-san, you¡¯re getting kind of energetic. Are you having so much fun?¡± I am embarrassed, but I am really looking forward to it. The mountain climbing on the way to the site had dampened my spirits, but if there is a hot spring in front of me, I¡¯ll get excited, won¡¯t I? Sorry for being so simple. ¡°Yes, I am looking forward to it, because as you saw on the DVD, hot springs are a popular place in my country. I hope you are looking forward to it too.¡± ¡°I trust you.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like the hot water with no problem.¡± I guess there are some things that are hard to convince people. We¡¯ll have dinner on the Hideaway and only let the birds go first. ¡°Master, I¡¯ve poured hot water on my arm. Do you want me to leave it like that?¡± ¡°Yeah, but if you feel any discomfort, rinse it off immediately.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡¡¡± After we finished eating, I observed Rimu¡¯s recent training routine. Fuu-chan is very interested in the evolved Rimu and is popping around him. Marina-san, who was watching, was also enthusiastic. She is probably thinking about increasing her level. Dorothea-san was looking at them with a bit of envy. Dorothea-san would also like to try taming slimes, wouldn¡¯t she? Since there will be a hot spring, I wonder if we can find a slime that can use fire magic? After spending some time relaxing, we went to sleep. Tomorrow is the hot springs. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Now, everyone, it¡¯s time for the hot springs.¡± After breakfast, Ines¡¯ arm was not showing any abnormalities, and the goblin was also fine. Then it¡¯s hot springs, right? With full of energy, I headed to the hot spring with the ladies in tow. I summoned a bath boat right under the source and filled it with hot water. Then, I summoned another hut boat and changed into a bathing suit. ¡°Master, are you going to go in first?¡± ¡°Yes, it will be fine. Ines¡¯ skin was fine, wasn¡¯t it? You worry too much.¡± ¡°But, Master. I think it would be better if I go in first.¡± ¡°Hmm, but even if Ines and Felicia went in first, I would go in right after you, so it wouldn¡¯t make sense. If there are enough abnormalities to be noticed immediately, then the birds, the goblin, and Ines¡¯ skin will be showing abnormalities, right?¡± I get out of the hut and check the bathtub. It¡¯s more than half full. I asked them to fill it with water and stir it. After filling it with water a few times and getting it just right, I soaked myself in the hot spring water. ¡°Uh-oh¡­¡± I soak slowly in the hot spring. I take a bath every day, but I think it¡¯s just my imagination that it feels so special to take a bath in a hot spring. Because I don¡¯t even know what the benefits are¡­ ¡°Master, are you all right?¡± ¡°Yeah, no problem. It feels good.¡± When I touch my skin in the hot water, it feels smooth and slippery. This means the spring water has a mildly alkaline quality, right? Probably. ¡°Do you feel any pain when you soak in this hot water, Rimu?¡± I forgot that there was Rimu on top of my head and just went into the hot spring as normal. When I realized it, he was diving into the hot spring from the top of my head¡­ I panicked. I scooped up Rimu in a hurry and checked him. ¡°Bath.¡± He seems pleased. I told him to let me know as soon as he felt any discomfort, and we soaked in the hot spring together. Although it concerns me that the women are watching me while I soak in the hot spring. It¡¯s a special experience to soak in a hot spring in the great outdoors. I¡¯d love to have a rock bath. I wonder if there are any stonemasons? Dark elves who are stonemasons. I can¡¯t picture it. Soaking slowly in the hot spring. Wiping myself with a towel, I feel a little slippery. ¡°Wataru-san, are you all right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, Alessia-san. I think there is nothing wrong with my skin.¡± I let her touch my arm and say, ¡°It¡¯s getting smooth, isn¡¯t it?¡± She told me she couldn¡¯t compare them because she didn¡¯t know the original¡­ I think she¡¯s right. ¡°Then Ines and I will try it, and you can check.¡± The ladies touch Ines and Felicia¡¯s skin to check. After that, I gave them permission to come aboard and soak in the hot springs. ¡°Ines, Felicia, how does it feel?¡± ¡°It feels good. I¡¯m surprised it doesn¡¯t smell too bad in the hot spring.¡± ¡°It feels good to me too. But my skin feels slippery¡­ is it okay?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine. That¡¯s how it feels in a hot spring. When you are satisfied, get out and wipe your body, and you will see.¡± After getting out of the bath and wiping their bodies, Ines and Felicia are swarmed by Girasole members. ¡°It¡¯s getting really slippery, isn¡¯t it?¡± Alessia-san says. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not a drastic change, but it¡¯s smooth enough that I can tell the difference.¡± Ilma-san is analyzing Felicia¡¯s skin with a serious look on her face. ¡°I¡¯m next. I¡¯m going to get changed.¡± Alessia-san runs to the Hideaway. The other members hurried after her. The hot springs proved to be good, right? Volume 8 - CH 7 Chapter 7 ¨C Development and Exploration After checking the effects of the hot springs, I watch Girasole run back to the Hideaway to change their clothes. Girasole¡¯s appearance has been polished up considerably by the Castle¡¯s beauty-related activities, though. ¡°The hot water is getting cold; shall we change it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ines, Felicia, and I dump out the hot water and set up the bathtub at the source. ¡­I let the wastewater go straight into the creek, but I wonder about it. ¡­I¡¯ll have to check where the creek flows next time. ¡°Hey, master. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to bring the hot spring to the Jacuzzi on the Hideaway since it¡¯s such a hassle to change the hot water over and over again?¡± Ines, are you a genius? ¡°¡­That¡¯s a good idea. Let¡¯s fill the bathtub to the limit with hot spring water. If we carry the hot spring water twice and add water, we¡¯ll have enough for the Jacuzzi. Normally, the ingredients of the hot spring might damage the bath, but it would be fine because of the indestructible effect. Jacuzzi hot spring¡­ It sounds amazing. I¡¯ll go in later too. Oh, Girasole is back. ¡°Huh? Wataru-san, are you replacing the hot spring?¡± ¡°Yes, it gets cold, and if we put the hot spring in the Jacuzzi on the Hideaway, we can all get in.¡± When I told them about Ines¡¯ idea, they agreed and waited for the hot spring to fill up with excited faces. After the hot spring was filled to capacity, we took it to the Jacuzzi two times and added water, and it was just right. I sit on the sofa next to it and observe Girasole taking a bath with the hot spring on. ¡­I¡¯m happy to watch with open arms because I have a great reason to check the effects of the hot springs. ¡°How do you like the hot springs?¡± ¡°It feels great. When I soak in the hot spring water, it really makes my skin feel slippery. It¡¯s so strange.¡± Alessia-san said with a pleasant feeling. ¡°Are you okay with the smell, Claretta-san?¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t know if my sense of smell has been paralyzed or if I¡¯ve just gotten used to it, but it doesn¡¯t bother me anymore.¡± There seems to be no problem. Everyone seems to feel good, and I¡¯m glad it wasn¡¯t a wasted trip. After getting out of the bath, the Girasole check each other¡¯s skin and make a lot of noises. ¡­It¡¯s a sight to behold. ¡°Wataru-san, hot springs are amazing.¡± Alessia-san said with a big smile on her face. Her bathing suit fits her perfectly, and I can¡¯t help but smile. I answer her while handing her a cold can of beer. ¡°I¡¯m glad you liked it.¡± ¡°Phew. Yes, it feels so good. The beer tastes so good, too.¡± She gulped down the beer and was in a good mood. Morning bath¡­ morning hot spring?¡¡And beer. That¡¯s it. It¡¯s the kind of situation that the fathers on their day off would love to have. Maybe¡­ ¡°Master, I think it¡¯s pleasant. Are you going to maintain this hot spring?¡± ¡°Well, this hot spring has a lot of hot spring water, and Ines is right; it feels good, but it¡¯s hard to get here. What shall we do?¡± If we could get here by the Add, I would definitely maintain it, but it¡¯s a bit of a hike up the mountain through the forest. ¡°It might be a bit of a challenge to come, but it would be a shame to leave it alone.¡± As I was worrying about this, Felicia came up with a suggestion. ¡°Master, would it be all right if I told my father? If so, I think it would make things a little easier if we cut down some of the timber we use in the village to make way for the road.¡± Dark elves maintain the road to the hot springs¡­ should we ask them to build a hot spring village? It¡¯s hard to imagine a hot spring village for dark elves¡­ but it could be a source of entertainment, right? But it¡¯s a lot of work, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Of course, it would be fine, but if the trees were cut down to make way for a road, the distance would increase, and it would be tough. And with so few people, it¡¯s a lot of work, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It is true that it will increase the amount of labor. However, since there will eventually be a village in the forest, there is no need to transport that amount of wood, so I think it will be fine.¡± ¡°Well, then, why don¡¯t we take the village chief and the others on a tour, and if they like the hot springs, we can ask them to build a village here?¡± Not a village in the forest, but a village in the mountains, but maybe too far away? ¡°Is that all right with you?¡± ¡°Yes, we won¡¯t be here all the time, and it would be enough if we could use the village once in a while. But it¡¯s not too far, is it?¡± ¡°I think the problem of distance will not be a problem if a rest area is built in the forest. If we can use the hot springs, it will be a pleasure for the villagers, so by all means, please do so.¡± I wonder if hot spring trips will take root on this island? ¡°Well, that depends on the village chief¡¯s answer, but I think I¡¯ll leave it to him. The hot springs will take away some of the fatigue.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± I can throw in all the tedious work, and it¡¯s only a benefit to me too. Once the road is cleared, it will be easy to come to the hot springs just by riding the Add. ¡°Wataru-san, I understand about the hot springs, but what are you going to do after this?¡± I notice Alessia-san¡¯s words. It¡¯s not even noon yet. ¡°Oh, yes. I¡¯d like to stay a few more nights on the Hideaway so I can go to the hot springs a few more times. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine. Then we can explore the caves. Do you want to go too, Wataru-san?¡± Exploring the cave that Dorothea-san found yesterday? ¡°¡­I think I¡¯ll pass.¡± I don¡¯t want to go exploring a cave after climbing a mountain. ¡°It¡¯s too bad. It would help a lot if you came along, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you say so, but caves are prone to bugs, which I don¡¯t like. What¡¯s the point of exploring a cave on a deserted island in the first place?¡± Even if there are, it¡¯s only precious minerals and medicinal herbs, right? And maybe some rare monsters¡­ ¡°It¡¯s fun not knowing what you¡¯ll find. Even if the island is uninhabited now, it might have been inhabited in ancient times. And there¡¯s always the possibility of finding something valuable.¡± I had thought about the possibility of finding something valuable, but I wondered if there might be ancient ruins or something. That¡¯s a man¡¯s romance, too, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll find a magic ship or a magic car?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. There might be other treasures to be found as well. Do you want to go there too, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll stop.¡± I can summon a magic ship and a magic car. Even if it is a treasure, I have enough money. I¡¯m interested, but¡­ I¡¯ll stop. I can see myself going into a cave out of curiosity and holding back a desperate scream when a bug monster comes out. It¡¯s just a humiliation. ¡°Too bad. Let¡¯s go together when you feel like it. Oh, and if we need Wataru-san¡¯s help like before, will you help us?¡± ¡°Yes, well, if you need me, please call me.¡± I don¡¯t think there are situations on land where my abilities can be used so conveniently, though. It was a little early for lunch, but they were going to the cave, so we had an early lunch and saw Girasole departing. Today is just a light exploration, so they will be back in the evening. ¡°What are we going to do, Master?¡± I haven¡¯t decided on anything in particular. We¡¯re going to the hot springs, and there¡¯s nothing else to do. I¡¯ve bought some construction tools, so we can work around the hot spring. I¡¯d like to make a rock bath¡­ I know how to make hard-packed dirt because I¡¯ve seen it on the Tetsuwan Dash show. I don¡¯t know if it will work, but let¡¯s give it a try, shall we? I think the materials are soil, lime, and bittern, right? The lime was made by burning shells. I heard that bittern can be obtained when making salt. I don¡¯t remember what kind of soil to use. It¡¯s impossible. I can¡¯t imagine the completion. It would take too much time to study the formula again and again, to burn the shells, and to make salt. I think I can get bittern at the dark elves¡¯ village, but the rest is too much trouble. ¡°Hmm, I wanted to make a rock bath, but I can¡¯t think of how to make one. Is there any way?¡± ¡°Make a rock bath? Well, if you roughly hollow out a large rock, there¡¯s nothing wrong with that.¡± ¡°Hollow out a rock? But it would be hard to carry it here. I prefer the big one, so I don¡¯t think it will be good in a rubber boat.¡± ¡°I can do it with my swordsmanship without any problem if it¡¯s just roughly hollowing out a rock. Carrying it is¡­ too much work for us alone, so we¡¯ll have to get the members of Girasole to help us.¡± A different world, huh¡­? In this world, you can cut rocks with swordsmanship, huh? If we can find a large rock, we can make a rock bath¡­ monolithic rock bath; it seems more luxurious than something made from a combination of rocks. ¡°If there is no big rock nearby that we can use, it will be impossible, so let¡¯s go look for a big rock first. There was a landslide on the way here, wasn¡¯t there? I think I saw a rock there from a distance.¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± I put Rimu on my head and set off to look for the rock. ¡­As it turns out, it was rather easy to find. ¡°It¡¯s big.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°Master. I don¡¯t think we could carry something this big, even with the Girasole people present.¡± Felicia is right. Its height is about three meters, its width is about five meters, and its depth is about three meters. ¡°If it¡¯s 70 centimeters high and two meters wide and two meters deep, it should be fine. Ines, if there are any cracks in it, it won¡¯t work, so can you cut around it and make it fit?¡± ¡°I understand. First, cut off the outside and make sure there are no cracks, is it?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± Ines draws her sword and approaches the rock. When she swung her sword, the rock shifted and fell without a sound¡­ It¡¯s amazing what the other world is capable of. They do things like the famous great thief¡¯s companion with the iron-cutting sword*. [T/n: Goemon Ishikawa XIII and his Zantetsuken.] If the rocks that fall from being slashed didn¡¯t make the ground shake, you might think they were soft. For all intents and purposes, it¡¯s a wonder she¡¯s been able to cut longer than the length of the sword. ¡°That¡¯s great, isn¡¯t it, Rimu?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Rimu is also popping on my head, probably amused by the fact that rocks can be slashed. ¡°Master, it¡¯s done.¡± I looked at it in a daze and saw that the entire surface of the rock had been slashed off. ¡°Thank you, Ines. Let¡¯s see if there are any cracks first. Can you two help me?¡± ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± We carefully examined the rock for cracks. There was one large crack, but fortunately, it was at the edge, so there was no problem cutting it off. ¡°With this, we can make two large rock baths.¡± ¡°Master, do we really need two?¡± ¡°Yes, one to hold the hot spring water. When that one is full, the water will flow into the other one so that the temperature of the second one will be lower. Well, it would take some adjustment, but I think it would work, and we could add more water to the first one. Well, let¡¯s make the first one anyway.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After indicating the size, Ines carefully swung her sword this time. By making a vertical incision and swinging the sword at an angle, the rock can be removed. Felicia and I carried the rock while Ines swung her sword silently. ¡°Whew, it¡¯s done.¡± ¡°Good work. All that¡¯s left to do is to hit the inside of the rock with this hammer to remove the bumps.¡± ¡°Just the hammer, Master. I think that¡¯s a lot of work.¡± I think so, too, but with so many bumps and bruises, I¡¯m afraid it might hurt you. ¡°I¡¯ll serve you a nice booze for dinner, so let¡¯s do our best.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± The three of us just pounded away at the bumps, trying to flatten them out. It¡¯s pretty hard because if you put too much force and crack it, it will be the end. ¡­..I guess it should be about like this. ¡°It will be sunset soon, so let¡¯s go back today. If Girasole is free tomorrow, let¡¯s ask them to carry it for us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m more tired from pounding on it than from slashing with the sword.¡± Ines said, cracking her neck and shoulders. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s a tricky task.¡± ¡°But, Master. If we¡¯re going to carry rocks this big, don¡¯t we have to level and consolidate the place we¡¯re carrying them?¡± ¡°¡­Now that you put it that way.¡± ¡°What should we do?¡± ¡°Well, before we carry the rocks, let¡¯s level the ground at the source. It would be laughable if the rocks were broken when we put them down after we had brought them there.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± More and more things to do. It was just a random thought. When I returned to the Hideaway, Girasole had also returned. ¡°Wataru-san, welcome back. Where have you been?¡± ¡°I¡¯m back, Alessia-san. I went to make a rock bath. I need your help for one day tomorrow.¡± ¡°Rock bath? I don¡¯t know what it is, but we have no problem helping you.¡± Don¡¯t you understand what I¡¯m talking about when I say ¡®rock bath¡¯? Well, if they help me, I¡¯ll show them the actual thing and explain it to them tomorrow. ¡°Thank you. So, how was the cave?¡± ¡°The cave. Today was just a quick reconnaissance, so we don¡¯t know much about it, but since monsters are monsters, it might be pretty deep.¡± ¡°Monsters are monsters¡­?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look so displeased, Wataru-san.¡± I was found out. Well, it can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯m sure there are some insect monsters in there. ¡°Was there a bug monster?¡± ¡°¡­Yes, there was.¡± Of course, there were. ¡°What kind of things were there, by the way?¡± ¡°Well, there were slimes, goblins, and giant centipedes. But the most common were giant ants¡­ Depending on the size of the nest, it could be quite deep.¡± ¡°Ants¡­ If it¡¯s an ant nest, don¡¯t we need to search for it?¡± Are there big ants swarming around? I don¡¯t like it. I don¡¯t like to think about it. ¡°That¡¯s not the case. The chances of finding treasure are low, but if it¡¯s a big nest, it branches out all over the place, so there¡¯s a good chance we¡¯ll find minerals and gemstones. So we¡¯ll start exploring again the day after tomorrow.¡± Felicia seems happy at the possibility of finding minerals. If there are minerals, it will help the dark elves, too, right? Well, tomorrow, we¡¯ll maintain the hot springs. Let¡¯s forget about the cave. Volume 8 - CH 8 Chapter 8 ¨C Completion of Rock Bath and Cave Information I hope I can manage to build a rock bath today. If I ask the dark elves, they might make me a big wooden bathtub, but I¡¯m longing for a rock bath too. ¡°So, Wataru-san. What do you want us to do?¡± I think about Alessia-san¡¯s question about today¡¯s schedule¡­ I wonder if I¡¯ll be done in a day. Well, there are eight people with considerable physical strength and power, plus me, so we should be able to handle it. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. First, we will drive in some stakes, and then we will clear the ground at the source and level it off. After that, we will pound the ground with a mallet. After that, we will bring in the rock bath that was built yesterday, and then we will build another rock bath and bring it in.¡± ¡°It sounds like a lot of work. It will take a long time, so let¡¯s get started.¡± But is this really the right way to go? I think when people built their houses, they drove stakes into the ground¡­ The problem is that all we have is raw wood¡­ Even raw wood is better than no wood¡­ Right? ¡°Yes, I¡¯m counting on you.¡± For now, we¡¯ll make a simple flume and run the hot spring to another location. I cut down a hard, sturdy tree Felicia picked out for me and pointed to it. The appropriateness of this is unsettling. Should I have asked the carpenter from the dark elf village first? Alessia-san easily cuts the tree down with her sword, and when she swings the sword, it¡¯s in the shape of a stake. It¡¯s a fantasy. I saw on TV that it is less likely to rot if the surface is scorched, so I asked Ines to scorch the surface with her flame magic. I drive four of the finished stakes into each of the approximate positions. Will this work out¡­? I¡¯m so anxious with TV knowledge. Well, we¡¯re not building a house, so let¡¯s trust that everything will be okay. ¡°Well, then, I¡¯ll ask you to make it as flat and level as possible and to dig down about 50 centimeters lower where the second rock bath is going to be placed.¡± The women immediately began to move in response to my simple explanation. The raised areas will be scraped away, and the low areas will be filled with soil. After leveling the ground to a certain extent, we pound the ground with a large wooden mallet. After pounding the ground, we put soil on the dented areas and pounded the ground again. All of the workers are incredibly strong, so the ground is being leveled rapidly. Carla-san¡¯s work, in particular, was tremendous. Carla-san is a wonder, isn¡¯t she? She is a tall, slender, beautiful woman with big breasts. She is a bit contradictory; when it comes to food, she is a glutton¡­ and she has too many childish and monstrous attributes. And it¡¯s a shame that she lacks attributes in the sexy direction. Working while thinking about silly things, we finished the work of leveling the ground in the morning. Just having a jump in strength and stamina has a terrific effect. ¡°Thank you all very much. It¡¯s time for lunch.¡± ¡°Phew, it¡¯s lunchtime. This kind of work makes me hungry.¡± ¡°Haha, thank you, Alessia-san. I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s not the same as usual, but please eat plenty.¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry! Wataru-san, can I eat a lot too?¡± I think Carla-san always eats a lot, but has she been restraining herself? ¡°Yes, please eat a lot.¡± It is a secret that I felt a little uneasy at the pleased Carla-san. We washed our hands and faces and had lunch on the deck of the Hideaway. As usual, I summoned the food storage ship, and we each took out a dish of our choice. What shall I eat? ¡­It¡¯s meat since I¡¯ll be doing manual labor again this afternoon. I also want to eat rice, so I¡¯ll simply have a steak bowl. Rimu told me the same is fine, so I¡¯ll cut up two hot sirloins and pour the meat juices on top of the rice. For the sauce¡­ let¡¯s use the gravy provided with the steaks. For a moment, I was tempted to pour the curry over the steak bowl, but that would be overkill. ¡­But the sirloin curry bowl looks good too. I¡¯ll try it next time I¡¯m alone. We take our dishes as we like and start eating. Carla-san, who has declared that she will eat a lot of food, is off to a rocket start. I guess she¡¯s going to eat as much as she can. I¡¯m glad that the luxury liner and the ferry brought us a full range of dishes and desserts. She and Claretta-san are also trying out some recipes from a cookbook. We have a larger repertoire of dishes. I feel like we¡¯ve grown closer, but I¡¯m sad to say that it¡¯s all just friendship. All but the gluttonous trio finish eating and relax over a cup of tea. It¡¯s interesting to see Rimu and Fuu-chan take up positions next to Carla-san and secure their food before I know it. But Carla-san, please don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t move because you¡¯re so full, okay? After Carla-san, Rimu, and Fuu-chan are satisfied and take a little food break, we move on to carry the rock bath. ¡°¡­Wataru-san, I think it¡¯s too big, don¡¯t you think?¡± Alessia-san looked at me with a look that said, ¡°Common sense is important, you know?¡± I can¡¯t accept that people in a fantasy world would question my common sense. ¡°I¡¯ll have Ines cut the part used in the bath, so we won¡¯t be carrying everything at once. The width is not much different. The height will be less than a meter.¡± If the rock bath is vertical, we should be able to carry it with no problem. If it doesn¡¯t break, though. ¡°¡­It¡¯s still big enough, right?¡± She was right. ¡°Hey, Wataru-san, if it¡¯s that tall, it¡¯s going to be hard to take it down, and wouldn¡¯t it be easier to carry it on the deck of the Hideaway? If you summon the Hideaway next to it, we can just shift it to the side and carry it, right?¡± There¡¯s a genius. As expected of the leader of an A-rank party, right? ¡°¡®I see¡­ It¡¯s definitely easier that way. Shall we simply clear the area next to the rock?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± With simple magic, the plants and the ground will be blown away and leveled. I hope the goddess of the forest doesn¡¯t get mad at us. She¡¯s around because the dark elves believe in her, right? If I ever get summoned by Creator God-sama, I¡¯ll ask him to pass a message on to her. ¡°I¡¯ll summon it then.¡± I repatriate the Hideaway near the hot springs and summon it next to the big rock. It¡¯s just the right height. We push the rock bath from one side and carry it to the Hideaway. The rock bath could break, so we moved it carefully. I don¡¯t know how many hundreds of kilograms or how many tons it weighs, but the huge mass of rock is carried by eight beautiful women. It¡¯s truly a fantasy, a physical strengthening experience. I¡¯m in on it, but I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m helping much. We carefully lower the rock bath onto the deck. After lowering the rock bath, I check it and found no cracks anywhere. It looks like it¡¯s going to be okay. I returned the Hideaway back to the source, and it was even more difficult to lower it down from the 2-meter drop-off point. Alessia-san said it would be a little easier if not for the fear of breaking it. I hope you do it carefully because I don¡¯t want you to break it. We manage to set up a rock bath at the base of the spring. I just said that a hot spring is a rock bath¡­ and that¡¯s all it is, but that¡¯s a big overreaction. We need to carry the rock bath once more; it¡¯s going to break my heart. We went back to the rocky place, and Ines cut the rocks as she did yesterday, and the rest of us carried out the cut rocks. The nine of us quickly leveled off the rocky ledge and completed the rock bath. We tied them with a rope and pulled them up to the Hideaway, sliding them against a leaning tree. Returning to the source, we set it up in front of the first rock bath. It looks like a terraced field. The rest is done by making a depression in the second rock bath to allow the hot water to flow. ¡°Whew, it¡¯s done. Thank you all.¡± ¡°Fufu, it was harder than I thought. But it looks so nice when it¡¯s finished. We¡¯ll be able to fill it with hot water, won¡¯t we?¡± Alessia-san was right; two large monolithic rock baths, side by side, create a great atmosphere. When the first bath is filled with hot water, and the overflowing water is collected in the second bath, it should cool down a little. Basically, I plan to take the second bath, but I can take the first rock bath as well if we add water. The way I see it, not only Alessia-san but the rest of the ladies like it as well. ¡°Before that, let¡¯s wash it with water. There are some small pieces of rock, after all.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s true. Let¡¯s hurry up and wash. I want to get in quickly.¡± ¡°I understand. Let¡¯s wash quickly.¡± The women washed with enthusiasm, and the bath was quickly cleaned. The gutter that was changing the flow of the hot spring water was removed, and the hot spring water poured into the rock bath. I was a little impressed. I hadn¡¯t thought about making my own hot spring. ¡°It¡¯s going to take a while, so let¡¯s take a break on the Hideaway. We¡¯ll have to change clothes for the hot spring.¡± I called out to the women who were staring at the pool of hot spring water. ¡°Right. Let¡¯s take a break.¡± We returned to the Hideaway, drank coffee, and waited for the hot spring water to fill up. ¡°If the hot spring keeps running all the time, that means we can take a bath anytime we want, right?¡± ¡°Yes, Alessia-san is right. Except for when we wash the bath, the water will always be running.¡± This means that the water will be free-flowing from the source, right? This is really luxurious, isn¡¯t it? ¡°If you think about it, hot springs are amazing. If we build a village here, the villagers will be able to take a bath every day whenever they want¡­ I wonder if there are any near Lucca?¡± I wonder about that? The chances of them coming out if you keep digging holes all over the place are not zero, I guess. As it stands, you¡¯d have to find a place where it¡¯s out of the ground from the start. With magic, would it be possible to dig a hole deep into the ground? As I recall, you had to dig a thousand meters or something¡­ but is it possible to have a shot with great magic? ¡°I think it¡¯s mostly in the mountains or something, so we¡¯ll just have to look for it. It¡¯s hard to be sure, though, because there could be dangerous gases in the air.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay to check, but in the mountains, it¡¯s hard to find monsters.¡± There were some monsters. On this island, only weak monsters have been found, so there are no problems at the moment, but¡­ ¡°Speaking of which, do you think the monsters in the cave are safe? It¡¯s close to here, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°¡­The ranks of the monsters in the cave are low, so I think we¡¯ll be fine. But it could be dangerous if the giant ants come out in swarms. I think we can thin them out as we explore, but even the villagers should consider thinning them out from time to time.¡± ¡°I see. I should tell the village chief about this.¡± If the monsters are not strong, it will be okay if they can be prevented from coming out in swarms. Thinning out, huh¡­? Is it too much trouble to build a village here? The rock baths we worked so hard to build might go to waste¡­ ¡°Wataru-san, the hot springs are full.¡± Carla-san, who had been watching the hot springs, came to tell me. She was so happy with the hot spring we had created that she frequently went to check on it. ¡°Thank you very much, Carla-san. Now let¡¯s all change into our bathing suits and go to the hot springs.¡± Everyone returned to their rooms and changed into their bathing suits. ¡°Felicia, do you think the people in the dark elf village can thin out the giant ant population?¡± ¡°If they are not in large swarms, I think they can be dealt with. Master, I would like to check the inside of the cave, and I would like to follow the Girasole people on their exploration. Is that alright?¡± What should I do? Is it possible to just have Felicia go with them? ¡­It¡¯s not, isn¡¯t it? But it¡¯s important to check the inside of the cave. ¡­I¡¯d like to avoid caves that are crawling with big ants, if possible. Either way, if the giant ants overflow, this island will be in danger. If that happens, I feel that I am responsible for bringing the dark elves to this island. Giant ants have never come out of the cave before. But it¡¯s hard for me to say that they won¡¯t come out of the cave in the future. ¡­I don¡¯t like it, but should I follow them in their exploration of the caves? I hate it. ¡°All right. I¡¯ll go with you, and I¡¯ll ask Girasole. In the meantime, let¡¯s go to the hot springs.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much, Master.¡± Felicia is also relieved. After all, it¡¯s still a concern, right? We changed into our bathing suits and went outside. We¡¯re late because we talked a little. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m late.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay; let¡¯s get going.¡± Alessia-san also seems to be unable to suppress her eagerness. The bath set in her hand is also rattling; is it because she can¡¯t wait? She had already been to the hot spring yesterday. ¡­Yesterday was like an experiment, so maybe she wasn¡¯t satisfied, huh? When I looked at them, they seemed to be getting various shampoos, conditioners, body soaps, face washes, and cosmetics from cosmetics stores and spas, and the items they had were all slightly different from each other. I guess they choose what suits them best. I have no idea. Ines and Felicia were also happily discussing their evaluations of the products they bought with their allowance. They seemed to be exchanging information with Girasole, too, and their interest was so strong that it was a little scary. ¡°All right. Shall we go?¡± Rock bath, huh¡­? Now that I think about it, which is better, a rock bath or a wooden bath? I made it with an image in mind. Volume 8 - CH 9 Chapter 9 ¨C Bathing and Arrival at the Cave When we went to the rock baths, two large rock baths were filled with hot spring water, and the overflowing water flowed into a stream. ¡°It has a certain atmosphere.¡± I don¡¯t know if I should say it myself, but the overflowing hot spring water on the large rocks in the forest has a mysterious atmosphere, whether you call it cool or Japanese aesthetic. If it were in Japan, it would be a famous hot spring. A hot spring resort created by beautiful dark elves. If it were peaceful times, it would be a very popular place. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s kind of a relaxing atmosphere for someone who¡¯s never seen it before.¡± ¡°I like the atmosphere.¡± ¡°Ufufu, me too.¡± Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, and Ilma-san like it too¡­ I put my hand in the second rock bath to check the temperature of the hot spring. ¡­It¡¯s a little hot. But it is not so hot that you can¡¯t get in if you force yourself, but should I add more water? ¡°Everyone, please check the temperature. It¡¯s a delicate point whether to add water or not.¡± The women also checked the temperature, and they all said they would prefer it to be a little warmer. Do you want to add more water? After adding water to the right temperature, we poured hot spring water over the bathtub. If we let the water cool down a little more, it would be just right, but I should think of some way to cool it down. When I bathe in the hot spring water, my feet get dirty from the soil on the ground. I didn¡¯t notice it yesterday because I was on a rubber boat, but I need a place to wash my feet. ¡­I guess I¡¯ll use a rubber boat instead this time. I summoned the rubber boat and washed my feet. ¡°It¡¯s now just the right temperature. I think it will get hot again soon, so I need to add water to each of them. I will make a washing area next time, so please use the rubber boat to wash your feet this time. Well, before you go¡­.. A-ahh©`©`¡± ¡°I understand. But Wataru-san. You are making too many strange voices.¡± ¡°There will come a time when Alessia-san will make a strange voice, too.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± I think the more you bathe, the more you will start to make your voice come out. Well, I think it¡¯s a beauty of style. But after all, hot springs are nice. I¡¯m a little concerned. I don¡¯t like the roughness of the bottom of the rock bath, even though it has been flattened. The bottom of the rock baths in Japanese hot springs are smooth, aren¡¯t they? I wonder how to polish the rocks. ¡­I¡¯ll ask the dark elf carpenter or Donnino-san. After taking the bath, I looked at the women who were coming in. I can¡¯t get enough of wet, big-breasted beauties. And when they get hot water, the hot water flows into their chests as well¡­ and it¡¯s really good. ¡­It¡¯s really good. ¡°It¡¯s very comfortable, Wataru-san. I wonder why it feels so good, even though it looks just like a normal bath?¡± This hot spring looks clear, doesn¡¯t it? It would be easier to tell if the water was murky white, but is there such a thing in this world? It would be creepy, though. I think the members of Girasole might try it. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because the hot spring water has all sorts of ingredients dissolved in it, and the surroundings have a different atmosphere than usual.¡± The scenery you see is basically the ocean. In the Demon Forest, I was surrounded by insects, so I couldn¡¯t see any forest. ¡°Ah, come to think of it, most of the time, we were either in the ocean or on a ship. It¡¯s nice to have a different atmosphere, something fresh and new.¡± The different atmosphere and the view of the forest are nice, but I can¡¯t help but look at the ladies. The only time I can keep my cool is when Rimu and Fuu-chan drift up to me. The rest of the time, I¡¯m too busy with other things to enjoy the forest. ¡°That¡¯s right. But since there are no barriers, there is a possibility that goblins will break in. ¡°Fufu, if it¡¯s only goblins, it¡¯s a piece of cake¡­ Come to think of it; what happened to the goblins we caught that time?¡± The goblin you caught? ¡­Ah, there was a goblin we put in hot spring water a little bit down here¡­ I completely forgot about it. ¡°Shall we go check on it later?¡± ¡°S-sure.¡± Not only me, but the ladies completely forgot about it too. I feel a little sorry for it, even though it¡¯s a goblin. ¡­No, we couldn¡¯t let the goblin go, so was it better that we forgot about it? ¡°Hey, Wataru-san. Why does this hot spring make your skin so slippery?¡± Ilma-san asked as she came up to me. I was wondering if my mind was obscene or if the word ¡°slippery¡± sounded erotic coming out of her mouth. ¡°Let¡¯s see; I believe it has the effect of dissolving dirt and dead skin cells.¡± ¡°Dissolves?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a little bit on the surface, so it¡¯s not a problem. I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s not good for people with weak skin to go in several times in a row.¡± ¡­Probably. ¡°I see. Thank you.¡± Is it a reward for answering the question that she gave me a bewitching smile and let her breasts hang out a little? Was she simply teasing me? ¡­Either way. Now it¡¯s time to let it burn in my eyes. After a long soak in the hot spring, the ladies started washing their heads and bodies on the rubber boat. This is good. This is so good. When they wash their heads, their breasts sway slightly, and when they bend forward, their bosoms open. Since they are wearing bathing suits, they put their hands in through the gap and wash their bodies. This is a situation I have never seen before. When we were in the Jacuzzi, we washed our bodies in the shower in our room. I was very nervous. This time, they washed their bodies here because they wanted to improve the effect of the hot spring? ¡°Ilma-san, it¡¯s very unusual for you to wash your body outside of your room. What¡¯s wrong with everyone?¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s because I feel that taking a shower after a hot spring bath would diminish the effects. Do you dislike this sight, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°No, I love it.¡± I really love it. ¡°Then that¡¯s good.¡± Ah, it¡¯s my favorite sight, but there are bubbles of shampoo and other stuff flowing into the creek. ¡­What about dripping domestic wastewater? Would about nine people be okay? Let¡¯s hope for the people in the dark elf village. They will think of something. After washing their bodies, the women are soaking in the hot spring again. I should tell them about the cave. ¡°Alessia-san, we would like to go exploring the caves too.¡± ¡°We¡¯d be happy to have Wataru-san follow us, but there are a lot of insect monsters out there, you know?¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯d prefer not to go, but giant ants do breed, don¡¯t they? I¡¯m the one who brought the dark elves to this island, so I need to make sure I¡¯m doing the right thing.¡± I can put up with the fact that I don¡¯t like insects if I try hard enough. But if I leave them alone and the dark elf village gets attacked, I don¡¯t want it to be awkward with Felicia. When I asked Alessia-san about the image of the ant monsters in the light novel templates, it was exactly as I had imagined it. I heard that the queen ant creates worker ants and other ants and makes the nest bigger and bigger. The reason why no ants have come out of the nest is probably because the food supply is sufficient inside the cave. When the number of ants increases, and the food supply becomes insufficient, it is highly likely that they will come outside. And there are a lot of ants in the cave¡­ It doesn¡¯t seem that there is a lot of time. I want to somehow defeat even the queen ant. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, you need to confirm it yourself, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s how it is, so I¡¯ll be counting on you.¡± The members of Girasole were happy to know that I was going with them. I¡¯m not too happy about it, even if I¡¯m only a rest stop and food supply guy. Carla-san¡¯s face lit up because the food would certainly be fulfilling. It seems safe to assume that the operation is going well and that she is becoming unable to leave my convenience. The problem is that I have no idea how to proceed from here to the next step in our relationship. Should I talk to Ilma-san about it? ¡­That scares me, but it also seems like it might give me an effective strategy. While I was worrying about it, I decided to get out of the hot spring. I wiped myself off lightly and returned to the Hideaway. The women seemed to be enjoying the hot springs in the rock baths. I was also satisfied because I had enjoyed it enough. The view might get worse afterward, but I think we need to put up a fence around this area. I would also like to install a washing area and a roof. I¡¯ll leave this to the dark elf village. ¡°Oh, Wataru-san. We should go check on the goblin.¡± Alessia-san¡¯s words reminded me of the goblin again. How could I forget about it so soon? ¡°No matter how you look, it¡¯s not safe to be in your bathing suit, so let¡¯s change before we go.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll just wear something simple, okay?¡± We don¡¯t need to be fully equipped to go check on the goblin nearby, do we? We¡¯ve only found a few weak monsters. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll be fine.¡± We return to the Hideaway, change clothes, and put on simple equipment. I meet up with Girasole and head for the place where we left the goblin. ¡°It was here, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, definitely here.¡± Marina-san answers my question. I ask her if the goblin has run away. ¡°Did it run away?¡± I asked Marina-san, who was checking the area where the goblin was left, and she told me that she found some footprints of the goblin and that it must have been rescued. ¡­That goblin was pretty angry, so it wouldn¡¯t come back for revenge, would it? A goblin who was treated badly gets inspired, evolves, becomes the Goblin King, and shows up for revenge. ¡­It seems like a possible development in a novel. It¡¯s kind of scary, so let¡¯s go hunt for the goblin first, shall we? ¡­Will the ladies just tell me I¡¯m worrying too much? Let¡¯s go back and have dinner. While enjoying dinner, we discuss our impressions of today¡¯s hot springs and our plans to explore the caves tomorrow. Since I decided to join them, we decided to explore every nook and cranny of the cave without thinking about our return. We have enough food for months, and we can use the hut boat. If we find a large place, I can summon the Hideaway, and we can take a bath. It¡¯s very convenient if I do say so myself. We¡¯re going to be in the cave for a long time, but if we can get it done in one exploration, it¡¯s good. If I have to explore it several times, I¡¯m going to get sick of it each time. ¡­I finish dinner and go back to my room. ¡°Master, that swarm of giant ants is honestly creeping me out. Are you okay?¡± ¡°Ines, I¡¯m probably not okay, but I¡¯ll put up with it. So, please thin out the giant ant swarms as much as you can in this exploration. The fewer there are, the more time we can buy, and the safer it will be for the people in the dark elf village to thin out the population.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± ¡°Felicia, keep your head up, I¡¯m the one who brought you here, so I¡¯ll do my best to make this as good as I can.¡± This is when I can show them the good side of me. It will make the ladies like me more. The only thing I have to watch out for is that I don¡¯t make it any uglier than the likability it will raise. Everyone knows I don¡¯t like bugs, so a little ugliness shouldn¡¯t be a problem. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Now Felicia¡¯s likability has gone up, hasn¡¯t it? Even if she¡¯s a slave and we¡¯re in a relationship, the more she likes me, the better. ¡­I feel like this kind of gal-game thinking is the reason why I¡¯m not popular, but my thoughts inevitably go in that direction. I am a victim of modern Japan, which is overflowing with entertainment. ¡°Wataru, flying.¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, Rimu, you want to practice your transformation, huh?¡± After I told him not to transform in front of others, Rimu would always call out to me before he did so. Cute. Since he learned to transform, it¡¯s become a daily routine, and he¡¯s happy. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be observing, so good luck.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± As he says this, Rimu increases the light and transforms his body with shining angelic rings and tiny wings¡­ cute. I don¡¯t know what the logic is, but the light wings are smaller than his body, and when he flaps his wings, his body floats up a little bit. At first, he could only fly up to my knees, but even though it¡¯s only been a few days since he learned the transformation, he is now able to fly up to near my chest. Rimu is a very great hard worker. And he¡¯s cute. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because he has trouble balancing or something else, but he seems to have trouble flying. He can change into an angel, but flying is something he has to work on by himself? Rimu flew into my chest, fluttering and flapping his wings as hard as he could. ¡°I flew a lot.¡± I think I¡¯m going to get a nosebleed. ¡°You¡¯re getting good at this.¡± I patted him around, praising him for his hard work and looking satisfied with his efforts. ¡°Yes.¡± I put Rimu back to bed, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion, and spent some adult time with Ines and Felicia. I have to do my best not to get in trouble if I have to hide in a cave for days. I head to bed full of energy. Good night. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Rubbing my eyes a little sleepily, I head to the dining room to have breakfast. Exploring the caves, I¡¯m feeling down, but the women¡¯s faces are cheerful. ¡­I guess they are looking forward to it, although I have no idea how they feel. It¡¯s an ant¡¯s nest, you know. The enthusiastic ladies lead us to the cave, and in less than 10 minutes, we arrive at the front of the cave. ¡°It¡¯s pretty close to the hot springs, isn¡¯t it? Alessia-san, can we reach the giant queen ants?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of numbers, but with Wataru-san¡¯s help, I think we¡¯ll be able to get there without any problem.¡± Good. If it takes only 10 minutes to reach the location of the hot springs on foot, we won¡¯t be able to build a village. If we can defeat the giant queen ant, we¡¯ll be able to make it. If we can manage it, we¡¯ll do our best. We¡¯ll take down the giant ant and then the giant queen ant while we¡¯re at it. Volume 8 - CH 10 Chapter 10 ¨C Cave Exploration and Simple Tasks We arrived at the cave, it was a 10-minute walk from the hot springs, and I heard there were a lot of bugs inside that I didn¡¯t like. I wonder about the big hole that I can enter without even bending down. I heard that a giant ant is a monster that is only as tall as my waist, so why is the hole so big? ¡°Alessia-san, the giant ant is a monster about the size of a man¡¯s waist, isn¡¯t it? Isn¡¯t the hole too big?¡± ¡°Yeah, Wataru-san, normal giant ants are like I said, but giant soldier ants and giant guard ants are even bigger.¡± ¡°I-I see.¡± That¡¯s a nasty piece of information. And the names are long and cumbersome. Do they have to put a giant on everything? And why not giant and ants shortened to giants? ¡°Alessia-san, don¡¯t you think the names of the monsters are too long? It¡¯s getting tedious to say them.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s an explanation, so I gave the full name, but usually I just call them simply ant, guard, soldier, etc.¡± Thank goodness, my tongue wouldn¡¯t be able to hold it if I had to say giant soldier ant every time. My jaw would get tired too. Well, if you think about the fact that adventurers don¡¯t say the full name of the monster every time, it makes sense, doesn¡¯t it? ¡°I see. It¡¯s a hassle to use full names, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Alessia-san nodded with a bitter smile. I guess the question was too obvious. ¡°Well then, I guess it¡¯s time to go into the cave.¡± We¡¯ve spent a lot of time on trivial things, haven¡¯t we? We float a ball of light and enter the cave. ¡­I think in Japan, the entrance to an ant¡¯s nest is like a hole straight down, but in the other world, it¡¯s different, isn¡¯t it? Is it harder to go vertical if they¡¯re big or something? Well, if we don¡¯t have to use ropes or anything, it¡¯s easy. ¡°¡­Alessia-san, I know it¡¯s a little late for this, but the caves don¡¯t collapse, do they?¡± ¡°Ant has made it so it won¡¯t collapse easily, don¡¯t worry. Well, be careful not to overdo it, or it will collapse.¡± If we don¡¯t overdo it, it will be fine, huh? I just watch or shoot a bow, and it will be fine. Let¡¯s warn Rimu not to overdo it. We proceeded through the gently descending cave, with Girasole surrounding me in the middle. There are not many monsters near the entrance, and only a few goblins and ants appear, but they are killed instantly by Girasole. Incidentally, the monsters that appear are of low rank, so there is no particular material needed. It is a waste of time to dismantle them. As for why to explore such caves, since ant nests are dug in every direction underground, it is said that valuable mineral veins can be found in the ground. If we could find even a vein of iron ore, it would help this island a lot. If we find a vein of gold or other valuable ore, I can take it to the Southern City, so I hope we can find something. ¡°Wataru-san, is it okay if I skip the places we explored the day before yesterday?¡± ¡°Yes, no problem. Please proceed on your own accord.¡± I¡¯m an amateur, so it¡¯s not good for me to meddle. ¡°All right. Then we¡¯ll start exploring the area from there.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± We passed through several passages, killing monsters in the blink of an eye. The last time they had explored the place was only half a day, so we must have explored it pretty deeply now. ¡°From here on, it¡¯s our first time in this place, so be careful.¡± Marina-san, who is leading the way, warns us. How do you know where you are going, even though it¡¯s dimly lit and the places are all very similar? When I asked her how she knew, she pointed to a wall. When I looked where Marina-san pointed, I saw a large cut in the cave. ¡­There was an easy-to-see marker. There was no mistaking it. We started to move forward and entered a branching passageway. As I proceeded deeper, wow, it smelled. What is this smell? We went further in, enduring the stench. More ants come out too. The stench becomes even stronger when we come out into a large room. The cause seems to be the rotten things piled up in the room. ¡°What are those things, Alessia-san?¡± ¡°That¡¯s ant¡¯s food. They hoard the flesh of worms, goblins, animals, and monsters like that. There seem to be a lot of worms here, so they don¡¯t seem to have a problem finding food. The rooms we¡¯ve passed so far have been similar.¡± Oh, so they have plenty of food. If the abundance of food is not enough to feed the ants, then there will be an overflow of ants. That would suck. ¡°So, Alessia-san, what are you going to do with this?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to burn it.¡± ¡°Burn it? Fire is dangerous in a cave. Especially with this smell, there are strange gases coming out. It could explode. If it burns, you won¡¯t be able to breathe.¡± Didn¡¯t rot meat give off methane gas or something? I think it exploded¡­ Even if it doesn¡¯t explode, I don¡¯t want to run out of oxygen. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. Ant needs air, too, so there are air holes all over the place. And don¡¯t worry about the explosion. If we use wind magic to disperse the smell before we burn it, it won¡¯t explode. Just watch.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯m counting on you.¡± I thought I wouldn¡¯t interfere, but I did. ¡°Then, please do it, Fuu-chan.¡± At Marina-san¡¯s words, Fuu-chan uses magic¡­ strong winds blow, and the smell fades fast. As expected of wind slime. ¡°Ilma.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After a short exchange, Ilma-san releases a flame. Even though there is no oil sprayed on the food, it burns up. It¡¯s amazing. ¡°It will take a while for the fire to finish burning, so we¡¯ll explore the next room while we¡¯re at it.¡± It seems we¡¯ll go ahead while it burns for now and check the room when we come back. They don¡¯t waste any time, do they? When we returned to the main passageway after dealing with three similar rooms, we found a lot of ants. There are some ants that are one size bigger than the others. I wonder if those are soldiers or guards. ¡°There are a lot of them, and some are soldiers. Reinforcements are coming, Wataru-san. Can you take the rubber boat to the front?¡± ¡°I understand.¡± As Alessia-san told me, I summoned a rubber boat forward to block the main passageway. The group of ants who were prevented from getting on the boat were stuck in the main passageway. ¡°Wataru-san, are you okay? Are you feeling sick?¡± Alessia-san calls out to me, concerned about me at the sight before her. ¡°It¡¯s okay since I¡¯m seeing things without fully opening my eyes. Besides, it¡¯s still better than when I was waiting on the Hideaway in the Demon Forest.¡± ¡°Oh, that was terrible. Even those of us who are not afraid of the insects, surrounded by countless insect monsters in almost every direction, were disgusted.¡± ¡°Yes, we could see that the parts of the insects that we could not normally see were clinging to us. I almost threw up if I accidentally looked at it.¡± I even had dreams about it. It was a mild trauma. ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to go all out, Wataru-san. If it¡¯s a monster of this level, we¡¯ll take it easy and take turns taking it down.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Taking them at their word, I turn in the opposite direction of the ant swarm and summon a rubber boat on the other side, just in case, to establish a safe zone and take a break. I sometimes hear Marina-san¡¯s voice cheering for Fuu-chan to do her best. She seems to intend to raise Fuu-chan¡¯s level as much as possible by taking on weaker monsters. She is like an educational mother. Fuu-chan seems to be in high spirits after seeing Rimu¡¯s evolution, so I guess there¡¯s no problem. Weak monsters are stopped by boarding rejection, and they are quickly defeated. When the monster carcasses accumulate, they use a little stronger magic to blow away all the ants that are trying hard to attack us. I was afraid that the cave might be broken when it was blown away, but they thought about that and made sure that the strong impact would not go into the cave. Ants dig holes in the soil, right? They dig through hard bedrock, too. Is that the power of monsters? Surely, when you think about it, a big body needs a big nest. Unlike the small ants of the Earth, whether it¡¯s rock or not, if they can¡¯t dig through it, it¡¯s not worth talking about. Two of them are fighting, and the remaining six, plus me, are relaxing over a cup of tea. The scene reminds me of the simple task of leveling up in old role-playing games. I have some doubts, so I ask Ilma-san, who is sitting next to me. ¡°Ilma-san, you said that they are troublesome when they are in numbers, but Girasole can defeat them without any problem, right? They seem pretty weak.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right; if I had to say whether it could be done or not, it could be done. But I think it will be a lot of work.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± The two of them are slaughtering the monsters easily and quickly to the extent that I almost feel sorry for the monsters. ¡°It¡¯s not an ant, but we¡¯ve been in a similar situation against goblins before. Goblins had established a large settlement in an abandoned mine, and we went to destroy it.¡± ¡°A goblin settlement? That sounds like trouble.¡± ¡°Yes, it was very troublesome. We had to leave one entrance and exit and destroy it. After that, we entered the cave and defeated the goblins. It was easy to defeat them, but the goblins had nowhere to run, so they came at us with everything they had.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be suicide if you blocked all the entrances to the abandoned mine?¡± ¡°We thought about that, too. We could set fire to it or poison it. But it¡¯s a big abandoned mine, so we can¡¯t destroy it that way. The goblin king is in control of the mine, so if we lock them up, there is a possibility that they will dig holes in places we can¡¯t reach and escape. In the end, going in and taking them out was the surest way.¡¡¡± ¡°I see. If they escaped, it would be troublesome, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, we and one other A-ranked party were there, but it was very difficult. The biggest problem was blood and bodily fluids. You can¡¯t use a strong attack because the abandoned mine will collapse. No matter if you cut them or hit them, you would end up with a bloody mess. It was terrible. There were a lot of us, so we took turns resting, but our bodies were covered in blood. But we didn¡¯t have a bath or a bath set, so the only thing we could do was get water out and wipe our bodies and equipment¡­ That was hard.¡± ¡°Yeah, defeating them wasn¡¯t a problem, but it was a tough request mentally.¡± I¡¯d prefer not to take a break from being covered in goblin flesh and blood. ¡°Yeah, if you can do a ranged attack, it¡¯s no problem, but the place will collapse, and that kind of place is tricky when there are a lot of them in an abandoned mine or in a cave. This time, Wataru-san¡¯s boarding rejection protects us from the ants¡¯ bodily fluids, so it¡¯s really easy.¡± No one wants to be buried alive. And now I know how convenient the boarding rejection is again. I don¡¯t want to be bathed in the flesh and blood of monsters. ¡°Huh? Speaking of which, didn¡¯t the ants attack you en masse on your last exploration?¡± ¡°Yes, Marina did a good job of scouting and breaking up the group, so we had no problem. Well, some of the ants gathered at the landmarks, and we had to pull them out. Marina told us that the security was getting tighter around there.¡± ¡°I see. So there¡¯s a grid.¡± ¡°Sorry to interrupt, Ilma, but it¡¯s time for you to take over. Dorothea, please.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I see Dorothea-san left after taking turns with Marina-san to take care of the ants. ¡°Alessia-san, Marina-san, thank you for your hard work. What would you like to drink?¡± ¡°Thank you. Well, I prefer the one I had when I was hungover.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± I give a sports drink to Alessia-san and Marina-san. Maybe because it¡¯s after a workout? I pour a sports drink into a plate and offer it to Fuu-chan as well. ¡°How long do you think it will take, Alessia-san?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t determine how big this nest is, so there is a possibility that it will break off soon, or it could go on and on and on. But with the number of soldiers, it could be a pretty big nest.¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s a hassle.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right. They just come in to be eliminated. Once the attacks stop, there will only be guards and soldiers left to protect the queen. Once those are defeated, we¡¯ll just take our time to explore.¡± ¡°Are the ants really going to come at us with all their might?¡± ¡°Yes, we don¡¯t know the details, but it seems that most of them do. When exploring, the basic rule of thumb is to keep them at bay as long as possible and retreat when they start to gather, but in this case, it is better to destroy the nests, right?¡± Oh, so not only thinning the nests, you¡¯re going to destroy them. I appreciate it. ¡°Yes, that would be a big help.¡± ¡°Fufu, it¡¯s better if we crush the nests, too; it makes it easier to explore. If Wataru-san hadn¡¯t come, we would have ended up just thinning out the nests.¡± I¡¯m glad I came. If we can destroy the nests, we can build a village in the hot spring location without worry. We haven¡¯t even gotten permission from the village chief yet, though. It was a long process from here. There were too many ants, and we couldn¡¯t keep up just by blowing them away, so we had to use water to push them away. There were too many. We repeatedly took turns to defeat the ants. There were quite a few ants, but since we were in a small cave, there was an immediate bottleneck. It takes longer to dispose of the carcasses than it does to kill them. After eating lunch, a snack, and dinner, the ants are still pouring in. I got tired of it a long time ago, but Rimu and Fuu-chan are also bored, so they start to join in the ant-killing even when it¡¯s not their turn. The members of the group who are not engaged in ant hunting are too busy to kill time playing Othello or Jenga or taking a nap. Claretta-san is currently producing her third stuffed toy. ¡­..Eventually, we each took a nap and continued to defeat the ants endlessly, and when I checked the clock on the video camera, the ants¡¯ attack stopped at 10:33 a.m. I wonder how many ants there were, taking almost a whole day. Well, anyway, we resumed our exploration. Volume 8 - CH 11 Chapter 11 ¨C Defeat and Search for Mineral Resources After the ant attack was over, I was determined to resume exploration, but¡­ there were a large number of dead ants in front of me¡­ We had to deal with them before we could move on. There¡¯s no place to step. ¡°We can¡¯t go on without dealing with them; how should we deal with them?¡± Should I put them on one of the 200 or so rubber boats I have at my disposal and repatriate them? ¡°Wataru-san, can you take out some barrels of oil? We¡¯ll burn them and dispose of them. After we burn them, we will go back to the big room beyond yesterday¡¯s marker and wait for it.¡± Following Alessia-san¡¯s plan, we scattered the oil. Instead of sprinkling the oil, we spread it far and wide with Fuu-chan¡¯s wind magic. When the work is done, and there are some distance away, Ilma-san releases fire magic, and the ant carcasses burst into flames. We hurry back to our destination and rest. ¡°Alessia-san, if we can make a fire like this, why didn¡¯t we just burn them yesterday?¡± ¡°We could have set the fire while they were still alive, and that would have killed some of them, but they¡¯d panic and move around in their nests. Wouldn¡¯t it be a hassle to take down the scattered ants?¡± ¡°Oh, yes. That makes sense.¡± After allowing enough time, we asked Fuu-chan to blow some wind deep into the cave as a precaution. When we returned to the place where we had defeated the ants, there was a slight smell of burning and some remnants of fire, but we were able to continue. From there, the easy work continued. We entered a room at the end of a branching passage, burned the ants¡¯ food, and proceeded, defeating the occasional ant that appeared. One thing we can¡¯t forget is Fuu-chan¡¯s wind magic. No matter how many air holes there are, if we burn too much food, we will run out of oxygen. Every time we light a fire, we ask Fuu-chan to blow wind through the air hole. It¡¯s a lot of work. After discussing it, we decided to check the rooms on the way back after going to the lowest level and defeating the queen. We just burned all the rooms on the way down. We go down and set fire to one room after another. ¡°¡­Alessia-san, does the ant nest really need to be this big?¡± ¡°Well¡­ among the nests that the adventurers found during their exploration, there were some that were so huge that they couldn¡¯t even go around them in five days. This nest is also quite large, but considering the number of ants we found, I would say it is medium-sized. We could probably go around it in a day, couldn¡¯t we? Well, we¡¯ve come a long way down, and it¡¯s still going to take us a whole day? It¡¯s too big. Does the air hole go that far down? ¡°Is it really that wide?¡± I said with a disappointed look on my face, and Alessia-san said that the wider the hole, the more promising it would be. ¡°Wataru-san, it takes time to do the burning and so on, so it will probably take a day, but if we just go through it normally, it will be much faster. Besides, the bigger the nest, the more likely we are to find a mineral deposit. It¡¯s a good thing, so let¡¯s go for it.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I thought it would be troublesome, but if we can find a mineral deposit, everyone will be enriched. That¡¯s a good thing, right?¡± I feel a bit motivated. It would be interesting if the Dark Elf village became big and rich. The problem is the number of people, but I don¡¯t want to go all the way into the forest to look for them anymore. Can¡¯t we do something? We take a meal and continue to explore the ant nest, taking breaks and naps along the way. After about a day, as Alessia-san had predicted, a change occurred. ¡°Huh? This passage doesn¡¯t smell so bad.¡± When we entered the branch passage, the strange smell had become stronger, but this passage did not smell. ¡°Well, I think we¡¯re getting closer to the queen.¡± If it didn¡¯t smell, does that mean we¡¯re getting closer to the queen? When I tried to ask the reason, we were attacked by an ant that was bigger than the normal ant and the soldier, and it looked tough as well. ¡­This new enemy was cut in half by Alessia-san¡¯s light slash. Maybe it¡¯s a guard, but is that okay? I feel like there are a lot of ways to do this, like pinching or aiming for a weak spot, but I think it¡¯s fantastically wrong to cut it in half with a single, sharp slash. ¡°You see, Wataru-san, this is the giant guard ant. It¡¯s a bit big, and it looks like it has good defenses. It was guarding the room at the end of the passageway.¡± It looks like it has a good defense, but you only needed one slash to defeat it, huh, Alessia-san? I know it¡¯s not right to complain when I¡¯m just watching in the background, but I¡¯m still not convinced. The game is clearly unbalanced. It¡¯s like I went into a place where the recommended level is 20, and I¡¯m at level 80. It¡¯s no match. ¡°Is that the queen?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not. It¡¯s the eggs.¡± Eggs? ¡­Oh, so there are ant eggs at the end of the passage. That¡¯s why there was no smell. When the passage ends, and we enter the room, three guards attack us. The giant guard ants are easily defeated. I feel a little sorry for them as I imagine that originally there would have been some kind of event like ¡°I-it¡¯s too hard for my sword to penetrate¡± or ¡°T-they¡¯re so big¡± or something like that. Shaking off the feeling of emptiness, I looked into the room and saw that the eggs were piled all over the room. ¡°¡­This is creepy.¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s just burn them and move on.¡± We went out of the room and had Ilma-san and Ines light the fire, and we moved on. From now on, it¡¯s mostly eggs and sometimes food. We burn everything anyway. Fuu-chan¡¯s wind magic is also very active. But even though humans and monsters are enemies¡­ I think it¡¯s a terrible thing for us to invade a nest without permission, commit genocide, and burn all the food and eggs. ¡°Alessia-san, isn¡¯t it getting hot in here? Aren¡¯t we lighting the fire too much?¡± It¡¯s getting hotter and hotter. I think it¡¯s going to be like a steam fire if it keeps going like this. ¡°Well, the heat is coming from underneath. It doesn¡¯t seem to have anything to do with the fire we started.¡± ¡°From down there?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why it gets hotter the further down we go. Could it have something to do with the hot springs?¡± Are there many hot springs bubbling up underground? Maybe the hot springs above are like a sauna because the temperature below was so high¡­ Is it safe to assume that the gases are safe because ants live here? Maybe the ants were digging for the hot springs? ¡­No way, huh? I thought ants didn¡¯t like hot at all. I¡¯ve heard that they don¡¯t like hot and cold, so I don¡¯t understand why a queen would be in a place that¡¯s getting hotter and hotter. Is there any point in worrying about what we don¡¯t know? Anyway, let¡¯s let Fuu-chan blow a lot of wind. I¡¯d like to think it¡¯ll be a little safer when it thins out. If we feel sick, we¡¯ll have to go back immediately. I just remembered that caves could be dangerous with all that gas and stuff. Should we go and find a goblin or a bird first? ¡°Alessia-san, I just remembered that the caves can have dangerous poisonous gases. Is it safe to continue on our way?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never heard of dangerous poisonous gases being released in the ant nest, but¡­ should we proceed with caution? If we feel sick, turn around immediately.¡± I wonder if the ant has the ability to dig into the ground to prevent the gas from escaping? That would be a great help. ¡°I understand. Let¡¯s proceed with caution.¡± We proceed with caution, but what we do doesn¡¯t change much. Repeat the process of knocking down the guards and setting fire to the room at the end of the branch. But how can the queen lay so many eggs? It¡¯s an unusual number. If they were all born, wouldn¡¯t this island be occupied by now? It doesn¡¯t make sense. As we continued, repeating the same thing over and over again, we came to a large room at the end of the main passageway that was incomparably larger than the previous one. As we entered the room, we were attacked by a large number of ants, soldiers, and guards. Behind them, we could see a huge, giant queen ant that looked to be about 5 meters tall and would never make it out of the main passage. It¡¯s creepy. I wonder if this hot room is necessary to maintain that huge body? But I don¡¯t see any hot springs. Is it just geothermal heat? The room is now overwhelmingly large, so the ladies can use their skills and magic with some freedom. They are no match for them, no matter how many there are. They can¡¯t even get close to us, and we just cut them down, crush them, and blow them up. To be honest, right now, I am more afraid that the large space without any pillars will collapse under the impact of the attack than I am of the insects. While I was scared, all the ants that attacked us were annihilated. ¡°Can we kill the queen now, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Huh? Is there any reason why we should not defeat the queen?¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s no point in keeping her alive, so we¡¯ll kill her, but won¡¯t the people in the village be happier if Wataru-san and the others kill her?¡± ¡­No, it¡¯s too embarrassing. And if they give me the credit, my stock will rise even more pointlessly. Even now, I¡¯m in trouble because my reputation is too high, and I can¡¯t take it any further. ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll ask Girasole to do it.¡± ¡°Really? Then we¡¯ll take the queen down.¡± When Alessia-san said that and swung her sword, the queen¡¯s head flew off. Isn¡¯t this too easy? The flying head and body hit the wall, and there was a dull thud and rattle as the wall collapsed. ¡°D-did you just hear the wall collapse?¡± Collapse is¡­ okay¡­ right? ¡°Yes, I did. Maybe it collapsed where the queen¡¯s body hit it, but it¡¯s okay.¡± It didn¡¯t collapse; just a piece of the wall came off? ¡°Exactly. Now that we¡¯ve defeated the ants, what do we do now?¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s burn this room down first. We don¡¯t need it, but the carcass of the ant queen will be useful, so shall we collect it?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ Felicia, can we use the giant queen ant in the Dark Elf Village?¡± ¡°I think we can use the hard shells and claws of the giant queen ant. Do you mind, Master?¡± ¡°No problem, then I will summon a rubber boat. Can you dismantle it?¡± Should I summon about three rubber boats first? I asked Girasole to help me dismantle it and moved the queen away from the wall. As soon as the queen was separated from the wall, a hot and humid air came out of the wall. ¡°Wataru-san, the wall has collapsed, and there is a hole in it.¡± A hole in the wall? Is it a retrieval of the hot spring flag? I approached the hole and checked it, and found¡­ magma sloshing around in a magma pool about 15 meters below. A sea of magma? The blackness in some places must be about to solidify. ¡°Ah, the magma is accumulating. It¡¯s so hot.¡± What should we do? Magma, huh¡­? What is that? Why can we see magma if it¡¯s not a crater? ¡­Is it because it¡¯s a fantasy world? I don¡¯t know what to make of it. Does magma emit poisonous gas or something? ¡­The air hits me with a whoosh. It¡¯s been a hole in the ground for a long time, and if I don¡¯t feel sick now, it¡¯s probably okay¡­ Probably. In the meantime, I¡¯ll summon a rubber boat and plug the hole as best I can. I summon a rubber boat and place it in front of the hole, reminding the boarding rejection to reject the dangerous air. ¡°What is magma? Wow, it¡¯s hot.¡± The women, perhaps interested, gathered around and peered into the hole from the top of the rubber boat. I hope it doesn¡¯t collapse and fall down. ¡°It¡¯s hot, Wataru-san, but it¡¯s beautiful. Magma looks like molten iron; is it the same?¡± Alessia-san, why are you asking me such a difficult question? Isn¡¯t magma made of molten rock? I have a feeling that it also contains iron. ¡°I think it looks like that because of the melting of the rocks.¡± ¡°Oh, really? So rocks can melt. I didn¡¯t know that.¡± Is it strange that rocks melt? You have an image of iron melting, not stone. But there is gold in stone, and it can be melted and taken out¡­ Isn¡¯t that something unusual? ¡°It¡¯s so hot, so why don¡¯t we finish dismantling now and go back to check the rooms?¡± Sweat drips down my face. It¡¯s even hotter now that there¡¯s a hole in the wall. ¡°I guess so. It really is hot. Let¡¯s get this over with.¡± Girasole helped me dismantle the giant queen ant, and it got smaller and smaller. The giant queen ant is quickly loaded onto a rubber boat and repatriated. ¡°What are we going to do with all the dead ants around us? I don¡¯t know much about it, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s safe to use fire or water near magma.¡± ¡°Is that so? Hmm, should we throw the carcass into the magma then?¡± That seems dangerous. ¡°It seems dangerous, so it would be inconvenient, but shall we carry it on the rubber boats? We can burn them in the room above.¡± We separate the heads from the bodies and load them on the rubber boat I have summoned. It is hard work because there are a lot of them. We managed to clean them up by constantly repeating the summoning and repatriation process. The simple work in the hot air is oppressive. After the repatriation work is done, we check to see if there are any mineral deposits in the area. I walk around the big room, but I don¡¯t know what kind of mineral deposits there are. Let¡¯s ask them. ¡­Well, for now, they say we should ignore the soil part and look for the rock part. If there are streaks in the rock, they say there might be something else in there. Once we find it, they say that someone who can use earth magic will analyze the deposits¡­ There aren¡¯t any members who can use earth magic, are there? That¡¯s a big problem. In that case, they said they would find out the location of the mineral deposits and bring someone who could use earth magic. Are there any in the Dark Elf village? If not, it would be pointless on this island unless I find a Dark Elf who can use earth magic¡­ ¡°Felicia, is there anyone in the village who can use earth magic?¡± I asked, feeling like I was praying to God. ¡°Yes, there are. My mother and the people who work on the farm can use it.¡± Oh, I was glad to hear that, because otherwise, I would have wished that we never found a mineral deposit. Now I would be more enthusiastic about looking for the mineral deposits. Let¡¯s do it. Volume 8 - CH 12 Chapter 12 ¨C Rubber Boat and Scarlet After defeating the giant queen ant, we searched for a mineral deposit in the large room, drenched in sweat. It was difficult because the cracks in the rock looked like mineral deposits. ¡°Wataru-san, did you find anything?¡± ¡°Nothing. How about you, Alessia-san?¡± ¡°Nothing here either. I hope to see it on the next one.¡± We didn¡¯t find anything. But if we had found something in this room, it would have been good because we would have had to do the mining work in the heat¡ªphysical labor in a sauna that¡¯s like death. Even with earth magic, this environment would be hard. ¡°Well, it¡¯s time to move on.¡± We gather to go to the next room¡­ For some reason, Rimu and Fuu-chan are looking at the magma from the hole. ¡°Rimu, Fuu-chan, what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°There.¡± ¡°¡­Friend¡­?¡± ¡°? There? Friend? Rimu and Fuu-chan¡¯s friend there? Friends are slime, right?¡± Dorothea-san jumped at my words. ¡­Dorothea-san, you¡¯ve been holding back until now, haven¡¯t you? She gave up because she couldn¡¯t take a normal slime with her on a quest. It was sad but cute. ¡°Rimu-chan, Fuu-chan, where is it?¡± ¡°Over there.¡± ¡°¡­Yeah¡­¡± At Dorothea-san¡¯s words, Rimu twitched¡­ yeah, Rimu, I don¡¯t think you can tell then. And Dorothea-san is confused. ¡°Rimu, can you use light magic to point me in the right direction? Don¡¯t attack it, okay?¡± ¡°? Like this?¡± Rimu makes a ball of light float and move. It is hard to tell from a distance, but where the ball of light lands, it looks like a bright red slime on a bright red glowing magma. It is hard to tell because of the combination of red and red, and it is also quite far away. It is hard to tell if it is really slime or not. Moreover, even if it is slime, it is impossible to get close to it when it is on the magma. It is impossible. ¡­Can slime live on magma at all? ¡°Dorothea-san, it¡¯s supposed to be very hot up there, but can slime survive in such a place?¡± ¡°We know very little about slime. All I can say is that it may have adapted to its environment.¡± Hmm, if it adapted to its environment, could it stay on top of the magma? What kind of evolution is that? ¡°Rimu, can you call the slime to come here?¡± ¡°¡­Can¡¯t reach him.¡± I wonder if I can reach it with the thought? I don¡¯t know how far the thought can reach, come to think of it. I¡¯ll have to try. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible.¡± I muttered, and Dorothea-san looked at me with a sad expression. ¡­Is this something I should do? But, you know, it¡¯s magma, right? If I fall in, I¡¯ll die¡­ ¡°Wataru-san, can¡¯t you do something about it?¡± Alessia-san said something absurd. ¡°Even if you say so, that thing is so hot that if you fall in, you will die.¡± ¡°That may be so, but can¡¯t Wataru-san Ship Summoning do something about it?¡± ¡°I wonder if we can do that?¡± Can a ship from Ship Summoning handle magma? It¡¯s indestructible, so it won¡¯t break, and if it can reject heat with boarding rejection, there¡¯s nothing it can¡¯t do¡­ Right? ¡°I have a feeling that Wataru-san¡¯s power could do it.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll give it a try, but if it doesn¡¯t work, just give up, okay?¡± ¡°Wataru-san, I would appreciate it.¡± Dorothea-san asked me to do it. I¡¯ll give it a try. If I succeed, I¡¯ll get a big boost in my popularity! ¡°First, I¡¯ll experiment to see if the rubber boat is okay.¡± I summon a rubber boat and place a large piece of ice in it. I¡¯ll repatriate it as is and summon the rubber boat again, reminding it to reject the heat on the magma. ¡°Wataru-san, what are you doing?¡± Alessia-san, you seem to be having fun. Do you like experimenting or something? I wonder if I showed her something like the PythagoraSwitch, she might get hooked on it. I wonder if there is a DVD about it? [T/n: PythagoraSwitch (¥Ô¥¿¥´¥é¥¹¥¤¥Ã¥Á, Pitagora Suitchi) is a 15-minute Japanese educational television program that has been broadcast by NHK since April 9, 2002. It promotes the expansion of children¡¯s ¡°way of thinking¡± under the supervision of Masahiko Sat¨­ (×ôÌÙÑÅÑå) and Masumi Uchino (ÄÚÒ°Õæ³Î). A five-minute format called PythagoraSwitch Mini is also available. ¡°Um, I put ice in the rubber boat. I have to make sure that the hot air from the magma can be blocked, because if it can¡¯t, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll die from the heat.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how you check it.¡± I think it is possible to block the heat without testing it, but if not, it would be dangerous, so I have to make sure. After waiting a moment, I summoned the rubber boat back to my hand. ¡°It¡¯s melting a little. Was it unable to turn off the heat?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably fine. There is not a single scorch mark on the rubber boat. If the ice was unable to block the heat, it should have melted and evaporated. This melted because it was left at room temperature.¡± ¡°Then I guess we can make it.¡± ¡°Hahaha, I don¡¯t know yet. We have to try to see if we can reach the bottom safely.¡± The safest thing to do is to summon the Hideaway above the magma and use a rope to descend. ¡­I wonder if summoning the Hideaway above the magma would stimulate the magma and trigger an eruption. The heat is dangerous, so maybe I should not do that. It would be unfortunate if the entire Hideaway erupted. A rubber boat would be less dangerous. ¡°Let¡¯s just lower the water-soaked rope and see where it burns.¡± Ines and Felicia would get the water out and let the rope absorb the water. Once the water was absorbed, the rope would be lowered. With about 5 meters to go, water vapor began to come out of the rope. I continued to lower the rope, and with about 50 centimeters to go, it caught fire. ¡°Hmm, that much is okay. There is a two-meter limit that blocks the hot air. As long as we let it absorb water, we should be able to reach the bottom.¡± I¡¯m scared, but with the Ship Summoning, it looks like we¡¯ll be fine. Then we should go, right? Dorothea will compliment me. ¡°I think we can make it. Shall we go?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± Dorothea-san replied without pausing. One by one, other ladies stood up and said, ¡°Me too.¡± It¡¯s like a scene from the Dacho Club. [T/n: It¡¯s a Japanese comedy trio.] ¡°Ah, the more people there are, the more strain it puts on the ropes, so I think it¡¯s dangerous. It might be better if it¡¯s just me and Dorothea-san.¡± ¡°Ehh¡­ but then I will go instead of Wataru-san. I don¡¯t want to put Wataru-san in danger.¡± I don¡¯t know; I think Alessia-san is definitely worried about me. But I also see a curiosity that she can¡¯t hide. She¡¯s very excited. ¡°Master, this kind of thing is a slave¡¯s job. So allow me to go.¡± Ines is just like Alessia-san. She is full of curiosity. Felicia has also offered her candidacy, but I see that this one has made a serious offer. I feel like giving her an allowance later. ¡°It¡¯s safe if I tie my body to the rubber boat. Besides, I¡¯m the only one who can handle whatever happens. If push comes to shove, I can summon the Castle and still survive, so don¡¯t worry.¡± After convincing the women, I summoned the Hideaway in front of the hole. ¡°Please tie these four ropes to Hideaway. There is a possibility that the eruption may occur when we go down there, so please evacuate to the Hideaway immediately if anything unusual happens.¡± Well, it won¡¯t erupt with just one rubber boat, but if I exaggerate, it should make Dorothea-san¡¯s impression of me more favorable. It¡¯s a bit of a crazy idea, but I¡¯m going to go for it! Dorothea-san and I tied ourselves firmly to the rubber boat I had summoned. That way, we won¡¯t be thrown out of the barrier. It¡¯s safe. We tie ropes to the four corners of the boat to reject the heat and poisonous gases. Is there anything else¡­? I can¡¯t think of anything else, so I guess we¡¯re okay. The rubber boat with me and Dorothea-san aboard is lowered into the hole. The bottom of the unstable rubber boat is not so secure. Dorothea-san and I hold the oars so we don¡¯t hit the cliff or get caught, and we keep a little distance from the cliff. Sometimes the boat goes at an angle. Even though we had tied a rope for safety, it was still scary when there was magma underneath. I carefully support the boat with the oars while asking the ladies to lower it slowly. ¡°Dorothea-san, it¡¯s pretty scary, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Is it? It¡¯s okay. Wataru-san is amazing.¡± ¡°Haha, it¡¯s not me; it¡¯s the Ship Summoning that¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°Fufu, it¡¯s Wataru-san¡¯s ability, so you¡¯re amazing too.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± I¡¯m a little happy. I feel like I¡¯m only being praised for my Ship Summoning ability, but I¡¯ll settle for that. While I was talking to Dorothea-san, the boat slowly descended. ¡°Well, at least we descended safely. Should we remove the rope?¡± We went down on the magma. It was scary when the rubber boat came in contact with the magma, but the boarding rejection did the job perfectly. I felt no heat from the magma at all from the bottom of the boat. Ship Summoning is truly amazing. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll take this off.¡± I removed the ropes at the four corners, had the members above us retrieve the ropes, and continued. ¡°Rimu, do you know where the slime comes from up there? If you do, show us the way like you did before.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As soon as he answers, Rimu floats a ball of light and moves it slowly. I think we should follow this light. ¡°Dorothea-san, I¡¯m going to paddle, so please guide me if my path deviates.¡± ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± I slowly paddle the oar through the magma¡­ A rubber boat going through magma, no doubt it¡¯s great, but it¡¯s cool, isn¡¯t it? I followed Rimu¡¯s light as Dorothea-san guided me. Magma¡­ It¡¯s scary but also beautiful. It¡¯s a fantastic sight, and I almost forget that it¡¯s a searing hell outside. I keep paddling the oars while admiring the view. ¡°Oh, there he is. Wataru-san, is that red over there a slime? It has a nicer color.¡± Dorothea-san, you¡¯re getting too excited, and your words are getting funny. Let¡¯s see, that slime, huh? ¡°It¡¯s true; it¡¯s not red; it¡¯s more like scarlet.¡± ¡°Scarlet?¡± Is there no scarlet in this world? The famous song by a certain famous group is¡­ not well translated. It¡¯s a different world, after all. [T/n: Is it scarlet love song? I¡¯m not really sure about this.] ¡°Well, it¡¯s also called safflower red, and when you dye cloth with dye from a flower called safflower, it becomes a bright red like this slime, I think.¡± The slime is even more beautiful because it emits a faint light on its own. But it is leisurely soaking in magma. It must be the subspecies of slime¡­ that doesn¡¯t mind magma. ¡°Heh, it¡¯s bright red. It¡¯s perfect for him.¡± ¡°Anyway, Dorothea-san, are you sure about this slime?¡± ¡°Yes, very!¡± ¡­Where has the usual calm Dorothea-san gone? She has been holding back for so long that she cannot control her emotions. I quickly stopped her as she was about to put her hand outside the barrier. ¡°Dorothea-san, it is dangerous outside the barrier, so please be careful.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right.¡± The slime that had been floating lazily in the magma slowly moved away, perhaps alarmed by our noise, while twitching his body. Cute. ¡°Dorothea-san, Rimu and I will talk to him first, so please calm down in the meantime.¡± ¡°O-okay.¡± I brought the rubber boat next to the slowly escaping slime and talked to it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the noise. Can I talk to you for a minute?¡± ¡°¡­?¡­¡± He doesn¡¯t quite understand, does he? ¡°Would you like to talk?¡± Somehow I feel like I¡¯m doing a bad pick-up job. It¡¯s not wrong in content, so it¡¯s okay. ¡°¡­No¡­¡± I was shocked¡­ that I was rejected so easily. It seems I¡¯m not good enough, so I¡¯ll ask Rimu to do it for me. ¡°Rimu, will you talk to that slime for me? Dorothea-san wants to make a contract with him. Oh, and don¡¯t go outside the barrier, okay?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After saying that, Rimu jumps onto the edge of the rubber boat. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s going to fall off. I¡¯ll support him lightly from behind. When Rimu spoke to him, the slime stopped moving, perhaps because he was interested in Rimu. As expected from Rimu, they are talking to each other using only their thoughts. I can¡¯t understand what they¡¯re saying to each other because they¡¯re only talking to each other through their thoughts. But they don¡¯t move away from each other, so is everything going well? ¡°Wataru. He is going inside.¡± ¡°Inside? ¡­The slime wants to get into the boat.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Have you become friends?¡± ¡°Friends.¡± Friends, huh¡­? I haven¡¯t made friends yet. Well, I can¡¯t make friends just by being on a ship, can I? I envy Rimu. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ve given him permission to come aboard, so tell him he can come in.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After Rimu told him, the slime climbed onto the rubber boat. Yes, he¡¯s cute. But is it safe to touch him? I think it¡¯s so hot that it would normally burn you. Dorothea-san, who was standing behind me, came up to me. She doesn¡¯t look calm at all. Her hands are waving, and she is ready to touch the slime. ¡°Dorothea-san, you might get burned, so please don¡¯t touch him carelessly.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± She looked a little nervous, but she accepted my advice. But she looked very disappointed. I¡¯m not sure if she can successfully tame the slime like this. I want her to calm down so she doesn¡¯t have to work so hard. Volume 8 - CH 13 Chapter 13 ¨C Tame and Mineral Deposits We invite the red slime into the rubber boat. He¡¯s so jiggly, soft, and very cute. If this child can be tamed, will Rimu and Fuu be able to play with this child? I am so excited. ¡°What does the slime say, Rimu?¡± I think it would be better to have Rimu between us instead of me talking to him. ¡°Look outside.¡± ¡°Outside? Does he want to look outside the cave?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± So he wants to look outside. Maybe he¡¯s never been out of the cave. Maybe Rimu told him about the outside, and he became interested. ¡°He¡¯s more than welcome to come with us, but can you tell him that he can¡¯t come back here anytime soon?¡± ¡°I told him.¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s okay¡­¡± Oh, he answered me directly. I¡¯m glad. Now I just have to make sure he is safe even if the temperature drops. If he lived near the magma, it might be cold outside. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s cold outside compared to this place. Is that okay?¡± ¡°¡­?¡­¡± If he doesn¡¯t understand or know what¡¯s out there, then it¡¯s difficult. But what can I explain to him to make him understand? ¡°Let¡¯s see, are you okay on this boat? Is it cold?¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s okay¡­¡± If he¡¯s okay in the rubber boat that has a heat shield, then he¡¯s okay, right? I can¡¯t go any further with my ability to explain, so we¡¯ll just have to wait and see. I just have to make sure I don¡¯t burn myself touching him and leave it to Dorothea-san. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s okay to touch you? Won¡¯t it burn me?¡± I think it¡¯s okay since we have a heat shield and the temperature inside the ship hasn¡¯t risen, but I still have to be careful. ¡°¡­?¡­¡± He doesn¡¯t seem to understand very well. ¡°Do you mind if I touch you a little?¡± As Rimu approaches him, they seem to be having some kind of conversation. ¡°¡­Yeah¡­¡± Rimu persuaded him to let me touch him. He looks a little scared, for which I apologize. I moved my hand closer to him. I could not feel any heat, even at the distance where I could touch him. First, I poked him with the tip of my finger. I did not feel any heat, and it was slippery and smooth, characteristic of slime. He is afraid, so I immediately stop touching him. It seems to be fine. ¡°Dorothea-san, please talk to him now and offer him a contract. However, since he is anxious, please speak calmly and gently, not in a hurry or in a loud voice.¡± I pick up the red slime and gently place him in front of Dorothea-san. Dorothea-san¡¯s eyes are glued to the slime. I hope she doesn¡¯t frighten him. ¡°Rimu, since he seems anxious, will you stay next to the child?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He moves with a plop and then snuggles up next to the red slime. Cute. Dorothea-san¡¯s eyes were in dangerous territory¡­ and it might have had the opposite effect. ¡°Dorothea-san, I¡¯ve told you many times, please calm down.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m fine.¡± Dorothea-san takes a deep breath. I want her to be fine because this is where the real work begins. ¡°My name is Dorothea. Do you have a name?¡± She seems a little nervous but speaks carefully so as not to frighten the red slime. ¡°I see, you don¡¯t have one. Wataru-san said your beautiful color is called scarlet or beni, so may I call you Beni-chan?¡± [T/n: Well, it¡¯s just red.] Huh? Is that where she got it from? Scarlet is kind of cooler, right? It¡¯s a temporary name, right? ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m Dorothea, and you¡¯re Beni-chan.¡± It seems to have been decided that it was Beni-chan. Is that what she wants? ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll go outside. We¡¯ll go to lots of places, and I think it¡¯ll be a lot of fun.¡± I think Dorothea-san and Beni-chan are talking happily. I am just guessing since Beni-chan¡¯s thoughts do not reach me. Dorothea-san seems to have calmed down and is patting Beni-chan lovingly. There seems to be no problem, so I call Rimu back and wait for Beni-chan while I pet Rimu, too. I think it¡¯s okay because Dorothea-san smiles sometimes. After a while, Dorothea-san started to concentrate, and a magic circle appeared in front of Beni-chan. Finally, it was time. As I watched with excitement, Beni-chan accepted the magic circle and was sucked into his body. The taming was a success. Dorothea-san was so moved that she hugged Beni-chan. I¡¯ve seen something great. ¡°Congratulations, Dorothea-san! Take care of Beni-chan too.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. It was thanks to you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Rimu also approached Beni-chan and said something to him. Is he congratulating him? ¡°Dorothea-san, what kind of slime was Beni-chan?¡± Dorothea-san checks his status with a relieved look on her face. She was so happy that she forgot about it. I know exactly how that feels. ¡°Beni-chan was a Blaze Slime.¡± Blaze Slime¡­ I¡¯m sure it meant scorching heat. I guess he was a fire slime, but it wasn¡¯t fire; it was searing heat beyond the flames. Scorching Heat Slime¡­ That¡¯s cool. ¡°It sounds strong. ¡­I look forward to the adventures we will have together. ¡° ¡°Yes!¡± She looks so happy. She¡¯s been waiting for this for a long time. ¡°Shall we go back?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Rowing the oar, we moved to the bottom of the hole we came down from. While we were moving, Dorothea-san was worshipping Beni-chan. This is good. When we arrived at the bottom of the hole, there were four ropes hanging from the top. We quickly secure them and tie them to the four corners. When we signal up, the ropes are slowly pulled up, and the rubber boat floats away. I used the oars to keep the boat from hitting the cliff. I was afraid of going down, but I was also afraid of going up. I was afraid of both. We arrived safely at the hole, with a calm expression on my face, and were greeted by the rest of the group. I told Ines and Felicia that everything was fine, and Dorothea-san happily reported that she had tamed Beni-chan. ¡°Master, how was the magma?¡± Ines asks curiously. ¡°Well, to be honest, there wasn¡¯t much for Ines to enjoy. You can¡¯t go outside the barrier, so it was no different than usual, except that it was stickier than on the water, which made it harder for the rubber boat to move, but the scenery was beautiful. ¡°Is it?¡± ¡°Yes, because if we didn¡¯t make things normal, we¡¯d be dead.¡± ¡°¡­If you say so, I guess that¡¯s true.¡± I could see how Ines¡¯ tension visibly decreased. I guess she was thinking that she might be next, but she seemed to have lost interest in that idea. She used to be an adventurer, so I guess she likes unusual things. ¡°There¡¯s no point talking about this here, so let¡¯s talk about it in the Hideaway. Let¡¯s go, Alessia-san and everyone else.¡± We enter the Hideaway and rest with a glass of cold juice. My eyes are entertained by Rimu, Fuu-chan, and Beni-chan. Whether they have quickly become friends or are showing off the Hideaway, they are moving around the ship, gathering, and twitching. I imagine they are teaching Beni-chan how to do things like ¡°This is where we eat¡± and ¡°This is where you press the button to turn on the light.¡± How cute. I suddenly noticed that Dorothea-san and Marina-san were standing next to me, both with their eyes glued to Rimu and the others. It¡¯s nice to have comrades to share your feelings with, isn¡¯t it? Oh, they are approaching us. ¡°Wataru, angel.¡± Rimu says I¡¯m an angel¡­ Well, I know he wants to transform, doesn¡¯t he? As you can imagine, I couldn¡¯t even try to translate it in my head. ¡°You want to become an angel?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll show.¡± ¡°¡­Want to see¡­¡± ¡°¡­Want to see¡­¡± Apparently, the subject of angels came up in the conversation. ¡°Okay, good luck with that.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± When I say that, Rimu emits light and turns into an angel. He turns into an angel and flies up to around my chest. Fuu-chan and Beni-chan jump around Rimu excitedly. Perhaps satisfied, when Rimu reversed the transformation, Fuu-chan and Beni-chan jumped on Marina-san and Dorothea-san. ¡°Eh? Leveling up, evolution? Fuu-chan is doing her best, so don¡¯t worry. Let¡¯s not be in a hurry and do our best.¡± Fuu-chan is asking Marina-san to level up again, isn¡¯t she? Then¡­ ¡°Eh, yeah, you¡¯re right. Beni-chan can level up too. Yeah, stone-throwing? Oh, you want to practice stone-throwing.¡± Apparently, Rimu and Fuu-chan were teaching Beni-chan about the need to level up and how to do it. I guess Rimu wanted to transform because he wanted to show Beni-chan what would happen when he evolved. It seems that the room tour I imagined was different from what I expected. As a result, it seems to have sparked the motivation of Fuu-chan and Beni-chan. Fuu-chan must have known about it originally, but was she motivated by it? At the request of Rimu and the others, Beni-chan¡¯s stone-throwing class was held in a hurry. We did the same with Fuu-chan, but the difference was that the stones she threw became much more powerful. Beni-chan can only throw the stones lightly now, but I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be able to throw the stone with great power one day. After the stone-throwing class, we had dinner. Beni-chan was very excited to try a dish he had never eaten before. Dorothea-san was also excited. She fed Beni-chan, saying, ¡°This is good too,¡± and ¡°I like this,¡± and so on. Since she signed the contract with Beni-chan, Dorothea-san¡¯s rare expression, which I could not see before, is now on full display. Beni-chan joined in sharing the food, and dinner was over. The ladies, Rimu and Fuu-chan, are used to eating Earth food, so Beni-chan¡¯s reaction made me happy. The ladies also said it was delicious, but I guess it can¡¯t be helped because once you get used to it, the excitement is lost. I¡¯ll try to find something that will surprise them. Rimu, Fuu-chan, and Beni-chan, I think the more there are, the more attractive they become. If I didn¡¯t have the summoning slot, I¡¯d make a slime boat. Can¡¯t we build a slime ranch on Dark Elf Island? Is it a problem to have my own hobby on the busy Dark Elf Island? Hot springs are also my hobby, but it¡¯s useful to everyone, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Is a slime ranch okay because it heals everyone? Maybe I¡¯ll ask the Dark Elves when they have more time? We all talk and go back to our rooms. I¡¯d like to take a hot spring bath. I should have filled the bathing boat with hot spring water and repatriated it. That¡¯s right! Should I pour the hot spring water directly into my extra rubber boat when I leave the hot spring? I have about 200 rubber boats that used to carry pepper, so I can go to the hot spring as many times as I want. I¡¯ll take a bath, hear from Rimu about the joy of having more friends, and go to sleep with some light lovey-dovey fun because I¡¯m so tired today. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Well, we¡¯re leaving the cave today to look for mineral deposits, right?¡± During breakfast, I check the schedule for the day. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a lot of room, so let¡¯s do our best to find it.¡± Since we¡¯ve come all this way, I hope we find something. If we can find some rare metals or gems, that would be wonderful, wouldn¡¯t it? ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best to find them!¡± I thought I hated caves, but now that there are fewer monsters, I¡¯m getting excited about treasure hunting. After breakfast, we prepare our equipment and head out. What we do is simple: we look for mineral deposits in places where rock has appeared. I haven¡¯t seen the real thing yet, so everything looks dubious. Even in the passage, where there are rock formations, I check them carefully and continue. I check the rooms as well, but there are subtle burn marks that are strange. I search for the rock area, keeping anything unpleasant out of sight. The room where we finished our search is lit again. ¡°We¡¯re not going to find much, are we?¡± ¡°There are still four rooms. If we find one, we can make a lot of money depending on the mineral deposits, so let¡¯s keep at it.¡± Alessia-san is in a good mood. This is no time to be harmed by the raw ant egg myself. Let¡¯s work hard to increase the suspense. As we continued to search, Marina-san shouted. ¡°I found a mineral deposit.¡± We hurry to check¡­ Hmm? Is this the mineral deposit? A white stone-like streak branched out from the bottom to the top. ¡°So this white stone is the mineral deposit. What kind of mineral deposit is it?¡± ¡°It is hard to say what kind of mineral deposit it is because mineral deposits are often a mixture of many different metals. If this mineral deposit turns out to be good, there is a possibility that several kinds of metals can be extracted from it. But look carefully here.¡± I looked carefully at the spot Marina-san pointed to and saw small grains of gold. ¡°Is that gold? If it¡¯s a deposit of gold, that would be amazing!¡± My voice grew louder with excitement. ¡°Wataru-san, don¡¯t be in such a hurry. It might be gold, but it might not be gold. There are similar metals out there, so let¡¯s have someone who can use earth magic check it thoroughly.¡± Hmm, there is a possibility that it is not gold. But now that we know where the deposit is, it will be easier to find. If we find a lot of it, we will probably find a valuable deposit. Iron deposits are also a valuable treasure on this island. Come to think of it, I¡¯ve heard that gold can be extracted from copper. I read in a novel that foreigners bought copper ingots during the Warring States period. It¡¯s getting fun. Volume 8 - CH 14 Chapter 14 ¨C Unexpected Events and Hot Springs The first deposit has been discovered, and my excitement is skyrocketing. And there is a possibility of gold. A golden tea room is no longer a dream. ¡­I¡¯ve never had tea before, so it might be fun to create something like a certain lord¡¯s room. [T/n: Probably referring to Toyotomi Hideyoshi¡¯s Golden Tea Room.] ¡°Speaking of which, we don¡¯t have a map of the caves, so how do we find the deposit?¡± ¡°Well, you will need a map eventually, but for now, just make a big scratch on the side of the mineral deposit and at the entrance to the passage if it is a room, and remember the number of deposits you found.¡± Well, that makes sense. I¡¯ll probably do a more detailed survey later, so why not start with a rough idea? ¡°I understand. Thank you, Alessia-san.¡± We scratched the area near the depository and the entrance to the main passage and moved on to the next location. Well, it was hard to find because of my low Luck stat. Marina found another one, and Carla-san found one too. I want to find one too. I continued my search without giving up and finally found a deposit. There was a thick white streak where the ant had once stored food. There is a fine silver glitter mixed in, so there might be a possibility of getting silver? I was overjoyed at my own discovery. I was a little embarrassed, but I couldn¡¯t contain my joy. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ It took us a whole day to get back to the entrance of the cave. We found seven deposits. One deposit looked like gold, one looked like silver, and the remaining five were likely to yield some kind of metal, although we would not know what was in them until we mined them and checked them carefully. It seems that the deposits are often mixed with different metals, and if all goes well, we may be able to get most of the metals. We will be lucky to get gold, silver, copper, and iron. It would be a shame not to know more about metals when it comes to this. I¡¯m sure I could learn about the fantasy metals of this world, but I have no idea about alloys and such. I wish there were books on alloys and other geeky stuff in the Castle library. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Wataru-san. I need a hot spring bath.¡± While I was thinking about it, Alessia-san called out to me. ¡°That sounds good. Shall we go?¡± I had taken a bath at the Hideaway, but a hot spring is different. My tired body longs for a hot spring. When we returned to the rock bath with excitement, there was a shocking sight¡­ ¡°¡­What is this? It¡¯s terribly unpleasant.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ Are they trying to take revenge on us?¡± Alessia-san seems to agree. It¡¯s deeply unpleasant. The women also radiate an angry mood. ¡°Gugyaa, gyagyagyagya.¡± When our eyes meet, they give us a mocking look, followed by an uncomfortable laugh. There are more than 10 goblins soaking in the hot springs and hanging around the rock baths. And they are in the mood for a feast, devouring the raw meat of some animal. We certainly didn¡¯t fence them in, and we had no intention of monopolizing them, but their attitude was not nice. Next time I¡¯ll ask Felicia to put up some barriers. ¡°Is that guy in the middle the one we caught the other day?¡± ¡°Maybe. It has a bruise on its face where I hit it.¡± If that¡¯s what Marina-san, the person who caught it, says, then there can be no mistake. I¡¯m glad it didn¡¯t turn into the Goblin King and come back for revenge after it escaped, although that would have been unpleasant. ¡°I wonder if the experiment taught it to soak in hot water?¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know. But I assure you, I won¡¯t let any of them escape. And I won¡¯t kill them in the hot springs.¡± As soon as Alessia-san said these words, a tremendous amount of murderous intent swelled up from the ladies. I have never seen such a deadly group of women before. The goblins, perhaps reacting to the murderous atmosphere, began to make a commotion. They rushed out of the hot spring with wooden sticks in their hands. No, I know it¡¯s hard to fight, but if you come out of the hot spring, you¡¯ll be killed instantly. Besides, they are soaking in the hot spring in their tattered clothes. It¡¯s a good way to get on our nerves. No, it¡¯s better than coming out completely naked. I don¡¯t want to see a naked goblin. The goblin used in the last experiment giggles and hit the ground with a wooden stick. It¡¯s probably saying, ¡°How dare you do this to me last time? I¡¯m going to kill you.¡± I guess. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± At the same time as Alessia-san¡¯s words, an attack from a member of Girasole comes in. ¡­It¡¯s absolutely overkill, to the point of stupefaction. There is no mercy. Ilma-san burns the dismembered goblins to clean them up. The goblins probably had a lot to say about being beaten and soaked in boiling water, but the way they did, it was not good enough. The goblins were even exterminated, but they shouldn¡¯t have come to us for a fight. ¡°Oh no, I was looking forward to the hot springs, but I don¡¯t want to go in after this.¡± Ohhhh, Alessia-san, how can you say that when you¡¯re looking forward to it? ¡°Wataru-san, what is it?¡± ¡°N-no, it¡¯s nothing. It can¡¯t be helped. Should we clean it up?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. If we don¡¯t clean it well, we won¡¯t be able to enjoy the hot spring comfortably.¡± I didn¡¯t drill a drainage hole in the rock bath. But I was not sure what to do because if I drilled a hole by myself, it would break. Let¡¯s pump out the water this time and ask a carpenter for the hole. Annoyingly, the goblins had thrown the bones and pelts of the animals they had eaten into the first rock bath, which was too hot to enter. Don¡¯t they understand that the hot water will flow into the rock bath they¡¯re in? Well, it¡¯s an effective way to harass us because we have to clean the two rock baths. We use a channel to take the hot water to another place and pump the hot water out of the rock baths. It¡¯s not only a nuisance, but it¡¯s also hard because we came back with the intention of taking a bath in the hot spring. It would be frustrating if I didn¡¯t feel relieved when I saw Rimu, Fuu-chan, and Beni-chan playing at the rock bath. After scrubbing out the hot water, I wash the bath with the deck brush and detergent provided on the Hideaway. I thought the cleaning tools provided on the ship were useless because I could clean the bathtub on the Hideaway just by thinking about it, but they come in handy in unexpected places. After a thorough wash, the detergent is rinsed away with water. After rinsing clean, Claretta-san performs a series of purifications. When Rimu saw that Purification was being used, he said he would help as well and used Purification. How cute. After a good cleaning, the channel was removed, and the hot spring was placed in the rock pool. ¡°Thank you for your hard work. Let¡¯s have a drink at the Hideaway until the hot springs fill up.¡± ¡°Hmm, yes. I¡¯m really tired, so I¡¯d like to take it easy until the hot springs fill up.¡± Just in case, I asked Felicia to set up a barrier, and we moved to the Hideaway. If the goblins are soaking in the hot springs again while we¡¯re resting, we¡¯ll have a mountain hunt on our hands. I choose a canned coffee, and the ladies also choose their favorite drink and take a break. ¡°I never thought I¡¯d become an A-rank adventurer and get swayed by some goblins.¡± Alessia-san smiled bitterly as she told us about this time. It¡¯s true that defeating goblins is an F-rank adventurer¡¯s wish. It would be different if a king or general came out, but this time she was surprised because she was irritated by an ordinary goblin. It¡¯s kind of grim. ¡°Goblins are not to be underestimated, are they?¡± ¡°Yes, they are. If it were a direct fight, there would be no problem, but I did not expect this kind of revenge we got this time.¡± The goblins probably came for revenge with the intention of killing us, but they didn¡¯t expect that the most damaging thing to us was the fact that they were soaking in the hot springs. After the hot spring water filled up, we returned to our room and changed into our hot spring clothes. We were in a hurry, so we were in a better mood when we went into the hot spring. After the barrier was removed, I called for a rubber boat and poured the hot spring water over myself before soaking in the hot spring. ¡°Ah, hot springs are great, after all.¡± The women also come to the hot spring one after another to take a bath. It¡¯s a good sight, no matter how many times I see it. I want it all to be mine. ¡°Phew, now that I¡¯ve taken my time, I feel even better.¡± Alessia-san seems to agree. It¡¯s the same logic as when you¡¯re hungry; the food tastes better. ¡°I agree. Even unpleasant events seem to melt away in the hot water. So healing the body and soul is what this hot spring is all about.¡± I think I just said something good. ¡°Huh? Oh¡­ that may be so.¡± Alessia-san, why have you become so polite? Did I miss something? Somehow, the atmosphere became awkward, so I hugged Rimu, who was floating nearby and redirected the conversation. ¡°Dorothea-san, is Beni-chan having problems with the hot springs?¡± ¡°Yes, he says it feels good.¡± He has no problem with the magma and feels good in the hot springs¡­ He doesn¡¯t seem to mind the cooler air, or maybe he¡¯s just resistant to heat? ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡± I digress. I just wanted to say something nice, but that was an unexpected reaction. ¡°So, Wataru-san, what are your plans for the future?¡± Alessia-san also forgot about the earlier atmosphere and changed the subject. ¡°Well, I need to tell the Dark Elves about the hot springs and the mineral deposits and get them to check them out, so I guess we should go back to the Dark Elf village once. It would be faster if we could bring the village chief and someone who can use earth magic with us.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s true. We also found some mineral deposits, so it will be more convenient if we build a village here.¡± That¡¯s right. You can mine metals in the caves, and when you get tired, you can always go to the hot springs. The only problem is that you have to cross a mountain to get to the village, but it¡¯s not a big mountain, so if we build a road to the river, it should be acceptable. Especially if you can get precious metals, they will be useful for daily life. If I think about it as a whole, it would be a very positive thing. ¡°Yes, it depends on the metal to be mined, but if they can find iron, they will be able to provide their own tools. It seems that they will be able to live completely on their own in the not-too-distant future¡±. ¡°Fufu, that sounds good. Shall we go to the village tomorrow?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going to happen, so I want to stock up on hot springs first, so we¡¯ll leave the day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°You want to stock up on hot springs?¡± ¡°Yes. When I bring them back, they will be warm forever. We will be able to have hot springs whenever we want. I¡¯m going to enjoy the hot spring Jacuzzi on the balcony of the Castle overlooking the ocean.¡± I¡¯m just imagining it, but a hot spring Jacuzzi overlooking the ocean should be pretty nice. Let¡¯s enjoy it with a can of beer. ¡°That¡¯s good. That¡¯s a good idea. Wataru-san, can we ask you to let us join you?¡± ¡°Yes, I plan to stock up a large amount, so it¡¯s always okay.¡± ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°No, no, no. Come to think of it; you haven¡¯t been drinking lately. Would you like to have a drink today since I am only going to stock up on hot spring water tomorrow? We also found some mineral deposits, so let¡¯s celebrate.¡± The women cheered. We toasted with beer. The rest is just fun and frolic. We were tired from exploring the caves and cleaning the rock baths, and the hot springs had improved our circulation, so we got drunk quickly. I save my alcohol to watch the women in a mess. I thought about serving Japanese sake, but I thought it would be better if it were easy to drink, so I served chilled champagne and white wine. The wine and champagne went down like water. I apologize to the person who made the wine and champagne for the way I drank it. But they do a good job. Holding a bottle of alcohol, I poured it around. This action gave me a good reason to move freely around the rock bath and approach the ladies. The women, who had become merry with alcohol, laughed happily, washed each other¡¯s bodies, hugged each other, and made a lot of fun and noise. Of course, the yukata is disturbed by all this merrymaking. It¡¯s a wonderful thing. ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± Dorothea-san, who had been hugging Beni-chan, suddenly thanked me. Her eyes were watering. Oh, she started to rub her cheeks against Beni-chan. She¡¯s completely drunk. ¡°What¡¯s wrong all of a sudden?¡± ¡°I¡¯m talking about Beni-chan. I was jealous of you because I couldn¡¯t tame any slime since I acquired the taming skill. I¡¯m so happy to have met Beni-chan. Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± She¡¯s been waiting for a long time. She must be bursting with joy. I didn¡¯t set out to find Beni-chan this time, did I? ¡­But, well, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll take it as a sign of appreciation that I did my part to make a good impression. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, but it was fate that you met Beni-chan. God made it happen because you worked so hard, right?¡± I sounded like a fatalist. ¡°Fate! That¡¯s right. Beni-chan and I were meant to meet, weren¡¯t we? She stood up, lifted Beni-chan with both hands, and began to spin around and around. The combination of tiredness, joy, hot spring baths, and alcohol had made her look a little strange. But she was drunk, so she spun around, dizzy and swaying. Is she all right? But her breasts are also swollen, and when she turns her back to me, her buttocks are right in front of me. The robe is stuck to her butt, and it¡¯s great. As I had hoped, happy glances occurred frequently. The fact that they¡¯re so open and promiscuous is proof that we¡¯ve become good friends. I leave the hot spring after thoroughly enjoying the hot spring and the ecchi sight. I asked Felicia to put up another barrier, returned to the Hideaway, and jumped on Ines and Felicia as I wanted to. Tomorrow is our day off, right? Volume 8 - CH 15 Chapter 15 ¨C Mineral Deposits Identification and Development Plans We are now on the Add, heading for the Dark Elf Village. Yesterday, I took care of the ladies who had a little too much to drink on their day off and leisurely filled the rubber boats with hot spring water. I filled more than 200 rubber boats with hot spring water. Now I can take a hot spring bath whenever I want. ¡­If that were enough, I wouldn¡¯t have had to build a rock bath, but it is what it is. Bathing in a rock bath was a necessary thing. The slightly disturbing hot spring scene with the Girasole also had to have a different atmosphere. So there¡¯s nothing wrong with it. Before returning to the village, we decided to put barriers around the hot springs and the cave. This would prevent monsters from entering either the cave or the hot springs. We ran through the meadow, thinking about trivial things. It is good to go down the river by boat, but it is also good to run through the meadow. On the way back, a group of people who like to steer the boat wanted to drive, so I put a stopper in the back and let them drive, although I was worried about it. I felt uneasy with their big smiles, but they had endured the trip there, so I guess I had no choice on the way back. I was in charge of stopping Ines, Dorothea-san was in charge of Alessia-san, and Ilma-san was in charge of stopping Marina-san in case she got out of control. The group of maneuvering enthusiasts drives the Adds while shouting. There is no road, so they do not go full throttle, but they push it to the limit, knowing exactly what the limits are. They are speed freaks. They are not used to driving, but they have a good sense of balance, or maybe they have a different sense, and they soon get used to it and seem to enjoy it. When we arrived at the Dark Elf village, the group that liked to maneuver the boat was smiling with a refreshed face. They are easy to understand, aren¡¯t they? As we approached the village gate, we were greeted by the village chief. I feel bad that he has to greet me all the time, but half the time, he seems to want to meet Felicia, so I let him. ¡°Wataru-san, welcome back. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe.¡± ¡°Thank you for welcoming us, Village Chief-san. We found something good. Can you give us a moment of your time?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. Shall I call the deputy chief?¡± ¡°Yes, that will be fine. It would be better if he were present. Please do so.¡± I went to the village chief¡¯s house, greeted Cecilia-san, and waited for the deputy chief to arrive. After a short wait, the deputy chief arrived, greeted us, and we began to discuss the situation. ¡°Well then, let me explain what we found.¡± The explanation of the hot springs did not seem to go over well with them. No wonder, since they are not in the habit of taking baths. As for the mineral deposits, they listened with obvious delight. They said that they would send people to inspect the hot springs and mineral deposits and that they would hold an emergency meeting at night to discuss the proposal to build a village at the site of the hot springs. They had planned to build a village in the forest, but now they were in the preparation stage and planned to build this hilltop village in advance while they were gathering materials. Now that I¡¯m doing what I want, their plans will go awry. I apologized to them, and they thanked me profusely, saying that although they were not sure about the hot springs, the mineral deposits alone were a very welcome discovery for the island. As for our share of the precious metals, we were told that since we were the ones who discovered them, it would be enough for us to get a share of any iron that might be useful in our daily lives. I was told that on this island, gold and silver treasures are only used for decoration. That may be true, but I didn¡¯t feel comfortable taking a cut of the money they gave me for mining. After some discussion, it was decided that I would get 30%, Girasole 30%, and the Dark Elves 40%¡­ Girasole was mainly responsible for discovering the cave and defeating the ants¡­ Is it right that I get 30%? They say it¡¯s good; without me, it¡¯s useless, no matter how much precious metal there is. I guess I am strong when it comes to holding the transportation. Alessia-san also said she had no intention of making money on this island, but she was overwhelmed. I told them about the giant ant, but they said it would be no problem if there were not too many of them. We had already hunted all the ants in this cave, so if there were any, they were probably just stray ants, so they should be fine. They asked me a lot of questions, but all I could tell them was that food production was going to be difficult. For now, I left them to Felicia, who knew what it was like to live as a Dark Elf. It was decided that we would visit the hot springs and mineral deposits tomorrow. There will be a meeting tonight to decide who will go and what the general policy will be. What will happen? It¡¯s going to be busy, so we¡¯ll go back to the beach and stay on the Seeker. ¡°Wataru-san, won¡¯t this island be great depending on the mineral deposits? What are you going to do?¡± Alessia-san asked me while we were having tea in the Seeker¡¯s living room. What am I going to do? ¡°Well, this island is the Dark Elf¡¯s island, so I wouldn¡¯t be too happy about sticking out. If there are any precious metals to be found, I¡¯ll go and sell them on the southern continent. There aren¡¯t many people here, so I don¡¯t think we can mine that much metal. If we accumulate it and wholesale it all at once, we can sell it every few years. We have a stable food supply, so if there¡¯s iron, which is more useful than gold or silver, I think I¡¯ll concentrate on that.¡± ¡°Sure, it¡¯s not good to stand out. If this place is discovered, it¡¯s closer than going to buy pepper. Those reckless bums will come in droves. Ah, so that¡¯s why you¡¯re going to the southern continent to sell it.¡± ¡°The southern continent is safer because of the distance. Well, we don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s real gold or not, so it might be a wasted effort.¡± If the glittering metal were the one that resembled gold, it would be a waste of time unless we could find some other precious metal. ¡°Fufu, you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s think about it after we check the deposits.¡± That¡¯s right, and yet we¡¯ve already decided on the percentage of our share. It would be a shame if we didn¡¯t find any precious metals. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ The meeting decided that the village chief and deputy chief would go to the site themselves to inspect everything. When we asked for someone who could use earth magic, the deputy chief said he could do it. In the lake village, earth magic is used to process and repair the large rocks that are used as shelters when the monsters go berserk, and he is very skilled at it. When I told him to take an escort, he said it would only slow us down. I told him that I thought it would be better to have more people than just the two of them inspecting the site, but he said that if we had more people, there would be a problem with the Dark Elf women who are interested in the hot springs and would want to follow us. Leading the group of women was Cecilia-san, who had heard Felicia¡¯s story and insisted that she would definitely go. A hot spring with a group of Dark Elf women¡­ isn¡¯t that good? Oh, they don¡¯t have bathing suits, so it¡¯s impossible for me to mingle with them. ¡­I should have told them about the bathing suits. It¡¯s too late now to say that mixed bathing is customary. It seems that I convinced the women¡¯s group that I would take them with me after the inspection and some maintenance. I¡¯m sorry to make this promise without permission, but they bowed to me and asked for permission to use the hot springs. Haven¡¯t they already decided to build a village around the hot springs? We took the Japanese boat up the river, walked through the forest and mountains, and arrived at the hot spring at night. The village chief and deputy chief were both physically fit and even though the path was known, they were surprised at how easily we reached the hot spring. Since they did not have bathing suits, it was decided that I, the village chief, and the deputy chief would soak in the hot springs¡ªa hot spring with two cool Dark Elf men. I, a man of medium height and medium build, was in the hot spring with these two men, with their toned bodies, long legs, and outstanding good looks despite being men. I feel like I¡¯m doing something wrong, right? At first, the village chief and the deputy chief did not like the smell, but they were surprised to see the hot water gushing out of the hot spring, and their expressions relaxed as they soaked in the hot spring water. I lent them my face wash, shampoo, conditioner, and body soap, and a beautiful, radiant young man appeared¡­ I thought the same about Alessia-san and the others, but I envied how good they were, to begin with, and how much they changed just by using shampoo and other products. But now, when the Dark Elf ladies see this scene, the pressure to take them to the hot springs will increase. The village chief and deputy chief also like the hot springs and seem open to the idea of building a village. Since I can¡¯t keep it a secret anymore, I summon the Hideaway to spend the night. The village chief was surprised, and the deputy chief, who had been to the Hideaway in the Demon Forest, was also surprised because the interior was not disguised. The next day, we went into the cave to check each mineral deposit. When we saw the deputy chief using earth magic to check, he cut out the deposits with earth magic, and when he cast another spell on the quarried stone, the stone crumbled. The crumbled sand? When he cast another spell on the crumbled sand, it was divided into a small metal and a stone and hardened. I got the impression that the metal would come out on its own when the spell was cast. When I asked him about the details, he told me that the metal would be hard to take out unless it was in a state like sand. The metal can only be sorted out by the person who cast the spell. It¡¯s useful¡­ but it will take a long time to mine¡­ It took us two days to go around all the deposits and get out. They were quite surprised by the magma. We found gold, silver, copper, iron, and lead. Maybe if I tell them about other metals they don¡¯t know about, they¡¯ll discover some new ones. I¡¯ll have to look them up in the library. During this exploration, the village chief and deputy chief were excited that they would surely build a village here. When they returned to the village, they immediately held a meeting and quickly set about building a village of hot springs. The biggest driving force is the transformation of the village chief and vice chief. Cecilia-san, who had heard about the hot springs in detail from Felicia, confirmed the effectiveness of the hot springs and began to gather the women to put pressure on them. At the meeting, it was discussed that they would build houses for everyone in the village on the hill and then work on the hot spring village, but it was decided to first build a fence around the hot spring and build facilities where people could stay overnight. I recommended a Hot Spring Inn, but¡­ Is it possible to build it using only my vocabulary? I think it would create a subtle atmosphere. ¡­Oh, yes, there¡¯s a section on hot spring resorts in the ferry¡¯s travel guide. I don¡¯t know the details, but I¡¯ll bring it with me next time. I¡¯m sure they sold it at the kiosk. The lake villagers would have been upset to have their houses postponed, but Cecilia-san had gathered a group of women from the lake village, and things went smoothly. I thought there was no need to be in such a hurry, but the house where the families with children would live was already finished, so I heard there would be no problem. Besides, they said, it would be more efficient to build a hot spring village because it would free up houses for people to move into. This is, you know, this one, the one with the mineral deposits and all that is forgotten. We found gold and stuff, but¡­ The plan to build the hot spring village is set, and the mineral deposits are finally mentioned. How many earth mages will be sent to mine is discussed, as it has to do with farming. In the end, it is decided that mining will not be possible until the Hot Spring Village is built. That¡¯s pretty simple, isn¡¯t it? After the meeting, the deputy chief decided to leave to lead the personnel needed to develop the hot springs. Decisions are made quickly. I guess you can move more easily when there are fewer people in the group. I return to the Seeker and make some tea. ¡°Master, will you help with the development of the hot spring village?¡± Ah, I don¡¯t know. Should I help? It seems like I¡¯d be in the way if I were there. ¡°Felicia, do you think we should get involved?¡± ¡°No, I think it will be fine. There are no dangerous monsters, so the people in the village will be enough.¡± ¡°Then, since we would be bothering them with our presence, why don¡¯t we ask them if they need anything tomorrow and then sail out and relax on the Castle for a bit?¡± I¡¯ve been working a little too hard lately, and I¡¯d like to live a little lavishly. ¡°Fufu, we¡¯re going to take it easy. I¡¯m looking forward to it. Can I have a little drink?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to take some time off, then we¡¯ll see.¡± Ines¡¯ face lights up when she thinks about having a drink on that day off. She likes it, even though she drank a lot at the hot springs a while ago. Well, it¡¯s nice to have something to look forward to, isn¡¯t it? I also got excited when I imagined my life of debauchery. Playing with Rimu, Fuu-chan, and Beni-chan in the kind¡¯s room sounds like fun. Or I can stay in my room and spend some time with Ines and Felicia. And don¡¯t forget the hot springs in the Jacuzzi. Yeah, why don¡¯t we go to the village and ask them what they need? I feel like going back to the Castle tonight. ¡­Should I summon the Castle here? Is it too big? There was a commotion when the ship just disappeared, so if a huge ship like the Castle appeared, there would be a commotion. And it would probably run aground, so I should stop. It would be too selfish to go that far for a life of debauchery. Let¡¯s rest on the Seeker today and enjoy our vacation as much as possible tomorrow. Volume 8 - CH 16 Chapter 16 ¨C The Castle After a Long Time and the Divine Realm I leave the island to summon the Castle and leave the development of the hot springs to the village chief and the others. The first thing to be done is to maintain the area around the hot springs. ¡°Hey, Wataru-san, why are you hiding the Castle? I thought you didn¡¯t hide your abilities from the people of the Dark Elf village?¡± Alessia-san asked. I want to believe that it¡¯s not because she wants to have a drink at the bar as soon as possible. Because when I said I was going to take a break for a while at the Castle, the group of people who like to drink started discussing which bar to drink at. ¡°I have no particular intention of hiding it, but if I float the Castle in the sea, monsters will come near it, so it¡¯s safer to keep it away from them. It¡¯s also a problem to gather monsters near the island for a battle.¡± ¡­If we gather sea monsters around the island, and if enemy ships come to the island, they might not be able to land on it, right? ¡­However, placing monsters without permission is a problem. I should talk to the village chief. ¡°Surely we shouldn¡¯t cause a commotion where people can see us from the island.¡± ¡°Yes, if we run for a while longer, I can summon it, so please wait a little longer for the alcohol.¡± ¡°W-what are you talking about? I didn¡¯t ask you because I want to have a drink as soon as possible¡­ It¡¯s the truth, you know?¡± Well, it¡¯s just courtesy, and 50% of the time, she¡¯s looking for alcohol. The rest is casino? But I like that Alessia-san is a bit shy. Really? I¡¯m sure it was unintentional, but it¡¯s cute. This is a good thing. The cause was alcohol, though. ¡°Haha, I¡¯m just kidding. We still have some time, so let¡¯s have some tea.¡± ¡°Y-yes, let¡¯s have tea.¡± We drink tea in the Seeker¡¯s living room. Everyone seems to have their own things to do and is chatting happily. Claretta-san says she wants to buy stuffed toy materials after cleaning the church¡­ She bought a lot of stuffed toys last time, but how many stuffed toys is she making? We drink tea while watching Rimu, Fuu-chan, and Beni-chan play together. I think this time is important. When I¡¯m not watching them, my thoughts are diverted to eroticism. Do you think I should think of some hobbies as well? ¡°Well, let¡¯s get some exercise before having a drink. Swimming in the pool, bouldering, and ziplining would be fun. Then we can go to the solarium and have a drink afterward.¡± ¡­Not good, Alessia-san¡¯s words made my mind fill with bathing suits. We¡¯ve bouldered in swimsuits before, and it was a great sight. I have to see it. The ladies go up and down without any equipment, so if they¡¯re a little high, they can jump off by themselves and then boing. I wonder if the batteries in the video camera are okay? I charge it while I¡¯m at it. The ladies let me when I ask them to take a video. They believe me when I tell them that in my former world, when you played, you took a video to preserve memories. It¡¯s not a total lie, and they¡¯re okay with it, you know? The ladies are pretty open when they¡¯re on Castle, so I have to make sure I don¡¯t miss any good scenes. They will probably be drinking in the solarium in their swimsuits. I don¡¯t want to miss that scene. It¡¯s going to be fun. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Wataru-san, we¡¯re already quite far from the island; why don¡¯t we move to the Castle?¡± ¡°Huh? ¡­Ah, yes, I think it¡¯s time to move on.¡± Oh no, I was thinking about the videotaping scene with all my energy, and time was running out. Time flies when you think about eroticism. Hiding the fact that I was thinking of doing something stupid, I summoned the Castle. ¡°Kyaaa, Beni-chan, calm down!¡± When I look back, Beni-chan is very excited on top of Dorothea-san¡¯s head. He must be happy about the huge magic circle¡­ Oh, we missed getting into the magic circle of light. The Castle is so big that Beni-chan is even more excited. I¡¯m glad to see this reaction since everyone is getting used to it these days. Beni-chan is more excited than when he first saw the ocean. Dorothea-san holds Beni-chan in her arms and does her best to calm him down. They are both adorable. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san, we missed the boarding. Shall we go through the ramp?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s too much trouble; I¡¯ll summon it again.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san. I¡¯ll calm Beni-chan down.¡± ¡°Ahahaha, Dorothea-san, please don¡¯t worry. There is no problem because Beni-chan is happy, and that makes me happy too.¡± I repatriate the Castle and summon it again. This time, we jump onto the magic circle of light and move to the Royal Promenade. ¡°It feels like it¡¯s been a long time, doesn¡¯t it? Wataru-san, what shall we do now?¡± ¡°Hmm, I haven¡¯t decided on anything in particular, so you¡¯re free to go. Ines, Felicia, I¡¯m giving you the day off, so you¡¯re free too.¡± I want to play in the pool, but it¡¯s impossible for me to make other plans, isn¡¯t it? I give Ines and Felicia their pocket money. It would be too obvious to wait for them at the pool, so I¡¯ll give them some time before I go there. What should I do until then? ¡°We¡¯ll exercise at the pool, but what about you, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°Hmm? The pool is nice; maybe we can meet up later. As for me¡­ I¡¯m going to the church to pray, and then I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Oh, Alessia-san¡¯s question made it easier for us to meet at the pool. Thank you very much. ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯m going to the church too, so I¡¯ll join you.¡± Fufufu, I heard that Claretta-san also goes to church, so now I can do something date-like with her. I¡¯m being aggressive these days, aren¡¯t I? ¡°Alright. I look forward to working with you.¡± I reply with a determined expression, suppressing my inner thoughts. If I let my guard down, I might be embarrassed. ¡°But it¡¯s unusual for Wataru-san to go to church right away, is something wrong?¡± ¡­Huh? Is it true? Come to think of it, going to church was like, when I have some time, it¡¯s time to go and pray. This time, my purpose is to show Claretta-san a good part of me, so it¡¯s certainly different from the usual. What am I supposed to say? ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. ¡­But this time, while exploring the cave, I once again thought that the unique skill I received from Creator God-sama was truly wonderful, so I thought I would offer a prayer of gratitude.¡± Oh man, I feel like my mind is at the poles right now. Isn¡¯t this the best answer that will also give me some good impressions? ¡°I see. Come to think of it, Wataru-san, you met Creator God-sama, didn¡¯t you? That¡¯s just wonderful.¡± Huh? Shouldn¡¯t you praise me for going to pray and being great? ¡­Well, if you praise me, is that good? Anyway, I left the other members and went to the church with Claretta-san. Rimu is on my head, but it¡¯s safe to say that it¡¯s just the two of us. We have a rather pleasant conversation, talking about stuffed toys and how she wants to check out the ufo catcher on the ferry soon. It¡¯s a good feeling. We made a promise to go to the ufo catcher together. It¡¯s probably not just the two of us, but Carla-san as well, but it¡¯s progress to be able to make a promise to go out and have fun. ¡°Then, Wataru-san, I¡¯ll go clean up.¡± When we got to the church, Claretta-san left¡­ She doesn¡¯t have to clean this ship, though. It can¡¯t be helped, so let¡¯s pray¡­ I wonder if Creator God-sama will be angry with me if I say it can¡¯t be helped? Let¡¯s pray seriously. I kneel down in front of the statue of the gods and say a prayer of gratitude. ¡°Hello, Wataru-kun, it¡¯s been a long time. Creator God-sama appeared. ¡°Creator God-sama, it has been a long time. Um, are you okay with the interference in the lower world?¡± ¡°Yes. I placed the god statue in the church of your ship. It¡¯s a sanctuary, so it¡¯s fine.¡± Uh, let¡¯s see¡­ a sanctuary on the Castle? Do you mean it¡¯s being treated like the cathedral in Palermo now? ¡­Is that possible? ¡°Is it okay to create such a sanctuary?¡± ¡°Hahaha, well, I am the Creator God, after all.¡± For a moment, he remembered something and had a dead look in his eyes, but¡­ I¡¯ll pretend I didn¡¯t see it. ¡°That¡¯s right. You are Creator God-sama, after all.¡± ¡°¡±Hahahaha.¡±¡± For some reason, I can¡¯t help but laugh dryly. ¡°So, Creator God-sama, why did you call me this time?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, that¡¯s right. Actually, I¡¯d like to visit you on your luxury liner.¡± He said something outrageous. How about that, like Creator God-sama¡¯s descent event? ¡°Won¡¯t that be a big problem?¡± ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s okay. Everyone says they will go, so they won¡¯t be angry with me.¡± Hmm? I heard words I didn¡¯t understand; no, I didn¡¯t want to understand. He said everyone. ¡°What do you mean when you say everyone?¡± ¡°Everyone is everyone. Just in time, I¡¯ll introduce you.¡± ¡°Huh? Introductions? No, it¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be shy. It would be strange if you didn¡¯t know their faces when we visited you.¡± No, I don¡¯t have any reservations. I am being honest. Oh, but maybe I want to meet the God of Light-sama. No, that¡¯s not the point. ¡°Then I will call them.¡± ¡°Oh, wait a minute¡­¡± Too late. Five people are already in front of me? Five gods? Five pillars? Anyway, the gods appeared. ¡°You already know the God of Light, right? The rest are the God of War, the God of Magic, the God of Entertainment, and the God of Gastronomy. ¡°I am honored to meet you all. My name is Wataru. Pleased to meet you.¡± I greeted them as best I could, and they greeted me in a surprisingly friendly manner. God of Entertainment-sama is the god who said he felt like throwing up when he saw my actions, right? Unlike what I imagined, he is a cute, boyish god. This god told me he was going to throw up? I really don¡¯t want to mess it up. God of War-sama and God of Magic-sama are different types, but I don¡¯t want to get involved with them at all. I¡¯m scared. God of Gastronomy-sama is¡­ she¡¯s the best. [T/n: I don¡¯t know why the author wrote Kami here instead of Megami.] I had an image that most chefs are male, so I thought the food-related god would be male, but unlike what I expected, she¡¯s not like that; she¡¯s a very mature and sexy one. I can understand if she is a kind, motherly type, but I would be more convinced if she is a goddess of beauty or a goddess of sex. I want to be her pet. For some reason, God of War-sama and God of Magic-sama come close to me. But I¡¯d prefer the God of Light and the God of Gastronomy¡­ ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re Wataru; it would have been interesting if you¡¯d fought a bit more. Well, you¡¯re a victim of the Creator God; I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°Eh? What do you mean?¡± God of War-sama, I am a victim? ¡°What, you didn¡¯t notice? You were given an unfavorable skill. Up until now, otherworlders could do most things with their unique skills from day one. Very few of them would have as much trouble as you have.¡± God of Magic-sama told me. Does this mean that I¡¯m supposed to be given a very strong cheat? Does that mean I¡¯m going to be insanely strong, and when I become an adventurer, I¡¯m going to have a woo-hoo harem, and I¡¯m going to be so powerful? ¡­No, I don¡¯t know. I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t interested in becoming very powerful, but in my case, I¡¯d get carried away and have a lot of harems, and I¡¯d probably die a nasty death in the end. I would love to be a cheat harem, but I don¡¯t think I could handle it. God of War-sama and God of Magic-sama sympathize with me, but they criticize Ship Summoning and Creator God-sama. I¡¯m getting frustrated. However, I¡¯m still grateful to Creator God-sama. ¡°Um, God of War-sama, God of Magic-sama, sure, at first I wondered why I was given the Ship Summoning, but now I like the Ship Summoning, so I have no problem with it. I am very grateful to Creator God-sama.¡± I think I¡¯m better suited for Ship Summoning because of my personality. There is the possibility of a harem. I can also get supplies from Earth. All in all, I¡¯d rather have Ship Summoning than become so powerful. When I said that, they looked at me like, ¡°Is this guy serious?¡± Did I say something funny? Creator God-sama, who heard my words, was so excited that he started bragging to God of War-sama and God of Magic-sama. It¡¯s no good that they can¡¯t see the beauty of my chosen unique skill. Do you have enough insight to complain about Creator God-sama¡¯s skill selection? And Creator God-sama is annoyingly excited about it. Was I wrong? ¡°Um, God of War-sama, God of Magic-sama, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°No, if you like it, we have nothing to say about it.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m really sorry.¡± ¡°Why are you apologizing? It¡¯s okay; you can lecture these blind people on the wonders of Ship Summoning.¡± Wow, the annoyance is getting extreme. Why was I annoyed? I¡¯m definitely more annoyed now. I really want to talk to the God of Light-sama and the God of Gastronomy-sama. ¡°N-no. So, what do you mean you want to visit me?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, that¡¯s right. I¡¯ve built a sanctuary on your luxury liner, so we can go and play without any problems. That¡¯s why we will go to visit you.¡± It has been explained or not explained¡­ what should I say? I don¡¯t know what to do; I¡¯m kind of panicking. Why did I even pray? Volume 8 - CH 17 Chapter 17 ¨C God of Gastronomy and Wataru Creator God-sama and the others say they are coming to visit me. I am panicking. I don¡¯t know what to do, so I ask God of Light-sama for help. ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯m sorry to bother you on such short notice, but could you please listen to what I have to say?¡± ¡°Oh, yes. God of Light-sama, please ask for anything.¡± ¡°Fufu, thank you very much.¡± God of Light-sama is as beautiful as ever. I feel like she¡¯s exuding some kind of hardship, but it¡¯s a good thing. ¡°Hey, God of Magic. That Otherworlder¡¯s demeanor is noticeably different when he talks to us.¡± ¡°Hmm, well, he has a weakness for women, after all. You knew that, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No, I knew that, but that guy, towards the goddess, too? How about that?¡± ¡°Um¡­ I can¡¯t judge that. There must be something unique about the Otherworlder. It is interesting. I didn¡¯t expect humans to differentiate between men and women.¡± ¡°No, God of Magic, why do you look so happy?¡± Next to me, the God of War-sama and the God of Magic-sama are buzzing around. Oh well, now it¡¯s time to talk to the God of Light-sama. ¡°Wataru-san, we are also interested in the culture of the other world. The fact that a sanctuary has been established is a problem, but we would like to take this opportunity to experience the culture of the other world.¡± So it¡¯s a problem that a sanctuary has been established. But now that it¡¯s established, it seems like they want to take advantage of it. ¡°Um, since Creator God-sama gave me this ability, I guess he can do whatever he wants without bothering to descend to the lower realms, right?¡± ¡°There are various restrictions due to the rule of the gods. Therefore, there are very few opportunities for anyone other than the Creator God to come into contact with the cultures of the other worlds.¡± So even the gods have all kinds of restrictions. Is that why Creator God-sama made Ship Summoning my power? Maybe he¡¯s thinking about it more than I thought? It¡¯s annoying, though. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯d be a fool if I didn¡¯t help. I¡¯ll cooperate. Should I offer the goddess some kind of special service? ¡°I understand. It is thanks to the Creator God-sama that I am able to live in this world, so if there is anything I can do, I will do my best.¡± ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± The God of Light-sama smiles. She is beautiful. ¡°So, what should I do?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right; as expected, we can¡¯t show ourselves to anyone but Wataru-san, so it would be very helpful if you could clear out the people for the day. Also, can you give us some tickets, yes, about¡­ 200?¡± ¡°Do you need tickets?¡± ¡°Yes. It is the power of the Creator God that prevents people from boarding the summoned ships. There are only a few of us who can break through. And even those who can break through will have a hard time. Only the Creator God can enter easily.¡± ¡­Boarding Rejection was a cheat beyond imagination. Not even dragons, but most gods can¡¯t do it. I see¡­ that¡¯s why they were angry that I was given so much ability and that I ran away from goblins. ¡°I understand. ¡­Can I make the tickets here? And what about the deadline?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine. Skills are not something that resides in the body but in the soul. The deadline can be any time that is convenient for you.¡± ¡­Something that resides in the soul, am I a soul now? ¡­I¡¯m going to explode if I think about it too deeply. Let¡¯s see, the deadline; I guess the ladies will be hungover tomorrow, so maybe the day after tomorrow? I¡¯m not sure they¡¯d like it if the deadline was only one day, so I¡¯ll set it at about¡­ three days for now. ¡°Well, how about three days from the day after tomorrow? If the number of days is too short, I would be very grateful if you could clarify things. Is the day after tomorrow too soon?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. If you divide the days, does that mean you will give us another chance besides this one?¡± Hmm? I thought three days was too short. I thought it would only be a one-time visit. Did I fail? ¡­It¡¯s too late for now; if I¡¯m going to get more chances to see the goddess, I should be proactive about it. It would be great if they allowed me to record a video. ¡°Y-yeah, it¡¯s a big ship, and I don¡¯t think three days will be enough. As long as you can fit it into the schedule, it will be fine.¡± That¡¯s okay¡­ I¡¯ll summon a lot of Saporabi. ¡­Well, let¡¯s ask Creator God-sama about Saporabi and the horned rabbits. ¡°Everyone will be pleased. Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± I made the God of Light-sama happy, didn¡¯t I? It¡¯s amazing when you think about it; Ship Summoning attracts the gods as well. I will prepare 200 tickets with a time limit of three days from the day after tomorrow. ¡°All right, here are the tickets. I intend to increase the number of Saporabi, but I can only offer a minimum of hospitality. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yes, of course, it¡¯s fine. We will be grateful for your hospitality. Then we will come to the church the day after tomorrow at 8:00 a.m.¡± ¡°Yes, what should I do? If you don¡¯t need me, I¡¯ll be on the other ship.¡± On second thought, it might be better if I didn¡¯t stay either. I was ready to record a video of the goddess on my own¡­ ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry to bother you, but we¡¯d like to ask for your assistance, Wataru-san. Do you mind?¡± ¡°Assistance? I don¡¯t know what I can do, but I will do my best to help you. But what do you want me to do?¡± I can work hard for the sake of the goddess, and with 200 tickets, many goddesses will come. I¡¯ll even ask for permission to make a video. ¡°I would like you to use your staff appointment. There is a lot of interest in the spa among the goddesses, so instead of Saporabi, I would like you to appoint a goddess as a staff member to make the experience as good as possible. As for the rest, God of Gastronomy, come here and ask yourself.¡± Appointing a goddess as a staff member? That¡¯s kind of a big deal. I wonder if I can get a massage from the goddess¡­ if I get in line too? And here comes the God of Gastronomy-sama! I¡¯ve always wanted to talk to her. ¡°Can I ask you a favor, Wataru-san?¡± God of Gastronomy-sama¡¯s voice is so sexy, like the beautiful lady in the anime about a 3rd generation thief. I want to be eaten sexually. [T/n: I don¡¯t know which one it is because I didn¡¯t watch Lupin III. Gomen!] ¡°Yes! Anything you want!¡± ¡°Ara? Are you sure about this?¡± ¡°Yes! For the sake of the God of Gastronomy-sama and the God of Light-sama, I will serve you to the best of my ability!¡± I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going on, but I¡¯m happy, so I¡¯m okay. That guy is amazing. He really is devoted to the goddess, isn¡¯t he? God of Magic, is it possible for a human and a goddess to be together?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡± ¡°The Otherworlder does a good job sometimes, doesn¡¯t he? It was boring at first, but when a woman is involved, it¡¯s a bit more interesting. Besides, he would never have the guts to say something like that¡­ but I guess the sex appeal of the God of Gastronomy has gotten to his brain.¡± ¡°Anything goes with the God of Entertainment as long as it¡¯s entertaining, right?¡± ¡°After all, I am the God of Entertainment. Even the God of Magic would be interested in the things under your jurisdiction, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. Doesn¡¯t he forget about me? This should be the part where he says he would do anything for the Creator God, isn¡¯t it?¡± Said Creator God. ¡°¡±¡±It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±¡±¡± The outsiders are making too much noise. I won¡¯t let them interfere with me and the God of Gastronomy-sama. ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯m interested in the cuisine of the other world. I would like you to appoint me as a staff member in the restaurant. Is that okay?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s a staff appointment, you¡¯ll gain knowledge, but if you leave the restaurant or are released from your appointment, your knowledge will fade, you know? Then it would be better to get the menu of the Earth from Creator God-sama, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, I know. But even if I get the menu from the Creator God, I am not allowed to cook it. So I want to cook all the dishes of the restaurant I have been appointed to. It¡¯s easier to retain knowledge if you do the work, isn¡¯t it?¡± I¡¯ve never done it myself, but that¡¯s what the ladies say. Wait, does that mean I can get a home-cooked meal from the God of Gastronomy-sama? That¡¯s nice; I¡¯d like to repatriate it to a rubber boat to preserve it. But what does that mean? She¡¯s not allowed to cook it? ¡°¡­So you¡¯re saying that you¡¯re not allowed to directly reflect information from Earth, but you can if you have me as an intermediary¡­ I get it. Let¡¯s go around the shop. It certainly seems to have that effect on staff appointments. But then it would take a long time to go around.¡± ¡°Ufufu, I was wondering what to do, but you will give me several opportunities, not just this one, right? I¡¯ll take my time and study in one shop.¡± ¡°Yes! Please come as many times as you like until you have visited them all!¡± ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± She patted my head and smelled good. I¡¯m so happy. ¡°He¡¯s totally rolling. Hey, God of Entertainment, I don¡¯t get to meet her very often, but the God of Gastronomy isn¡¯t the type to do that, is she?¡± ¡°Yes, the God of War is right; the God of Gastronomy is serious and wouldn¡¯t normally do such a thing. But this time, she was pleased with the other world¡¯s cuisine. Besides, since the Otherworlder is doing everything he can to show that he adores her, maybe that¡¯s why she¡¯s acting so sweet.¡± ¡°God of Gastronomy, isn¡¯t that too easy? Do you think it¡¯s okay for a god to do that? Hey, Creator God, what if the God of Gastronomy and the Otherworlder fall in love? Besides, the Otherworlder wants a harem, right?¡± ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s just the way it is, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s not like it¡¯s forbidden for a god to fall in love with a human, is it? What are you worried about, God of War? Could it be that you like the God of Gastronomy?¡± ¡°Hah, enough; keep your mouth shut for now. Hey, what do you think, God of Light?¡± ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t call it love; it¡¯s more like petting a small animal that wants to be loved. There¡¯s no problem, so please calm down, God of War.¡± ¡°O-oh, okay, I get it.¡± ¡°So, which restaurant would you like to go to first, God of Gastronomy-sama?¡± ¡°Well, the first place I want to go is the main restaurant. I¡¯d have to say 150 Central Park.¡± ¡°150 Central Park is the most prestigious restaurant on the ship, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°So, shall we go to 150 Central Park first?¡± ¡°Yes! I understand!¡± I¡¯m so happy. I¡¯m so happy to have fallen into another world. Ines and Felicia, Girasole, God of Light-sama, God of Gastronomy-sama, they are the best. Thank you, Creator God-sama. ¡°Wataru-kun, you don¡¯t need to pray; I¡¯m still here. You can thank me personally, okay?¡± ¡°God of Gastronomy-sama, what about dessert and drinks?¡± ¡°Ufufu, yes, of course, I¡¯m interested. Desserts and drinks are wonderful. Can you help me with that?¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll take care of it!¡± Okay, more places to visit. Now I can meet the God of Gastronomy-sama more often. ¡°God of Light, he ignored me.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t ignoring you; that was completely not hearing you. ¡°I wonder if that¡¯s it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything you can do about it.¡± ¡°Hmm, God of Light, it¡¯s time for me to bring Wataru-kun back, so call him.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Wataru-san, can I talk to you?¡± ¡°Yes! What is it? God of Light-sama!¡± ¡°Y-yes, it¡¯s time for you to return. I look forward to seeing you the day after tomorrow.¡± Huh? Already? ¡­It¡¯s too bad, but I can¡¯t be selfish. ¡°Oh, I see¡­ I understand. God of Light-sama, God of Gastronomy-sama, I¡¯ll be waiting for you at the Castle.¡± ¡°Wow, there is no one but the God of Light and the God of Gastronomy in that guy¡¯s world.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s bring him back. He¡¯ll calm down when he¡¯s over there again.¡± I found myself in front of the statues of the gods. Goddesses are nice, aren¡¯t they? I thought it would be a hassle, but if many goddesses are coming, I will do my best. I had to get moving. First, I have to place Saporabi in every shop and information counter. Oh, I forgot to ask Creator God-sama about Saporabi. I also forgot to ask Creator God for permission to make a video¡­ I¡¯ll ask him the day after tomorrow. Well, I¡¯ll do my best. If I don¡¯t hurry, the ladies will get out of the pool. What about summoning Saporabi to the church? Claretta-san is doing her best¡­ Let¡¯s just ask her. ¡°Claretta-san, I¡¯ve finished praying. I would like to summon some Saporabi for this church as well.¡± ¡°The Saporabi?¡± ¡°Yes, I thought it would be better to have someone always on standby.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not always at the church, so maybe it would be better if someone stayed. Then, please.¡± Oh, I thought she would say, ¡°It¡¯s okay; I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± I summoned two Saporabi, and a Saporabi in a priest¡¯s uniform appeared. ¡°You guys are responsible to the church, so listen carefully to what Claretta-san says.¡± The two Saporabi nodded their heads. Claretta-san also patted them on the head and greeted them. ¡°What are you going to do now, Claretta-san?¡± ¡°I will continue to clean and pray. After that, I plan to go to the pool.¡± ¡°I see. I will go around the ship and then go to the pool. I¡¯ll see you later.¡± ¡°Yes, see you later.¡± After saying goodbye to Claretta-san, I went around the ship while summoning Saporabi. If I don¡¯t hurry, I might miss a good scene. I must do my best. I went around the ship in a hurry and summoned Saporabi to all the places where the staff was needed. Up to 200 gods will descend, so I must make sure I placed Saporabi exactly where they should be. ¡­I continued my little run without pausing, visiting all but the pool floor in about an hour and a half. Thank goodness for the stamina of level-up. But with so many Saporabi, it¡¯s become a lively place. Now all I have to do is change into my swimsuit, grab my video camera, and head to the pool. Volume 8 - CH 18 Chapter 18 ¨C Holiday on the Castle and Transfer to the Ferry After I finished placing all the Saporabi except for the top floor, I changed into my swimsuit and headed to the pool. This is going to be fun. Arriving at the pool, I summoned the Saporabi and headed for the busy place. It would be a happy sight, no matter how many times I saw it. Why do the Saporabi appear at the water¡¯s edge wearing the side-striped swimsuits that the prisoners used to wear? Is it Creator God-sama¡¯s obsession? Oh, it looks like they are at the FlowRider. I have to hurry. I run to the FlowRider and summon a special Saporabi for the FlowRider. ¡°Ah, Wataru-san, did you finish your business?¡± Oh, I can¡¯t get enough of Claretta-san¡¯s lush twin hills. ¡°Yes, it went without a hitch. Are you all trying the FlowRider? I¡¯m not very good at it.¡± ¡°Fufu, Wataru-san is easily swept away, isn¡¯t he?¡± I love it when Claretta-san says it in a slightly naughty way. This is Moe. ¡°Well, you just have to practice.¡± I looked at the FlowRider and saw Dorothea-san gracefully surfing the waves with Beni-chan on her head. She looks so cool. ¡°Dorothea-san, can I take a video of you?¡± I ask loudly, and she gives me a hand sign saying yes. I asked the other members for permission and started shooting the video. I was so happy to be able to take pictures of them in their swimsuits with open arms. In Japan, I would have been arrested. Ines and Felicia tried to take care of me, but I told them it was their day off, and they were free to go and play. It¡¯s hard to get video when they¡¯re around, so it¡¯s important to do it. I tried to ride the FlowRider a few times, but I still couldn¡¯t ride it well. Why is it that my physical ability and dexterity should be improving, but I¡¯m under the curse that I can¡¯t do¡­ cool sports? ¡°Wataru, ride.¡± ¡°? Rimu, would you like to ride a FlowRider? I¡¯m not very good at it, so do you want me to get someone else to do it for you?¡± ¡°Mmm, no.¡± No? Maybe he wants to support me? Does he want to ride the waves with him on my head? Rimu, I¡¯ll do my best. ¡°All right. I¡¯ll do my best!¡± ¡°Nnn, no.¡± ¡°Huh? No?¡± I was surprised and looked at Rimu, and Fuu-chan and Beni-chan on both sides also jumped and sent their thoughts. ¡°¡±¡­Ride¡­¡±¡± ¡°You mean you and Rimu are going to ride together?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡­They won¡¯t get hurt, but will they be okay? Excited thoughts flew through my head. I asked Marina-san, who was standing next to me, to take a video, and I put Rimu and the others on the board. They are not very heavy, but I wonder if they will be blown away by the waves. I put the board on the wave with trepidation. They¡¯re handling it well. They handle it very well. Rimu is in the front, and Fuu-chan and Beni-chan are in the back, side by side. It looks like a triangle. I don¡¯t know how they shift their weight, but they ride the wave beautifully. It¡¯s amazing. Dorothea-san and Marina-san watch Rimu and the others riding the wave, leaning forward to get their attention. They have great healthy butts. I¡¯d like to make a video, but my camera is being used by Marina-san to record Rimu and the others. Of course, I¡¯m happy to film Rimu and the others, but I also want to record their butts¡­ Should I go back and buy another camera? ¡­What¡¯s more¡­ the butts have increased. The ladies who were resting became interested with the cheering of Dorothea-san and Marina-san, and the number of butts and tails increased rapidly. I love breasts, but I also love butts. I can¡¯t run out to buy the camera because my eyes are glued to it. I have to burn this scene into my memory. I will remember it every time I close my eyes. I¡¯ll watch Rimu and the others on video later. Now it¡¯s butts. When my mind wanders away from Rimu, Rimu and the others are swept away, and I rush to help them. As I picked up Rimu and the others, a thought came to me. ¡°Did you see that?¡± I¡¯m sorry, Rimu. I was so into the butts. ¡°Yes, Rimu is great. You were very good at it.¡± I lied to Rimu for the first time¡­ and I feel so guilty. ¡°Rimu, amazing!¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re very amazing.¡± I praise Rimu with all my strength. I can¡¯t let him know that I¡¯m lying when this happens. Someone once told me that if you lie to the end, it will become true. Phew, but I feel so guilty. When Rimu is working hard, I have to focus on Rimu and not get distracted by eroticism. On to bouldering. Now it¡¯s time for low angles. I think a great man said that a low angle is a man¡¯s angle¡­ Who said that again? It¡¯s hard to see their breasts, but when they jump down, I have to make sure I get them at the right moment. I usually shoot the ladies enjoying the climb. If I don¡¯t get not only erotic-looking shots but also videos for the viewing party, they might not let me film them next time. After having fun bouldering and ziplining, we have dinner at a romantic bistro. ¡°Wataru-san, there are a lot more Saporabi here; what¡¯s going on?¡± Alessia-san asked me a question that could be taken for granted. The question is, hahaha, can I say that a lot of gods are coming down the day after tomorrow and that I have summoned them for their assistance? That would be a no-no. The gods also told me to clear out the people, plus I think Claretta-san is going to get out of control. Or misbehave. ¡°Somehow, I thought it would be better to have a bunch of Saporabi around to keep things lively. What do you think?¡± ¡°Is that really all there is?¡± They look at me as if I reek of something fishy. It is obvious that they are suspicious of me. Rimu believes me, so what¡¯s the problem? ¡°Oh, well, I have another idea, but it¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°Secret?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°Hmm, well, okay. In that case, I won¡¯t ask you again.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Hmm¡­ If I told them that they couldn¡¯t use the luxury liner from the day after tomorrow, so we¡¯d have to switch to the ferry, they¡¯d probably wonder again. But they¡¯ll know if I¡¯m lying, so I¡¯ll just do it in secret. After we finish our meal, we go to the Jacuzzi in the solarium. We can soak in the Jacuzzi while we¡¯re having a drink at the solarium bar. Probably because of my influence, the ladies have learned to drink alcohol while taking a bath. That doesn¡¯t seem very healthy, does it? There are several bars, including a jazz bar, a wine bar, and a Latin bar, but the Solarium bar is the most crowded, probably because of the Jacuzzi. I have always longed to have a drink in a Jacuzzi with a big-breasted beauty in a bathing suit ever since I saw it in a movie or a magazine, so I welcome it. Let¡¯s do my best. We drink a lot, make a lot of noise, and I come up with¡­ the king¡¯s game. Seriously¡­ how could I forget? Even the King¡¯s Game would be fun with this group of people. The question is whether to go full-throttle erotic from the start or slowly build up the eroticism, or if they¡¯re drinking a lot of alcohol right now, it might be better to go full-throttle erotic¡­ Hmm, too risky. After they sober up, it is likely that I will be scolded profusely. I don¡¯t have the courage for that. Let¡¯s keep adding some erotic components. Let¡¯s get used to it by giving simple commands while drinking alcohol. First, let¡¯s get some disposable chopsticks¡­ and start explaining the new game to them. The group that likes to drink gets very drunk. Let¡¯s propose it at the beginning of the next opportunity to drink. I carry Ines, who is drunk after enjoying the subtle ecchi-feeling Jacuzzi, to her room with Felicia. I put Ines down in the other bedroom and enjoyed a mature time alone with Felicia for the first time in a long time. The next day I spend some time relaxing and taking care of the group that loves to drink. In the evening, we went to the ferry with the recovered Girasole. Claretta-san was happy to be able to play ufo catcher, but Alessia-san wondered why we were moving to the ferry. ¡°Wataru-san, why the ferry? We have no problem with the ferry, but it¡¯s so sudden, I¡¯d like to know why.¡± ¡°Well, I have a reason, but it¡¯s a secret. I will summon the Fortress and the Stronghold for three days starting tomorrow morning, so you can spend your time there. I¡¯ll go and finish my business in those three days.¡± ¡°Well, you don¡¯t want to tell me the reason, do you?¡± I understand that you want to hear it, Alessia-san. I don¡¯t want to say it, or I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s okay to say it, or if it would be a big deal if I did¡­ What should I do? ¡°Yeah, I won¡¯t do anything wrong, so let me keep it to myself.¡± ¡°Like the thing with Saporabi-chan, you suddenly have a lot more secrets, don¡¯t you? I don¡¯t think Wataru-san would do anything wrong, but aren¡¯t you in some kind of trouble? Just tell me, and I¡¯ll help you.¡± I¡¯m in trouble, huh? It¡¯s a trouble unless the God of Light-sama, the God of Gastronomy-sama, or some goddess I¡¯ve never met is coming, but I¡¯m looking forward to it a little. I¡¯m excited about a lot of goddesses and things like that. ¡°So far, so good, but if I get into trouble, I¡¯ll ask for your help.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯m always ready to help.¡± They¡¯re very reliable, but if there¡¯s trouble with the gods¡­ even A-rank adventurers can¡¯t do anything about it. ¡­If it comes down to a fight, it won¡¯t be possible, but if I¡¯m short on manpower or something, can I ask for their help? ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Master, is it okay if we go together?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll go alone this time. I¡¯ll never leave the ship, so I¡¯ll be safe.¡± ¡°Are you sure about that, Master?¡± ¡°Yes, Master. It may be safe, but at least take us with you. We are your slaves, so if you order us to do something, we will keep it a secret.¡± Ines and Felicia asked worriedly. It¡¯s nice when someone you bought with money worries about you, isn¡¯t it? It means I haven¡¯t lived the wrong life so far¡­ I¡¯ve done some favors, but I feel like I¡¯ve only done erotic things. I¡¯m starting to lose confidence that I haven¡¯t lived wrongly. No, it doesn¡¯t matter. Should I take Ines and Felicia with me? I can¡¯t take them with me because I was told to clear out people, not to keep secrets or anything. ¡°Um, it¡¯s okay; I¡¯ll ask you to stay here with the others. It¡¯s not about keeping secrets; it¡¯s about acting alone.¡± ¡°I understand. Are you sure you¡¯re okay with that?¡± ¡°Yes, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be absolutely fine.¡± I¡¯m absolutely sure I won¡¯t offend the gods and get wiped out, right? Let¡¯s get proper permission for the video. After chatting with them, I went back to my room. Ines and Felicia were eager to hear the secret, but they put up with it. I watched over Rimu¡¯s transformation training. There is a good chance of life and death for the next three days starting tomorrow, so I did my best to get Ines and Felicia to deal with me. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san. When are you leaving?¡± ¡°Good morning, Alessia-san. I will leave after breakfast.¡± After exchanging greetings with Girasole, I went to the vending machine corner for the first time in a while and picked out something to eat. It¡¯s a breath of fresh air since I¡¯ve been taking out things I¡¯ve been stocking up on lately. I hit the button for the chashu onigiri and karaage and waited for them to be ready. This is as good as it gets. I guess I have to deal with the gods today, but I don¡¯t even know if I should eat a full breakfast or not or if I should even be hungry. I¡¯ll have a half but somewhat smaller breakfast. ¡°Well then, I¡¯m off. After breakfast, I was about to step off the ramp and onto the Seeker when I felt Rimu shaking above my head. I wonder if clear-out people include Slime¡­ I don¡¯t know what¡¯s out there. Rimu is sweet, and the gods might take him away. Let¡¯s play it safe. ¡°Ines, Felicia. Please take care of Rimu.¡± I let Rimu down from the top of my head and entrusted him to them. I had a feeling that Rimu wasn¡¯t happy, but I couldn¡¯t help it. I stroked him and asked him to stay. When he said, ¡°Together,¡± I couldn¡¯t help but want to take him with me. But because Rimu is so cute, I can¡¯t take him with me. With my hair pulled back, I hurriedly boarded the Seeker. I¡¯m really sad. It¡¯s a problem to be too far away from the ferry, but I¡¯m also worried about being too close. They will be at the church at 8:00¡­ So I¡¯ll sail for about 30 minutes and then summon it. God of Light-sama, God of Gastronomy-sama, please wait for me. Volume 8 - CH 19 Chapter 19 ¨C God¡¯s Descent and Staff Appointments I summon the Castle and use the magic circle to go directly to the church. What will finally happen? At the moment of the appointed time, Creator God-sama was right in front of me. ¡­Huh? Is god¡¯s descent really that simple? Isn¡¯t there something like coming down from a pillar of light or playing solemn music, and the door to the divine realm appears? ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been down here! Good morning, Wataru-kun.¡± ¡°Oh, good morning, Creator God-sama.¡± I greet the God of Light-sama, God of Gastronomy-sama, and the other gods. But what happened to the rest of the gods besides those six who are all here, including Creator God-sama? ¡°Aren¡¯t the other gods coming?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, it would be a problem if too many came all at once, wouldn¡¯t it? I told them to come down in order.¡± Creator God-sama is very attentive to details, isn¡¯t he? That¡¯s a little surprising. ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to go have some fun. Where should I go first?¡± Huh? Are you going? Creator God-sama? ¡°Don¡¯t get this wrong, Otherworlder. It¡¯s not that the Creator God took care of it; it was arranged by the God of Light. If you misunderstand, you will be disappointed.¡± Huh? Is that so? But, God of Entertainment-sama, do you have a grudge against Creator God-sama? If you hadn¡¯t told me, I wouldn¡¯t have known, but you don¡¯t want Creator God-sama¡¯s reputation to rise, do you? ¡°Oh, Otherworlder, I¡¯ll have some fun. First, the tavern.¡± God of War-sama said and left the church. ¡°Otherworlder, I¡¯ll use the library.¡± ¡°As for me¡­ I¡¯m also interested in the arcade¡­ but first, the casino.¡± God of Magic-sama and God of Entertainment-sama also said just that and left the church. Just in case you¡¯re wondering, I tell them my name when I introduce myself, but is it decided that they¡¯ll just call me Otherworlder? No, I mean, don¡¯t they need directions or something? ¡­Oh, I know the gods are watching me. I guess they know what facilities are on board. ¡°Wataru-san, the member who wants to use the staff appointment will be coming down in the second half of the day. Would you please escort us?¡± God of Light-sama, you are still beautiful even in the lower world. And since the male gods have left, it¡¯s just me, God of Light-sama, and God of Gastronomy-sama in the church. It¡¯s a wonderful environment. ¡°I understand. No problem. Oh, um, is it okay if I record a video of you and the other gods on the ship?¡± ¡°Record a video? ¡­No problem, but you can¡¯t show it to other people, okay?¡± I knew it was wrong to show the gods to other people. I don¡¯t intend to show it in the first place, so there¡¯s no problem. Can I get a slightly erotic video? The slightly erotic video of the gods¡­ is a rarity, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t show it to anyone. Thank you.¡± As we talked, the following gods appeared one after another. ¡­I don¡¯t see any female gods. The gods greeted each other briefly and left the church. I sent the gods away while having a pleasant conversation with the God of Light-sama and the God of Gastronomy-sama. ¡°God of Light-sama, are there only male gods coming here?¡± I wonder if there are only a few female gods? I would like to see many goddesses, although it would not be a problem if there were only the God of Light-sama and the God of Gastronomy-sama here. ¡°No, the goddesses want Wataru-san to appoint staff for the spa and cosmetics store, so they are a little biased.¡± Oh, it¡¯s great to see them all together. ¡°¡­Um, do goddesses need cosmetics?¡± ¡°We are living organisms too, you know, and our skin condition changes. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing the full range of beauty products you have to offer.¡± I see. Come to think of it, the God of Light-sama looks tired, too, so I guess even gods can¡¯t be perfect all the time. ¡°Is that so? It must be hard work for a god, too, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, it is very hard.¡± God of Light-sama has a distant look in her eyes. It must be really hard work. Gods appeared one after another. The number of goddesses was obviously increasing. The church became more and more lively. I want to take pictures now, but it would be a problem if their first impression of me were with a video camera. ¡°Wataru-san, we are all here now, so please take care of us.¡± ¡°First, we should go to the spa, right?¡± ¡°Yes, the spa, the cosmetics store, and the restaurant where the God of Gastronomy wants us to eat and drink.¡± ¡°I understand. Then we will leave.¡± I guess they knew where we were going, but since I was the guide, I took the lead. Since I was at the front of the group, it was difficult to see the goddesses and impossible to take pictures of them. Walking around the ship, the atmosphere was different than usual. Usually, there is only music playing, and the ship seems to be a bit quieter, but it is a bit more lively. It¡¯s amazing that even with 200 gods, it still seems only a bit lively; is that natural since the ship can hold more than 5,000 passengers? The goddesses in the back seemed to be looking forward to it, and they talked happily. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the pool after the spa,¡± ¡°I want to eat cake,¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have drinks at night,¡± ¡°What about cosmetics?¡± ¡°What¡¯s for dinner?¡± ¡°We¡¯re only here for three days, right?¡± ¡°What about the room we¡¯re going to stay in?¡± They seem to be thinking about a lot of things. I¡¯ll definitely have to record¡­ the goddesses playing in the pool. I haven¡¯t thought about the room they¡¯ll be staying in either. I think I should give the Royal Loft Suite to Creator God-sama. ¡°God of Light-sama, I didn¡¯t think about the room you are staying in. Since I¡¯m alone, I¡¯ll stay in the appropriate room, so could you please allocate the rooms for everyone, including the Royal Loft Suite?¡± ¡°Can I ask you for a room that Wataru-san uses?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s clean, but if you don¡¯t have a problem with the room I used, you can use it.¡± It is a problem for me to monopolize the best room when the gods are here. It would be interesting to have another room by chance. It¡¯s like a hotel, so there are rooms of different ranks. Where should I stay? ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s thanks to the ability that Creator God-sama gave me, of course.¡± When we arrived at the spa, the noise of the goddesses became louder. ¡°Wataru-san, these fifteen pillars will be staying at the spa, so please appoint them as staff.¡± The beautiful goddesses lined up in front of me, smiling. It¡¯s a strange feeling. What kind of cheat is it to be able to appoint a god as a staff? ¡°I understand. Then I¡¯ll appoint them.¡± The magic circles are absorbed into the goddesses, and the goddesses who have gained knowledge quickly enter the treatment room with the other goddesses. I wonder, could I get a massage from the goddesses if I asked them? ¡­I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible right now with all the goddesses lined up, but when I have some free time, I might be able to do it. I¡¯ll come back often. ¡°Wataru-san, let¡¯s go to the cosmetics store next, okay?¡± While I was lightly fantasizing about being massaged by the goddess, the God of Light-sama approached me. ¡°Understood. Let¡¯s go.¡± Most of the goddesses stayed at the spa, and I went to the cosmetics store with six goddesses. ¡°God of Light-sama. Most of them stayed at the spa. Why is it so popular?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s because the goddesses of the beauty-related fields were very impressed with the way Wataru-san and the others used the spa. When it was decided that they could come to this ship, the goddesses were very happy.¡± God of Light-sama told me with a wry smile. It seems that they were very happy. ¡°Haha, well, you know what? If they are happy, it means that Earth¡¯s technology is being recognized. I am somewhat proud of that.¡± ¡°Fufu, Earth¡¯s technology is very advanced. You should be proud of it.¡± To be honest, I have not contributed to Earth¡¯s technology at all. I am very happy to hear that. ¡°Speaking of which, there are a lot of people from other worlds who have come to this world, aren¡¯t there? Are they all from Earth?¡± ¡°No, there are countless worlds, so there are not that many people from Earth. I think you are the second person from Earth to visit this continent.¡± Wow, there are so many worlds. What kind of influence did they have? Hmm? This continent? ¡°God of Light-sama. Are there people from more technologically advanced worlds than Earth?¡± ¡°Yes, there are.¡± ¡°Then have they introduced great technology?¡± ¡°The unique skills given by the Creator God were only battle-related, so they did not develop tremendously, but there was an Otherworlder who created a magic vehicle, a magic ship, and so on, and united the world.¡± Oh, that¡¯s amazing. He united the world? So that¡¯s why there are magic ships and vehicles being excavated in different places. ¡­Excavation¡­ that civilization was destroyed, right? ¡°May I ask why this civilization was destroyed?¡± ¡°Yes, it is not that complicated to say. The world was stable, but because the Creator God gave the newly arrived Otherworlder an overly powerful skill, a Demon King was born. The Demon King went on a rampage and destroyed civilization.¡± The civilization created by an Otherworlder was destroyed by another Otherworlder? ¡°Why did he go to the trouble of destroying civilization?¡± ¡°It seems that the Otherworlder who became the Demon King had a hard life, and when he acquired powerful skill, he had the desire to unite the world. The invasion went well until he became arrogant, was betrayed by his subjects and women, and was almost assassinated. Possessing powerful skills, the Otherworlder turned on the assassins and then went berserk. In the end, he continued to destroy civilization until he died in his lifespan and passed away. His deeds were worthy of the name Demon King.¡± He was not defeated by the heroes but died from the effects of his own lifespan? Wow, he went on a rampage until the end. How powerful an ability did he get? And a lifespan, he should have lived for a very long time since he would have been at a higher level, right? Let¡¯s come to our senses on the way. Generally speaking, the Demon King is always defeated by the heroes, isn¡¯t that right? ¡°Yes, if another Otherworlder had come while the Demon King was still around, there was a possibility that he would have become a hero. Since the Creator God does not care about those from this world, he went on a rampage until the end. We also told Creator God to do something about it, but he stubbornly refused.¡± God of Light-sama¡¯s mood became extremely grumpy. I shouldn¡¯t remind her of that. I had to change the subject. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s the cosmetics store. Should I appoint goddesses other than the God of Gastronomy-sama as staff?¡± ¡°Huh? No, please appoint the two pillars here. The other three are for the restaurant.¡± ¡°Oh, is that so? I understand.¡± I was able to successfully change the subject. We entered the cosmetics store and appointed the two goddesses as staff. The two beautiful goddesses who have gained knowledge thank me and happily discuss the cosmetics in their hands. It sounds like fun. I asked them to let me take a picture. ¡°Wataru-san, I can¡¯t wait any longer. Can I ask you to take me to the restaurant?¡± Oof, that made me shiver. What a sexy voice. I was so excited. I want to be eaten. ¡°Oh, excuse me. Sorry to keep you waiting. We¡¯re going to 150 Central Park, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going to study at 150 Central Park today. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± God of Gastronomy-sama and the other two goddesses are in a good mood. I¡¯ll ask her while I¡¯m at it. ¡°Um, God of Gastronomy-sama. Can you cook a lot of food for me when you¡¯re not busy?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind cooking a lot of food because it¡¯s a good way to learn, but what are you going to do?¡± ¡°When I repatriate them, time stops, so I want to reserve the dishes. Usually, the dishes appear in an instant, so it¡¯s kind of tasteless. The food prepared by God of Gastronomy-sama and the others will definitely taste better, so I would appreciate it.¡± ¡°Hmm. If I can make the food taste good, that¡¯s fine. There are only 200 gods, so it seems like there is always time to cook. Whenever you have time, come and order. If you want to order, it would be better to order at night. I¡¯ll learn to cook better.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I will definitely come and order at night.¡± The taste of the food made by the God of Gastronomy-sama will be several orders of magnitude better, won¡¯t it? I¡¯m looking forward to it. Now that I think about it, I should have appointed Claretta-san as a staff member and asked her to cook for me. I didn¡¯t think about it because the food would come out on its own if I asked for it. ¡°Ufufu, look forward to it.¡± As we were talking, we arrived at 150 Central Park. I immediately appointed the three goddesses to the staff. When the magic circle was sucked in, the face of the God of Gastronomy-sama and the other three goddesses were colored with joy. It is really erotic. ¡°Amazing. There are so many cooking methods and spices that I don¡¯t know. I was sad because not many people from other worlds who came to this world before were good at cooking. But I¡¯ve been learning bit by bit, and this time it¡¯s different. I¡¯m happy.¡± Wow, I¡¯m happy too. I couldn¡¯t help but take a picture of her, but she¡¯s not mad at me, so I guess it¡¯s okay. The other two goddesses seem to be happy as well. ¡°Well then, Wataru-san, we¡¯ll go and cook. I¡¯ll wait for you at night.¡± Wait for me at night¡­ that¡¯s a meaningful word. It would be great if it were an ecchi promise. Volume 8 - CH 20 Chapter 20 ¨C The State of the Gods and the Shabby Secrets of the Saporabi I appoint the God of Gastronomy-sama and the others to the staff at 150 Central Park and leave the restaurant. For some reason, I¡¯m alone with the God of Light-sama. Can I consider being with a god as being together? Is it right to say that I¡¯m alone with the God of Light-sama? It¡¯s troublesome. No, don¡¯t think nonsense; just enjoy the pseudo-date with the God of Light-sama. I don¡¯t think I can have an ecchi relationship with the God of Light-sama, but I should at least be allowed to fantasize about it. ¡°God of Light-sama, what are you going to do now?¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s see. Everything I wanted to ask you today has been done, so what should we do now?¡± Oh, everything has been done? ¡°Is there anything you want to do, God of Light-sama?¡± ¡°Right. I was just thinking about bringing the gods here without any problems¡­ Something I want to do, huh? I can¡¯t think of anything.¡± Why is that? The word ¡®corporate slave¡¯ came to mind. God of Light-sama, I¡¯m really sorry for your troubles. ¡°Well, you look tired as far as I can tell, so let¡¯s go to the spa and get a massage and a beauty treatment. Afterward, I suggest you change into a bathing suit and take a bath in the Jacuzzi with a view. It is also good to have a light drink. Since you are here, please enjoy yourself and relieve your fatigue.¡± I would like to join the God of Light-sama, but I guess I¡¯ll have to let her relieve her fatigue here first. Well, I recommended a Jacuzzi in a bathing suit, but this much should be allowed. ¡°If it is the recommendation of the ship¡¯s owner, Wataru-san, then there is no doubt about it. I will do it.¡± ¡°Haha, it¡¯s a big responsibility, isn¡¯t it? I think you can at least get a good rest. I will escort you to the spa.¡± ¡°Fufu, thank you very much.¡± A pseudo-date with the God of Light-sama. We talked about recommended dishes, desserts, and interesting events on the way to the spa. It¡¯s a lot of fun. When I enter the spa with the God of Light-sama, there is a goddess in a bathrobe walking around. It¡¯s a rare sight. ¡°Ara, is the God of Light going to get a treatment too?¡± The goddess in the robe spoke to her. Which god was it? I greeted her. Is it possible to ask the goddess her name again? I remember the Goddess of the Forest, but the others were too busy looking around, and I couldn¡¯t remember their names. ¡°Yes, I came for the experience because Wataru-san recommended it. Did you undergo the treatment as well, God of Art?¡± ¡°Yes, I did. It was wonderful, just like your recommendation. My skin looks great.¡± Oh, she was the God of Art-sama? Apparently, she said her skin was glowing, so the God of Light-sama must be pleased as well. ¡°Well, I¡¯m looking forward to it. Wataru-san, I¡¯ll be going now. Thank you.¡± God of Light-sama seems to be a little excited¡­ I greeted the God of Art-sama and went outside. I¡¯m going to walk around the ship and take a video. I¡¯m curious to see how the gods spend their time. Let¡¯s walk around the Royal Promenade first. As I walk around with the video rolling, I see a male god in a good mood drinking alcohol, a goddess making noise in the souvenir and accessory shop, and a goddess seriously selecting products in the cosmetics shop after a spa treatment. Next, let¡¯s go to the casino. The God of Entertainment-sama said he would go there as well. I went down one floor and went to the casino. When I entered the casino, I found about 20 to 30 gods enjoying gambling. ¡°Oh, Wataru-kun, this isn¡¯t right. Something is wrong. I can¡¯t win at all. Shouldn¡¯t there be some kind of entertainment for a VIP like me?¡± Creator God-sama started to say something strange. Can casinos cheat? ¡°Creator God-sama, there is nothing I can do. Are you losing that much?¡± ¡°Yes, what was his name again? Oh yeah, that Saporabi; I¡¯m sure he¡¯s cheating. Do something about it.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s it. Why is the support staff made up of Horned Rabbits? You wrote in your message that you changed it to something I like. What I like is a beautiful woman with big breasts or a Slime. Why did you change it to Horned Rabbit?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? The rabbit is the basis of your life, isn¡¯t it? What do you have against the Horned Rabbits that have become the food of life for the inexperienced you? Besides, you were so happy to eat the roasted rabbit; didn¡¯t you like it?¡± It is true that without the Horned Rabbit, I might not even be able to leave the Western City. I enjoyed eating the whole roasted Horned Rabbit, but I can¡¯t agree with him. ¡°But, Creator God-sama, the Horned Rabbit is the monster that I slaughtered. Isn¡¯t that awkward?¡± ¡°No, no, they¡¯re happy too, so it¡¯s okay.¡± Huh, the Horned Rabbits are happy too. ¡­Happy? ¡°Are you saying that they are happy? Are Saporabi and the Horned Rabbit I killed related?¡± ¡°Ah! Why does the God of Entertainment have so many chips? Hey, did you win? How did you do it?¡± ¡°Oh, Creator God-sama, wait a minute. We¡¯re still talking¡­¡± ¡°I am the God of Entertainment, after all. I have different readings, skills, and luck. Do your best, Creator God-sama.¡± God of Entertainment-sama, please don¡¯t continue the conversation. ¡°Wataru-kun, this isn¡¯t fair! Why does the Creator God lose and the God of Entertainment win? It¡¯s not right.¡± ¡°Even if you say it¡¯s not right, it¡¯s a ship that came from the ability that the Creator God-sama gave me. More importantly, please tell me the relationship between Saporabi and the Horned Rabbit I killed.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. I want you to make sure that I win. Please.¡± ¡°Creator God-sama. Among the abilities you have given me, there is no ability to control who wins or loses in the casinos. Please do your best with your own power. If you are the Creator God, can¡¯t you do something with your own power?¡± ¡°Well¡­ it wouldn¡¯t be fun if I did it myself.¡± ¡­You can easily win if you do it yourself, but it¡¯s no fun. But you don¡¯t want to lose, so you want me to make you win? I don¡¯t understand that. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s much difference between cheating yourself and cheating for entertainment. ¡°In that case, please do your best with your own skill. My skill is not enough to handle it. So please forget about the casino and tell me about the Horned Rabbit.¡± ¡°Are you still worried about it? You are very meticulous, aren¡¯t you? Are you enjoying your life?¡± That¡¯s the Creator God-sama¡­ If I don¡¯t put it into words, heaven forbid, it will fall. God of Light-sama, please do your best. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m so meticulous that I can¡¯t live happily because I¡¯m so worried about the Horned Rabbit. Please tell me.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Saporabi is surely the Horned Rabbit you were hunting. I took the trouble to find them, pull them out, and reshape them. If they work hard, they can go to heaven, so it¡¯s a good deal for the Horned Rabbit as well.¡± Hmm, when you defeat a monster, does it become a spirit? If that¡¯s the case, then the ones I slaughtered at sea would also become spirits, huh? I¡¯m worried¡­ If the Horned Rabbits I slaughtered could become spirits, that would be a good thing¡­ but I¡¯ve been worried about it ever since Saporabi came out. If he had explained it in the message, I wouldn¡¯t have had a problem with it, but I¡¯m not convinced it¡¯s such a big deal after going through so much. ¡­But I don¡¯t have the courage to go against the Creator God-sama, so I just accept it. Is it possible for a god to use the word entering heaven in the first place? ¡°Oh, I see. I am happy if they can go to heaven because I am indebted to the Horned Rabbit. Thank you, Creator God-sama.¡± ¡°I¡¯m worried that you didn¡¯t seem sincere at all, but that¡¯s okay. Then, I¡¯ll try the casino again.¡± Creator God-sama runs away without hearing my answer¡­ Speaking of which, where does the money for the casino come from? I¡¯ll ask later. The other gods seem to be having a lot of fun, so let¡¯s go somewhere else. I want to go to the pool, but if I go there, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to go anywhere else. Let¡¯s just make quick work of the other places quickly and go to the pool. Let¡¯s go to Central Park first. I get to Central Park, and I walk through the park. I haven¡¯t walked through a park by myself in a long time. I¡¯ve enjoyed nature so much in the Demon Forest and Dark Elf Island that I only come here when we have dinner together. It¡¯s nice to take a leisurely walk in nature. It¡¯s artificial, but¡­ in this world, you risk death if you take a leisurely walk in nature. It¡¯s sad, isn¡¯t it? I can hear recorded birdsong. As I walked aimlessly through the park, I saw the beautiful Goddess of the Forest-sama looking at the trees. The goddesses are all beautiful, as they should be. The dark elves are also beautiful, of course. The rate of beauty is high for both beastmen and humans. It¡¯s really a dream world. The God of Light-sama, the God of Gastronomy-sama, and the Goddess of the Forest-sama stand out among the goddesses. The God of Light-sama is the pinnacle of the sharp and capable woman. As for the God of Gastronomy-sama, she is the ultimate in sex appeal. The Goddess of the Forest-sama is a lovely, smiling, youthful, older sister-type beauty. And her overflowing breasts express infinite gentleness. Perhaps it is the blessing of the Goddess of the Forest-sama that dark elves have large breasts. ¡°Hello, Goddess of the Forest-sama. How do you like this park? I apologize if you feel uncomfortable in this man-made park.¡± ¡°Hello, Wataru-san. It does feel strange, doesn¡¯t it? But I like it because of its beautiful and thoughtful arrangement.¡± Goddess of the Forest-sama, I like it too. Forbidden love between a god and a human¡­ such things are probably the exclusive domain of the brave and heroes, but when I see the God of Light-sama, the God of Gastronomy-sama, and the Goddess of the Forest-sama, I can¡¯t help but wonder if there¡¯s anything I can do about it. ¡­As a result of thinking about it, it¡¯s just not possible, no matter what I think. Let¡¯s put all my energy into videotaping. I¡¯m just allowed to watch. They are my idols. I want to have a handshake or something with them. ¡°I am glad if you liked it, Goddess of the Forest-sama.¡± I continue my conversation with the Goddess of the Forest-sama, watching her carefully. As expected from the Goddess of the Forest-sama, she heals me. I think the negative ions are definitely coming out. ¡°Speaking of which, Wataru-san, thank you for organizing the festival with the dark elves. I enjoyed watching it. I¡¯m glad the children seemed to enjoy it as well.¡± Oh, that¡¯s right, the dark elves¡¯ festival goddess is the Goddess of the Forest-sama, so it must have been delivered. From now on, the dark elves¡¯ island festival will be enjoyed even more enthusiastically. The prayers will be stronger when I think of the rich twin hills. ¡°No, no, it¡¯s our thanks to you for the pleasant festivities. But, Goddess of the Forest-sama, the dark elves are still in a difficult situation. Is there no help from the gods?¡± ¡°Um, I would like to help the children who are praying for me, but I am not allowed to interfere. I¡¯m barely able to enrich those children¡¯s forests in secret.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. You weren¡¯t allowed to interfere in the lower world, were you?¡± Right. How could the gentle Goddess of the Forest-sama not be saddened to see the dark elves in such a situation? Those rich twin hills are filled with sorrow, those human supremacists; I can¡¯t forgive them. ¡°Yes. Only god¡¯s original work is allowed. I am sorry.¡± ¡°No, I am also sorry for being selfish.¡± ¡°I¡¯m grateful to you for helping those children, even if it is only a small part of it.¡± I was told it was a small part. I feel like I¡¯m being told to work harder. It is impossible. I don¡¯t have the energy to go looking for the dark elves anymore. Let¡¯s pretend not to notice. ¡°No, no, I just kept my contract, too. No need to thank me. Well, it¡¯s time for me to go to the next place. Enjoy the Castle, Goddess of the Forest-sama.¡± ¡°Ara, that¡¯s too bad. I would have liked to talk to you more¡­ but I¡¯ll talk to you later.¡± ¡°Yes, see you then.¡± I hurry away from the Goddess of the Forest. Let¡¯s see, let¡¯s go to the aqua theater first. If I stay with her, I have a feeling that I might promise to search for the dark elves before I know it. I guess the Goddess of the Forest-sama was worried about the dark elves after all. But I don¡¯t want to get involved. I should have gone straight to the Aqua Theater or the Royal Promenade since it was closer. I walk on, taking a video on the way. When I arrived at the Aqua Theater, there was a show by Saporabi and the others. I feel like cheering for them, thinking that the Horned Rabbits I defeated are doing their best. I hope they do their best and go to heaven. The gods don¡¯t seem to be interested in the show. A few goddesses are watching Saporabi¡¯s efforts with a smile. It seems that the show hasn¡¯t touched the gods too much. Let¡¯s move on. When I arrived at the ice rink, the male gods were racing at high speed. ¡­Oh, this is not worth photographing. Next¡­ I don¡¯t need to go to the library. Let¡¯s just walk around and look. I look into the theater and see that they are watching a movie, not a show. They are watching a famous foreign movie. ¡­Are stories about a magic school interesting in a world where magic is commonplace? No. I loved them too when I was in Japan and watched them all, but I think I¡¯m failing to make subtle choices. Or is it easier to see the magic connection? I look around the ship, which is busier than usual. The goddesses seem to be scattered in different places, enjoying shopping and eating. They seem to be enjoying themselves, wanting this or that, or wanting to go back to the spa tomorrow. I¡¯m glad it¡¯s going so well with the goddesses. Now that I¡¯ve had a quick look around, it¡¯s time to go to the pool. I¡¯m getting excited. Volume 8 - CH 21 Chapter 21 ¨C God of Light-sama and God of Gastronomy-sama A paradise spread out in front of me. After a tour of the ship, I arrived at the pool. The goddesses in swimsuits were enjoying themselves. The goddesses in swimsuits are wonderful. Some goddesses are wearing one-piece swimsuits, but some are wearing bikini-type swimsuits. I asked for permission to shoot a video by the pool and walked around the pool, which was divided into several pools while shooting the video. In this case, I want to see the Goddess of the Forest-sama in her swimsuit. I wish I could see her in a swimsuit. I see the God of Light-sama as I approach the Jacuzzi with a view. It looks like she¡¯s finished her spa treatment. She must have noticed my words and come to the Jacuzzi with a view. ¡°God of Light-sama, I see you are here. How was the spa?¡± When I spoke to her, she took the trouble to stand up and greet me. I had no idea that the God of Light-sama would choose the bikini type. I was so happy to see her. I had to take a picture. ¡°Oh, Wataru-san. I¡¯m ashamed to say that I fell asleep in the middle of the session, so I don¡¯t remember everything. But I feel much better now.¡± The slightly embarrassed God of Light-sama is so sweet. I also feel that her tired mood is fading. It seems to have worked. ¡°God of Light-sama, please don¡¯t mind soaking in the hot water. If you fell asleep in the middle of the bath, that¡¯s how relaxed you were. If you are not completely exhausted, you can try it a few times.¡± God of Light-sama immerses himself in the hot water. I wonder if I had worn a bathing suit, could I have joined her? But I think it would be disrespectful. I¡¯m afraid of offending the god. ¡°Yes, I am thinking of going again. After a certain amount of fatigue, I think I¡¯ll realize how tired I¡¯ve been.¡± Well, it¡¯s impossible for the gods to exude an air of tiredness unless they¡¯re very tired, right? Witnessing the free and unrestrained nature of Creator God-sama, I can be sure that it is hard work. ¡°There is always tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, so get some rest. Please get a room quickly so that you can relax without leaving your room with room service.¡± I think relaxing in your room is the best way to get rid of fatigue. But the gods might find that boring. ¡°Fufu, that sounds appealing too. Well, I want to enjoy the culture of another world, so this time, I¡¯ll enjoy it while taking a leisurely stroll.¡± ¡°Haha, I hope you enjoy it. It makes me happy when people enjoy the culture of Earth.¡± I wonder if this feeling is called hometown love? Well, I never thought that I would be happy to be praised for the culture of the whole planet. When I was in Japan, I was only happy when my hometown was praised, but now I am happy when the Earth is praised. It means I¡¯ve become a worldwide guy. ¡°So far, I haven¡¯t heard any complaints, so I think everything is fine. Especially in the spas, the goddesses who received the treatment were pressing the staff-appointed goddesses to learn their skills. Maybe they are planning to open a spa in the divine realm as well.¡± ¡°A spa in the divine realm? If it is possible, I would like to experience it. If the Creator God-sama calls me, can I experience it?¡± ¡°Fufu, when you are called to the divine realm, you are a soul, so there is no point in getting a massage.¡± Ah, that¡¯s right. I don¡¯t understand it myself, but it¡¯s just my soul. To have a goddess massage my soul¡­ It¡¯s such a special play that I don¡¯t even know if it feels good. ¡°Too bad I have to give it up.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s up to the Creator God-sama, but if it¡¯s Wataru-san, there may be a possibility that you can enter the divine realm in your physical body. If the spa is ready by then, I will invite you. ¡­Well, I¡¯d better go.¡± With a splash, God of Light-sama rises from the Jacuzzi. Let me suggest a beer here. ¡­Huh? I was just told that there is a way to experience the spa of the divine realm, right? Let¡¯s keep it in the physical body¡­ I¡¯m going to flatter Creator God-sama. ¡°God of Light-sama. Beer after a bath is what my hometown recommends. Would you like to try it?¡± ¡°Alcoholic beverages, huh? I wonder about that.¡± ¡°It will be bad if the God of Light-sama can¡¯t move after a single beer, but otherwise, it¡¯s okay, right?¡± If it¡¯s going to be a disorderly and ecchi atmosphere, I¡¯d definitely recommend it. ¡°That¡¯s right. Can I have some beer, Wataru-san?¡± After a bit of hesitation, she asked me for a beer as if she had just blown something up. She seemed so serious that she was worried about a single beer. I summoned the food storage boat and gave her the beer. ¡°Thank you.¡± God of Light-sama opened the pull-top without hesitation and drank the beer. God of Light-sama in a bikini swallowing a beer? Then she said, ¡°Puhahh.¡± Champagne would have been a better drink to serve the God of Light-sama. I can only think of beer or coffee milk after a bath¡­ It is also sad that I can only think of champagne because it looks elegant. ¡°This is delicious. This is good stuff.¡± It¡¯s good that she liked it. ¡°That is good to hear. What is God of Light-sama going to do now?¡± ¡°Right. I¡¯ll tell everyone about the room assignments and then take a short rest. What are you going to do, Wataru-san?¡± ¡°After I go around the ship, I will ask the God of Gastronomy-sama to cook for me. By the way, if you want to take a bath in your room, just let me know, and I will bring you some hot spring water. It will be good for you because it will take away your fatigue.¡± Somehow I feel that if the God of Light-sama is not healthy, Creator God-sama will start doing strange things. If I don¡¯t get her to do her best, I¡¯ll get caught up in it too. ¡°The hot springs on the island of the dark elves, huh? I might really ask about it later if you don¡¯t mind?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. All I have to do is pour the hot spring water, so it¡¯s no big deal. Just let me know anytime.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. See you in the evening.¡± I parted from the God of Light-sama and took a break with a cup of coffee at a cafe. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Soon I will meet the God of Gastronomy-sama. As I was walking excitedly, the God of War-sama and the others grabbed me and made me accompany them to the bar on the Royal Promenade. It was the worst. It seems that the gods who are on good terms with the God of War-sama are martial arts-related gods, so I feel like I don¡¯t fit in with them at all. And the things they talked about while drinking were complaints about Creator God-sama. I used to get angry when I heard them badmouthing Creator God-sama, but now that I see how Creator God-sama behaves, I can¡¯t help but think that it can¡¯t be helped. God of War-sama and the others are just complaining about their unreasonable superior. They are being pushed around so much that it makes me cry a little. But the God of War-sama and the other gods are all male gods. Are there any battle-related goddesses? If there were a goddess in bikini armor, I would have gone out with her as much as I could, but there isn¡¯t, so I should get out of this male drinking party right now. The God of War-sama quickly turns around every time I try to escape¡­ Which demon king are you? He is physically strong. Giving up on the idea of escaping from the God of War-sama and the others in a straightforward manner, I ordered a large amount of alcohol and laid it out in front of the God of War-sama. I quickly escaped behind the God of War-sama, who was interested in the liquor. I hear voices behind me, but I ignore them. I don¡¯t care about my reputation with the male gods. After overcoming the difficulties, I arrived at 150 Central Park. It¡¯s almost time to have a good time with the God of Gastronomy-sama. I enter the restaurant and look around. There are only a few goddesses drinking wine, and the kitchen seems to have plenty of space. I quickly go to the kitchen and ask the God of Gastronomy-sama for some food. ¡°Hello, God of Gastronomy-sama. Are you all right now?¡± The God of Gastronomy-sama turned around in her cook¡¯s uniform. Oh, the God of Gastronomy-sama, who was supposed to be extremely erotic, has a completely different atmosphere when she puts on her cook¡¯s uniform. The eroticism and the cleanliness of the cook¡¯s uniform have been added to the original God of Gastronomy-sama. I like it. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s okay, Wataru-san. Would you like to order some food?¡± ¡°Yes, can I have some?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. I¡¯m quite used to the kitchen, so it¡¯s no problem.¡± She has a bright smile on her face. She seems to really enjoy this new cuisine. ¡°Please do. Do you mind if I film you cooking?¡± ¡°Hmm? Sure. What would you like me to cook?¡± ¡°I want to get as many dishes as possible, so please start from scratch.¡± ¡°Fufu, I understand. I¡¯ll be happy to make a lot of food. You can count on me.¡± The God of Gastronomy-sama, who is in a good mood, starts cooking. Let¡¯s get a good picture¡­ I¡¯m just a camera boy since the gods descended. ¡­Is there anything else I can do besides taking pictures? ¡­No, I can only think of crimes like stealing used bathing suits, peeping, and taking hidden pictures of the goddesses changing clothes. That¡¯s really not good. Let¡¯s just be quiet and take pictures. One by one, the Saporabi bring in the dishes prepared by the God of Gastronomy-sama. I repatriate them to the food storage boat one by one. The food looks even more delicious than usual. As expected from the God of Gastronomy-sama. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Phew, I cooked to my heart¡¯s content.¡± The God of Gastronomy-sama sits in front of me, looking satisfied. I have a lot of food in my food storage boat. After cooking so much, she must be satisfied. ¡°I¡¯m glad you enjoyed it. It seems that the staff appointment was useful.¡± ¡°Yes. I learned a lot about the other world¡¯s cuisine. Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, but it¡¯s only because of the power of the Ship Summoning.¡± ¡°Fufu, you should be proud of the power you¡¯ve been given.¡± ¡°Is that so? ¡­That may be so. It was given to me, and I will definitely not give it back. That doesn¡¯t mean that Creator God-sama is going to take away my ability, does it?¡± ¡°Well, Creator God-sama is capricious, so I can¡¯t say for sure, but even though the Demon King went on a rampage, he didn¡¯t take away his abilities, so I think it¡¯s okay.¡± If even the Demon King didn¡¯t have his abilities taken away, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be fine¡­ Probably. ¡°I feel relieved. I¡¯ll take it easy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll be happy if you enjoy this world.¡± ¡°Yes, I will enjoy it as much as I can.¡± While having a cup of tea with the God of Gastronomy-sama, we decided on the restaurant where she would work tomorrow. I thought she had decided on the main dining room, but she said she would also like to work in a restaurant specializing in cocktails and desserts. After much discussion, we decided to focus on the culinary side of things this time. Well. Both this restaurant and the main dining room have desserts, so she can study them. The specialty restaurant will be next time, she said. ¡°Wataru-san, there you are.¡± ¡°Oh, God of Light-sama. Is this because of the hot spring?¡± ¡°Yes, I think I¡¯ll take the rest of the day off, so I¡¯ll take a hot spring, please.¡± ¡°Ara, do you want Wataru-san to give you a hot spring bath, God of Light? That¡¯s nice.¡± ¡°The God of Gastronomy and I are in the same room. Would you like to join me?¡± ¡°Fufu, is that so? It sounds like fun. But there are only 200 pillars here, so there will be plenty of room, right? Why are we sharing a room?¡± The God of Light-sama and the God of Gastronomy-sama are sharing a room and going to a hot spring together. I¡¯m getting a nosebleed just thinking about it. ¡°Yeah, it would be more fun to get together anyway, wouldn¡¯t it? The Goddess of the Forest is there too, so let¡¯s have a good time and drink. Even the Goddess of the Forest! I want to join in. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll be happy to join you. Shall we go?¡± ¡°Yes, Wataru-san, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± I heard that the God of Light-sama and the others are staying in the Royal Suite. I heard that the male gods drink all night and that the Royal Loft Suite is for Creator God-sama, but the other good rooms are reserved for the goddesses. I was told my room would be in the Sky Loft Suite. I told God of Light-sama that I could have a regular room, but she said that good rooms are useless for male gods. I heard that even in the divine realm, men are in a bad position. It¡¯s heartbreaking. I went to the royal suite with the God of Light-sama and the God of Gastronomy-sama. When we entered the room, the Goddess of the Forest-sama greeted us. Now the God of Light-sama, the God of Gastronomy-sama, and the Goddess of the Forest-sama are in the room¡­ The air in the room is so good. ¡°Which would you like to take a hot spring bath in? The indoor bath or the Jacuzzi on the balcony, which one do you want to fill with hot spring water?¡± The three pillars started to discuss with a shy smile. They are all in an adult mood, but now they are talking sweetly to each other. I want to mingle with them intensely. ¡°We have decided. Wataru-san, I¡¯d like to take a hot bath in the Jacuzzi, please. Also, I got the champagne, but I couldn¡¯t find the beer you gave me. Could you share it with me?¡± Oh, it was a nice golden Japanese beer, but they didn¡¯t sell it on this ship. God of Light-sama must have liked it enough to look for it. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s the beer they sell on the ferry, so they don¡¯t sell it on this ship. If you want some, just let me know, and I¡¯ll get you some.¡± ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t realize that. Sorry to bother you, but I¡¯d appreciate it.¡± ¡°Yes, anytime is fine. I¡¯ll put it in the fridge for now.¡± I summoned the food storage boat and put the beer in the refrigerator. I would contribute as much as I could if it would please the God of Light-sama enough to pay tribute to the beer. I have a feeling that when Creator God-sama says the impossible, I can count on the God of Light-sama. Even if I have to pay for a room full of beer, it will be worth it if I can get her to help me once. Then I summoned a rubber boat filled with hot spring water and poured it into the Jacuzzi. Now it¡¯s ready to go. ¡°The temperature of the hot spring is hot, so I¡¯ll leave it to you to adjust.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you very much. Wataru-san.¡± ¡°No, please enjoy yourself. Then I¡¯ll take my leave. Good night.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Good night.¡±¡±¡± I wanted to ask them if it was okay to come in with them, but I couldn¡¯t put it into words. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s possible to have a mixed bath with three goddesses¡­ Can I do it if I¡¯m a hero? I want to be a hero. Volume 8 - CH 22 Chapter 22 ¨C Disturbance and Capture I leave the God of Light-sama, the God of Gastronomy-sama, and the Goddess of the Forest-sama in the hot spring and return to my room. Back in my room, I lie down on the bed, but in my mind, I imagine a bathing scene of the three goddesses. It¡¯s a problem when my fantasies have destructive power. I roll around on the bed, unable to fall asleep. When I finally start to drift off, I hear a thunderous noise from outside. ¡°Hyii!¡± ¡­What is that? What happened? While I was worrying, explosions were echoing outside. ¡­I looked outside with trepidation and saw many goddesses flying around and launching their attacks. ¡°Hahaha, what¡¯s going on? The gods are suddenly rampaging on my ship! Is it Armageddon? Has the end of the world begun on my ship?¡± The sound and light were nothing compared to a fireworks display, and the magic and skills of the Girasole¡¯s all-out attack looked like child¡¯s play. And skills are casually unleashed. ¡°Oh, seriously, what the hell, give me a break. What am I supposed to do now?¡± Despite the roaring sound, there is not a scratch on the ship¡¯s hull. It¡¯s the effect of indestructibility¡­ If I stay in the room, I¡¯ll be safe, right? If I go outside and get caught in the attack, I will die. Anyway, I summoned a rubber boat and boarded it. The Boarding Rejection can usually repel most attacks, except for the Creator God-sama¡¯s attack, right? ¡­Huh? The ability of the Boarding Rejection should prohibit the use of deadly force on board the ship, right? Why can they attack casually? Why aren¡¯t they thrown overboard? ¡°Oh, what the hell. I don¡¯t get it. It¡¯s too scary.¡± As I shivered under the cover of the rubber boat, there was a knock at the door of my room. ¡°W-who is it?¡± I let out a voice, struggling to keep my shaking voice under control. ¡°Wataru-san, this is God of Light. Can you please open the door?¡± I¡¯m scared, but is it okay to open it? I don¡¯t know what to do if I doubt the God of Light-sama. As a precaution, I summoned a rubber boat in front of the door and moved quickly. After a little hesitation, I fearfully reached out my hand from inside the rubber boat and opened the door. ¡°Ah, Wataru-san, I apologize for the noise.¡± When I opened the door, there was the God of Light-sama. ¡°Ah, no, but what is going on?¡± ¡°This is embarrassing, but there is a dispute between the goddesses and certain male gods.¡± ¡°Um, I thought the use of deadly force was forbidden on this ship and that if you attacked, you would be thrown overboard.¡± ¡°Yes, the first one who attacked was thrown overboard. I asked Creator God-sama to bring them back quickly, and under pressure from the goddesses, Creator God-sama temporarily lifted the ban on killing and wounding.¡± What¡¯s going on? Creator God-sama is under pressure from the goddesses? ¡°Um, is it safe? If it¡¯s safe, I want you to explain what¡¯s going on. Are you okay?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine. The room is safe, so can I go in? Because Wataru-san¡¯s ability is still the same, except for the act of using deadly force.¡± No, the prohibition against using deadly force is a very important ability. It¡¯s back to normal, right? Well, okay, if it¡¯s safe in this room, I can afford it. ¡°God of Light-sama, would you like a can of coffee?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± I took out a can of coffee and sat down at the table. ¡°So, what in the world happened?¡± The God of Light-sama, looking a little worried, spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s an embarrassing story, but there was an incident at the bath of me, the God of Gastronomy, and the Goddess of the Forest. We were peeked at while we were bathing, and a fight broke out between the goddesses who discovered it and the male gods who joined in the peeking.¡± They were peeking at the bathing of the God of Light-sama, the God of Gastronomy-sama, and the Goddess of the Forest-sama¡­ I wanted them to invite me to join them¡­ No, looking at the scene outside, if I were a part of it, I would probably disappear. That one. It¡¯s like a peek into the bathroom or an event on a school trip. Well, considering the noise coming from outside, it wasn¡¯t a school trip event. I was surprised that even god would do the peeping, which I had come to think of as a crime. Under the circumstances, I felt that the videotaping I¡¯d been doing was dangerous. If I do something wrong and provoke their anger, I might be seriously erased. ¡°¡­I understand the peep. I can understand why the goddesses are angry, but is it really that big of a deal?¡± ¡°No, after the peeping was revealed, a drunken male god spoke terrible words to the goddesses who questioned him. That¡¯s how the uproar grew.¡± ¡°May I ask, what kind of words were they?¡± ¡°Well, to put it simply, he said something to the goddesses who were questioning him, telling them to rest assured that they would never peek at them. Well, after that, he said many things in a drunken mood, and the goddesses got really angry, and now there is the commotion.¡± ¡­Are you a child? Can the gods fight for such a silly reason? I feel uncomfortable living in this world. When I asked for more details, I found out that the peepers were eight male gods, including a drunken God of War-sama. Using their divine power, they were able to see the God of Light-sama and the others. ¡­I wonder how they did it, being on the side of the sea? The goddesses who happened to notice the peeping asked them. The drunken male gods should have apologized, but they reopened the situation and said whatever they wanted to say to the goddesses. The goddesses lost their temper, and it seemed that a fight broke out between the goddesses and the eight drunken male gods. ¡°I hate to say this, but is it okay for the gods to be like this?¡± ¡°It is not good, but it seems that the male gods have lost control of themselves after a long time due to the alcohol of the lower world and the other world. ¡°Oh, they were in a liberated mood. Speaking of which God of Light-sama, the God of Gastronomy-sama, and the Goddess of the Forest-sama were peeked at, weren¡¯t they?¡¡Are they in battle?¡± ¡°No, the battle started while we were changing and assessing the situation, so we are working to end the battle.¡± After being peeked at, and then cleaning up the mess¡­ It¡¯s hard being in charge, isn¡¯t it? ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s safe for the God of Light-sama to take on such a big job? I don¡¯t like the idea of god disappearing on this ship, though.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It is only a punishment. The gods who do the fighting understand that, so they only attack with weak attacks.¡± ¡­It¡¯s a weak attack, even though it was at the level that makes Girasole¡¯s attack look like child¡¯s play¡­ As expected from a god. Even though it¡¯s troublesome. ¡°I see. ¡­So what do I do now?¡± ¡°The God of War and the others will calm down in time, so I¡¯m sorry, but until then, I want you to stay in your rooms.¡± Since Creator God-sama is not running amok, it is safe to stay in the room¡­ There should be no problem except for the annoying noise. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll just stay in my room and relax.¡± But you know, the god of this world is different from the god I thought it was. I think they are more like the absurd gods of Earth¡¯s mythology. ¡­I don¡¯t like it. ¡°Yes, thank you very much. Sorry for the inconvenience.¡± It¡¯s really hard for the God of Light-sama, isn¡¯t it? She was hoping to go to the Castle to relieve her tiredness. While we were talking, there was a knock at the door. ¡°Hmm? Someone is here. God of Light-sama, is it okay if I answer?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll answer it if you don¡¯t mind.¡± When the God of Light-sama opened the door, there was the Creator God-sama, who was being held by the God of Magic-sama by his collar, and the God of Gastronomy-sama and the Goddess of the Forest-sama. I asked them to come in and serve them canned coffee. I didn¡¯t want to say anything about Creator God-sama being held by his collar. ¡°So what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-kun, for messing with the Boarding Rejection. I had to do it because the god was thrown overboard. Besides, it was scary.¡± ¡°Oh, it will be fine as long as you put it back after the commotion is over.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll put it back, don¡¯t worry.¡± If it can go back to normal, no problem. I just have to wait for it to calm down. ¡°Thank you very much. So, what brings you here?¡± ¡°You see, the God of War and the others have locked themselves up in a room. And I¡¯ve been asked to open the door. But I can¡¯t open the door because it¡¯s the ship you summoned, even though it¡¯s me who gave you the ability.¡± Speaking of which, it¡¯s getting quiet. I have a bad feeling that¡­ this is a standoff or something. Is this some kind of story about me opening the door? I don¡¯t care; just let Creator God-sama open the door. ¡°No, thank you for telling me. But until the commotion stops, I ask that Creator God-sama do the rest.¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea for me to keep modifying your ability. I think it¡¯s better for you to handle it.¡± ¡­Ship Summoning is my lifeline¡­ If it¡¯s going to be weird, I have to do it. ¡­It¡¯s not like it¡¯s too much trouble, so you said something appropriate and threw the whole thing at me, right? ¡°I understand. I just have to forbid the use of the room where the God of War-sama and the others are hiding, right?¡± ¡°Yes, and then the goddesses will secure the God of War-sama and the others, and that will be the end of it.¡± That¡¯s a surprisingly simple solution. ¡°Should I forbid them to use the room right away?¡± ¡°Hmm? ¡­God of Magic, what are you going to do?¡± ¡°¡­Well, it would be better after we have more people around the room. They may be drunk, but we are dealing with the God of War. If we let our guard down, they¡¯ll get away.¡± God of Magic-sama seems to be in a bad mood. He doesn¡¯t seem to be trying to hide his irritation. ¡°God of Light-sama, what¡¯s wrong with God of Magic-sama? He seems to be in a bad mood.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not happy that he was forcibly taken out of the library because of the trouble that happened this time.¡± I see, so he¡¯s grumpy because he seems to be a book addict, and yet he¡¯s forced to leave the books of the other world behind. ¡°Oh, let¡¯s get this over with, shall we?¡± ¡°Fufu, that would be good.¡± The God of Magic-sama gives instructions and the goddesses and male gods who have been sent to help surround the room. ¡°Then please take care of it, Wataru-kun.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± The room assignments on the tickets of the God of War-sama and his colleagues are tampered with, and the room they are hiding in is forbidden to use. At the same time, a loud and impatient voice is heard, the door opens, and the God of War-sama and his colleagues are thrown out. ¡°Capture them!¡± At the command of the God of Magic-sama, the gods waiting outside the room immediately attacked. He said to capture them, but why did they attack all at once? Oh, the goddesses are attacking, pushing aside the male gods who were trying to jump on them¡­ and they seem to be having so much fun. I look at the God of Magic-sama, and he¡¯s holding his head. ¡°Enough of this. It¡¯s time to catch them.¡± The goddesses reluctantly stop attacking at the words of the God of Magic-sama. Seizing the opportunity, the male gods jump in and catch the God of War-sama and the others. I thought they would be wrapped in ropes, but they were tied with some kind of light band. Is it too much to hold the gods with ropes? ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯m sorry to bother you.¡± ¡°N-no, it¡¯s fine.¡± God of Light-sama calls to me, but I can¡¯t help but worry about the goddesses who are dragging away God of War-sama and the others with fresh smiles. Aren¡¯t they satisfied after all these attacks? God of War-sama and the others, how can they be so angry with you? I¡¯m afraid to look any further, so I go back to my room and have a strong drink before going to sleep. Let¡¯s apologize because I¡¯m getting a little carried away and sexually harassing people as well. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ The second day of the gods¡¯ stay¡­ In the morning, I take the God of Gastronomy-sama to the main dining room. ¡°God of Gastronomy-sama, are you sure you want to stay in the main dining room all day today?¡± ¡°Yes. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all on different menus, right? I¡¯ll cook as much as I can.¡± God of Gastronomy-sama, she¡¯s been on fire since the first morning. ¡°Can I ask you to cook for me again in the evening?¡± ¡°Of course. You order a lot of food, so I can make a lot of dishes.¡± I promised that I would be there, and I appointed the God of Gastronomy-sama as a staff member in the main dining room. I also ordered a classic breakfast and thanked the God of Gastronomy-sama for the good fortune of being able to eat her cooking in the morning. After a delicious breakfast, I go for a walk and look around the ship. It¡¯s still early in the morning, but the gods are out and about quite a bit. They seem to be talking about last night. According to what I hear, the reputation of the God of War-sama is in ruins¡­ I¡¯ll have to be careful as well. Oh, there¡¯s the God of Light-sama. ¡°Good morning, God of Light-sama.¡± ¡°Good morning, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°What happened to the God of War and the others?¡± ¡°Haha, they are still being interrogated¡­? ¡­Or maybe preaching? That¡¯s the situation.¡± God of Light-sama looks a little shy¡­ That¡¯s nice. ¡°Oh, well, that happens, doesn¡¯t it? It was quite a commotion¡­¡± Peeking and making a mess on someone else¡¯s ship¡­ I hope they get a good scolding. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the trouble we caused you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry; there¡¯s not a scratch on the ship. I have no problem with it.¡± After saying goodbye to God of Light-sama, who went to breakfast, I continued my walk. I will pray that today will be a pleasant day without any commotion. ¡­It¡¯s not the same as praying to Creator God-sama. ¡­On the contrary, I don¡¯t know to whom to pray. Let¡¯s just pray to the God of Light-sama, the God of Gastronomy-sama, and the Goddess of the Forest-sama. It will heal me. Volume 8 - CH 23 Chapter 23 ¨C Confirmation of the Last Day and Explanation The last day of the gods¡¯ stay¡­ I haven¡¯t seen the God of War-sama since. When I asked the God of Light-sama, she gave me a worried smile and just told me that he had been deported. Sometimes it¡¯s good not to think about it too much. ¡°God of Light-sama, it¡¯s almost time for you to return. How was your stay on the Castle?¡± ¡°I had a great time. The spa and hot springs were very relaxing. Most of all, it was very easy because Creator God-sama doesn¡¯t cause any problems.¡± It seems that the fact that Creator God-sama doesn¡¯t cause problems is highly appreciated. It also seems to be true that she was able to relax because the tired atmosphere was almost gone. She must have liked it because she went to the spa during the day, put up her own barrier to prevent people from peeking, and took a bath in the spa last night. ¡°God of Light-sama seems to be happiest when Creator God-sama doesn¡¯t cause problems. I kind of understand how you feel.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you understand. He is a person who causes trouble when he is bored, so a luxury liner would be a great help to him.¡± Creator God-sama seems to enjoy casinos, arcades, movies, swimming pools, and gambling happily every day. He seems harmless as long as he is not bored. ¡°Oh, you seem to be having a good time. What are you talking about?¡± ¡°I was asking about God of Light-sama¡¯s impressions of the luxury liner. God of Gastronomy-sama, have you finished preparing for your return?¡± ¡°Yes, the preparations are finished. May I come in?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± If it is disturbing for me to be with the God of Gastronomy-sama, I would like to be disturbed as much as possible. ¡°Ufufu, thank you.¡± A lovely tea party with the God of Light-sama and the God of Gastronomy-sama. It¡¯s wonderful. ¡°God of Gastronomy-sama, how about Italian food?¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite interesting. There are similar cuisines in this world, but the attention to detail is very different. I¡¯m learning a lot.¡± ¡°I would be honored if I could help. Did the God of Gastronomy-sama enjoy the luxury liner besides the food?¡± I imagine she spent most of her time in the restaurant. I¡¯m glad she cooked a lot of food, but I¡¯m sad I didn¡¯t get to see the God of Gastronomy-sama in a bathing suit. ¡°Yes, I enjoyed the spa and the hot springs, but the rest of the time, I did nothing but cook. But I had a good time, so I¡¯m happy enough.¡± ¡°Was it good? Next time you come back, please enjoy more than just the food. I recommend the pool.¡± I thought about not doing anything sexually harassing because it would be dangerous to offend the god, but I would like to see the God of Gastronomy-sama in a bathing suit. ¡°Ufufu, yes. I¡¯ll try the pool next time.¡± All right! I have her word. Next time, I¡¯m sure the God of Gastronomy-sama will be wearing a bathing suit. My dreams are growing. ¡°Yes, have fun.¡± I¡¯ll do my best to have fun, too. Time flies as I happily chat with the God of Light-sama and the God of Gastronomy-sama, giving them movie recommendations. ¡°Wataru-san, we have to leave a little early, so it¡¯s time for us to go to the church.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see you off as well.¡± The God of Light-sama and the God of Gastronomy-sama went to the church together. The God of Light-sama seemed to have eaten in many different restaurants. And her career-woman vibe broke down, and it was cute. When we arrived at the church, there were male gods who had bought a lot of alcohol and goddesses with a lot of luggage. Couldn¡¯t the gods use some kind of magic to store them? ¡°Some gods are ready, aren¡¯t they? It¡¯s still early, but let¡¯s go back to the divine realm.¡± The God of Light-sama called to the gods, and they, in turn, disappeared in front of the god statues. It seems that they can store their belongings because some of the gods were angry with them for not storing them properly. The gods argued passionately that since they had bought all this stuff, it would be better to carry it on their backs to create the atmosphere of a trip. I don¡¯t know if I understand their feelings or not; it¡¯s a delicate point. It seems that they enjoyed the trip quite a bit, and there were quite a few gods who called out to me on the way back. I¡¯m glad to hear that. As I was seeing them off, Creator God-sama also came. He was a little late for the meeting, but I was surprised that he came back on his own. ¡°Wataru-kun, thank you for your help. It was quite fun.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you had a good time. Please come again.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you. When can I visit you again? I want to bring more gods next time. Also, if you buy another luxury liner, can I put the god statues in it?¡± You really want to come, don¡¯t you? I¡¯d be more than happy to meet the goddesses¡­ but when I look at the God of Light-sama, she has a slightly distant look in her eyes. ¡°Once a month is hard, but once every two months or so, I can handle that on my end. But when I¡¯m on a boat trip or in a situation where I can¡¯t summon a luxury liner, it becomes impossible. To increase the number of people who can come¡­ This ship has the specifications to handle up to 5,000 pillars, but these are just specifications, so it would be helpful if you could gradually increase the number of people who can come. As for the luxury liner, I¡¯m thinking of doing it as soon as I have enough money saved up, but since it would become a sanctuary, please get permission from the God of Light-sama.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Once every two months will be enough? We¡¯ll talk about the rest when you come to pray at the church. I¡¯ll talk about it in the divine realm as well. See you again.¡± After saying these words, I saw Creator God-sama leave. I¡¯ll have to think about when to go to the church for prayer. ¡­All that¡¯s left is the God of Light-sama and the God of Gastronomy-sama? When I asked them about it, they said that the God of Magic-sama hadn¡¯t returned. I had the impression that he was serious. When I asked the God of Light-sama and the God of Gastronomy-sama what they were going to do, they said that he was in the library and that they were going to pick him up. As expected, the God of Magic-sama was in the library, and when he heard the voices of the God of Light-sama and the God of Gastronomy-sama, he did not take his eyes off the book and told them to wait until he had finished reading the remaining half of the book. He has a lot of nerve, doesn¡¯t he? The God of Light-sama asked me to forbid him from using the library. With the complaining God of Magic-sama in tow, the God of Light-sama went back to the divine realm. Well, the god¡¯s descent event is finally over. I¡¯d like to go to bed, but I told everyone I¡¯d be back in three days, and they¡¯ll be worried if I don¡¯t. Let¡¯s go back and play with Rimu, then Ines, Felicia, and¡­! Let¡¯s go back. I switch from the Castle to the Seeker, set the autopilot for the ferry, and we¡¯ll meet again in an hour. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ An hour later, as I docked up to the ferry and onto the ramp, Ines and Felicia jumped on me. What the hell? I¡¯m glad for the enthusiastic welcome, but they¡¯re overreacting, aren¡¯t they? We¡¯ve only been separated for three days, you know? ¡°What is going on? Ines, Felicia. Has something happened?¡± Rimu climbs up my body and sits on my head. All the members of the Girasole are present. They don¡¯t seem to be in trouble, but what¡¯s going on? ¡°Master, I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re okay. What in the world happened?¡± ¡°Huh? Felicia, what are you talking about? I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Master, do you really not understand?¡± What is it? ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really understand. Let¡¯s just go inside, and we¡¯ll talk.¡± ¡°What is this guy saying to the women?¡± I enter the Fortress with a look that says that. I go to the vending machine corner, buy a drink, and sit down. ¡°So, what were you worried about?¡± The ladies sigh in unison. I¡¯m not very happy about it. ¡°There was a violent roar and light that kept coming in the night from the direction Master was going. Even if we tried to come and get you, we couldn¡¯t move the ship, could we? All we could do was worry. When something like that happens in the middle of the ocean, it¡¯s natural to assume that Master had something to do with it, right? Shouldn¡¯t we be worried? Or did Master not notice those lights and sounds?¡± Ah, I see. Ines is right. That was indeed amazing. The sound and light reached so far¡­ Of course, they¡¯d be worried. But now that I¡¯ve got the whole mess out of the way, I¡¯m completely at ease, and I¡¯ve been busy with the goddesses. It¡¯s hard to cover it up¡­ The problem is how to explain it. ¡­I can¡¯t; I don¡¯t think I can explain it well. ¡°No, I noticed it. The light and the roar are related to me. ¡­But you have to wait for the explanation. I don¡¯t know how to explain it.¡± I don¡¯t even know if I can explain it. I have to go to the church tomorrow and ask. Will they be able to answer me? ¡°You¡¯ll talk to us when it¡¯s all sorted out, right?¡± If I can get permission from the Creator God-sama, then it¡¯s no problem. If I don¡¯t get permission¡­ I¡¯ll have to use all my brain and make up a story. How can I explain all the light and noise? It would be easier to just leave it unexplained, but that also seems difficult. I¡¯ll think about it after I ask the Creator God-sama. ¡°Okay, so just wait.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± I could convince the ladies to postpone the explanation for now. Over a few beers, I listened to what they had to say. They said that when I left, they kept talking about what they were going to do because of what had happened that night. It¡¯s a good thing the women couldn¡¯t follow me because it was a ferry. If I had left the Galette or something like that, it would have been troublesome. I can¡¯t imagine what would have happened if Claretta-san had come to the place where the gods run amok or something. I am glad that everyone in Girasole is worried about me. I was lightly scolded by Alessia-san, and she told me not to make them worry too much, and for some reason, Carla-san patted me on the head and told me kindly, and Claretta-san was glad I wasn¡¯t hurt, all of which were rewards. However, Ilma-san secretly came up to me and asked me in a sexy voice in my ear if it had anything to do with the church. She told me that. The sweet breath on my ear and the softness of her breasts against my shoulder made me aware, but the words of the church brought me back to the truth¡­ Ilma-san, you guessed most of it, didn¡¯t you? It¡¯s late at night, so we¡¯ll stay on the Fortress as it is today. After a long time, I watched Rimu¡¯s transformation training and slept with Ines and Felicia. It¡¯s kind of relaxing. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ It was decided that breakfast would be served on the Castle, so we transferred, and I repatriated the ferry. When we transferred to the Castle, Claretta-san started to make a fuss about the holy air on board, but there was no way to answer her, so we had breakfast in the main dining room and goofed around. I thought I had cleaned up the place by reminding it, but is there even a lingering smell? ¡­Ilma-san¡¯s eyes are frightening. But breakfast tastes better when it¡¯s made by the God of Gastronomy-sama. ¡°Wataru-san, what do you want to do today?¡± ¡°Oh, I just want to wrap up a few things to talk to you all about, so how about some free time? Is there anything you want to do, Alessia-san?¡± ¡°Yeah, Dorothea and Marina want to go kill some monsters. Is that okay?¡± I remember when I came back yesterday, there were monsters around the ferry. So those things are gathering around the Castle? I¡¯m sure Fuu-chan and Beni-chan will level up, so I¡¯ll ask them to take Ines, Felicia, and Rimu with them. ¡°I understand. Is the Lutto enough?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine. I¡¯d like to leave right after breakfast if that¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°No problem. Let¡¯s go there after breakfast.¡± After Rimu, Fuu-chan, and Beni-chan had finished their sharing trip, I summoned the Lutto from the ramp. I¡¯ll let Ines, Felicia, and Rimu go with them. Well, let¡¯s go to church. It would be helpful if Creator God-sama would call me, but is that okay? I arrive at the church and kneel before the statues of the gods and pray. ¡°Wataru-kun, what happened?¡± Oh, I could make him call me. There¡¯s the God of Light-sama, too. Thank goodness. ¡°Ah, Creator God-sama, thank you. Actually, a problem has come up, and I was wondering if I could consult with you.¡± ¡°A problem? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Well, there were a lot of loud attacks during the peeping tom fiasco, weren¡¯t there? It caused a lot of concern among the women on the ferry. I wondered how I was going to explain it to them. I can¡¯t make that much noise and light by myself, so I don¡¯t think I can give a proper explanation. Can I tell them about the gods?¡± ¡°There was such a problem? I apologize for the inconvenience.¡± ¡°Haha, if the God of War complains, I¡¯ll tell him what you just said. What kind of face will he make? Hey, Wataru-kun, what do you think?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry too, God of Light-sama. If I had explained it better, I would not have had to bother you. And Creator God-sama, please don¡¯t give me an inside talk about the gods. I don¡¯t know what to tell you.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, it is a fact about the gods and the peeping toms, so there is no problem for you to explain it. However, I would appreciate it if you could keep it to yourselves.¡± ¡°Eh, let¡¯s spread the word about the God of War peeping tom craze. It¡¯s definitely interesting. Right, Wataru-kun?¡± ¡°Thank you, God of Light-sama. The only thing I will tell everyone in confidence is that the gods have descended and used their power. And please, Creator God-sama, don¡¯t talk to me about it.¡± After receiving permission to explain, I managed to fend off the request to spread the God of War-sama¡¯s shame to the lower world and asked him to take me back to the Castle. ¡°Oh, thank goodness. You are still here, Otherworlder. I need to speak with you for a moment.¡± What is it? The God of Entertainment-sama suddenly appeared. ¡­I¡¯m not a fan of the God of Entertainment-sama because of his comment about vomiting. I have a bad feeling about it. Volume 8 - CH 24 Chapter 24 ¨C Wataru Rolling in the God¡¯s Palm What is it? I was just about to get permission to go back to the Castle in peace. God of Entertainment-sama is smiling, but I have a bad feeling¡­ ¡°Um, God of Entertainment-sama, what can I do for you?¡± ¡°Just a few more minutes. Everyone will be here soon. I heard that you, the Otherworlder, were coming, so I quickly gathered everyone.¡± Everyone? Because I came? A bad premonition swelled. I want to go back to the Castle somehow. I look at Creator God-sama, but it seems that Creator God-sama really wants to drive God of War-sama into a corner. He is still trying to spread rumors about him. It¡¯s exhausting. Can¡¯t Creator God-sama just use an oracle to tell the world about the God of War-sama¡¯s peeping incident? While I was escaping from reality, the God of Gastronomy-sama and the Goddess of the Forest-sama came. They are beautiful. ¡°We¡¯re all here, aren¡¯t we? It would be better if the God of Gastronomy spoke instead of me, so please do.¡± ¡°I see. I understand. I would like to ask you a favor, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°A favor?¡± If it were a request from the God of Gastronomy-sama, I would have nodded my head immediately, but the presence of the God of Entertainment-sama made me hesitate to make an immediate decision. I don¡¯t want to be deceived, to be honest. ¡°Yes, I was just talking to the God of Entertainment, and I was wondering if you could open a luxury liner for us down there?¡± ¡°Huh? Well, when you say open up, do you mean to let people on the luxury liner?¡± I feel like I¡¯m being told something very unpleasant. My head hurts. ¡°Yes, the spread of food and entertainment on the luxury liner will enrich the culture down under. It¡¯s a welcome thing for me and the God of Entertainment.¡± Sure, the experience will spread. But it won¡¯t benefit me. It would only cause me more trouble, and no matter how much the God of Gastronomy-sama asked me to do it, I couldn¡¯t nod my head. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s difficult. If I open the luxury liner, not only will the number of ships I can summon decrease, but I won¡¯t be able to use the luxury liner freely. It would be a problem because there would be no benefit for me, and it would only increase the danger. I heard the voice of the God of Entertainment say, ¡°Not even the God of Gastronomy can convince him?¡± Is he a black-hearted person? I really don¡¯t like that type. It is also depressing that I refused the God of Gastronomy-sama¡¯s request. ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re right¡­ Hey, Creator God-sama, can¡¯t you do something about it?¡± ¡°Hmm? ¡­Well, I think Wataru-kun will nod if you give him some benefits. For example, you could give him a date every time you visit him on the luxury liner. Why don¡¯t you play with him in the pool and give him an ear waxing?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way he would nod his head for that. Right, Wataru-san?¡± Ear waxing, he said¡­ ¡°Is ear waxing the one with the lap pillow?¡± ¡°Look, he bites. Wataru-kun has a weakness for a little instant eroticism, you know. I think he will fall for a date and an ear waxing (lap pillow version) every time you go to the luxury liner. The rest is up to the God of Gastronomy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about that. Is it really okay for a god to go on a date with a human and clean his ear? It seems like I¡¯m taking advantage of him, and I don¡¯t like that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s going to be a physical relationship, so why not? Whether it will be a physical relationship or not depends on his efforts and the feelings of the God of Gastronomy, but if there is hope, you can¡¯t resist it.¡± I don¡¯t want them to be explicit in front of me. But I can¡¯t resist a date with the God of Gastronomy and¡­ an ear waxing. No, no, it¡¯s too easy, no matter how much I want it. What am I supposed to do? ¡°Really? Then I wonder if it¡¯s okay? Wataru-san, will you grant my request for a date and ear waxing with me?¡± ¡°Yes! No, wait a minute.¡± I let my normally sluggish brain work at full speed. If I don¡¯t think this through properly, the God of Gastronomy-sama, or even the God of Entertainment-sama, might overrule my request. ¡°I have never seen such a serious expression on the face of the Otherworlder. Have you ever seen it, Creator God-sama?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think I saw a similar face when he was involved in a war. I think it was when he was deciding whether or not to run away. Didn¡¯t you see it, God of Entertainment?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know there was such a scene. I missed it.¡± The outsider is bothering me. ¡°Well, I wanted to go over a few things, so I have a few questions.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± ¡°Well, first of all, God of Light-sama. Isn¡¯t this time an interference with the lower world? You were angry with Creator God-sama for giving me information about Girasole, but¡­¡± ¡°Why are you asking the God of Light? I am here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because Creator God-sama is breaking the rules. It¡¯s a matter of trust.¡± Said the God of Entertainment-sama. ¡°You are noisy, God of Entertainment.¡± It is you who are noisy. ¡°Yes¡­ normally that would be interference with the lower world, and that would be unacceptable. But because of Creator God-sama, your ship is treated as a sanctuary. So interference with the sanctuary is allowed. But until your ship became a sanctuary, there was almost no interference in any of the sanctuaries.¡± So there is no problem. I¡¯ll pretend I didn¡¯t notice the part where she expressed her dissatisfaction with Creator God-sama. ¡°Thank you very much. So, is there anything I shouldn¡¯t spread around if I do open it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a difficult decision, but it¡¯s safer for the gods if you keep the machines for sale, the pictures, the books, and the sanctuary hidden. Other than that, they will not be able to develop it immediately, even if they get the hint from the look of it.¡± ¡°Are you saying that it is not good for the technology to spread directly to the public?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. We prefer trial and error. If they were given everything, it would only lead to a distorted society.¡± I already feel distorted, but it would be wise to keep quiet. ¡°Next, I have a question for the God of Gastronomy-sama. If I could have a date with the God of Gastronomy-sama and have you clean my ears, I would be able to do my best in most things. But the problem is, I can¡¯t do it when the God of Gastronomy-sama is on the luxury liner. If you¡¯re busy or have something you can¡¯t miss, that¡¯s fine, but if you don¡¯t come to visit, I can¡¯t have a date with you or get my ears cleaned. I can¡¯t accept that.¡± ¡°Wataru-kun, do you realize how pathetic you sound with such a serious face?¡± ¡°I doubt it. If I did, I wouldn¡¯t have the personality to say such embarrassing things.¡± ¡°I know, right? God of Entertainment, you bought a camera, didn¡¯t you? Why don¡¯t you record it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just charging my batteries. Didn¡¯t Creator God-sama buy one, too?¡± ¡°I¡¯m also charging my batteries. I have been watching it over and over again.¡± ¡°Creator God-sama, you have a bad personality.¡± These two pillars really bother me. ¡°It is kind of embarrassing to be told so directly. Whenever I don¡¯t have anything important to do or any business to attend to, I will be there, okay?¡± ¡°Yes! Then¡­ Oh, is it okay if we start after I buy a new luxury liner? It would be hard for me to use the Castle if I do it right away.¡± ¡°Yes, you can start at your own pace. Please do your best.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best!¡± ¡°Will you give me a minute?¡± A kind of slim, nervous-looking male god suddenly appeared. He didn¡¯t come to visit the Castle, did he? My memory of the male gods is a bit fuzzy. ¡°Ara, God of Commerce, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a principle of mine to take care of annoying things as soon as possible. God of Gastronomy, let me have a word with him.¡± So this is the God of Commerce? ¡°Now, Otherworlder, you know that the Ship Summoning ability collects money in the divine realm. If you open the luxury liner, even more money will be collected. If I don¡¯t do anything, the money won¡¯t flow.¡± I guess¡­ I can¡¯t say that I¡¯m not involved in this matter. ¡°Nice to meet you, God of Commerce-sama, and thank you for all your help. I understand that the cause is me, and I will do whatever I can to help, but what can I do?¡± ¡°Use the money. It can¡¯t be helped that a lot of money is flowing into the divine realm because of the Ship Summoning, but there is a limit.¡± ¡°Um, I plan to buy a new luxury liner with the money I make.¡± ¡°You are free to spend the money you earned. In addition, I will give you the money I collected in the divine realm. You can use it in a way that is beneficial to the world. You can use it to your advantage a little, but I will not allow you to play around with it.¡± Am I right in interpreting that to mean, ¡°I¡¯ll give you money, and you¡¯ll do charity work? I¡¯ve heard that my fault can distort the money, but I can¡¯t help but think that it¡¯s the fault of the Creator, God-sama. And it¡¯s hard for me to find much I want other than the goods of the ship. ¡°Um, for example, can I use the money to have a luxury liner staffed by slaves?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ money can go around, but I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s for the good of the world.¡± ¡°What about buying illegal slaves and letting them go?¡± ¡°If you buy illegal slaves, the money will go to the bad guys, and the slave trade will spread even further. That would be counterproductive.¡± It¡¯s hard to say. I¡¯ve never thought about what¡¯s good for the world. ¡°For the world, you mean like¡­ building a standard orphanage? And¡­ shouldn¡¯t we give to the church first?¡± ¡°¡­Even decent churches are eventually exploited by the scum at the top. You wouldn¡¯t be able to tell the difference, so you shouldn¡¯t give money to churches. Building an orphanage is a good idea. As long as you have a contract with the people you hire that doesn¡¯t allow any wrongdoing; you should have no problem bringing in the funds.¡± ¡°How about I ask the God of Commerce-sama to show me a decent church, and I¡¯ll donate to it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but if you donate large sums of money, eventually, people will sniff it out and take advantage of it. You¡¯ll just have to repeat the small donations.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯d rather not.¡± It¡¯s a hassle. It¡¯s hard to be useful to the world. The money I spent easily exceeded 100 billion yen, and it can¡¯t be spent on the orphanage alone. Is there anything I can do? I don¡¯t like the idea of building a port or developing a port because I think the nobles would be involved. Ah, anyway, if I open the luxury liner, I¡¯ll have to deal with the nobles¡­ It¡¯s too much trouble. ¡°Right now, I can¡¯t think of anything else but an orphanage, so why not look for the next thing while building the orphanage? If push comes to shove, I can handle it by building many orphanages in different countries.¡± I can¡¯t think of anything, so I¡¯ll just postpone it. ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s good. Think about it carefully.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Finally, it¡¯s over. I only came to ask for permission, but the conversation has grown unexpectedly. There¡¯s a lot to think about. Is it worth it for a date and an ear cleaning? ¡­Well, normally, it would be underwhelming and not worth it, but the partner is a goddess. And even though I know I¡¯ll be rolled around in the gods¡¯ palms¡­ for a date with the God of Gastronomy-sama and an ear cleaning, I can¡¯t resist. I¡¯ve answered that I¡¯m going to do it, so I have to do it. ¡°Creator God-sama, can you please bring me back soon?¡± ¡°Wait, Wataru-san, please wait. Can you please hear my request as well?¡± There was the Goddess of the Forest-sama. I¡¯d like to avoid her just because I somehow know what she¡¯s asking, but¡­ I guess it¡¯s impossible not to listen to her story. The goddess, with her beautiful and ample breasts, is lovely. I would like to grant her wish. But it is difficult for me to enter the dangerous forest. ¡°What is your request, Goddess of the Forest-sama?¡± ¡°You see¡­ I will tell you where it is, and I want you to save the dark elf children. Can you help me?¡± I knew it was about that. What should I do? I have so many things to do that I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll get around to it. ¡°Is that a no?¡± The Goddess of the Forest-sama gave me a sad look as I struggled with this. ¡°There are more and more things to do, and I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t get around to them. I must open the luxury liner and build an orphanage.¡± ¡°There is only one person I can ask to take care of these children. Can you do something for them? If it¡¯s okay with you, I¡¯ll do the same as the God of Gastronomy, a date, and an ear wax¡­ Is that not enough for you?¡± That¡¯s¡­ I can¡¯t refuse; I don¡¯t want to go into the dangerous forest. But I can¡¯t refuse the request of the Goddess of the Forest-sama and, at the same time, accept the request of the God of Gastronomy-sama under the same conditions. And she looks so sad. Most of all, I want to see the full breasts of the Goddess of the Forest-sama from below in her lap¡­ I¡¯ll have to do my best. And I want to know how she can wax my ears with those ample breasts of hers. It¡¯s hard to see her hands, isn¡¯t it? ¡°No, I can¡¯t refuse when the Goddess of the Forest-sama asks me so much. I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Ah, he accepted. Aren¡¯t you too easy, Wataru-kun?¡± You¡¯re so annoying, Creator God-sama. If the Creator God-sama hadn¡¯t suggested such a wonderful condition, this wouldn¡¯t have happened. I don¡¯t know whether to be angry or praise him. ¡°But, Wataru-kun, if there are only three days when we visit you, do you really need to have your ears waxed twice in that time? It will be clean with only one of them.¡± ¡°¡­..Eh?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry; it¡¯ll be fine, Wataru-san. Even if they are almost clean, we will take our time and clean your ears carefully. It will be completely clean. Right, God of Gastronomy?¡± ¡°Y-yes, you¡¯re right; we¡¯ll take our time and clean your ears carefully, no matter what comes first or second. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Is that okay then? ¡­It¡¯s good, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s the situation that matters. If they do it carefully, there¡¯s no problem. ¡°You are right. As long as you take your time and do it carefully, it¡¯ll be fine. Creator God-sama, please don¡¯t say anything that will surprise me.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, that¡¯s fine. Anyway, God of Light, why don¡¯t you ask him for something? There is still a day open for you, you know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to ask for right now. I¡¯ll ask you when I have the chance.¡± ¡°I look forward to it.¡± A date with the God of Light-sama and an earwax, that¡¯s great, too. Even if my ears bleed, I¡¯d like to ask for it one day. But suddenly I¡¯ve got a lot to do. Will Girasole help me? ¡°Oh, um, is it okay if I tell the members who are with me about this request? I think I can get more cooperation if I tell them.¡± Good, that¡¯s fine. If I can use the names of the gods, it will be easier to convince them. Also, the God of Commerce-sama said that I could pay the fee for the request to Girasole with the money that the God of Commerce-sama would give me. That¡¯s very generous of him. Now let¡¯s ask Creator God-sama to bring me back. Volume 8 - CH 25 Chapter 25 ¨C Explanation of the Situation and Future Plans In the divine realm, I received permission from the Creator God¡­ I mean, God of Light-sama to explain to the ladies, and I received a lot of requests. I don¡¯t know what to do, but if I talk about it in a complicated way, I might even say unnecessary things. I¡¯ll try to keep it simple and minimize what I have to say as much as possible. I drink a cup of coffee while I go over the content of my speech in my mind. I¡¯m tired of thinking about it all the time. I want to speak quickly and clear my mind. While I was lying on the sofa of the Castle, the Lutto came back. I went to the ramp to greet them. The women come up the ramp, looking refreshed from their wild journey. ¡°Welcome back. How was it?¡± ¡°Wataru-san, we¡¯re back. Fuu-chan and Beni-chan have leveled up. So, please check on Rimu-chan, too, Wataru-san.¡± Alessia-san replied happily. Dorothea-san and Marina-san pat Beni-chan and Fuu-chan happily. It looks like everything is going well. ¡°I understand. So, now that I¡¯ve put together what I want to talk about, is that okay with you?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± ¡°Then¡­ after you change into comfortable clothes, let¡¯s go to the donut shop and have a snack while we talk.¡± After changing into comfortable clothes, we went to the donut shop, ordered some tea and donuts, and sat down at a table. ¡°Then please keep what I¡¯m about to tell you a secret.¡± ¡°Secret? If Wataru-san says so, we won¡¯t talk about it, but it¡¯s not a dangerous story, is it?¡± It¡¯s a dangerous story¡­ if they don¡¯t believe me, they¡¯ll think I¡¯m a dangerous person¡­ I¡¯m getting anxious to tell them. ¡°It¡¯s not a dangerous story, but I think it¡¯s hard to believe.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid to ask about it.¡± I¡¯m afraid to talk too. ¡°Do you want me to stop?¡± Alessia-san looks at all the women¡¯s faces and checks them. They all nod their heads. ¡°Let¡¯s hear it, Wataru-san.¡± I knew they would ask. ¡°I understand. Simply put, during the three days I was away¡­ the gods descended upon the Castle.¡± Everyone except Ilma-san looked at me as if I were crazy. Ilma-san¡¯s face was like I knew it. I¡¯m afraid of Ilma-san¡¯s deductive powers. ¡°¡­I wonder if you¡¯re joking?¡± ¡°Sorry, Alessia-san, but it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Wa-Wataru-san, what made them come down?¡± Claretta-san asked me with a fluttering voice. Her breasts swaying together were wonderful. ¡°They said they wanted to experience the culture of another world.¡± It¡¯s hard to say they came just to have fun. ¡°Could it be that you talk to the gods in the church? The other day, after you prayed, you suddenly summoned Saporabi-chans, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, Claretta-san.¡± ¡°Amazing, that¡¯s amazing, Wataru-san. I can¡¯t believe you can talk to the gods.¡± Claretta-san¡¯s tension is rising. ¡°Please calm down, Claretta-san. There is nothing to talk about as they have already descended.¡± She turned her head in my direction. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on anymore. Her tension is clearly strange. ¡°That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it? That¡¯s right.¡± I feel it is dangerous to continue the conversation with her. Let¡¯s move on. ¡°Well, that¡¯s how the gods came down and used their power for a small thing, and the result is that roar and light. Can you believe that?¡± ¡°Y-yes, if someone other than Wataru-san had said that, I would have thought he was crazy. But in Wataru-san¡¯s case¡­ I have no choice but to believe. Even if it¡¯s just another world and Ship Summoning, I can imagine a connection with the gods.¡± Thank God. I was able to avoid being a crazy person. And I¡¯m glad they believe me, but I¡¯m saying it myself, and it smells fishy. The gods have descended. If I were them, I¡¯d go to the hospital. ¡°You are not wrong in general. The connection with the gods is just as Alessia-san said. Please keep it a secret as you promised.¡± ¡°Even if I told someone, they wouldn¡¯t believe me. And even if they did, there would be a big fuss. I would never tell anyone.¡± I guess Alessia-san had the same opinion as me. It¡¯s the kind of thing you¡¯d lose friends over if you told. Even when I asked her to spread the word, she would remain silent. I managed to calm down Claretta-san, who was getting excited. I had to explain the next thing. I¡¯m glad that I didn¡¯t end up becoming a crazy person, but now I have to talk about the request of the gods, right? ¡°Thank you very much. Well, I still need to talk to you. Actually, I have permission to tell you all about the gods, but I¡¯ve received three requests. I was wondering if you could help me out.¡± ¡°Um, Wataru-san, the requests, are they from the gods?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Alessia-san holds her head. ¡°Um, is that a no?¡± ¡°Do you think I can refuse a request from the gods? I will do it. I have no choice but to.¡± I¡¯m sorry to involve them. But if I don¡¯t involve them, I can¡¯t do it alone. I¡¯m worried about the positive impression I¡¯m making. ¡°I am sorry for involving you. The God of Commerce-sama told me to splurge on the request fee, so you can expect that.¡± ¡°Hah, I¡¯m afraid the name of the god usually comes up. So what are the requests?¡± ¡°The first is to open the luxury liner that the God of Gastronomy-sama and the God of Entertainment-sama asked me to open. I heard that this can be done after I buy a new luxury liner, so there is plenty of time to do it. The second is a request from the God of Commerce-sama to use the money collected in the divine realm for the sake of the world to turn the money around. Most of the money was collected from the Ship Summoning, so it¡¯s my own fault. I haven¡¯t decided on a plan yet, but I¡¯m thinking of building an orphanage or something like that. The third is a request from the Goddess of the Forest-sama to go rescue the dark elves who are hiding. She told me where they are, so I¡¯ll go there and convince them to come to the Dark Elf Island. Those are the requests.¡± ¡°An orphanage! That sounds wonderful. I would love to help.¡± Claretta-san¡¯s tension rises again. It¡¯s going to be hard to calm her down. ¡°I¡¯m counting on you, Claretta-san.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Um, Master. Do you think the Goddess of the Forest-sama is worried about us dark elves?¡± Oh, well, Felicia is worried about that. She has always believed in the Goddess of the Forest. ¡°Yes, she is very worried about the dark elves. She seemed to be in pain, saying that she could not interfere in the lower world and that she could only make the forest a little richer. She was very happy to hear from me about the dark elves.¡± Ah, Felicia is in tears. But I can never tell her that I was promised a date and an ear wax in return. I¡¯m really going to be despised. ¡°Felicia, this is good, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± The ladies are also very touched; their eyes are moist. I am ashamed of myself for being afraid to keep a secret in this situation. Rimu is so concerned about Felicia that he climbs up and rubs her cheek. It¡¯s a beautiful sight. Time passes peacefully. After a few moments of relaxation and peace, we resume our conversation. ¡°But, Wataru-san. I know it¡¯s the request of the gods, but the first topic will cause a big fuss. Is that okay?¡± It¡¯s not okay. Troublesome things will come. I regret that I agreed to this on the spur of the moment. ¡°It is not good. But right now, the only thing I can think of is to draw the attention to the mage. Also, if possible, I would like to recruit Camille-san to manage the luxury liner.¡± It¡¯s impossible for me to manage a luxury liner by myself, isn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t even know how to decide on the prices of things and rooms. I have mixed desires, but I think Camille-san will be fine. ¡°Hmm, Wataru-san, in what order do you want to move?¡± ¡°In what order? ¡­Claretta-san, what is the orphanage in the Southern City like?¡± ¡°The orphanage in the Southern City isn¡¯t exactly wealthy, but it manages somehow.¡± ¡°Well, should we build an orphanage then?¡± ¡°Well, they have extra space, so I think it would be more helpful if you could donate some money. Of course, if the orphanage is built, it would definitely make things easier for them.¡± ¡°I see. The God of Commerce-sama said that a small donation would be fine if the place does a faithful job, so I¡¯ll just make a donation. If it is in the Southern City, I can donate repeatedly. Then where should we build the orphanage?¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s a bit impertinent of me to ask, but could you please build one in Lucca, Wataru-san? The Kingdom of Brescia has been attacked by the Empire. I believe there are many orphans there.¡± Well, I was told about the forest where the dark elves of the Kingdom of Brescia live, so it would be more efficient if I went there to encourage them to migrate. What about setting up a luxury liner in the Kingdom of Brescia? Then only the Marquis of Lucca and the Crown Prince, who know the mage¡¯s power, might be involved. Other nobles will probably make a move, but if I can get the Marquis of Lucca and the Crown Prince to back me up, I should be able to manage. I will invite the Crown Prince and the Marquis of Lucca to the luxury liner and prove the advantage of having a luxury liner in the Kingdom of Brescia. If I tell them I¡¯ll go to another country if there are troublesome people there, they¡¯ll do their best to protect me, won¡¯t they? And if they do, we¡¯ll build a city? A city built around a luxury liner¡­ that might be cool. Oh, it would expose my summoning ability, and it would be easier to threaten to leave at any time when it is floating on the sea. Then we can gather many orphans in the Brescia Kingdom, and it will be easier to fulfill the request of the God of Commerce-sama. ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san.¡± Hmm, I think my likeability has been greatly increased by this matter with Claretta-san. But I hope it hasn¡¯t decreased¡­ for the other members of Girasole. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll go to the Southern City to wholesale pepper, and then I¡¯ll try to recruit Camille-san from the Merchant¡¯s Guild. After that, how about we go to Lucca to set up an orphanage and encourage the dark elves in the Kingdom of Brescia to relocate?¡± ¡°So there are dark elf villages in the Kingdom of Brescia, huh? I think it would be easy to set up an orphanage in Lucca since we know a lot of people there. I have been to most of the country, so I think I can help.¡± Oh, Alessia-san is very confident. Come to think of it, she¡¯s become quite popular during the war, so it¡¯ll work out even better. Let¡¯s decide on Lucca first. ¡°Then let¡¯s set up an orphanage in Lucca with Alessia-san and the others as negotiators.¡± ¡°Fufu, we¡¯ll do our best, but you can¡¯t just throw it all away. Wataru-san, please do your best as well.¡± Isn¡¯t it okay to throw it all away? I thought it would be easy. ¡­Well, I¡¯ll do my best. ¡°Master, is it okay if I ask you to stop by the Dark Elf Island before you go to the Southern City?¡± ¡°Hmm? It¡¯s close by, so it¡¯s totally okay, but why?¡± ¡°Yes, if you know the location, I think more people will settle on the Dark Elf Island. I thought it would be better to tell them to prepare wood for construction first. Also, I want to tell them to build a fine temple for the Goddess of the Forest-sama.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, I think we should tell them. There is also the matter of the hot springs. But not about the temple. The matter of the gods is a secret between us. They can build a fine temple if they can afford it, can¡¯t they?¡± ¡°I see; I was talking about a secret. I am sorry, Master.¡± Felicia was so overcome with emotion. I don¡¯t blame her for forgetting. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s okay this time, but be careful from now on.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After switching to the Seeker for the time being, we leave for the Dark Elf Island. During a leisurely lunch, we discussed the future. A few hours later, when we stopped the Seeker at the usual place, the village chief called out to us in a loud voice. This is unusual; he usually waits until we get off the ship. Are we safe, he said? What does that mean? ¡°We¡¯re safe, but is something wrong?¡± ¡°No, we were worried when we heard a series of intense lights and loud noises echoing from where Wataru-san was heading.¡± Did it reach this far¡­? Was it because of the lack of cover? But it¡¯s causing trouble in many places. As expected of the gods. ¡°Oh, those were the people from Girasole who were practicing magic. I¡¯m surprised it got this far. I apologize for the inconvenience.¡± What a bitter excuse. ¡°Is that so? A-class adventurers are awesome, aren¡¯t they?¡± He seemed to believe me. I wonder if he just went along with my story. ¡°Haha, I can¡¯t even imagine how strong they are. Village Chief-san, what happened to the hot springs and the mine?¡± ¡°The vice chief and some villagers went there, but they haven¡¯t returned yet. They are doing thorough maintenance, so it will take some time for them to come back. Do you want to move to the village?¡± ¡°No, I am sorry, but we will leave right away. I have received some information about the Dark Elf village, and there may be more immigrants in a few months. I just wanted to tell you that.¡± ¡°My goodness! Thank you very much. We¡¯ll have to work hard to prepare the wood.¡± ¡°Yes, they may refuse to accept us, but we would appreciate it if you would at least make the preparations.¡± ¡°There is a possibility that they will refuse. It would have been nice if there had been a sign among the dark elves. Unfortunately, there is none. My apologies.¡± If there were such a thing, it would be easier to convince them. Well, we¡¯ll just have to do our best. ¡°No, no, I¡¯ll try my best to convince them. Well, I¡¯d better go.¡± We said goodbye to the village chief, returned to the Seeker, and left for the Southern City. Volume 9 - CH 1 Chapter 1 ¨C Consultation and Invitation We arrived near the Southern City, transferred from the Seeker to the Lutto, and entered the harbor. I had planned on not coming back for at least a year and a half, but here I am in less than two months. I hope Paris-san is not here. Surrounded by Girasole, I make my way to the Merchant¡¯s Guild. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen Camille-san. I hope the recruitment process is going well. When we entered the Merchant¡¯s Guild, Camille-san found us right away. She still has the same wonderful breasts and good looks. ¡°Wataru-san, it¡¯s been a long time. You said it would be a long time before you came next. Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Camille-san, it¡¯s been a long time. I have a lot going on, and I need to talk to you about the pepper and to Camille-san privately if you could give me a moment of your time.¡± Privately? With a slight tilt of her head, she led me into the back room. ¡°Then, first of all, I would like to ask if you could buy some pepper, which I sold quite a bit last time. I brought a much larger quantity than last time.¡± It would be bad if the pepper piled up and the price went down. ¡°If it is pepper, no problem. We have almost met the domestic demand. But there is still a lot of demand overseas. It is very welcome.¡± Apparently, it is very welcome, and it will be fine until the demand is met all over the continent. Since it¡¯s a consumable product, will it last a lifetime? But it¡¯s great that they¡¯ve met the demand in one country, even if it¡¯s temporary. ¡°Thank you very much. Then would you be willing to do the transaction at the place where we conducted the experiment, as we did last time?¡± ¡°I understand. I will make preparations. It will take some time to prepare the platinum coins, but would it be all right for you to deliver them wholesale tomorrow morning?¡± ¡°Yes, I will leave as soon as I complete the transaction tomorrow, so can I pick up the platinum coins when I return in a few months?¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Everything has gone smoothly so far. The problem is what comes next. I wonder if I¡¯ll be able to speak well enough¡­ to get by with what I¡¯ve come up with. ¡°So, this is personal¡­ but I wanted to ask you a few questions about you, Camille-san, so I asked for a moment of your time.¡± ¡°About me?¡± ¡°Yes, about whether you have a husband or a lover and what you think of your current job.¡± It seems like a crazy thing to ask. But I¡¯m going to ask her to raise her level when she joins our group, so it¡¯s difficult if she has a husband or a lover. I also want to know personally. ¡°Are you planning to make a move on me?¡± Since I¡¯m thinking about taking her out, there¡¯s no mistaking that I¡¯m trying to make a move on her. That¡¯s not what Camille-san is asking, is it? And if I can make a move on her, I¡¯d like to. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not trying to make a move on you as a romantic relationship or anything, but I¡¯d like to talk you into it.¡± ¡°Ara, that¡¯s too bad.¡± I¡¯d like that to be serious, but it¡¯s just lip service, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s painful that Camille-san¡¯s face doesn¡¯t look disappointed at all. ¡°I¡¯m sorry; I shouldn¡¯t have asked you such a rude question.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I don¡¯t have a lover or a husband. As for my job¡­ I enjoy the business, so I¡¯m happy with it.¡± I¡¯m very happy that she doesn¡¯t have a lover, but is she happy with her job? ¡­Merchant¡¯s Guild employees seem elitist. Can I do my best to persuade her to work for me? I¡¯ll just have to convey good terms as best I can. I¡¯ll trust Camille-san¡¯s predatory eyes. I¡¯m sure Camille-san would bite when faced with big business. ¡°Camille-san, if it¡¯s on good terms, will you change jobs and work for me?¡± ¡°Fufu, Wataru-san, you¡¯re too direct. That¡¯s not good enough for a merchant.¡± ¡°Hahaha, I am aware of that. That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking for your help, Camille-san.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice to be relied upon, but I am an employee of the Merchant¡¯s Guild. It is not worth it for me to change jobs, even if it means a slightly higher salary. If you want me as a merchant, I won¡¯t nod unless you can show me something beyond the benefits of being an employee of the Merchant¡¯s Guild.¡± She is absolutely right. But there are some things I can¡¯t talk about so lightly. I don¡¯t know what to do. ¡°By the way, what if I want Camille-san, not as a merchant?¡± If it¡¯s easier that way, I¡¯d be very happy. ¡°Ufufu, my ideals are high. Will you try your best, Wataru-san? By the way, Wataru-san passes in terms of wealth.¡± Oof, she¡¯s so sexy, but she has the eyes of a predator. And she says I¡¯m a failure except for wealth, right? How do I meet the other criteria? ¡°Well, for now, I¡¯d like to persuade Camille-san as a merchant.¡± ¡°Ara, that¡¯s a shame. I can¡¯t say it myself, but I think I¡¯m a good-looking person. But it¡¯s hard for someone to make a move on me.¡± ¡­I understand very well how it feels to be turned off. And I don¡¯t know what to say. ¡°Haha, so if I can show you some merit beyond being an employee of a Merchant¡¯s Guild, then you¡¯ll come, right?¡± ¡°Yes, but employees of a Merchant¡¯s Guild are privileged in many ways. There are relationships that have been established. It¡¯s hard to overcome.¡± Well, I guess I¡¯m being told to give up. But if I¡¯m going to put someone in charge of a luxury liner, I¡¯d rather have a good person in charge. It seems difficult to buy slaves¡­ and entrust the top management because the clients are probably wealthy people. ¡°Can¡¯t you do it on the condition that I double your salary?¡± ¡°Even three times as much is no good. Money is important, of course, but it¡¯s not enough to make me accept it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s still not enough, huh?¡± I wonder how much I can tell her. I don¡¯t have the skills to persuade Camille-san to come to me while keeping secrets from her. Let¡¯s get her to sign a contract and tell her the whole story. If she is interested, she will come. If not, the contract will still protect the secret. ¡°Um, well, I¡¯ll tell you about me and the details of the job, but will you sign a confidentiality agreement with me?¡± ¡°If you can declare that you¡¯re not involved in any crime when we sign the contract, that¡¯s fine. Wataru-san¡¯s secrets are of interest to me.¡± After signing the contract at the Merchant¡¯s Guild, I returned to the Lutto with Camille-san. It¡¯ll be easier to get through the story if I show her the interior, right? I quickly invited her aboard. ¡°What is this? It¡¯s amazing¡­ There are so many things I¡¯ve never seen before. Wataru-san, the interior is different from the last time I was on board. Is it a different ship?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s the same ship. I will explain everything, including that.¡± To surprise her, I serve her a can of soda. It¡¯s a strategy to show her all sorts of things at once, tell her my unusual story, and get her to nod her head while she¡¯s confused. I surprised her with the sweet, shiny, black water, surprised her by showing her the Ship¡¯s Disguise, and when it turned out that I was a mage, she laughed at me. Apparently, she was almost convinced that I was the mage. I was a little embarrassed. ¡°Well, as you can see, I have a lot of unusual things on my ship. So the next step was to go into business with a huge ship. The problem is that I have no talent for business.¡± ¡°Is that why you want to hire me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I think.¡± ¡°There is one thing that has been bothering me for a long time. Can I ask you something?¡± ¡°Sure. You can ask me anything.¡± ¡°After Wataru-san and Girasole¡¯s trip to Palermo, your hair and skin have become beautiful, as if they were different from before. If only that were the case, but now your hair is even shinier, and your skin is even more moisturized. I haven¡¯t had a chance to ask you about it, but I¡¯ve been wondering about it for a long time.¡± Camille-san¡¯s eyes are frightening. But that¡¯s to be expected. She did a good job of seeing through Girasole¡¯s changes. But it is hard to mention Girasole¡¯s good looks to me. ¡°I think there is a connection. What do you think, Alessia-san?¡± It would be safer if I mentioned it to Alessia-san. ¡°It definitely works. Your hair and skin will definitely look better. We¡¯ve all experienced it first hand, so we know for sure.¡± The shampoo, conditioner, face wash, and body wash are all high-performance by this world¡¯s standards. I think it¡¯s safe to say that when you add in the beauty products, which I¡¯m not quite sure about, it¡¯s definitely a change. ¡°Having a real-life example in front of you makes all the difference in persuasion. I envy you.¡± ¡°When you change jobs, Camille-san, you¡¯ll be able to use it freely. Your hair and skin will be shiny and vibrant. I don¡¯t know if Camille-san needs it or not. After all, you are shiny and vibrant, to begin with.¡± That¡¯s the best I can do. I want to be a man who can say something better. Besides, the blank stares of the women are hard to bear. ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san. I¡¯m flattered. I see, shiny and vibrant. I¡¯m very interested.¡± My best efforts ended with the women giving me blank stares. Camille-san seems to be extremely attracted to things related to beauty. I think I can do it with just one more push. What can I do? When I told her that she could easily raise her level, she was quite eager. When I told her that even though I couldn¡¯t fight, my level was over 300, she was surprised. It seems that it is considered to be one of the best A-rank adventurers. ¡­Maybe Girasole is an S-rank adventurer? They said that their level had increased quite a bit. ¡°Wataru-san. It¡¯s a woman¡¯s dream to reach a higher level. It¡¯s a definite increase in your young time. Rich people hire strong guards and do their best to raise their level. Still, it¡¯s hard to get past level 50, but 300 is considered ¡°top class¡± for ordinary people.¡± So there are people who aren¡¯t ordinary. I guess that¡¯s the case with people like Paris-san. Not a cheater like me, but a monster like 300 by himself. ¡°By the way, Rimu¡¯s level is also over 300.¡± ¡°Huh? Rimu-chan¡¯s level is over 300 too?¡± I smiled at Camille-san, who was amazed. It seems to be going well, doesn¡¯t it? If she doesn¡¯t get tired of living, she¡¯ll have a longer lifespan, and the extended youth period is quite an advantage. And that¡¯s something the Merchant¡¯s Guild can¡¯t do. If I promise to help her raise her level, she¡¯ll easily join me, along with the cosmetic stuff. Let¡¯s push forward with all my might. The fact that Camille-san took the bait increases the likelihood of recruitment. I think I can do it, right? ¡°As I said, Rimu¡¯s level is also over 300. If you join me now, I¡¯ll help raise your level as well.¡± I said in a high-pitched voice, like a TV shopping show. ¡°Really? I can be over 300 too?¡± It passed through normally. Well, I guess it can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s impossible to ask them to understand me when they don¡¯t even know what television is. It¡¯s okay because I¡¯m self-satisfied. I¡¯m not hurt. What about the 300+ level? I think it is possible, but it requires you to defeat a lot of monsters. Will it take time while she¡¯s working? ¡°It takes me more than a year to reach level 300. It might take longer while you work. However, levels 100 to 200 should not take that long.¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s a big advantage.¡± ¡°Then, could you work for me?¡± I am a little worried. What am I missing? ¡°I can¡¯t make a decision unless you tell me what the job is. Even if your life expectancy is prolonged, if it is a hard job, your suffering will only be prolonged.¡± I see. She is absolutely right. ¡°Now, as I said, I want you to be the manager of a huge ship that we will be doing business with. You¡¯ll be in charge of pricing rooms and merchandise and organizing the staff.¡± ¡°Is this the same huge ship used in Lucca that is the center of attention for the whole continent?¡± Is the whole continent looking at it? I understand, but it¡¯s annoying to hear it from someone else. ¡°No, it will be a bigger, more luxurious, and more amazing ship than that. If I may say so myself, it is no exaggeration to say it is the best ship in the world.¡± Am I exaggerating? But I think it is the best ship in the world. Well, it could be overturned if a ship made by an otherworlder from a technologically advanced world is discovered in ancient ruins or something. ¡°Do you mean you want me to be the manager of such a great ship?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. It would be a very rewarding job, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Of all the people I know, Camille-san is the only one who would be able to fill such a position. Even if someone gains knowledge through staff appointment, it would be difficult in a commercial environment. And the knowledge is from a different world, it would be confusing. ¡°There¡¯s no doubt that it¡¯s a challenging job, but the danger level jumps, doesn¡¯t it? Even if you have a longer lifespan, it doesn¡¯t matter if you get killed or kidnapped.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s absolutely safe inside the ship, but outside the ship, it becomes dangerous. I don¡¯t think it will be a problem if we are together, but if the half-escort is useless, it will usually be a problem, right?¡± That was it. There¡¯s an extraordinary possibility of being targeted as a top executive of a luxury liner or something like that. That would make it difficult to hire employees¡­ I should think about buying a large number of slaves. It¡¯s also getting harder to recruit Camille-san¡­ What should I do? I guess I¡¯ll just have to keep trying to convince her without giving up. Volume 9 - CH 2 Chapter 2 ¨C Recruitment and Lucca There¡¯s a dark cloud over persuading Camille-san¡­ Would it be okay if I hired a strong escort? It¡¯s difficult, even if it¡¯s only safe inside the ship. ¡°Are you absolutely sure that it¡¯s safe inside the ship?¡± ¡°Yes. If you try to kill or injure anyone inside the ship, you¡¯ll be thrown out. Also, I will give a reasonable amount of authority to Camille-san, so you will be absolutely safe inside the ship.¡± Unless Creator God-sama deactivates it, but¡­ that should rarely happen. ¡°But it¡¯s hard not being able to go outside, even if you¡¯re safe inside the ship. It¡¯s suffocating.¡± I wonder? I¡¯d be fine staying locked up on the Castle, but would it be hard for an active person? ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s as bad as you think, Camille-san. Unlike most ships, there are places to exercise, places to shop, and parks.¡± ¡°A park on a ship? I can¡¯t even imagine it. But it¡¯s hard to work when you put yourself in danger just by walking around outside.¡± Hmm, that seemed to go well. But I stumbled over a fundamental point. It¡¯s true that personal safety has to come first, right? There has to be something that can be done. ¡°Alessia-san, do you have any suggestions?¡± ¡°Well, if we could hire an A-rank or S-rank adventurer, we might be able to work something out, and if they can stay on the ship¡­ they might take the job. But I hear there¡¯s something wrong with most S-rank adventurers. Or maybe we can train Camille? I heard that you can fight a little, right? It would be useless if a top-class enemy came, but it would be a little safer if you could raise your level. Also¡­ I think it would be a good idea to take Camille to the Castle. Once she checks out the ship, I think she¡¯ll be satisfied with just an occasional trip with us.¡± Is it really that simple? I think Camille-san is looking for personal security. Besides, I don¡¯t like the idea of an S-rank that somehow doesn¡¯t feel right. ¡°Is it such a great ship?¡± She took the bait. Camille-san is very curious, isn¡¯t she? If that¡¯s the case, maybe showing her the Castle will do the trick. ¡°We¡¯ve been there a month, but we haven¡¯t had all the fun yet. Camille can find any number of jobs. You won¡¯t have time to catch your breath.¡± Alessia-san said. The tide may have turned. ¡°Wataru-san, is it possible to take a look at the ship?¡± ¡°It is possible. It¡¯s just that we have to run out into the open sea for a while so that we can¡¯t be seen, so it will take some time. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Can we look around and be back by tomorrow morning?¡± ¡°If you want to look around on the surface, you can, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll have enough time to look around in detail. I think there are many interesting things. I want you to take some time to look around.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll manage to get the day after tomorrow off, so can you start showing me around tomorrow night?¡± I was thinking of going to Lucca after the deal is done, but I guess it won¡¯t be a problem starting the night after tomorrow. ¡°I understand. I will show you tomorrow. Oh, and while we¡¯re on the subject, can you tell me how much pepper you can handle?¡± ¡°¡­Yes, that¡¯s right. If it is up to twice as much, we can handle it without raising suspicion. Can you wholesale it?¡± Being able to confirm with the other party is a great help. I¡¯m even happier that she¡¯s thinking about it without raising suspicion. Camille-san, I really want to hire you somehow. ¡°Absolutely; I look forward to working with you.¡± After our conversation ended, Camille-san wanted to leave, but Girasole insisted on sending her home. I invited her to the ship, and just by talking to her, I put her in personal danger? Aren¡¯t you exaggerating? I asked them about it, and they said it was just a precaution. I guess there is a possibility that she could be in a little bit of danger. It¡¯s a little annoying. I¡¯m going to stay on the Lutto and keep quiet. I¡¯m going to enjoy playing Reversi and Jenga on the Lutto and lazing around. It¡¯s been a while since I played Reversi with Rimu, and it¡¯s soothing. Come to think of it, it¡¯s been a while since me, Ines, Felicia, and Rimu played together. After a while, Girasole came back. Fuu-chan and Beni-chan also get together to play Reversi. Beni-chan, who has learned the rules of Reversi, asks Dorothea-san, Fuu-chan, and Rimu to play with him. It¡¯s cute. Especially the Slime vs. Slime is a great show. Me, Dorothea-san, and Marina-san watched Rimu, Fuu-chan, and Beni-chan¡¯s game with a big smile on our faces. We were so happy. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ I wholesale 240 boatloads of pepper and meet Camille-san in the evening to head out to sea. ¡°It¡¯s okay here. Camille-san, it¡¯s pitch black, but if I turn on the lights on the Castle, you can get a rough idea of the size of the ship. Would you like to take a look?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± The Castle appears in front of Camille-san. Oh, she is surprised. She is surprised. Is it my small capacity to be somehow happy when people are surprised? I entertained Camille-san thoroughly. I recommended a spa, cosmetics, food, drinks, a swimming pool, and anything else that sounded fun. But Camille-san seemed more interested in business. How much for this room, how much for this dish, how much for this and that! She was energetic throughout her stay. When I told her that there were many free meals at the Castle, she was surprised and thought it was impossible. Well, it¡¯s just included in the room price. When I told her that, she started thinking of a new room price. She really is a merchant, isn¡¯t she? Especially after experiencing the bath and spa and using the beauty products she bought at the Castle, she thought about business with a different look in her eyes. After experiencing the Castle for a full day, I sent her back to the Southern City. ¡°Wataru-san, are you sure you want to entrust me with that ship?¡± ¡°Strictly speaking, I would be at the top, but I¡¯ll leave almost all the authority to you. But I also have the feeling that I want to spread the culture, so I¡¯d like you to charge a moderate price. Also, you may have to work outside this country.¡± ¡°Is that so? If you don¡¯t get off the ship much, it won¡¯t matter much, but outside of the Southern City, I can¡¯t use my connections, can I?¡± ¡°As you can see from the Castle, once the word gets out, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have any trouble finding customers. If you can set the price, control the ship, and deal with the customers, it will be enough. The rest is up to you, Camille-san.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯m very excited to be here but also worried. ¡­Wataru-san, do we need the contract from the God of Commerce-sama for the special items on the ship?¡± ¡°Is it necessary to sign a contract with the God of Commerce-sama?¡± ¡°Yes. Most of the people who come here are rich. I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but if they find out that there is no contract, there will definitely be people who will make a contract with the God of Commerce-sama and charge a high fee. It¡¯s definitely better to sign a contract first so that we can offer it to them at a lower price.¡± Ah, now that you mention it, I have a feeling that¡¯s true. There are a lot of things that seem to be quite available, so let¡¯s sign a contract first. If it were me, I¡¯d realize that after the problem happened. After all, I need Camille-san. ¡°Camille-san. I¡¯m having a hard time doing business, so can you help me?¡± ¡°¡­Looking at the ship, it¡¯s a very attractive job. Can you help me fill out the requirements?¡± ¡­That means if I work out the terms, she will work for me, right? From there, while listening to Camille-san and the others¡¯ opinions, we put the story together. The general gist of it is that the salary is one gold coin per month for being the head of the luxury liner. With the other world¡¯s standard of living, it seems like an incredible salary. But I¡¯m a little worried because the Castle costs a lot of money. I thought it would be better to pay a little more, but for now, I decided to start with 1 gold coin with a raise. I¡¯ll give her 2 gold coins as a starting salary when she starts working. If you¡¯re in charge of the ship, you must have good clothes, right? When the Castle is ready to open, I will ask her to move on, and from there, I will buy slaves, make various contracts, and then open the ship. Meanwhile, I plan to level up Camille-san once the monsters are gathered. There¡¯s a lot of work to be done, and it¡¯s quite difficult. I sent Camille-san to the Merchant¡¯s Guild and apologized to the guild master for snatching her from him. It seems that the guild master had high expectations for Camille-san, and he complained to me profusely. I was about to be kicked out of the Merchant¡¯s Guild. I¡¯m really scared that the old man is really pissed off. Let¡¯s leave Southern City quickly and go to Lucca. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ On the open sea, on a luxury liner. Sometimes I change my mind and switch to the Fortress or the Stronghold. It¡¯s interesting how changing ships can change your mood. Racing on the Galette and killing monsters is also a great way to pass the time. It might be fun to sail around the world like that when things settle down. Yes, the request of the gods will get me a lot of attention, no matter how I do it. Unless it is necessary, I might go to another continent to look for something. It¡¯s a great adventure in the seven seas. How many oceans are there in this world? I don¡¯t think ¡°seven seas¡± means all the seas. ¡°Wataru-san, will we be transferring to the Lutto soon?¡± ¡°Yes, Alessia-san, have you finished your preparations?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s done. The other members will be fine as well.¡± We transferred to the Lutto and headed for the port of Lucca. Girasole was happy to be in Lucca for the first time in a long time. ¡°Speaking of which, Girasole is very popular in Lucca, right? Do you think we¡¯ll be noticed if we stay with you?¡± ¡°I wonder. It¡¯s been a while since we were here before, so I think things have calmed down. It is dangerous because Wataru-san attracts more attention than we do in relation to Mage-sama. Wherever we go, Wataru-san is always the center of attention of the big people, so you have to be careful. In Lucca, Mage-sama is also popular and feared, so it¡¯s hard for anyone to mess with you. Besides, we will be your security, so you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± That was it. I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ve been known. In a not-so-happy way¡­ I sincerely hope that the second prince¡¯s revenge event won¡¯t happen. ¡°Wataru-san is entering Lucca for the first time, right? I don¡¯t think it can be compared to a luxury liner, but it¡¯s a nice place. I¡¯ll show you around.¡± ¡­Come to think of it, I¡¯ve never been inside. Strolling through Lucca with Girasole sounds like fun, even if it¡¯s a bit conspicuous. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it. Alessia-san, what is Lucca¡¯s specialty?¡± ¡°¡­Seafood. Not so different from the Southern City when you think about it. Sorry.¡± Our pleasant walk was about to be spoiled in an instant. ¡°¡­When the location changes, so does the taste of the fish. Take me to a restaurant where you can eat delicious seafood.¡± ¡°Really? Well, I¡¯ll take you to a good restaurant.¡± Somehow I managed to recover it. After a short sail, we arrived at the port of Lucca. I paid the entrance fee and docked the ship¡­ There are more ships than the last time I was here. The war in the Kingdom of Brescia is over, but what about the war in the Empire? I¡¯ll try to find out later. I go to the gate and show my ID. Last time I turned around from here. This time I think I can get in safely. Everyone in the area is paying attention to Girasole, and even the guards are saluting them. Am I wrong that it¡¯s okay because time has passed? Entering the Lucca, I follow behind Girasole, who is being greeted by the surrounding crowd, trying to keep my presence out of sight. ¡°Master, Girasole must be very popular.¡± ¡°Ines was manipulating information with Ilma-san, right? Maybe you went a little overboard?¡± They¡¯re like big stars. I think there will be people fainting or something. ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t expect it to go this far at the time because the more popular Girasole was, the easier it would have been. Momentum is a scary thing.¡± Momentum, huh¡­ sure, because Ines and Ilma-san were so excited at the time. Well, it¡¯s too late now¡­ the attention is on Girasole, so it won¡¯t be a problem if I go with them secretly. I heard that they would take us to a nice inn first, so there should be fewer people when we get there. I erased my presence and followed Girasole into a nice inn. Some of the people who had followed them came in with us. It¡¯ll be the same situation as the Black-tailed Gull Inn. No, it¡¯s a slightly more luxurious inn, so the number of people shouldn¡¯t increase too much. It¡¯s a good thing that Girasole¡¯s fans don¡¯t seem to be focusing their murderous intentions on me like they did at the Black-tailed Gull Inn. I thought Girasole was supposed to be staying with their parents, but they are staying at this inn. I was told that it was only natural since they were my escorts. It seems that my thinking is not quite right. I was led into the room. It¡¯s been a long time since I stayed in an inn. Lately, I¡¯ve been staying on the ship I summoned, so this is refreshing and fun. It¡¯s a good inn, and the beds are quite good, though not as good as on the Castle. I have high expectations for the food that will be served. Let¡¯s enjoy ourselves. Volume 9 - CH 3 Chapter 3 ¨C Merchant Guild and Messenger We entered the inn and were assigned to our respective rooms. After unpacking our luggage, we decided to gather in my room to decide our future plans. While I was relaxing, the members of Girasole arrived one by one. They are so fast, aren¡¯t they? ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san. I thought it would be over by now, but it looks like there will be more trouble. It¡¯s hard to move, isn¡¯t it?¡± It¡¯s been over half a year since then. The enduring power of popularity is amazing. Alessia-san probably didn¡¯t think it would go this far. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s okay if we can build an orphanage; it¡¯s easier to talk about it when everyone is popular. Please leave the Lucca walk for another time.¡± I can ignore a little attention, but attention like today¡¯s makes it a hassle to go out and walk around. ¡°It¡¯s too bad because I wanted Wataru-san to see Lucca.¡± ¡°Haha, please take the time to show me around once things settle down.¡± ¡°Yes, leave it to me. What are you going to do after that?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to take it easy, so the Girasole should go to your families. The last time there was a war, you didn¡¯t get to relax, did you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that, but I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t have to. It¡¯s a nice place to stay, but it¡¯s safer to have an escort.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will summon the rubber boat. Ines and Felicia will attack from inside the boat, and they will be able to handle any opponent. You¡¯ve come all this way, so please show your face to your family.¡± I¡¯m a caring man. Besides, I haven¡¯t given up hope of getting Girasole to join the harem, so I have to make a good impression on their families. ¡­Let¡¯s give them some donuts and muffins as a gift. Just let them know that we are holding off on signing a contract, and everything will be fine. I also wanted to give them some alcohol as a souvenir, but I¡¯m afraid it would cause a fuss if I removed the labels. The taste is guaranteed by the gods. It will make a good impression, but I won¡¯t serve the liquor until the contract is properly signed. ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san. I¡¯ll take you at your word. We¡¯ll stop by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but is there anything else we should do?¡± ¡°Uh, yes. I want you to go there and ask them for information about the war in the Empire. It would be better to ask the Merchant¡¯s Guild about buildings for the orphanage, so let¡¯s all go there tomorrow.¡± After a brief discussion, I saw Girasole off as they returned to their parents¡¯ house. ¡°What are you going to do today, Master?¡± ¡°Hmm, not much to do, so I think I¡¯ll just relax in my room. Ines, Felicia, is there anything you would like to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m interested in the food at the inn.¡± Felicia agreed and said that the only thing she was concerned about was the food, so we decided to relax in the room. I just realized that I had brought Rimu just like that. Well, it would be a shame to hide Rimu in the room while Fuu-chan and Beni-chan were there, so I guess there was no problem. I relaxed in my room, played with Rimu, and had my meals brought to my room¡­ The seafood was very tasty. But to our palates, accustomed to a variety of spices, the other dishes seemed bland. That¡¯s it; we became gourmets. At night, the Girasole came back. They looked cheerful, so I guess they were happy to see their family. ¡°Welcome back, everyone. How was it?¡± ¡°Yes, everyone was happy. At first, they were happy to see me. But Wataru-san¡¯s souvenirs took all the conversation away from me.¡± ¡°Me too. My mother and sister asked me how to make them, and it was hard for me to say no because it was before the contract.¡± The other members nodded in agreement with Alessia-san and Claretta-san. The power of the donuts and cupcakes seemed to be great. My reputation must have improved. ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m glad they liked it. Did my reputation improve?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. I told them it was from Wataru-san, but I think they only remember the donuts and cupcakes.¡± ¡­That¡¯s not what I had planned. It seems it was too powerful. I should have left it at one or the other. Then my impression might have been memorable. ¡°That¡¯s too bad. How was the Adventurers¡¯ Guild?¡± ¡°Oh, you mean the war. It seems that the war is almost over. But there are a lot of illegal slaves, and they are in trouble. There are a lot of people who have been forcibly kidnapped, so they have no choice but to release them one by one, and it¡¯s taking a long time.¡± A lot of illegal slaves? The Empire is not doing so well as far as I¡¯m concerned. The God of Commerce-sama said that charity would help those freed from illegal slavery¡­ There¡¯s a lot to be done to keep the problems from getting worse. I don¡¯t know what to do. I don¡¯t want to see too much of it. ¡°Even though it took a lot of time and effort, I¡¯m glad the victory was decided. They are a troublesome country, and I hope they are thoroughly crushed.¡± ¡°I agree. I hope they won¡¯t even be able to think about rebuilding the empire.¡± Alessia-san agrees. I hope this will be the catalyst for the human supremacists to become more tolerant. ¡°For now, all we can do is build an orphanage; let¡¯s do our best.¡± When the war in the Empire is almost over, there is no need to get involved. It¡¯s no joke to get involved in another war, so that¡¯s good. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ The next morning, after breakfast at the inn, Girasole leads the way to the Merchant¡¯s Guild. We still get a lot of attention. Most of the attention is focused on Girasole, with occasional glances at Ines and Felicia, and finally Rimu. I notice that they don¡¯t look at me, even when I don¡¯t erase my presence, whether I¡¯m happy or sad; it¡¯s very disturbing. I enter the Merchant¡¯s Guild and speak to the receptionist, showing her my guild card. She is confused when she compares my F-rank guild card to Girasole¡¯s. ¡­This is interesting. I would consider moving up a rank if it were more of a hassle, but in this situation, I think it¡¯s fine to leave it as it is. ¡°Well, I¡¯d like to buy a big house. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Huh? Yes, a house, not a shop?¡± Oh, I see; I am a merchant. Normally people would think of a shop. ¡°Yes, a house. I¡¯m thinking of buying a big house and building an orphanage.¡± It¡¯s nice to see a beautiful lady in distress. She probably doesn¡¯t want to deal with F-rank merchants who don¡¯t make sense, but she seems to think she can¡¯t be indifferent because Girasole is behind me. If it weren¡¯t for Girasole, I might have been kicked out. ¡°Well, I see on your guild card that your headquarters are in the Southern City of the Latina Kingdom. Is there anyone in Lucca who can be your guarantor? We need a guarantor if you want to buy a house or a shop.¡± ¡­I don¡¯t know anyone like that. I never thought about it. ¡°Is it mandatory? Is there any way I can get one?¡± ¡°No, there is not.¡± That¡¯s a firm answer. I have no idea what to do. ¡°Alessia-san, I wasn¡¯t expecting this. I didn¡¯t think about a guarantor.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know that either. When I was in town, I stayed with my parents, and since I¡¯ve been traveling, I¡¯ve been staying at an inn¡­ I¡¯ll ask if I can be your guarantor.¡± ¡°Excuse me, please.¡± Alessia-san asked and was easily granted permission. Can it be an adventurer? Or is it because it¡¯s Girasole? The receptionist said she would show us some properties in the back room. ¡°What is your budget?¡± I wonder how much a house costs. In Japan, a mansion costs hundreds of millions of yen. I heard there are a lot of war orphans, so there will be a lot of children. It would take a lot of staff. It would be better to have a very big one like a school to spend the budget. There was a letter and money left at the church from the God of Commerce-sama, so it¡¯s probably okay. Claretta-san was very excited when she found it. The letter said that they would give 100 platinum coins for now, but the goal is 1,000 platinum coins, so there is plenty of money in the budget. ¡°Let¡¯s see, about 10 platinum coins?¡± ¡°Ten platinum coins? It¡¯s going to be a pretty big property, are you sure? And you mentioned an orphanage earlier, but since it¡¯s in the noble district, I don¡¯t think it would be suitable.¡± Ah, it¡¯s going to be a big mansion in the noble district? That¡¯s troublesome. Kids running around in the noble district¡­ It will cause a lot of trouble. I think it would be better to build a new one. ¡°Then is it possible to have a new and bigger house built in a place that is not in the noble district? The bigger the better.¡± ¡°That would be difficult. In this walled city, there is no land as big as a mansion in the noble district.¡± ¡­Huh? The orphanage plan was easily disrupted. There is a way to build many small ones, but it will be terrible because we won¡¯t be able to keep an eye on them. ¡­What should I do? ¡°Um, although it¡¯s not possible in Lucca. I think it is possible in the city of Cagliari, where the Royal Navy headquarters is located. It is currently being rebuilt, but the Naval Headquarters has the highest priority, and there should be plenty of land available in the city. However, the entire Kingdom of Brescia is short of carpenters, masons, and materials, so it would be difficult to begin construction immediately.¡± Is it safe in the city where the naval headquarters is located? The last time I checked, it was in terrible shape, but I think it¡¯s safe to say that the Empire is probably gone as well. Should we just secure the land first? ¡°Um, do I still need a guarantor if I buy land in the city of Cagliari?¡± ¡°You will need one. If it is in this city, the guarantee of the members of Girasole will be enough, but the city of Cagliari is under the direct control of the Brescian royal family. If you want to buy a large piece of land, you will need an introduction from a nobleman. And although you say you are buying land, what you are really buying is the right to use the land.¡± It¡¯s troublesome. Very troublesome. I can imagine that in Japan, there are a lot of procedures to go through, but I didn¡¯t know that in another world, it would be so much trouble. I thought it was easy because I had money. I thought, ¡°Please give me this; I understand,¡± or something like that. I wanted to change it to something else, but since Claretta-san was so happy about the orphanage, it was hard to change it. Since there¡¯s a contract, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need for a letter of introduction or anything like that. What kind of logic is that? It sounds like a system set up by royalty and nobility to maintain their own power or something like that. ¡°Well¡­ if I want to buy land in the city of Cagliari, can I buy it here?¡± ¡°It is possible, but I think the best way is for you to come to the city of Cagliari.¡± ¡°I understand; I will think about it. Thank you very much.¡± I thank the receptionist, return to the inn, and gather in my room to discuss the matter. What should I do? It was probably a difficult mission for me, who could only think of building an orphanage as a charity project. ¡°Hmm, the Marquis of Lucca might write a letter of introduction for Alessia-san and the others, but he won¡¯t write one for me, will he? What should I do?¡± ¡°Would you like him to write a letter of introduction for me and establish an orphanage in my name? Or do you want me to meet the Marquis and get a letter of introduction from him saying that you are an acquaintance of Mage-sama? If it¡¯s an introduction from Mage-sama, the Marquis can¡¯t despise it. Although there is a possibility that the Marquis will try to contact Wataru-san, I don¡¯t think a letter of introduction will be a problem.¡± ¡°I see; I¡¯m afraid that setting up an orphanage in Alessia-san¡¯s name will cause a great deal of trouble since you have no knowledge of it. It¡¯s difficult to meet someone of great stature, but if they know me, it¡¯s too late now. Let¡¯s borrow the authority of Mage-sama and ask the Marquis-sama for help.¡± ¡°Is that okay? You don¡¯t have to meet the Marquis; you can use my name. We can handle a little trouble, and if things go wrong, you will help us, won¡¯t you?¡± It¡¯s a tempting offer, isn¡¯t it? It would certainly be easier to do everything in Alessia-san¡¯s name. ¡­But this time, when I open the luxury liner, there¡¯s a chance I¡¯ll meet the crown prince. Maybe I should practice meeting high-ranking people with the Marquis, who seems to be the most effective with the mage¡¯s prestige. If I throw the whole thing away here, my credibility will probably decrease, but if I do my best, I¡¯m sure my popularity with Girasole will increase a bit. I think it¡¯s worth a try. ¡°It¡¯s a tempting offer, but I¡¯ll make an effort. There is also the possibility of meeting the crown prince. I think I¡¯ll meet the Marquis, whose Mage-sama¡¯s prestige will be effective and practice.¡± ¡°Fufu, I¡¯ve never heard of practicing with the Marquis. But good luck.¡± ¡°If you put it that way, I guess so. But if the Marquis has directly confirmed the mage¡¯s power, it will not be a terrible thing, right? As for the matter of the second prince, I am filled with anxiety when it comes to meeting the crown prince.¡± There was a knock at the door of the room. When I opened the door, I found a dandy uncle who was supposed to be the owner of this inn. He told me that a messenger from the Marquis had come to see me. What is this? Is it opportunistic to think that a messenger would come just when I decided to meet the Marquis? It¡¯s understandable if I¡¯m told that the gods have something to do with it. Maybe the God of Commerce-sama is telling me to spend the money as soon as possible. When I meet the Marquis¡¯s messenger, he wants to invite Girasole to dinner. It had nothing to do with me, even though he came to my room. I couldn¡¯t help but blush a little. I felt sad and backed away. I¡¯ll never forget the embarrassment of being out of place as I walked out of the room in high spirits. I will also never forget the look in the eyes of the messenger who said, ¡°Who the hell is this guy?¡± I feel like transforming into the mage and getting on board. I drown my embarrassment by fantasizing about silly things in my head. Meanwhile, Alessia-san talks to the messenger and tells him that someone related to the mage wants to meet with the Marquis. He freaked out when he found out I was related to the mage. Am I a bad boy for being a little grumpy? The messenger hurriedly said he would go and get confirmation and turned back. After a while, the messenger came back and said, ¡°The Marquis himself is pleased with my visit.¡± He said that the Marquis would be delighted if I would join him for dinner tomorrow night. I suppose I should be happy that Girasole was the center of attention and not conspicuous, but I am not convinced. Anyway, it¡¯s tomorrow. Oh, I have nothing to wear¡­ Volume 9 - CH 4 Chapter 4 ¨C The Little Brother and Wataru After the Marquis¡¯ messenger left, an emergency meeting was held to decide what to do with my clothes. ¡°It¡¯s a problem, isn¡¯t it, to demand to meet him and then go there in ordinary clothes?¡± ¡°Yes, it is a problem. I¡¯m sorry. I already told him.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not your fault, Alessia-san. I was willing to meet him too.¡± Because I took the initiative, I thought, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± I was embarrassed. I¡¯m not used to doing this. ¡°Would it be easy to get clothes for the Marquis¡¯s dinner?¡± ¡°Good new clothes are custom-made, so it takes time. Used ones are not recommended, as there is a high chance that you won¡¯t be able to find clothes that fit your body shape.¡± Alessia-san replied with difficulty. Is it hard to find clothes in this world? ¡°Hmm, the most decent thing I have is a suit, but that¡¯s not the standard in this world, is it?¡± ¡°Yes, it would be something that has never been seen on this continent.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. After we opened the luxury liner, it would have been a little more common and less of a problem¡­ But the clothes of the high-ranking people are very flashy, aren¡¯t they?¡± I haven¡¯t seen much of it, but the appearance of high-ranking people is flashy, isn¡¯t it? The quality of the clothes seems to be better than the ones I bought in the Castle, but¡­ ¡°Yes¡­ but high-ranking people dress fancy to show their status, so there¡¯s no need for you to dress fancy, Wataru-san.¡± There is no need for me to dress fancy? I thought that I would have to be sparkly to meet the high-ranking people. I wanted to buy a white tuxedo and go to an accessory store and buy all kinds of jewelry, but thank God. ¡°There is no need for me, an F-rank merchant, to dress up so fancy, is there? Then I should wear a suit to let them know my association with the mage. As long as it¡¯s clean and of a certain quality, they won¡¯t be offended by unusual clothing, right?¡± ¡°¡­I suppose so. I think they might be interested, but I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be offended. But what if they ask for details about the suit? Wouldn¡¯t Camille-san be offended if you spread the word that you didn¡¯t sign up with the God of Commerce-sama? It¡¯s a type of clothing that has never been seen before.¡± ¡­It was a blind spot. It¡¯s possible to imitate it, if only in form. It would be a lot of trouble if someone registered it first. I¡¯m also afraid of Camille-san¡¯s anger. ¡°Shall we go to the merchant¡¯s guild tomorrow and sign a contract just for the clothes I will wear? I¡¯ll be really pissed if someone registers it without doing anything. We have a brief meeting to decide what clothes we¡¯ll wear and then return to our respective rooms. It seems that I won¡¯t be able to take Ines, Felicia, and Rimu to the Marquis¡¯ place. I hear that Girasole will protect me well, but I¡¯m a little nervous. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ The next day, we go to the Merchant¡¯s Guild and register every item of clothing that will be worn. I think it¡¯s cool to call clothes an item. They said it on TV, but I¡¯m not using it wrong, am I? I was afraid to use it in Japan, but I can use it in this world. No one will know if I¡¯m wrong. The receptionist from yesterday continued to deal with me, but when she saw my suit, she was stunned. There seemed to be a feeling of discomfort. I wondered what kind of interest rate I should sign up for, but I heard that I could re-sign the contract later and there would be no problem, so I signed the contract at the percentage the receptionist said was appropriate. The rest was up to Camille-san. After signing the contract, we went back to the inn and had lunch. Everyone wanted to eat on a luxury liner rather than in the city. I won. Girasole is quite dependent on other world cultures. Before going to the Castle, they asked to use the showers on the Lutto, and maybe they¡¯re already in a state where they can¡¯t separate themselves from the Ship Summoning? The question is what to do with them after¡­ If I make a move on one of them, it¡¯ll ruin the others, and if I make a move on all of them at once¡­ What does it mean to make a move on all of them at once? Like saying I like them all or asking them to join my harem? I have no idea what to do all at once. If you want to continue using the ship¡¯s facilities, be my wife¡­ That¡¯s impossible. I know it will end sadly. I wonder if there was a Goddess of Love or something among the goddesses? ¡­Love, huh? When I think about it calmly, it doesn¡¯t feel like love. Of course, I like them, but I think my desire to monopolize a beautiful and big-breasted Onee-san is stronger. I¡¯m sure the Goddess of Love would be angry if I talked to her about it. While I was thinking silly things in my head, an innkeeper came to tell us about a visitor. Remembering yesterday¡¯s sadness, I kept quiet in the back. It¡¯s none of my business. I hear several male voices. Who are they? ¡°Wataru-san, my brother and his friends are here. He¡¯s in a party of adventurers, but when I went back to my parent¡¯s house the day before yesterday, I couldn¡¯t see him because he was out on a mission. Can I say hello to him?¡± Alessia-san told me who the visitors were. It¡¯s her brother and his brother¡¯s friend, right? When I looked around, I saw a handsome young man, because he was Alessia-san¡¯s younger brother. That one, it¡¯s kind of painful. ¡°My name is Wataru. Alessia-san has always been very kind to me.¡± When I asked for a handshake, he shook my hand a little sullenly. Why is that? I¡¯m the one who wants to be grumpy. The people around him aren¡¯t very friendly either. What¡¯s with this atmosphere? ¡°I am Saverio. What kind of business are you in, hiring Girasole as a bodyguard?¡± ¡°Hey, Saverio, you¡¯re being rude to Wataru-san. Watch your language.¡± ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s okay. I am a merchant.¡± ¡°What is your rank?¡± Don¡¯t pressure me like that. ¡°It¡¯s F.¡± ¡°What? Nee-chan is an A-rank adventurer. How can an F-rank merchant hire Girasole?¡± ¡°Nee-chan?¡± ¡­I know. Saverio is a siscon. I¡¯ve never seen one before. I¡¯ve seen them in manga and anime, but I¡¯ve never met them in real life. They really exist. I thought they only existed in fiction. Well, with a big-breasted, beautiful, and strong sister like Alessia-san, I can understand him being a siscon. It can¡¯t be helped. ¡°W-what is it? Nee-chan is Nee-chan, right? Instead, explain to me how an F-ranked merchant can hire Girasole.¡± I see. No wonder he¡¯s so grumpy; he¡¯s worried about his favorite sister being hired by an F-ranked merchant. The other members are also his friends, so they more or less admire Girasole¡ªno wonder they¡¯re so grumpy. I¡¯m an adult. I¡¯ll be gentle and take care of them. ¡°Why are you grinning at me? I¡¯m going to beat you to death.¡± What do you mean by grinning? It should be a wonderful gentle smile of an adult watching over a child. ¡°Saverio, enough of this. We owe Wataru-san a debt of gratitude. Be polite.¡± Oh, this is the opposite of what I want to do. This is a pattern of the resentment of being scolded by his favorite sister coming back to haunt me. Sure enough, the little brother stares at me with teary eyes. I look at him with a wonderful archaic smile. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare look down on me!¡± He is so angry. Apparently, my smile makes people uncomfortable. I am quite shocked. I¡¯m going to have to practice smiling, or I¡¯ll be at a disadvantage for the rest of my life. Oops, Alessia-san is about to get really mad. I have to do something. ¡°Um, Saverio-kun, you don¡¯t have to raise your rank in the Merchant¡¯s Guild if you have a special route. I¡¯m an F-rank merchant, but I make enough money to hire Girasole.¡± Actually, that¡¯s not true, but even though he¡¯s Alessia-san¡¯s younger brother, I can¡¯t talk to him about a lot of things. That¡¯s because he doesn¡¯t like me. ¡°A-are you making that much money? How long are you going to hire Girasole?¡± When he heard my comment about my profit, he lost a little momentum. But it looks like he wants me to part ways with Girasole as soon as possible. ¡°Saverio, that¡¯s none of your business.¡± Hmm, it seems that Alessia-san is insensitive to her brother¡¯s feelings as well. So this is the insensitive protagonist. ¡­I wonder if my feelings will reach her? Usually, the main character is insensitive and frustrates the other members. I¡¯m also a person from another world with cheats. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if I were the main character, but I don¡¯t understand why the person I¡¯m aiming for is an insensitive type. ¡°I was just wondering how long Nee-chan would work as an escort.¡± ¡°How long? I mean, I can¡¯t leave for a while.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t leave! Why not? What kind of relationship do you have with him?¡± Little brother, you¡¯re being pushed around at full speed. There¡¯s no deep meaning in Alessia-san¡¯s words, you know. You¡¯re her little brother, you know that, right? I approach Ilma-san while watching the two of them argue. It¡¯s Ilma-san I can rely on in times like this. The other members of Girasole are so close. (Ilma-san, have they always been like that?) I whisper to Ilma-san. (Yes, it hasn¡¯t changed since they were little.) Ilma-san whispered into my ear. At the same time, something that looked like a murderous intent came flying at me. I looked over and saw one of the little brother¡¯s friends staring at me in frustration. Oh, so he¡¯s after Ilma-san. He likes the bewitching older sister, doesn¡¯t he? I love her too. Feeling a little sympathy, I try to smile at him but stop myself in a hurry. If I smile now, he will definitely misinterpret it as a triumphant smile. I have learned that much. (Don¡¯t you want to stop it?) (It will stop soon. Saverio is completely weak against Alessia). I listened to Ilma-san¡¯s words, and soon after, the little brother apologized to me. It¡¯s an overwhelming power relationship. ¡°So Saverio, you didn¡¯t just come to visit us, did you?¡± ¡°Uh, yes, we¡¯ve become C-rank adventurers. Now that we¡¯re full-fledged adventurers, we¡¯ve come to ask you to let us join Girasole.¡± The other members nodded in agreement. They are all handsome young men, but I sense a tearful effort on their part. Perhaps they have worked hard to join Girasole. It¡¯s a wonderful thing, but it¡¯s very uncomfortable for me. What¡¯s going to happen? ¡°It¡¯s hard to hear you say such a thing so suddenly.¡± ¡°So suddenly, you say? I¡¯ve been asking you to take me with you for a long time. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± ¡°Hey, guys, excuse me.¡± As I approached Alessia-san, I was intimidated by the little brother. Watchdog is the perfect word for him. I won¡¯t be able to get close to Girasole once he joins them. ¡°What are you going to do, Alessia-san?¡± I ask, and she replies with a difficult look on her face. ¡°He¡¯s my sweet little brother, but he¡¯s still C-ranked, so there¡¯s too much of a gap between our abilities. There¡¯s the idea of training him, but we don¡¯t have time for that since we¡¯re going to help Wataru-san.¡± They continued the discussion and came to the conclusion that they would not take him with them. Good. I guess that won¡¯t stop me from getting close to them. When Alessia-san told him that he couldn¡¯t go with them, he said, ¡°No, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± He¡¯s stubborn. If I had that kind of courage, I would have a different life. ¡°It is not possible. I can¡¯t suddenly add more people to my group because I work for Wataru-san. You know that.¡± ¡°If that guy says it is good, will you let me join?¡± Little brother, why are you doing this? Don¡¯t come over here. ¡°Hey, I can go with you. You look weak, and I¡¯ll protect you, including that weird Slime on your head.¡± What did he just say? ¡°Rimu, weird?¡± I hurriedly took Rimu in my arms and stroked him, telling him that he was not weird. I praise him all the time for being so cute. Isn¡¯t that worth dying for, even if he is Alessia-san¡¯s brother? ¡°Hey, why are you flirting with a Slime? Are you a pervert?¡± I¡¯ll show him hell. ¡°Hey, Saverio, that¡¯s enough.¡± What should I crush him with? Maybe the Fortress. The Fortress would be more powerful. Or should I use the Castle? ¡°The Fortress or the Castle? I¡¯ll let you choose especially.¡± I¡¯ll give him a small gift. ¡°Wataru-san, wait, calm down. You can¡¯t go with the Stronghold or the Castle, no matter what. There¡¯s too much damage. I¡¯m sorry, but please use another punishment. I¡¯ll make sure it¡¯s done.¡± ¡°Stay out of it, Nee-chan. I¡¯ll talk to him.¡± ¡°Shut up. We are Wataru-san¡¯s bodyguards. Anything more, and you will be treated as an enemy.¡± The air around them changed drastically as Girasole readied their weapons. The tense atmosphere scared me and the little brother. ¡°I-I understand. When I think about it calmly, it wasn¡¯t that big a deal, so I don¡¯t mind. But¡­ you will carry out the punishment I decide.¡± ¡°Why, you¡¯re the one who said¡­¡± ¡°Saverio, behave yourself, okay?¡± ¡°Nee-chan. All right, just don¡¯t point your sword at me.¡± What should I punish him with? It¡¯s true that summoning a ship is overkill, isn¡¯t it? Now that I think about it, his words weren¡¯t even malicious, and he seemed to think he was protecting me¡­ but for some reason, it was really annoying. I don¡¯t like light punishment. ¡°I have decided. No joining Girasole for at least a year, which was the cause of the problem. Always use honorifics when addressing me and the other members of Girasole. No Nee-chan, and call only Alessia-san. Have respect for Slimes. I will let bygones be bygones if you abide by the above.¡± I look at the little brother, whose face is bright red. He was so angry that he couldn¡¯t speak. ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san. I¡¯ll make sure it¡¯s done. Saverio, you understand, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No way, Nee-chan.¡± ¡°You know, honorifics and Alessia-san, right? From now on, for every mistake you make, I will extend your joining ban and honorific period by one month. Good. Now go back.¡± Alessia-san turned the little brother and the others away without saying anything. I¡¯m so tired. I hate the fact that this is going to be a long relationship. I have dinner with the Marquis after this, don¡¯t I? Volume 9 - CH 5 Chapter 5 ¨C Discussion with the Marquis I see Alessia-san¡¯s little brother and his friends off. There is a subtle atmosphere in the room. It¡¯s awkward. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san. I will make sure that the punishment is carried out.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry too for not being mature enough.¡± Ugh, this embarrassing apology battle had developed. I don¡¯t like this ¡°No, no, it¡¯s my fault, too¡± feeling, but I don¡¯t know when to stop. The apology battle went on for a while, and then Dorothea-san stepped in, and we settled the matter by saying that it was mutual. ¡°We still have some time before the Marquis comes to pick us up, so let¡¯s have some tea.¡± We drink coffee and chat. We talked about the little brother and his friends. They are also from this town and seem to have become adventurers because of their admiration for Girasole. They had been asked to join the group several times, but they had refused because they were going on a journey and because they were not good enough. They worked hard and raised their rank to C and came here to join Girasole when they returned. For some reason, I couldn¡¯t forgive them, so I asked for their punishment¡­ Yes, they resented me. They definitely resented me. I¡¯m starting to feel like I went a little overboard. Hmm, it seems strange to withdraw the punishment right away, so I¡¯ll tell Alessia-san that it¡¯s okay after a while. ¡°Ines and Felicia are staying here, so what about dinner? You can eat wherever you like, and I¡¯ll get you something you like from the food storage boat.¡± After the two of them talked it over, they chose what they wanted to eat from the food storage boat. Ines said steak, and Felicia said pizza. Rimu, Fuu-chan, and Beni-chan also stay behind. I asked Ines and Felicia to prepare food for Rimu and the others. It is almost time to get dressed. The ladies¡¯ clothes are the clean and elegant clothes of this world. It¡¯s simple, and Claretta-san has just changed into her new priestess uniform. ¡°Don¡¯t the Girasole wear dresses?¡± ¡°Yes, if we were invited to a party, we might wear a dress, but we are adventurers, so we don¡¯t usually dress up.¡± Really¡­ that¡¯s a bit disappointing. The Castle did sell dresses, so I¡¯ll do my best to see if there¡¯s an opportunity next time. The carriage to pick us up arrived, so we split up and got in. I¡¯m finally going to meet the Marquis. I¡¯m very nervous. When we arrived at the castle, we were shown into a luxurious room. Tea was served immediately. The servants in the castle all have straight backs and move gracefully¡­ It is cool to have good manners. It¡¯s a world of difference from me walking around lazily. We chat over a cup of tea to ease the tension. After a while, we are ushered back in and shown a magnificent room. Generally, the person sitting at the shorter side of the rectangular table, looking so important, was the Marquis. I was a little intimidated when he stood up and greeted me. ¡°Welcome to my humble abode. May I call you Wataru-dono?¡± ¡°Yes, my name is Wataru. I am pleased to meet you, Marquis-sama.¡± The other participants also greeted each other and took their seats¡­ I didn¡¯t know that people would be so attentive when it came to matters concerning the mage. I¡¯m afraid of the nobles¡¯ kindness. The Knight Commander¡¯s smile is also drawn, and he seems to be having a hard time. The food is monotonous compared to that of a luxury liner, but it is tasty enough, and beautifully arranged dishes are served. At first, it was light conversation, but gradually the conversation turned to probing. I didn¡¯t find being probed any better than talking about clothes and art. It was so full of gibberish that I had to phase through it and broke out in a cold sweat. I managed to explain about the suit, but the rest of the conversation was refreshing. He even tried to recruit me. He asked me if I would be interested in opening a shop in Lucca. He said he would give me permission to do business with the Marquis family¡­ and it sounded somehow lucrative, but I refused. Doing business with the nobility is a hassle. Besides, I think he wanted the connection with the mage 100%. When I refused, he told me to visit him whenever I felt like it. He seems to be a very good negotiator. ¡°What kind of relationship does Wataru-dono have with Mage-dono?¡± ¡°Relationship, huh? I don¡¯t know how to describe it, but we met by chance and became friends.¡± ¡°Oh, we owe him a debt of gratitude, but we never had the chance to meet him. What kind of person is he?¡± ¡°Well, yes¡­ He is a gentle and kind man, as long as you don¡¯t make him angry. He doesn¡¯t seem to be interested in money and likes to live a leisurely life.¡± This is almost a lie. I am almost embarrassed to say it. He asks me a lot of questions, but his interest seems to be focused on the mage. He also asks about me in between, but his interest seems to be in the ship I use for the pepper trade. He asked me about the performance of the ship, the price, if he could get it, if I could sell it to him, and so on. When I told him that the mage does not allow resale, he quietly retreated. It would be annoying if I met a nobleman who said, ¡°I don¡¯t care about the mage; just give me the ship.¡± I was glad that Girasole joined the conversation and ended up being the focus of it. After the meal was over, the real discussion began. I was quite tired of the conversation during the meal, but now it was time to get down to business. ¡°So, Wataru-dono. Do you have a favor to ask regarding the request of Mage-dono?¡± ¡°Yes. Mage-sama wants to build an orphanage in this country, and I have been entrusted with the responsibility of arranging it. He wants to build a large orphanage, but it is difficult to secure land in this city. However, I have been told that land can now be secured in the city of Cagliari, so I have come to ask the Marquis-sama for help.¡± ¡°I see. The orphanage, huh? Have you heard why Mage-dono wanted to build an orphanage?¡± Well, what should I say? It is not good to exaggerate too much, is it? ¡°I heard that he received a large reward from the war, and he said that if he were going to spend that large sum of money, it would be better to use it to help the country that gave it to him. He is a kind man, so I think he was concerned about the orphans who would come out as victims of the war.¡± I feel embarrassed to say this to myself, what am I, a saint? I wonder if I can be treated lightly for being too kind? ¡°Hmm, well, if Mage-dono is going to build an orphanage¡­ I think there will be some people who will cause unnecessary trouble with the orphanage, but are you okay with that?¡± Unnecessary trouble? Is it possible to harass the orphans or take them hostage? ¡­It will be troublesome because the story will get bigger, but I think it¡¯s better to involve the crown prince after all. ¡°You¡¯re right. I don¡¯t know what benefit there is in angering Mage-sama, but if there is a danger, it should be dealt with. ¡­Is it possible to secure the land within sight of the naval headquarters? I would also like to request that the Navy patrol and guard the property.¡± ¡°No doubt, we owe a debt to Mage-dono, but¡­ if we use the National Army in an area under direct control, there will be those who will make a fuss. It will be difficult.¡± It¡¯s not good, huh? It would be easier if it worked. It would have to be profitable for the other side. I could use the luxury liner. If there¡¯s a luxury liner near the orphanage, it will be safer, right? ¡°Right. When Mage-sama gets close to this country, we are supposed to use the crown prince as a contact person. Is that possible? Mage-sama said that once the orphanage is established, he will dock one of his ships at the port.¡± ¡°The crown prince was also concerned about Mage-dono, and it would be possible for Wataru-dono to meet him as well. But is the price for the cooperation with the orphanage the docking of the ship? He is not giving up his ship, is he?¡± ¡°Yes, just to dock the ship. The ship will be managed by the person chosen by Mage-sama. The country cannot do anything with it.¡± ¡°Why is that the price? Sure, it¡¯s reassuring to have that huge ship docked there, but it¡¯s not worth that much now that the empire is on the verge of destruction, is it?¡± I think I could do something here if I could successfully convey the allure of a luxury liner, right? ¡°Mage-sama said he would let people stay in the inn on the ship. I have been on board, and it is a wonderful ship of enormous size, full of alcohol, food, and all sorts of things I have never seen before. I think it would be a great advantage just to have that ship docked there. That¡¯s no exaggeration, is it? ¡°A ship¡¯s inn, huh¡­ That¡¯s interesting, but does the inn have that much effect?¡± ¡°It does. The ship is a dream for high-ranking people. I hear it is especially wonderful. As word spreads, I think it will attract wealthy people from all over the continent. Wouldn¡¯t that be an asset to this country?¡± ¡°Hmm, it would be an advantage, but there are also risks when you consider security and such.¡± Ah, I see. There are dangerous issues like terrorism and assassination, aren¡¯t there? ¡°It¡¯s absolutely safe on board the ship, as long as you don¡¯t commit any acts of killing or injuring on board. If you try to kill or injure someone who has the protection of Mage-sama, you will be thrown off the ship. If the security on the way to the ship is good enough, then you are safe.¡± ¡°Is it safe on board? Will assassination attempts, such as poisoning, be dealt with?¡± Poisoning, I hadn¡¯t thought about that. How about that? I think it¡¯s okay because it¡¯s a no-kill policy, but I haven¡¯t confirmed it. I think it¡¯s safe because it¡¯s a no-kill policy, but I haven¡¯t checked. I¡¯ll check the poison later, but if the poison is rejected on board, is it okay?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine. As long as you don¡¯t do it yourself, you won¡¯t be in any danger on the ship. And you cannot bring the poison on board.¡± ¡°Hmm, I can¡¯t judge without seeing it. Is it possible to take a look at the ship?¡± Since I said it¡¯s the mage¡¯s ship, I don¡¯t think it would be easy to bring him on board. ¡°When the orphanage is built, I will ask him to bring the ship over, so I think it would be possible to invite you then.¡± ¡°After the orphanage is built? We will have to consult with the crown prince, and even if we see the ship after it is built, that is no guarantee that we will guard it, is it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that will be a problem. After seeing the ship, I can¡¯t imagine that the crown prince and Marquis-sama think that it¡¯s not necessary for the country.¡± ¡°Is it really such a great ship? Speaking of which, does Mage-dono only use ships? I¡¯ve only seen him use his power on ships so far.¡± If I said only ships here, I¡¯d probably be treated lightly. Right now, the Add is the only one that can run on land, but I can buy hovercrafts, amphibious vehicles, amphibious buses, and so on. I think it will be no problem to make a big show of it. ¡°I¡¯ve been on a magic vehicle before, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯s just ships.¡± ¡°What a surprise, he even has a magic vehicle¡­ I¡¯ll be able to meet him the next time I see the ship, won¡¯t I? I¡¯d like to talk to him.¡± He took the bait of the magic vehicle. I knew it was rare. Let¡¯s not meet as the mage¡­ It would be easier to understand if the mage is a shut-in and I am the errand boy. ¡°It is very likely that the mage will not be able to come, so it is unlikely that you will be able to meet with him. He said he would appoint someone to be in charge of the ship and leave everything to that person.¡± ¡°Is there any way I can meet with him¡­ Wataru-dono? Is there anything you can do?¡± ¡°Mage-sama doesn¡¯t like to meet people, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible. He especially doesn¡¯t like to meet royalty and nobility¡­¡± ¡°I see¡­ Normally, I wouldn¡¯t trust someone I can¡¯t even meet¡­¡± ¡°I think so too. ¡­This is my personal opinion, but I think if you make it a condition to meet, Mage-sama will refuse the whole thing. It is not impossible to run an orphanage or inn in another country or place.¡± I guess not being able to see the mage means that there will be a lot of attention on me, but if I spread the word that I am just an errand boy, and if anyone harms me, the mage will come in retaliation, can¡¯t we work something out? If the luxury liner attracts attention, the negotiations will shift to Camille-san, and if someone makes a nasty mess of us, it may be necessary to dress up as the mage and crash a hovercraft or water bus into them. ¡°¡­We cannot ignore the achievements of Mage-dono. We do not want to damage our relationship with him. Most of all, we do not want his knowledge to be spread to other countries. I heard that Wataru-dono introduced Mage-dono to Girasole. I¡¯ll take care of the introduction to the land of Cagliari. But as for asking the crown prince to guard the orphanage, we¡¯ll wait until we see the ship if that¡¯s all right.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡± That will be fine, right? He won¡¯t say, ¡°Duh, I don¡¯t want that kind of ship,¡± when he sees a luxury liner, will he? ¡°But if it¡¯s such a great ship, there will be a lot of people who want it. What if the royalty of other countries, who haven¡¯t seen the power of Mage-dono with their own eyes, want the ship?¡± ¡°Well, I wonder what he will do. I¡¯m sure Mage-sama will take care of it himself, so I have no idea. ¡° If the royal family wants the ship¡­ it¡¯s sure to be a hassle, but I might have to make a serious threat. It would be best if things went peacefully and without incident. ¡°That¡¯s as if it¡¯s someone else¡¯s problem. Aren¡¯t you worried about Mage-dono?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone can do anything about Mage-sama. Besides, after seeing the ship, I¡¯m sure the people of the Kingdom of Brescia will do their best to protect it.¡± ¡°Protect? The kingdom? How could they?¡± I don¡¯t see why not. If the technology they¡¯ve never seen before, the wonderful alcohol and food they¡¯ve never heard of, the beauty-related goods, if they become very popular, I think they¡¯ll do their best on their own because they don¡¯t want to lose it as a country¡­ Is it too easy to think like that? I would be ashamed if I were too confident. ¡°No, I just think that if it were me, I would protect the ship and the orphanage because I wouldn¡¯t want anything to happen and the ship to be moved to another place. I would ask you to make a decision after you see the ship.¡± ¡°So much for the ship¡­ I¡¯m looking forward to it. I¡¯ll give you the letter of introduction; just wait a bit.¡± After exchanging greetings with those present, I was led to the first room. ¡°Whew, did you find anything wrong with what I told him?¡± ¡°Wataru-san, it¡¯s not good to talk about such things here.¡± ¡­Ilma-san said something scary. You mean we should be on the lookout for things like eavesdropping, right? Seriously? It sounds like a period drama or a spy movie. I tried to make it a trivial conversation, but I couldn¡¯t get my tongue around it very well. I¡¯m getting strangely nervous. As I waited, chatting non-stop. A rather pompous-looking civil servant came up to me with a letter of introduction. He told me to give it to the Merchant¡¯s Guild in the city of Cagliari, and they would take care of the formalities. We were then escorted out of the castle and taken back to the inn in a horse-drawn carriage. I was tired after all that had happened, so I decided to go to bed early today. I guess we¡¯ll have to talk tomorrow. Volume 9 - CH 6 Chapter 6 ¨C The Little Brother¡¯s Negotiations and Land Extent Decision The next day, after the discussion with the Marquis. We gather in my room and discuss yesterday¡¯s events over breakfast. I explained most of what happened to Ines and Felicia, who stayed home yesterday. ¡°So, was there anything wrong with what I said yesterday?¡± ¡°Well, I think you pushed things a little too hard about the mage, but I don¡¯t think there were any problems. I was surprised to hear you mention the luxury liner out of the blue, but if you can bring out the National Guard, it¡¯s not a bad idea.¡± The National Guard was only brought in because I was told there might be a problem at the orphanage. ¡°I made a big boast that the country would want to protect the luxury liner if we opened it, but is that okay?¡± ¡°Hmm, I think they would protect it, but I don¡¯t know how the royalty and nobility would judge it.¡± I see; it is possible that high-ranking people have a different way of thinking. It would be easier if they just thought of protecting the orphanage for the sake of the luxury liner. I¡¯m worried about what kind of decision they will make. ¡°¡­Well, we¡¯ll see what happens after we show them the ship, so let¡¯s start by establishing an orphanage in the city of Cagliari, shall we?¡± ¡°Right¡­do you want to leave right away?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but I was wondering if the Girasole had unfinished business in Lucca? Would it be a problem if we stayed a few days?¡± The Girasole looked at each other and discussed. ¡°It¡¯s okay; I was able to meet with my family. I¡¯ll do the other things I want to do after all the attention dies down.¡± Yes, that¡¯s right. With all the excitement, you can¡¯t just walk around town. ¡°Then let¡¯s take a short rest and then go to the city of Cagliari, shall we?¡± After breakfast, I relax a little. ¡­When there was a knock at the door, and Ines answered, she came back with a subtle look on her face. ¡°Ines, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Alessia¡¯s brother and his friends are here. What do you want to do?¡± ¡°¡­What should we do? It was only yesterday. Alessia-san, what do you want to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll go see him.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± We should have left earlier. I hear someone talking at the door. Ah, a one-month extension of the punishment has been announced. I¡¯m going to offer to lift the punishment soon, but please don¡¯t increase it. Alessia-san won¡¯t be convinced. Oh, Alessia-san is back. ¡°Is something wrong, Alessia-san?¡± ¡°No, nothing. He didn¡¯t think about what happened yesterday at all, and he wanted to make the request together, so I just turned him away. I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san. I¡¯ll discipline him well.¡± ¡°No, when I think about it, I feel like I went too far, so please go easy on him.¡± ¡°Thank you, Wataru-san. But this is a good opportunity, so I¡¯ll go hard. I¡¯ve been spoiling him, so it¡¯s just as well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that, Alessia. You are a leader, so you should think more carefully.¡± ¡°Ilma, what¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°It was Wataru-san who punished him. If you go too hard, it will be Wataru-san who will be resented by the spoiled Saverio. You can discipline him, but you should do it when it doesn¡¯t bother other people.¡± Oh, that helps. Nice, Ilma-san. ¡°Well, that¡¯s true. Saverio is so soft on his relatives that he might resent Wataru-san in a strange way. Thank you, Ilma. I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°No, well, I got angry too, and I think I said too much, so please lift the punishment if you think it¡¯s good enough for Alessia-san.¡± I talked with Alessia-san about when the punishment would be lifted. I¡¯ve been a little too relaxed. Let¡¯s leave quickly. As we leave the inn, a group of people come towards us¡­ It gives me a headache. ¡°Wataru-san, may I have a moment to talk to Alessia-san?¡± On the surface, he is smiling, but his mouth is pulled into a tight line as if he is uncomfortable. He¡¯s trying his best, isn¡¯t he? ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine. But people are gathering. I¡¯m sorry, but I have to ask you to hurry.¡± Maybe he didn¡¯t like my words, but the tension on his face went up a notch. Was the ¡°please hurry¡± part wrong? After the greeting, the little brother and his friends walked lightly toward Alessia-san¡¯s place. ¡°Saverio, as I said, we¡¯re going out, so we can¡¯t come with you to the request.¡± ¡°Yes, Alessia-san, we have discussed this, but we would like to help the Girasole and learn from you. I will do any kind of menial work. I think it would be my way of apologizing to Wataru-san.¡± Oh, does the little brother have a split personality? He seems to be a wonderful young man. He looks like a different person from the one with the drawn-out smile earlier. It¡¯s a sparkling smile. The strategy is not to join them but to stay by their side as a subordinate¡­ I think it¡¯s a bitter pill to swallow if it¡¯s subordinate. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m glad Saverio feels that way¡­ Wataru-san, he says he¡¯s willing to do menial work; what do you think?¡± Uh, yeah, it¡¯s hard to say no, but I can¡¯t take him with me. On the surface, he¡¯s smiling, but if there¡¯s an opening, the little brother won¡¯t hesitate to get rid of me. I¡¯m too scared. ¡°Well¡­ I appreciate your concern, but I¡¯m in a very special business in many ways, so I can¡¯t take you with me.¡± ¡°I will keep your secret. Can¡¯t you do something about that? I am willing to make a contract with you.¡± It¡¯s not good if it comes out badly, is it? And if he brings up contracts and things like that, it¡¯s hard to say that I can¡¯t trust him. But I don¡¯t want to be stressed out. And it will definitely make it harder for me to talk to Girasole. I have to refuse somehow. What should I say? ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Even if we signed a contract, it would be hard for me to work with you on a small ship. Do you understand?¡± Is it difficult? But I¡¯m sure it would be difficult with five more men. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± He¡¯s trying desperately to come up with something. I don¡¯t want to hear from him anymore. I managed the trouble with the employee and Romano-san because they¡¯re not that closely related, but Saverio is Alessia-san¡¯s brother. ¡°Alessia-san, that¡¯s what this is about. Is it okay with you?¡± ¡°I have no problem with it since it¡¯s Wataru-san¡¯s decision. Besides, I also think it would be hard to have five more people on the Lutto.¡± ¡°Then, Saverio-san, we¡¯ll go now. I¡¯m sorry.¡± After saying that, I walked away quickly. There seemed to be a strange aura about it¡­ I¡¯ll be careful not to get stabbed. I walk out of the gate and get on the Lutto while the people in town cheer for Girasole. I leave the harbor and set the autopilot. Will we arrive in the middle of the night? It¡¯s a hassle and a waste to go out on the open sea and change ships. Let¡¯s just keep going. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ After breakfast, I went out on the deck and saw the city of Cagliari in the distance. ¡°When I saw it before, it was in ruins, but it looks like it is being restored.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the naval headquarters of the Kingdom of Brescia, so there¡¯s an urgent need to repair it. I have heard that the city is lagging behind in its maintenance.¡± Alessia-san¡¯s words reminded me that there were still some challenges to overcome. ¡°Speaking of which, there is a shortage of materials and manpower for construction, isn¡¯t there? We should discuss this and other matters with the Merchant¡¯s Guild. Shall we go to the harbor first?¡± When we entered the harbor, we found that we could not enter the area for military ships. It seems that ordinary ships are allowed to stay at the edge, so it can¡¯t be helped since the city is the headquarters of the Navy. I guess Lucca is for trade, and Cagliari is for defense. I paid the entrance fee and docked the ship. Since it is a naval city, the procedures for entering the port and the city are very difficult. It increases the security of the orphanage, but I don¡¯t think a luxury liner would be a good fit. I think there would be a problem in the country with the Navy brass who frequent the luxury liner. Some of the houses are damaged, but the debris seems to have been cleared away. There are few residents, and the place is not as lively as it was when the dark elves built the village. The Naval Headquarters was noisy, so construction must be concentrated at the Naval Headquarters. On my way to the Merchant¡¯s Guild that the gatekeeper told me about¡­ I guess it used to be a nice building, but it looks shabby with only some temporary measures. I don¡¯t think they would normally attack every guild that has power. ¡°With the Merchant¡¯s Guild in this state, it¡¯s going to be pretty hard to build an orphanage. But¡­ why are they destroying so much of the city they occupy? Normally, they wouldn¡¯t demolish as much as possible in order to use it, right?¡± ¡°Normally, yes. But the other party is the Empire. They probably had a big slave hunt in the city. The inhabitants would have resisted as much as they could if they were caught, so the damage would have been much worse.¡± Alessia-san explained. If they get caught, they become slaves, especially the beastmen, so they risk their lives. Are slaves so useful? I think it¡¯s more profitable to use the city. Maybe the principle of profit doesn¡¯t work. But as far as the empire is concerned, it¡¯s a bonus. When I enter the Merchant¡¯s Guild, it is deserted. There are only two receptionists. One of them is an old man. He reminds me of the old man in Western City. I don¡¯t want to get involved with him. Well, that one is muscular, and this one is¡­ muscular, too. The old man in Western Town was an employee of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, so that makes sense, but this one works for the Merchant¡¯s Guild. Isn¡¯t that wrong? It¡¯s a deserted Merchant¡¯s Guild; the only lively place is the Navy Headquarters, so I guess there aren¡¯t many merchants. I guess the Empire¡¯s attack must have killed quite a few people. I approach the counter and talk to the receptionist. Then the old man sitting next to the receptionist lady, shifts his seat to listen to what I have to say. I don¡¯t want anything to do with the old man. ¡°Welcome, sir. How can I help you?¡± The receptionist is a beautiful woman. Even in this situation, I feel that the Merchant¡¯s Guild is very particular about having a beautiful woman as a receptionist. One of them is an old man, though. ¡°I came here because I heard that a large piece of land can be bought in the city of Cagliari. I would like to secure a large plot of land near the naval headquarters. Is that possible?¡± ¡°¡­There was a lot of conflict near the naval headquarters, so you can secure a large piece of land, but you need a letter of introduction to buy the right to use the land in this city. Do you have one?¡± ¡°Yes. Here it is.¡± I give her the letter of introduction, and after confirming the name, she hands the letter to the old man next to her. ¡­This process is like the template. I get it; all of a sudden, I¡¯m the Guild Master of the Merchant¡¯s Guild, right? And that¡¯s the pattern, to tease and play with the other guy. I¡¯ll never get into it. ¡°Oh, a letter of introduction from the Marquis of Lucca. You have a good connection. Wait a moment while I read the contents.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Um, can I ask you something?¡± While I was waiting for the letter of introduction to be finished, the receptionist spoke to me. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine. What is it?¡± She seemed subtly reluctant. I wondered why. ¡°Um, why do you have Slime on your head? The other two ladies have it on their heads, too. Is it a trend?¡± She asked me directly. I didn¡¯t think anyone would say it was a trend. ¡°It¡¯s not a trend. They are Slimes that we have tamed. They are cute.¡± ¡°Really? I don¡¯t understand how Slimes can be cute.¡± ¡­I should spread it around. ¡°Oh, you can talk about the Slimes later. You have good connections to assist the rumored Mage-sama, says the Marquis. I read that the land should be within sight of the naval headquarters and close to the gate, so it would be easy for them to rush in, is that right?¡± That¡¯s out of the blue. But it would be helpful if the Navy could easily rush to the orphanage. The Marquis said that the guard would wait until he saw the ship, but he wrote a letter of introduction with the guard firmly in mind¡­ Is he a Tsundere? ¡°Yes, I need a big place.¡± ¡°Even if you say a big place, that¡¯s vague¡­ How much exactly do you need?¡± ¡°Yes, I want a place the size of a large nobleman¡¯s mansion.¡± ¡°I told you to be specific. All right, let¡¯s take a look at it in person. Follow me.¡± After saying that, the old man from the Merchant¡¯s Guild left the counter and started walking. For some reason, he was carrying several flags with him. I wondered why he was carrying multiple flags. I followed him at a short distance so as not to fall behind. Once outside, we start walking toward the naval headquarters. The old man from the Merchant¡¯s Guild gives us an explanation of the city. But the explanation is sad, telling us what was here, what was there, and so on. After a while, we see the back gate of the Navy Headquarters. ¡°This area should be good. The Navy will rush through the back gate there. Most of the people around here have either died or sold their rights and left because of the damage. Those who have the rights will probably give them to me if I talk to them. Just mark where you want it from here to there.¡± The old man from the Merchant¡¯s Guild handed me a flag he was carrying. Oh, I see; this flag is a marker. But it¡¯s in tatters. I feel a little uneasy, but since Rimu and the priestess Claretta-san are here, I¡¯m sure everything will be okay. The size of the land is¡­ bigger than I¡¯d like anyway. If there are many children, they will need space to exercise. I put up the flag while thinking about the approximate size of the property. Is this about right? Am I being too greedy? I put up a flag about the size of two Castle ships. I¡¯d build a building the size of one ship and a playground on the other. It may be too big, but it is better than too small. It seems that now is the only time I can buy the land. Volume 9 - CH 7 Chapter 7 ¨C Buying Land and Dragon Forest When I was satisfied with the approximate size of the plot, the old man from the merchant¡¯s house came over to talk to me. ¡°You have taken up quite a bit of space. At this size, even if it¡¯s a little ragged, it¡¯s still within the city walls, and it¡¯ll cost you four or five platinum coins.¡± Sure, it¡¯s worrisome, isn¡¯t it? But it is more than 1,000 platinum coins. If it were in Japan, it would be a big problem, and it would be enough to build a market. I can afford that much, right? ¡°We have plenty of funds, so it will be fine.¡± ¡°Speaking of which, you¡¯re helping Mage-sama, right? She was introduced by the Marquis, so there¡¯s no need to worry. In that case, I will calculate the price within that range, and if there is anyone who still has the rights, I will talk to them. Well, there are a lot of people who want to give up their land, so please come to the Merchant¡¯s Guild in about 10 days. Oh, and what are you going to do with the land anyway?¡± ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t tell you. We are going to build an orphanage on that land.¡± ¡°Huh? Why an orphanage? Is it profitable?¡± I¡¯ve never heard of an orphanage being profitable. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s profitable or anything like that. You must understand that it¡¯s a whim of Mage-sama.¡± ¡°A whim? I¡¯ve heard that he brought a royal family to its knees, destroyed the Imperial Navy, and other absurd things, and now he wants to build a big orphanage. It seems to me that he doesn¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing. Well, I haven¡¯t done much of anything, have I? ¡°Hahaha, maybe so, I¡¯ll come back in 10 days, but can it be built right after I buy the land?¡± It seems impossible, but I¡¯ll ask, just in case. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. We don¡¯t have enough men and materials. At the very least, you would have to wait until the naval headquarters is settled. Well, the nobles will be repairing and rebuilding their mansions. I think it will take even longer.¡± Not only the Navy Headquarters but also the mansions of the nobles¡­ If we wait leisurely, it could easily take a year or so. Do I have to bring my own materials and labor? ¡°Is it okay to bring materials and personnel from neighboring countries?¡± ¡°Hmm? We already import materials from the neighboring countries, so even if you go to the neighboring countries, you won¡¯t be able to get the numbers you need, and the prices will skyrocket. It won¡¯t be easy. Let¡¯s talk about what to do when we get back to the Lutto. ¡°I understand. Thank you very much. I¡¯ll think of something. I¡¯ll visit the merchant guild in 10 days.¡± ¡°Hey, wait a minute. What about the contract? If you pay the deposit, you have priority in the negotiations. Well, I don¡¯t see anyone buying this place anytime soon, but there might be someone who wants to buy it while they can.¡± ¡°Oh, please. How much do I have to pay as a deposit?¡± ¡°Hmm, well, 10 gold coins should do it.¡± I was about to say goodbye to him, but I went back to the guild with the guy from the guild, paid him 10 gold coins, and we signed the contract. ¡°Alessia-san, I¡¯m not in the mood for sightseeing, and I¡¯m going back to the ship now. Is that okay with you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The atmosphere is not very cheerful, so let¡¯s go back.¡± We returned to the ship and discussed our future plans over a cup of canned coffee in the living room. ¡°There¡¯s still time until the next 10 days, so what should we do?¡± That¡¯s not quite enough, isn¡¯t it? Not enough time to search for the dark elves. Should we go buy materials first? It will take time to get to Aarhus, the neighboring port city we visited earlier. Besides, I heard that the materials are running low, so it seems impossible to get there in 10 days. ¡°Do you have something to do, Wataru-san? We can¡¯t get to the Dark Elf Village in 10 days, can we?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the problem, isn¡¯t it? It takes time to do things, so 10 days is too short. Can¡¯t you think of anything, Alessia-san? If that¡¯s the case, we could take a break and spend some time in Lucca.¡± ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s hard to take a vacation in Lucca right now. If you want to take a day off, I would like to spend it on the ship with Wataru-san. What about you girls?¡± The members of Girasole discussed this. They all say that life on the ship is definitely better than the noisy Lucca. I¡¯m glad they chose the ship, even if it¡¯s noisy for one reason or another. With nothing to do, we decided to take it easy and relax on the open sea with Girasole. The voyage to Lucca is also like a vacation, so the more we move, the more time we have off. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ For the next 10 days, we enjoyed the facilities of the luxury liner to the fullest. My relationship with Girasole should not be so bad, as we had fun drinking and swimming together, but we never made any progress. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong. I¡¯m trying my best, but I don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s going well. Do I really need to talk to Ilma-san about this? I asked Ines and Felicia as well. They dismissed all my efforts, saying that they knew I was doing my best but that it was pointless because they couldn¡¯t get through to me unless I told them directly. I can¡¯t go through with it because it would be embarrassing later if I failed. I can see a future where no progress is made and time passes, and Girasole is taken away by another man. I¡¯ll think about it as much as I can, whether it¡¯s after the orphanage is finished, the luxury liner opens, and the dark elves migrate so that even if things go wrong, there will be less damage. When I get tired of worrying, I¡¯ll take Rimu, Fuu-chan, and Beni-chan to the children¡¯s corner to play. When I was in Japan, I couldn¡¯t understand why people go to pet cafes, but now I understand a little. It¡¯s comforting to be with your favorite Slime, isn¡¯t it? ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ I arrived at the Merchant¡¯s Guild in the city of Cagliari and went inside. The old man approached me as soon as I entered. ¡°Oh, the land is ready. I got permission from the Navy headquarters, so there¡¯s no problem.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. But what is the permission from Navy headquarters?¡± ¡°Hmm? Ah, because we¡¯re going to secure a large piece of land near the Navy headquarters. If we don¡¯t talk to the Navy headquarters, there might be problems later.¡± Well, with a letter of introduction from the Marquis of Lucca and the fact that I am related to the mage, I got permission easily. But the bigwigs are also interested in the mage. I heard that the Navy headquarters is also busy with organization and other things, but they said they would like to meet with me when they have time. I guess when you make a big move, you get more opportunities to meet the bigwigs. There are a lot of things going on with the orphanage and the luxury liner, so we need to keep in touch. When the luxury liner arrives, I¡¯ll throw everything to Camille-san, so I¡¯ll just have to hold on until then. ¡°I understand. But I¡¯ll sail out to gather materials and personnel after we sign the land contract¡­¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s okay, it¡¯s not right now. It will be after the Navy headquarters is settled. Then it will be fine.¡± If I finish my business before the Navy headquarters is settled, we won¡¯t have to meet¡­ No, either way, I¡¯ll have to invite them when the luxury liner arrives¡­ We¡¯ll still have to meet. I guess I¡¯ll have to wait until I hear from them. ¡°I understand. Now all that¡¯s left is the land contract. How much did it cost?¡± ¡°Oh, four platinum coins and thirty gold coins. We can¡¯t lower it more than that because we won¡¯t make much money.¡± All of a sudden, he gave me the lowest price? Why did he do that? ¡°I¡¯m glad you gave me a discount, but why are you suddenly talking about not making a profit?¡± ¡°Ah, there are many factors, such as the introduction of Marquis Lucca, the relationship with the mage, the orphanage, and the large-scale construction, but the most important factor is that the land is still empty. The surplus of land is not a good situation. If people do not buy land quickly and develop it quickly, the city and its people will not come back to life.¡± ¡°If the land is cheap, won¡¯t there be many people who will buy it up?¡± ¡°These people will choose the best places. The Kingdom of Brescia has a lot of land lying around because of the Empire¡¯s surprise attack. The port is also difficult to use because the navy has priority, and buying and selling land is time-consuming because of the presence of important national facilities. It¡¯s not very popular.¡± ¡­Won¡¯t the price of land go up when a luxury liner arrives? I have a feeling it will be a big profit. Let¡¯s just pay the money and then ask. ¡°I see; I¡¯ll pay you with five platinum coins.¡± ¡°Oh, well, let¡¯s sign the contract.¡± I sign the contract with the Merchant¡¯s Guild and return to the counter. Now all I have to do is ask about the land. ¡°Um, I have some information that could make the city of Cagliari popular in the future. Is it possible for me to buy all the land?¡± ¡°¡­What kind of information is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of hiding it if you say the price of land will go up?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not absolutely certain¡­ Is it okay to buy up the land with it?¡± ¡°The letter of introduction doesn¡¯t say how far it goes, so you can buy it, but if you do something reckless in the direct territory, it will ruin the reputation of the Marquis of Lucca who introduced it to you. However, I¡¯d be happy to help you if you buy it and develop it.¡± ¡­Let¡¯s not do that. There¡¯s no need to make enemies with the Marquis, who might be on my side when I can make money elsewhere. The reason for the increase in land prices was probed, but I managed to dodge the question and returned to the Lutto. ¡°Master, what are we going to do now?¡± Ines asked me as I took a breath. ¡°Yes, I think it would save time if we first gather personnel and materials to build the orphanage and then search for the dark elves while it¡¯s under construction. There¡¯s a shortage of materials in the neighboring countries. So I don¡¯t really know what to do.¡± ¡°What do you mean by gathering materials and labor?¡± ¡°I think it would be better to go to a country a little farther away, or better yet, go back to the Southern City and ask Camille-san to gather materials and personnel for us. What do you think?¡± I think it would be more reliable to leave it to Camille-san than to buy a lot of things for the first time in a new place, but it¡¯s a long way away. ¡°If we¡¯re going back to the Southern City, we might as well look for the dark elves first. If we take them with us, the island of the dark elves is close, right?¡± ¡°Yes, it would be safer to go back to the Southern City, so let¡¯s look for the dark elves and then go to the Southern City. Is that okay with Girasole as well?¡± ¡°Wataru-san, we don¡¯t mind, and you can go wherever you want. After all, we are like your personal bodyguard.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Then let¡¯s go to the Dark Elf Village. The Goddess of the Forest-sama marked the Dark Elf Village on the map, so I know roughly where it is, but I¡¯ve never been there before, so it¡¯s just a pothole floating in an empty, blank space. ¡°Do you know where this place is, Girasole?¡± I show Girasole the map screen. ¡°Considering the distance from here and the topography along the sea¡­ it must be the Earth Dragon¡¯s forest. What do you think, Dorothea?¡± ¡°Yes, I am sure of it.¡± ¡°You said the dark elves hide in a dangerous forest, but this is it. How did they survive?¡± It seems to be a very dangerous place. No matter how you look at it, the Earth Dragon Forest is a place where dragons come out, right? ¡°What kind of place is it, Alessia-san?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a large forest that separates the Empire and the Kingdom of Brescia. As the name implies, dragons live there. Before we left on our journey, we went there to explore, but we gave up trying to go deeper into the forest. If there was only one dragon, we could handle it, but if we encountered a group of them, it would be impossible. If it weren¡¯t for Wataru-san¡¯s ability, I wouldn¡¯t want to go in there.¡± It seems the place lives up to its name. How do they really survive? ¡°With the Ship Summoning, won¡¯t there be any problems?¡± ¡°Yes, it will be fine. It¡¯s also a good way to level up.¡± Well, if the dragon can be defeated safely, it¡¯s definitely a good way to level up. I think it¡¯s better than the Demon Forest. That place was kind of unreasonable. ¡°How should we go?¡± ¡°Right. From the position of the marker, I think the fastest way is to take a ship to the side of the marker and go straight into the forest.¡± ¡°Distance-wise, it¡¯s the closest, but wouldn¡¯t it be easier to go in from a place that¡¯s already been explored to some extent?¡± ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t say that there isn¡¯t one, but since only the surface has been explored, it would be better to enter from a closer distance.¡± It¡¯s hard to know what¡¯s there because they haven¡¯t gone much further inside from any of the places. Then I guess it¡¯s better to be closer. ¡°I understand. Then let¡¯s do that.¡± We decided on our destination. I tell the old man at the Merchant¡¯s Guild that I¡¯m going to gather materials and personnel and that I won¡¯t be back for a few months. I don¡¯t know how long it will take, so I can only say a few months. If we can get the dark elves to migrate quickly, maybe three months? ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Three days on autopilot, we switch from the Stronghold to the Lutto and arrive at the forest side. So this is the Earth Dragon Forest. I passed through it on my way to the Empire, but I never realized it was such a dangerous forest. After confirming to some extent how to act, we finally enter the forest. Funds on hand: 34 gold coins, 73 silver coins, 88 copper coins Guild account: 0 platinum coins, 70 gold coins Savings ship: 190 platinum coins Pepper ships: 45 ships Charity expenses: 95 platinum coins, 70 gold coins Volume 9 - CH 8 Chapter 8 ¨C Earth Dragon Forest and the Earth Dragon We entered the Earth Dragon Forest. We walked for a while, but the woods and bushes were so deep that it was unlikely that we would be able to ride the Add. ¡°The bushes are very deep. We will have to walk.¡± ¡°Yes, but the thicker the bushes and trees, the safer the place is in this forest because it is proof that the earth dragon has not passed through.¡± ¡­Oh, is that how it works? What Alessia-san means is that where the earth dragons pass through, the trees have been cut down, so the paths are wide, and the bushes have been trampled? I have heard that earth dragons are quite large. ¡°Then I don¡¯t know if I should get on the Add when we get to the wide road or if I should get off the road and walk through the bushes.¡± ¡°I think it would be better to get on the Add. Once they see you, they will attack you whether there is a tree or not, so if they attack you, just take them down. But beware of the ancient dragons.¡± Ordinary earth dragons are said to use their large bodies to charge and bite, and they sometimes breathe sand and dirt, but those that have lived for a long time are said to be able to manipulate the ground. In that case, I would be worried about the Add. ¡°Are you saying that they can lift up the entire seawater, or in this case, the entire ground, like Paris-san did? That would be dangerous for the Add.¡± It would be dangerous if the part of the ship that is in contact with the ground is lifted off the ground, wouldn¡¯t it? The ground will rise, the Add will be launched, and we¡¯ll be thrown out of the barriers¡­ There¡¯s no guarantee that this will happen, but is it likely? I think even I could at least keep my hands on the controls. If I were attacked or taken by surprise, the possibility is not zero. ¡°I wonder if Felicia¡¯s barrier would prevent an attack by an earth dragon?¡± ¡°Yes, I think so. My level and barrier techniques have increased, so I don¡¯t think there will be a problem even if the earth dragon attacks. But be careful; if we are attacked again and again, it will break apart.¡± ¡­It looks like we¡¯ll be okay if we can buy some time. If the road is wide enough, an amphibious bus will not throw you off as long as you keep your seatbelt on. Do you think I should buy a bus? I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll get stuck in one place, but the advantage is that everyone but me, the driver, can attack at will. If not, we can just take the Add. Buying one wouldn¡¯t hurt. ¡°I understand. Thank you, Felicia. I¡¯ll think about it.¡± ¡°Are you going to do anything?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m thinking about buying a new ship. I¡¯m going to walk while I look at the screen for a while, so please protect me.¡± I should have bought one before coming here, but I never thought of a bus in the forest. ¡°Master, you can buy it when we take a break. You won¡¯t get hurt if you fall, but it would be embarrassing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll look for it when we take a break.¡± Of course, the name ¡°Earth Dragon Forest¡± doesn¡¯t mean that there are only earth dragons there. There are usually some monsters as well. Not only Girasole but also Rimu, Fuu-chan, and Beni-chan defeated them. Rimu and the others are incredible. Beni-chan has also reached a certain level, and he can defeat goblins, orcs, and the standard weak monsters with a single blow. I also beat an orc for the first time. I think that is a great thing. But it¡¯s not cool. We kept going as we defeated the monsters that attacked us. Since it is a forest, there are also insect monsters. I still don¡¯t like insects. I don¡¯t know why, but I get goosebumps when I see them. Especially when I see the base of their legs or their stomachs, I get creeped out. During our lunch break, I looked at the purchase screen. There is a 5-seat water taxi, so we have to split into two, but only I can drive it at the moment. If I had to choose, I¡¯d go for a medium 20-passenger or a large 40-passenger amphibious bus. If I want to take Dark Elf back, I¡¯d better get a big one, but¡­ big buses are hard to drive. I only have a regular driver¡¯s license, to begin with, but can I drive a medium or large bus? Oh, I can drive whatever I summon. I figured it out on the Add, so I guess I can drive an amphibious bus, too. Now, if I can find the road the earth dragon took, I¡¯ll make a choice. The big one is 2.5 meters wide, so if it looks like there¡¯s room, it¡¯s the big one. I finished my checks and drank my canned coffee with satisfaction. ¡°Master, are you finished?¡± Ines asks curiously. ¡°Yes, I found two. I¡¯ll look at the path of the earth dragon and decide which one to buy.¡± ¡°What kind of ship is it?¡± Ship¡­ I¡¯m still wondering if I can call an amphibious bus a ship, but let¡¯s assume it¡¯s okay since it requires a marine license. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s like a big boxy ship that can also run on land, like the Add.¡± Ines, Felicia, and Girasole, who were listening around me, all looked at me blankly, except for one person. The only ones who have not changed as usual are Carla-san and the Slime trio, who are continuing their lunch. Come to think of it, since Beni-chan joined them, the gluttonous trio has become the gluttonous quartet. If we didn¡¯t make so much money, the cost of food would kill us. ¡°Wataru-san, I don¡¯t really understand this, but is it fast? Can I drive it too?¡± Even though Alessia-san doesn¡¯t really understand it, if it¡¯s fast, she wants to drive it. I remember that the operation was manual, so it was impossible for her to drive it all of a sudden. ¡°Well, it¡¯s faster than the Add, but the controls on this one are more complicated, so you can¡¯t just jump in and go for it. You have to practice.¡± ¡°Practice? If it is faster than the Add, I would like to try it. Can you teach me if you have time?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. We can practice when the time is right.¡± Before I knew it, Ines and Marina-san were nodding their heads on either side of Alessia-san, and I was beginning to feel that teaching the three of them was going to be quite a challenge. When the gluttonous quartet is satisfied with a solid lunch, we set off again. We head straight for the marker, fending off the occasional monster that attacks us. As the sun set, the forest opened up, and we came to a large road. I was getting nervous, wondering if this was the territory of the earth dragons. But is this the path of the earth dragon? ¡­Isn¡¯t it big? The width of the road is 3 meters. This makes me wonder about the total length and height of the earth dragon. The road is not flat, but it seems to be passable enough. ¡°If it were that wide, we could continue with the ship I bought, but the sun is about to set, so let¡¯s stay here today. I ask you to level the ground so I can summon the Hideaway.¡± ¡°I understand. Then proceed as usual.¡± At Alessia-san¡¯s command, the Girasole disperses; I¡¯m used to it by now. Ines and Felicia accompany me. They blow down the trees and kill the monsters that are attracted by the sound. ¡°Hey, Ines, Felicia, do you hear the earth trembling in the distance?¡± ¡°Yes, I can hear it. Girasole is back too.¡± Was it just my imagination? It¡¯s a forest of earth dragons, so they must be coming out of it. ¡°Wataru-san, the earth dragon is coming; please bring out the Hideaway.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± I summoned the Hideaway into a larger space and boarded it. Looking from the deck in the direction of the rumbling earth, we see a large earth dragon. It¡¯s huge. Very huge. But is it a dragon? With its bulky body, four thick legs, and horns, it looks like it could be a triceratops. The face looks more like the dragons you see in anime. The brown ground surface could be the same as the ground. I can see its back above the trees in the forest; it looks to be three to four meters long. ¡°It is big. Is this earth dragon an ancient dragon?¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know; this is the first time I¡¯ve seen one myself.¡± Ah, our eyes met. When I somehow felt my eyes meet the earth dragon¡¯s, the speed of the earth dragon increased rapidly. The dragon charged at us, creating a cloud of dust. The screams of the dragon are also monstrous. Gyao¡­ something else, like a Gugyaoo? The heavy, deep voice is so powerful. ¡°It is very powerful. If I weren¡¯t in the Hideaway, I would run away as fast as I could.¡± ¡°The power is amazing. I wonder if Carla can handle it. What do you think?¡± Alessia-san said something I didn¡¯t understand. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think I can handle it, but I feel like I¡¯m being pushed in.¡± Carla-san, you are still not sure whether you can withstand that kind of force? It¡¯s like a truck hitting you, you know? It¡¯s a momentum that will reincarnate you into another world. ¡°Yeah, it looks like we can beat them, but if there¡¯s more of them, it¡¯s going to be impossible. No, if we don¡¯t have to worry about what happens afterward, maybe some of them will be okay?¡± ¡°I think we¡¯ll be fine. If we run away, can we still explore this forest?¡± Dorothea-san joined the conversation. The dragon is right in front of them, but they seem to have plenty of time. That¡¯s how much they trust the Ship Summoning. If I give the earth dragon permission to board the ship here, everyone will be surprised¡­ Let¡¯s stop. I don¡¯t think they will laugh. They¡¯ll either be stunned or offended¡­ and either way, the odds are against me. The earth dragon has hit the Hideaway. It¡¯s like watching a movie. The dragon was unable to stop the momentum of its own charge and was sent flying. With a thunderous roar, it falls down with a subtle and pathetic cry of surprise. ¡°Wataru-san, I want to check the earth dragon¡¯s attack. Can I see it?¡± ¡°Yes, no problem.¡± In response to Alessia-san¡¯s question, the ladies provoked the earth dragon at the edge of the deck. The angry dragon opened its mouth wide and came to bite. It is more powerful than in the movies. I would have leaked if I wasn¡¯t sure it was safe. Maybe it doesn¡¯t like the fact that Rimu, Fuu-chan, and Beni-chan are standing side by side in front of it, looking so happy and relaxed. It¡¯s like a cat provoking a dog on a leash. Rimu, where did you learn this? ¡°Rimu, why are you doing this?¡± I asked with trepidation. It would be unfortunate if my bad character were reflected in Rimu. ¡°? Big.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s big. What do you think?¡± ¡°Cool.¡± ¡­Good. He wasn¡¯t trying to provoke it. He was looking at it with excitement because it was so cool. I¡¯m relieved. I have to act a little more respectable in front of Rimu as well. Most of the time, he¡¯s on top of me, so I have to act respectable all the time¡­ I¡¯ll try my best, even if it¡¯s just a little. Even as I¡¯m thinking about changing my mind, the earth dragon is still ramming into us and going on a chaotic rampage. It doesn¡¯t seem very smart, not like an ancient dragon. ¡°It doesn¡¯t spit breath, does it? I¡¯d still like to see it.¡± ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t give it a sense of danger, it might not spit breath. It might run away, but I think it¡¯s time to attack it.¡± Alessia-san answered my question. She said she would attack with her sword instead of attacking all at once to see what would happen. The moment the dragon bit her, Alessia-san¡¯s figure disappeared. I notice that the earth dragon¡¯s face is cut open. It¡¯s fast. From my point of view, it¡¯s no different from Paris-san¡¯s movement. ¡°Ara, it¡¯s softer than I thought. It¡¯ll be surprisingly easy to defeat it.¡± Soft? It looks like tough skin, doesn¡¯t it? After being attacked for the first time, the earth dragon takes a little distance and is cautious. A breath might come. But it charged again. It attacked several times, and Alessia-san slashed its face. It¡¯s kind of nasty. After several attacks, the earth dragon opened its mouth wide while keeping its distance. At the same time, a large amount of dirt and sand came flying violently. The dirt and sand flying in front of us blocks our view. The breathing stops. The dragon seems a little tired. It seems that the breath is the dragon¡¯s trump card. The scattered sand and dirt pile up on the ground. ¡°Is this sand and dirt created by magic?¡± ¡°Hmm, if it is created by magic, I don¡¯t think it is mixed with tree branches or anything like that. It is more likely that the sand and dirt have been swallowed.¡± There are certainly tree branches in the mixture. If it¡¯s swallowing sand and dirt, it¡¯s like vomit. If that¡¯s the case, we shouldn¡¯t let it keep spitting out its breath. I know what it¡¯s like not to be able to throw up your breath easily. It¡¯s hard to vomit, isn¡¯t it? ¡°It must be very tired. Can you tame this earth dragon?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never thought about it before, but I wonder if it¡¯s possible to tame a dragon. First of all, Wataru-san, can you take care of the earth dragon after taming it?¡± Alessia-san said something that sounded like a mother to me. It certainly seems impossible. I might be able to keep it on a luxury liner, but that¡¯s about it. Should I tame it and let it live at the orphanage? It would be very safe, but I think some troublesome things might come after the earth dragon. I don¡¯t even know if it would be allowed in Cagliari. I¡¯ll have to discuss it with the city authorities. But an orphanage with an earth dragon. If the mage is behind it and the Navy is guarding it¡­ I don¡¯t think anyone but the monster class would touch it. ¡°Hmm, why not just let it live in the orphanage? It would be a powerful guardian dragon.¡± ¡°If you command it, it will protect the orphanage, but what do you think? What if it gets out of control?¡± Orphans being trampled, the earth dragon destroying the rebuilt cityscape¡­ It¡¯s a nightmare. ¡°Let¡¯s not do that.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s better. There doesn¡¯t seem to be anything else to see, so let¡¯s defeat the earth dragon.¡± Everyone raised their weapons and looked at the dragon. The dragon turned and ran away. ¡°It ran away.¡± ¡°It ran away, didn¡¯t it?¡± Seeing the dragon run away, I was disappointed. Since the atmosphere was subtle, I went into the Hideaway to take a break and have a cup of tea. ¡°I think there will probably be a lot of things like that earth dragon attacking us. Is that a problem?¡± ¡°No problem. If the dragons don¡¯t run away, we can defeat them. Its attacks were easy to dodge, so we should be able to proceed without any problems.¡± Since the earth dragon was no problem, we decided to proceed with the attack starting tomorrow. The earth dragon¡¯s path was wide, so even a large amphibious bus would have no problem. It seems that we will be able to complete the dark elves¡¯ migration surprisingly quickly. Since it had been a long time since we had been in the Hideaway, I filled the Jacuzzi with hot spring water and took a bath in it. It¡¯s nice, isn¡¯t it? Bathing with everyone. It¡¯s always exciting. After taking our time to enjoy it, we had dinner and went back to our room. Volume 9 - CH 9 Chapter 9 ¨C The Ranger, the Earth Dragon, and the Dark Elf Village After the earth dragon had escaped, we finished our bath and dinner and returned to our room. ¡°I¡¯m going to choose a ship to buy for a while, so Ines and Felicia can relax with Rimu.¡± ¡°Master, I looked at the earth dragon today, and it looked good even with my barrier. Are you still going to buy a ship?¡± ¡°Yes, when the dark elves migrate, the ship I¡¯m buying will be able to carry them all at once. It will be safer to move. And even if the earth dragon can be defeated, it would take time to summon the Hideaway every time.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. And hopefully, the Dark Elf Island will be a lively place. Then take care of Rimu for me.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Felicia¡¯s steps are light as she carries Rimu in her arms on her way to Reversi. The village grows larger and larger. Felicia must be in a good mood. Well, let¡¯s choose an amphibious bus. The road was at least three meters wide, so it would be fine to use a large bus as planned. If we can¡¯t get through with the big bus, we can take the Add or walk. The price is one platinum coin, huh? The price is so expensive that you can buy a supercar. But if it¡¯s big and amphibious, there won¡¯t be many of them, so there¡¯s nothing to be done. Yeah, let¡¯s go with this one. I heard it¡¯s called the Challenger. The color looks strange in another world, but I guess it¡¯s okay if it¡¯s disguised as a ship. This amphibious bus is called the Ranger. It doesn¡¯t feel right to name a bus, but it¡¯s being treated like a ship. I have to give it a name. I had narrowed down my choices, so it didn¡¯t take long. I joined the Reversi. I enjoy the Reversi, watch Rimu training, and then crawl into bed. Tomorrow we start our amphibious bus trip. I¡¯m looking forward to it. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ We ate breakfast and left the Hideaway. I was prepared for the presence of the earth dragon, but it was quiet. ¡°Wataru-san, did you buy that ship you were talking about yesterday?¡± Alessia-san asked me with an excited look on her face. ¡°Yes, I bought it. I named it the Ranger. I will summon it now.¡± After repatriating the Hideaway, I summon the Ranger. ¡­Yes, a colorful amphibious bus in the middle of the forest. This doesn¡¯t look good at all. ¡°It has a pretty picture on it. And it¡¯s big, but it¡¯s a totally magic vehicle. It looks a lot like what I¡¯ve heard it looks like.¡± Alessia-san pointed to the pictures. It can¡¯t be helped because it¡¯s used for tourism. And it appears to be a completely magic vehicle. ¡°In case you¡¯re wondering, it can run on water, so it¡¯s a ship.¡± ¡°That means it¡¯s more awesome than any magic vehicle that has been discovered, right?¡± Ilma-san interrupted calmly. I don¡¯t have any words to answer. ¡°Well, I have a Ship Disguise, and I live on the ship most of the time, so I won¡¯t be discovered.¡± I made up some painful excuses and entered the Ranger. It¡¯s spacious. When I¡¯m done carrying the dark elf, I¡¯d like to modify it, like removing the chair, but it¡¯s indestructible. Is it possible to remove it instead of breaking it? ¡­Seems like a no-no unless you can drill holes or something, you¡¯d have to put together a wooden frame to hold it in place or something, so it would take a craftsman to do that. There¡¯s also the Hideaway, so I wouldn¡¯t have to go that far. I let the ladies, who are watching the interior with interest, sit in their seats and teach them how to use the seat belts. This will reduce the damage if the ship rolls over. For safety¡¯s sake, Rimu is carried in Ines¡¯ arms. I¡¯m afraid he might fly away if I brake suddenly. As I start the Ranger, I hear the women¡¯s cheerful, charming voices. The road is not good, and it is bumpy, but it is definitely faster than walking. I guess the speed limit is about 40 kilometers per hour. I can¡¯t go any faster than that because if I hit a pothole or climb over a tree root, I¡¯m likely to cause an accident. Even 40 km/h is ten times faster than walking, so let¡¯s not be too greedy and be careful not to cause an accident. We made our way through the forest, the sound of the engine echoing through the air. The occasional bumps and jolts seemed to amuse the ladies, and they screamed with delight. It was like riding a roller coaster. ¡°Wataru-san, an earth dragon is following us from behind. The distance is closing. It will catch up with us.¡± I looked in the side mirror, and sure enough, Alessia-san was right: the dragon was catching up. It¡¯s catching up to us at 40 kilometers per hour. ¡­It¡¯s amazing that it can run that fast with that huge body. ¡­I¡¯ve heard that rhinos can run at 60 kilometers per hour, so maybe it¡¯s only natural that a dragon can run that fast. ¡°If it catches up with us, we will have to fight it. Open the window and attack it when it gets close to us. If you damage it, see if we can escape. It may suddenly change direction, so be careful not to fall out of the window.¡± At my words, the ladies moved to the right side of the seat and opened the window. I could not see well in the side mirror, but it looked like the ladies were attacking. ¡°Wataru-san, it looks like our attacks only hit its legs, so it can¡¯t follow us. The distance is getting farther and farther away from us. Are we just going to keep pulling away?¡± I can¡¯t see them, but if Alessia-san¡¯s words are correct, it looks like we can escape. If a group of earth dragons comes, there will be no problem from behind. It also seems to be alone this time, so it might be a good idea to kill it. ¡°There¡¯s no problem if it escapes, but let¡¯s try to defeat the dragon for once. I¡¯d like to think about how to retrieve it.¡± ¡°Right, let¡¯s take it down.¡± After stopping the Ranger and looking behind us, the earth dragon charged at us. Even though the attack slowed down the speed of the earth dragon, it¡¯s still coming right at us. The dragon didn¡¯t even stop and ran right into the Ranger. Yes, it was d¨¦j¨¤ vu. The dragon was pushed away by the force of its own charge. This time there was no need to watch, so we all attacked the fallen dragon. My arrow hit it as well, so I guess I¡¯ll get some experience. After we all attacked at once, we watched until the dust cloud cleared. When the dust cleared, I saw a dying dragon on the ground. The battle is over. At this rate, no matter how many times the dragon surrounds us, we seem to have no problem. The problem is how to repatriate this huge body. Even if we cut it into pieces, how many rubber boats would we need? It would be a shame to throw away the hot springs, but it would also be a waste to throw away the earth dragon. ¡°Alessia-san, what materials are needed from the earth dragon?¡± ¡°Hmm, I have heard that there is no wasted material for dragons. If we venture into this forest, it will be full of materials for earth dragons.¡± Well¡­ if I abandon the hot springs, I have a lot of room for rubber boats, so I¡¯ll just take what I can get, and if I run out of rubber boats, I¡¯ll think about it then. We¡¯re going to the Dark Elves¡¯ island anyway, so we can refill the hot springs then. ¡°Then please cut them into pieces that will fit into the rubber boat. It would be a waste, so let¡¯s return them from one end to the other, and if there are any leftovers, we¡¯ll think of something.¡± It took about 11 rubber boats to repatriate all the earth dragon materials that the ladies had cut up for me. We would also have trouble cashing in on the earth dragon, so what should we do? I could buy more rubber boats, but I have more than 500 rubber boats, and adding more rubber boats would be too complicated, and the number of rubber boats would increase indefinitely. Should I just buy another Hideaway? Then I could take everything on board without having to cut it into pieces. ¡°Wataru-san, shouldn¡¯t we get going? The smell of blood will attract the monsters.¡± That¡¯s right; I can¡¯t worry about that until the rubber boat is full; let¡¯s go. We board the Ranger and set off again. From now on, we¡¯ll ignore everything except the monsters we can¡¯t escape and keep going. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Except for the dragons charging from the front, we avoided fighting them by attacking their legs and pulling away from them. Sometimes we were trapped. Sometimes, a group of dragons came at us from the front, and we had fights with several dragons, but we had no problem defeating them. But the limit of the rubber boats is getting closer. ¡­There are also sea serpents, and I have to think about selling the monsters somewhere. If I make them into prizes for casinos, they might become popular. The problem is that there is no road to the dark elves¡¯ village. Because dragons are living creatures, they do not always go straight ahead but often end up at a dead end or suddenly change direction, and the road goes in a completely different direction. They don¡¯t seem to knock down trees unless they find prey, and there are surprisingly few paths for the number of dragons. Well, it is easier to take an open path, and if the dragons move in a normal way, they can probably do some of their activities without knocking down trees. For some reason, the longer the path, the more likely it is that the earth dragon is out of control. I¡¯m a little curious as to why. Sometimes they come at us as a group, and we end up on a road the size of a four-lane highway. It must have been a big mess. If we couldn¡¯t find a road, we¡¯d take the Add or walk, and when we got to a road, we¡¯d switch to the Ranger and keep going. ¡°Hey Felicia, the trees seem to be getting bigger the closer we get to the Dark Elf village. Is it just my imagination?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not your imagination. The trees themselves have changed so much that it feels like we are in a different forest.¡± Is that true? Are the trees different? I didn¡¯t notice because I¡¯m not interested in trees and things like that, but even without looking closely, the leaves look different. I guess I don¡¯t pay enough attention. ¡°Hey, is there a World Tree in this world?¡± ¡°The World Tree? I am sorry, but I have never heard of it. Did Master¡¯s world have a tree called the World Tree?¡± If there are elves and dark elves in fantasy, then there should be a World Tree. Felicia doesn¡¯t know about it? It seems like there might be some kind of earth dragon guarding the World Tree. ¡°No, there isn¡¯t. It is a tree that appears in the stories of my world. I just thought it might be in this world. It¡¯s natural that you don¡¯t know about it. So you don¡¯t have to apologize.¡± The World Tree, huh? I wanted to take a look at it, but I felt it would be a wild thing to ask the gods about it. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ After four days on the Ranger, the Add, and on foot, we should be able to see the Dark Elves¡¯ village soon. It¡¯s so much faster with a vehicle, isn¡¯t it? It would be even faster if we could just go out to sea on the way back. If we decide to take the Dark Elves with us, we will not be able to use the Add, which will slow us down. The area near the Dark Elves¡¯ village is a forest with large trees, each of which is quite tall. There are hardly any paths for the earth dragons, so it¡¯s likely that the trees have something to do with the Dark Elves¡¯ survival. As we carefully navigated our way through the trees on the Add, Ines, who was behind me, shouted. ¡°Master, stop!¡± I quickly brought the Add to a halt. ¡°Ines, what¡¯s wrong?¡± The ladies are also on the lookout with their weapons drawn. I think this is it; maybe we¡¯re surrounded by Dark Elves or something. I have no idea what¡¯s going on, but the ladies surround me in a circle, keeping a watchful eye. Well, I¡¯m on the Add, so there¡¯s no problem. ¡°We are surrounded. There is a slight atmosphere of murder, so be careful too, Master.¡± It¡¯s called a murderous intention or presence, right? I¡¯m also at an advanced level, but I have no idea what it means. No matter how high my level is, I still have to improve, right? ¡°I understand.¡± After a while of being on guard, I hear a voice from somewhere. I know it¡¯s coming from up there, but I¡¯m not sure which tree it¡¯s coming from. ¡°You are not allowed to enter from here. Enter, and we will attack.¡± They are very vigilant. It¡¯s always such a challenge to even talk to them. ¡°Ah, you are the Dark Elf, aren¡¯t you? Can you come out and talk to us?¡± ¡°Why, how did you know?¡± Their vigilance has gone up a notch. It would be easy to say that the Goddess of the Forest-sama told me, but it doesn¡¯t work that way. I will have to lie, but there¡¯s nothing I can do about it. ¡°I was taught by a Dark Elf. We are building a Dark Elf village right now, so could you please talk to us?¡± ¡°With a Dark Elf slave?¡± This is the second time I¡¯ve been asked this question. I¡¯m tired of being told this from now on. From there, it¡¯s the same as last time. Felicia explains the situation on her own. Although we can¡¯t get them to lower their guard, they are willing to listen to us, at least for the moment. After several discussions, we were finally allowed to enter the village. It took us three days to get into the village. This village is the most like a Dark Elf village I have ever seen. Most of the houses are built on trees. It¡¯s a treehouse village. It¡¯s a bit exciting. I heard that even the earth dragons have a hard time knocking down the big trees around here. Moreover, since the trees are made to move from tree to tree, even if the earth dragons try their best to knock down one tree, they will move to another tree, so it will be in vain. They repeated this, showing the earth dragon that it was useless to go near those trees. If they are caught, they will be eaten, but if they climb a tree, they can escape, and since the earth dragons don¡¯t come too close, they seem to be quite safe. I don¡¯t think they will choose to migrate. Like the earth dragons, it looks like it will be useless. I hope the Goddess of the Forest-sama doesn¡¯t mark villages that she doesn¡¯t think will migrate. When I was quite demoralized, I found a good reason to make them move to another place. Sorry for complaining, Goddess of the Forest-sama Funds on hand: 34 gold coins, 73 silver coins, 88 copper coins Guild account: 0 platinum, 70 gold Savings ship: 189 platinum coins Pepper ship: 45 ships Charity expenses: 95 platinum coins, 70 gold coins Volume 9 - CH 10 Chapter 10 ¨C Return to Dark Elves¡¯ Island and to Southern City The reason why the Dark Elves decided to emigrate. This is because they are no longer able to have children. It is said that the Dark Elves have always had difficulty having children, and the last child born to them is now 82 years old. They said that everyone tried very hard, but it didn¡¯t go well, and they thought that eventually, this village would have to make a decision to either perish or leave the forest. I had heard that it¡¯s not good for the blood to get thicker, but would it make it impossible for them to have children? If we take them away, the other villagers won¡¯t be able to have children either, right? If that were the case, there would be no reason for the Goddess of the Forest-sama to put a mark on them, right? The current number of villagers is 36¡­ If the decision is made to migrate, it will be a bit difficult to use the Ranger, but if I summon three Adds and have them ride with Girasole, it should be no problem. It took us three more days to get that much out of them, showing them the ship, telling them Felicia¡¯s story, feeding them delicious food, and we worked pretty hard. We managed to get them to agree to migrate. The wood in this village seemed to be of good quality, and they decided to dismantle the house and load it onto the Hideaway. The trees seem to be quite strong, as even the earth dragons have a hard time knocking them down. It took five days to dismantle and load the tree house. It was surprisingly fast since the structure was so simple. In between, we also did an evacuation drill on foot. We just practiced getting to the Hideaway quickly. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ It took us six days to get to the coast without any problems. Until we got here, we just walked, killed earth dragons, rode the Ranger, and stayed at the Hideaway (some of the men stayed on the Ranger because of the large number of people). Once there was an ancient dragon, but¡­ I couldn¡¯t tell the difference, except that it was larger and more austere in color, and I finally realized it was an ancient dragon when it used earth magic. It would have been dangerous if the magic was used on the Ranger and it overturned, so Girasole ran around it on the Add and attacked it while looking away and defeated it. What can I say? It seems less romantic. It¡¯s nice to be safe, but I feel like ancient dragons are a final boss class. Sure, compared to earth dragons, it¡¯s by far the toughest and smartest, and it attacks with a lot of thought, but when its defense is nearly invincible, it doesn¡¯t stand a chance no matter how hard it tries. ¡­Boarding Rejection is a real cheat. The ancient dragon also used earth magic against it. The ancient dragon also showed a much greater variety of attacks than the earth dragon, such as using earth magic and concentrating on one person, but it seems incapable of responding when it is attacked from three directions without regard to its defenses. The ancient dragon was wise enough to decide to retreat as soon as the battle began. Although it was unable to escape because it was surrounded by Girasole, it seemed to be looking for an opportunity to escape, trying various strategies until the moment it was defeated. Well, I think it¡¯s a bad idea to attack something you don¡¯t know. The Dark Elves seemed to find the sight of an earth dragon being so easily defeated unusual, and they were a bit frightened. I just moved the Ranger. I repatriated a number of earth dragons, and I was able to escape the Earth Dragon Forest just in time without having to buy an extra rubber boat. I chose the Stronghold as the ship to go to the Dark Elves¡¯ island. Luxury liners don¡¯t take people from other villages. Somehow I decided against it. If the Dark Elves¡¯ island becomes nice, it might be fun to invite them on the luxury liner and make a lot of noise. I¡¯ll think about it. Anyway, we¡¯ll go out to sea and set the autopilot on the Dark Elves¡¯ Island. Then we can just relax and enjoy the Stronghold. The Dark Elves are amazed and enjoy the scenery, facilities, and food they have never seen before. I¡¯m glad to hear that the ship is being well received. Perhaps I should invite the Dark Elves from the island next time. The ladies and Rimu and the others were in good spirits as if they hadn¡¯t had an adventure in a long time. I guess they are the kind of people who get their strength from adventures. I¡¯m the kind of person who just gets tired. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ We change from the Stronghold to the Seeker and land on the Dark Elves¡¯ island. The Dark Elves gather on the deck, curious about their new home. I called the village chief, who had come to meet us. ¡°Hello, Village Chief-san. I brought all the Dark Elves with me, is everything okay?¡± ¡°Hello, Wataru-san. Yes, of course, you are welcome. Everyone is happy to have more friends, and they are working hard to get ready. However, we didn¡¯t finish the house in time, so it looks like they¡¯ll have to live in tents for a while. Well, some of us are moving to the hot spring village, so I don¡¯t think it will take that long.¡± ¡°I see, I brought some wood from my former village, so maybe we can build a house a little faster.¡± ¡°Oh, that would be very helpful.¡± I introduce the chief of the village in the Earth Dragon Forest to the chief of the Dark Elf Island. The others disembark, and I lead them to the village on the hill. ¡°Since it¡¯s not appropriate for the two of you to talk here, why don¡¯t you go to the village?¡± The chiefs of the two villages talk excitedly about their roots and hardships. Is it a good way to comfort each other about their hardships from the first meeting? ¡°Yes, indeed. Well, let me show you around.¡± They go to the village on the hill and are sorted into empty houses and tents. I summoned the Hideaway and unloaded the villagers¡¯ luggage and wood. Felicia helps Cecilia-san. We finished our work after taking out all the wood, luggage, and food. ¡°Village Chief-san, by the way, how are the hot springs coming along?¡± ¡°Ah, the vice chief is very eager to do it. As soon as he came back, he left with his staff, you know. The women of the village have high expectations, so I think the progress will be fast. I am sorry, but the mine will come after that.¡± ¡°I see. If you took it easy, you would probably leave without a place to stay. That puts a lot of pressure on you, doesn¡¯t it? The mine can wait until later, so please take your time.¡± The women in the village were also eager for the hot springs, and if we didn¡¯t do it right, the rest would be scary. I should probably give them shampoo, conditioner, and body soap as well. ¡°Thank you very much. My wife talks about the hot springs a lot, too, so it¡¯s a lot of work.¡± Cecilia-san was about to leave as well. The one under the most pressure is probably the village chief. ¡°Hahaha, we need the vice chief to do his best. Oh, Village Chief-san, we will be moving to the Southern City soon. Can I leave the rest to you?¡± ¡°Of course, but are you in a hurry?¡± ¡°Yes, I have some things to do, so I thought I would act quickly.¡± We also need to build the orphanage and collect materials and workers for the construction. We also need to gather personnel for the orphanage. And the opening of the luxury liner? I need people for that as well. I should also gather people in the Southern City. ¡°I see; then I can¡¯t keep you here. Please come again.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sorry to leave it up to you, but I¡¯ll just bring them here. We will have a banquet when things settle down.¡± I decline for a send-off of the village chief and the others and return to the Seeker, and set the autopilot for the Southern City. We have a lot of work to do, so let¡¯s get it all done before we arrive in the Southern City. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ We switched to the Lutto and entered the Southern City, heading for the Merchant¡¯s Guild. ¡°Hello, Camille-san.¡± ¡°Ara, hello, Wataru-san. Is everything ready yet?¡± ¡°No, it looks like it will take a while. I am here today to discuss business, and I wanted to ask Camille-san to make arrangements for me.¡± ¡°I see. I will show you to the back room. Also, I have collected the payment for the pepper, so I will give it to you.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± I was led to the back room and waited for Camille-san while drinking tea. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting, Wataru-san. Here are the 900 platinum coins for the pepper.¡± I wondered if it was so easy to get such a large amount of platinum coins if the pepper could be sold wholesale in such large quantities. It¡¯s a fool¡¯s errand, but it makes me feel foolish because I¡¯m afraid of being noticed. However, if I got carried away, I would be stuck before I could get the luxury liner. Maybe now is as good a time as any. Getting carried away won¡¯t do me any good. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°So, Wataru-san, what do you want me to arrange?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ I want to build a large orphanage in Cagliari, in the Kingdom of Brescia, but the Kingdom of Brescia is short of materials and workers due to the war. So I am thinking of using the Mage¡¯s ship to transport a large amount of materials and workers. Therefore, I would like to ask you to arrange for the materials and workers to be brought to Brescia.¡± ¡°It may be difficult to get the workers. The city of Cagliari is under the direct control of the royal family and is the headquarters of the Navy, so I don¡¯t think they would like to have a large number of workers from another country come to do the construction.¡± ¡­I see. We¡¯re certainly not doing anything suspicious. But I¡¯m still worried about the Kingdom of Brescia. The Mage is involved¡­ and all I can do is wait until things settle down, right? ¡°Wataru-san, the shortage of materials in the Kingdom of Brescia has been rumored in the Southern City as well. But it is very difficult to transport large amounts of heavy materials, and only neighboring countries can afford it, so even the Kingdom of Brescia seems to be having a hard time. If it is possible to borrow Mage-sama¡¯s help, we might be able to transport a large amount of materials, and in return, we might be able to borrow human resources. Even if we can¡¯t borrow the workers, we can still sell the materials at twice the price.¡± I didn¡¯t realize that. We can sell them for at least double the price, and we may be able to make the Kingdom of Brescia, which is short of materials, owe us a favor. They would be happy if we could send the materials to the naval headquarters. I should fill two ferries and go there. However, it would be embarrassing for both of us to blatantly call the Mage, even though I¡¯ve told her that I¡¯m the Mage. ¡°Then let¡¯s go in that direction, please. Since the orphanage is being built at the request of the Mage, I can ask for the two huge ships that appeared in Lucca. They can carry a lot of material, but how long will it take?¡± ¡°The orphanage is made of stone, right?¡± ¡°Yes, we intend to build a large, sturdy orphanage.¡± ¡°How much can the ship hold?¡± If you ask me how much, there¡¯s no problem with overloading because the ship won¡¯t capsize. In Japan, that would be a crime. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know, so could you collect materials for 20 platinum coins?¡± ¡°Twenty platinum coins? Materials are not that expensive, so that would be quite a lot. Do you want me to collect high-end materials?¡± Hmm, we don¡¯t need high-end materials. The more, the better. Huh? Is it better to secure high-end items so that we can sell our favors to the higher-ups? ¡°Would collecting high-quality materials be a better way to curry favor with the higher-ups?¡± ¡°I think there is a demand for high-quality materials, but I think that in the city of Cagliari, common materials that are easy to use would be more appreciated.¡± Is that so? I think it would not be surprising if they used high-end materials since it is the naval headquarters of the Kingdom of Brescia, but I wonder if it is because common materials are less likely to be resented by the people around them or something like that. ¡°Then please use common materials. If we can¡¯t carry enough, we¡¯ll go back and forth, so that¡¯s not a problem. Twenty platinum coins worth of materials will be enough to build a large orphanage and collect materials to sell, right?¡± ¡°As long as the orphanage is not like a castle, I think it will be enough.¡± An orphanage like a castle. It seems safe in a way, but I am sure people will complain about it. ¡°I understand. Then please do it. When the materials are collected to some extent, I will go to pick them up. It is a huge ship, so it can only dock at a place far from the port. Can you bring them to us by ship?¡± ¡°It will cost you. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yes, but I want 20 platinum coins worth of materials, so please charge me separately.¡± After discussing the details, it seemed that it would take about a month to collect 20 platinum coins worth of materials. In the meantime, I decided to ask her to buy the remaining pepper as well. After I sell 45 rubber boats of pepper tomorrow morning, I will have no pepper left. Should I go back to the southern continent to buy more pepper? ¡­That depends on the price of the new luxury liner. If I have enough money left over, I will just do it in my spare time. Let¡¯s start looking for a new luxury liner tonight. I¡¯ll talk to Camille-san about personnel. When we open the luxury liner, we will basically run the front with Saporabi and have slaves work in the cook shop and spa because the slaves will have better skills. The other issue is ticket sales. When the bigwigs come in, they¡¯re going to be selfish anyway, and I want to have someone who can handle that. When I told Camille-san about this, she said she had an idea, so I asked her to bring it to me. She said it might be difficult to get him to come because he would have to sign a contract, but I would expect Camille-san to be able to handle it. We had a quick chat and went back to the Lutto. Anyway, after I close the deal tomorrow, I¡¯ll have a month off. I can either buy a luxury liner and enjoy it, or I can find the Dark Elves to migrate to the island¡­ If I take the Dark Elves in a row, the Dark Elves on the island will have a hard time. Should I just relax and enjoy the luxury liner? Funds on hand: 34 gold coins, 68 silver coins, 51 copper coins. Guild account: 0 platinum, 70 gold Savings ship: 1089 platinum coins Pepper ship: 45 ships Charity expenses: 95 platinum coins, 70 gold coins Volume 9 - CH 11 Chapter 11 ¨C Casual and Luxury Class After I finish talking with Camille-san, I return to the Lutto. Tomorrow morning I¡¯m going to wholesale the rest of the pepper, so should I go out to sea now and transfer to the Seeker? No, there is still time. After giving some food to the dark elves on the island, it would be better to stock up on regular food. Let¡¯s have the ladies go out and buy some. I gave them one gold coin and asked Girasole, Ines, Felicia, and Rimu to do the shopping. If we¡¯re going to build an orphanage or something, we¡¯d better stock up on food. Come to think of it, I¡¯ve heard there¡¯s a shortage of materials, but will the food be okay? I should ask Camille-san tomorrow. After sending the ladies off, I sit on the sofa in the living room and choose a luxury liner. It¡¯s hard to decide, isn¡¯t it? I was thinking of buying a Japanese luxury liner next, but if I¡¯m going to open the Castle, I feel that the next one I buy should also have a strong entertainment factor. I¡¯m interested in Norwegian Epic, Freedom of the Seas, and Carnival Dream. Freedom of the Seas is owned by the same company as Castle, so that gives me a sense of security, but I¡¯m not so sure about the originality factor. I¡¯m attracted to the water slides, but I don¡¯t think any of the content of the luxury liner is very different from that of the Castle. There is a luxury liner that is owned by a company with a world-famous character, but I don¡¯t want to go on it because I¡¯m afraid it will make the other world angry as well. [T/n: I think it¡¯s Queen Elizabeth.] The food is from a different restaurant, so I¡¯m sure it tastes different, but¡­ class-wise, it¡¯s casual and the same, so maybe next time I should choose a premium or luxury class. ¡­Hmm, it¡¯s hard for me to decide. The luxury class seems to have higher quality food and looks delicious. I¡¯m also interested in the Queen Mary 2 because of its many dishes, but the description says that the Crystal Serenity has good food. They seem to focus on Japanese cuisine in particular. It is not as comfortable and enjoyable as the Castle, but everything seems to have a high-quality atmosphere, and the service seems to be of high quality. The only thing I¡¯m concerned about is that a ship like this needs to be sold on the fact that the staff is top-notch, and I wonder if Saporabi will be able to do the job. If they can do a minimum of luxury class work, I think it¡¯s possible, but I don¡¯t think they can do it with that much skill. I think it¡¯s a ship that would work best if you hired someone to do the job. Well, what to do¡­ I think a casual ship would be a safe bet if I were to live on one, but I¡¯m also curious about the world of the very best, which I¡¯ve only seen on TV. Should I go for the premium class, which is a little more casual and has a slightly more upscale image? ¡­..I¡¯m at a loss for words. Let¡¯s see what the ladies have to say. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ After a while, the women return with their luggage. They will bring back what they can¡¯t carry. The luggage is delivered one by one and is repatriated on the rubber boat. I¡¯ll talk about the luxury liner later. After all the luggage has been repatriated, we leave the port and head for the open sea. We have a deal tomorrow, so we will transfer to the Seeker and relax in the living room. It¡¯s time to talk about the luxury liner. ¡°Uh, girls, I¡¯m thinking about buying a new luxury liner, but I can¡¯t decide between two different ones. Could you give me your opinion?¡± ¡°Oh, you mentioned buying another luxury liner. What are you worried about?¡± Alessia-san, this is a good question. No, it¡¯s a natural question. The ladies listen with interest. ¡°Since I¡¯m planning to open the Castle, I¡¯m wondering if I should buy another ship like it. I¡¯m torn between buying a smaller but more service-oriented class of luxury cruise ship.¡± ¡°Hmm, I think you would like to buy a different kind of luxury liner anyway, but what¡¯s wrong with the smaller one?¡± ¡°Well, the smaller ones are more classy. They put a lot of effort into food and service, so it seems like you have to hire people to get the best performance. It¡¯s a luxury liner that focuses on that, so if things are done halfway, it could spoil all the goodness.¡± ¡°Oh, I suppose if you keep summoning it, it won¡¯t be a problem, but if you hire people, it will make it harder to repatriate it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll cook at the restaurant if you appoint me. I would be very interested in things that involve cooking.¡± Claretta-san raised her hand. I¡¯m sure she would be able to combine her original cooking skills and make something of a higher quality than the food being served now. The quality of the food that is currently being served is high, but for some reason, it tastes better when it is prepared by a human. There was no mention of the food that comes out at the moment getting worse, but if the cook is good, the quality of the food will exceed that of the original. ¡°When Claretta-san cooks for us, I look forward to the meal.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Claretta-san is on fire, isn¡¯t she? I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll make a delicious meal for us. ¡°Hey, Wataru-san, are there any other services on that ship that you need personnel for?¡± Alessia-san asked me. ¡°Well, I think the overall quality of the general staff is high, so if I were to say we need them overall, I would say we do. If I had to say anything specific, the spa looked pretty good, so it seems like it would be better to have someone there. Other than that, I can¡¯t think of anything else right now. Can Saporabi give private lessons as a professional golfer or something like that? ¡­There¡¯s no golf course, to begin with, so there¡¯s no need for that. And when it comes to Saporabi, they¡¯re not professional golfers, are they? ¡°If it¡¯s a spa, I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯m used to it, having been appointed several times on the Castle.¡± So Ilma-san will do it? When I let Ilma-san do the treatment, I feel embarrassed because different parts of my body get hard. She laughs it off, but it¡¯s almost every time¡­ Well, it¡¯s too late for that. But I wonder what it would be like to have a luxury liner run by a group of friends? ¡°Wataru-san, are you going to keep the Castle open all the time? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to have a different kind if you could change it from time to time?¡± I see what you mean, Dorothea-san, but it¡¯s a hassle. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about changing ships too, but I think it would be too much trouble to go and change them. And if there are guests, it¡¯s hard to change ships in the middle of a trip, so it¡¯s going to be more of a hassle.¡± The Castle will become very popular in my mind, and I foresee a situation where there will be no break in the number of customers. If it becomes very popular, the God of Gastronomy-sama will be pleased. As for the God of Entertainment-Sama¡­ I think it¡¯s right not to get involved, so let¡¯s forget about it. ¡°I thought if you wanted to check on the orphanage or something, you could change if the timing was right. I wasn¡¯t thinking about the guests.¡± ¡°Hmm, it would be inconvenient to go all the way to Cagliari to change ships, but if we go to the orphanage to check on them, it would be possible when there are few customers¡­ If we make a holiday and have a day when there are no customers on the ship, I think it would be easier to change.¡± If the holidays were spread out, it would be hard on the people who live there, so if the last three days of the month were holidays, it might not be a problem. I¡¯m sure Camille-san will let the employees take their days off individually, and it would be fine if we stipulated that the ship could be changed after the three-day holiday. ¡°But Wataru-san, if the Castle is replaced by a smaller luxury liner, won¡¯t there be a difference in the number of people who can stay aboard?¡± Ah, you are right, Alessia-san. We have to specify that the number of people who can stay on the ship will be different. Will that be a problem? The Castle has a capacity of 5,000 passengers, while the smaller luxury liner has a capacity of 1,000. Even if everyone wanted to stay on the ship, not everyone could. ¡°If the Castle is full and everyone wants to stay on the next luxury liner, then 4,000 people will not be able to stay.¡± Should I buy a bigger luxury liner? But it says that the good thing about the luxury class is the smaller size and more usable square footage per person. It¡¯s still not good enough to suddenly accommodate 4,000 people. The people who would come to stay on a luxury liner are probably rich. It would make a hole in Camille-san¡¯s stomach. ¡°If 4,000 people¡­ stay overnight all the time, there will always be people overflowing. Won¡¯t that be a problem?¡± After a three-day vacation, if they could stay on another ship, there would be a lot of people who would stay. ¡­I wonder if I¡¯m overestimating the luxury liner? ¡°It¡¯s going to be a problem. Is it safer to stop?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just buy both?¡± Carla-san asked me while munching on her snacks. I guess she means, why not just buy both casual class and luxury class? ¡°As Carla-san said, it would be good if I bought both, but I hesitate because I think it would be a waste to buy two ships. Especially since the bigger ones are so expensive.¡± The ladies seemed to agree and nodded. They saw that I had put in so many platinum coins. In terms of income, I can buy one if I work a little harder, but the money from buying a luxury liner will go to the charity¡¯s expenses. I really don¡¯t want to make a big purchase. Big ships go up in price. Casual ships are often large, so it is common for a nice luxury liner to cost over 1,000 platinum. The Crystal Serenity costs 350 platinum, so it¡¯s still easily affordable. In total, it¡¯s more than 200 billion Japanese yen, and I have to think about the charity work. I feel dizzy. Maybe the God of Commerce-sama tied me up with the charity business to tie me down? ¡­I can¡¯t say that I¡¯m overthinking it, but if I didn¡¯t have the charity bondage, I feel like I would have made as much money as I could and bought as many boats as I could afford. If that happened, the God of Commerce-sama would be in a lot of trouble. I¡¯d like to question him if I had the chance, but it seems that going against the gods would do me no good. Especially the gods of this world tend to think with their emotions. Creator God-sama seems to move according to his mood, so if he¡¯s in a bad mood, you can¡¯t really predict what will happen. ¡°If it¡¯s too hard to buy two ships at once, you should buy the one you really want. You have time, so you should think about it instead of rushing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll take my time and think about it, just like Alessia-san said.¡± After chatting for a while and having dinner, we returned to our room. ¡°Master, are you still thinking about that? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to overthink things.¡± ¡°I know, but both have their advantages and disadvantages, so I can¡¯t decide. Which do you prefer, Ines?¡± I think my heart is leaning towards the Crystal Serenity. They take pride in their food, and they have authentic Japanese food. The food is good, which is a big plus. ¡°As for me, I¡¯m more interested in a smaller luxury liner, something I¡¯ve never experienced before.¡± ¡°I see. What about you, Felicia? Which one do you prefer?¡± ¡°Me? I¡¯m more than happy if it¡¯s comfortable.¡± ¡°Ara, Felicia, we¡¯re the only ones on the small luxury liner, so there won¡¯t be any cramped spaces.¡± ¡°¡­But wouldn¡¯t it be a little uncomfortable if Saporabi-chan seemed to be stiff as well?¡± What do you have in mind, Felicia? ¡°Felicia, if it were the staff of a luxury liner, they might be polite, but I don¡¯t think they would be stiff. Their job is to entertain guests.¡± Besides, the deformed horned rabbit with a sharp and stiff atmosphere¡­ would probably create an atmosphere with no tension or anything like that. ¡°¡­Then I would prefer a small luxury liner.¡± That¡¯s an easy change of mind. She didn¡¯t like the stiff-looking Saporabi that much, did she? I was told that they didn¡¯t hold a grudge against me because they were going to heaven, but it was awkward since I was the one who had slaughtered them. ¡°All right, I¡¯ll take Ines¡¯ and Felicia¡¯s opinions into consideration as well. I¡¯m tired of worrying today, so let¡¯s go to bed.¡± ¡°Wataru, practice.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Let¡¯s practice.¡± Oh no, I forgot the recent routine. I will watch Rimu¡¯s practice carefully. He is flying around so freely these days that I wonder if he needs to practice. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter because he¡¯s cute. I play with Rimu as much as I want and fall asleep with Ines and Felicia. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ The next morning, at the usual place, I wholesale 45 rubber boats of pepper to Camille-san, and we part ways. Actually, I¡¯d like to at least have a chat with her, but it¡¯s a secret deal, so we have to part ways quickly. After the deal is done, we¡¯re back on the open sea, this time to summon a luxury liner; two months have passed, and I have to go to church and set up a schedule with Creator God-sama. I¡¯m getting nervous. I think I can handle a date with the Goddess of the Forest-sama and an ear waxing since I¡¯ve made the migration a success. I wonder if the reward from the God of Gastronomy-sama will come after I open the luxury liner? I¡¯ll check on that, too, if possible. After reaching the open sea, we go further in order to take precautions and summon the Castle. Let¡¯s meet the gods for now. Volume 9 - CH 12 Chapter 12 ¨C Divine Realm and Ship Purchase After the transaction with Camille-san, we went out to sea and transferred to the luxury liner. ¡°Well, I¡¯m off to church, so you can all go. Ines, Felicia, please take care of Rimu for me.¡± ¡°Wataru-san, I¡¯m going to church too, so I¡¯ll join you.¡± I leave Rimu with Ines and Felicia and go to the church with Claretta-san. ¡°Wataru-san, have you decided what kind of luxury liner you are going to buy?¡± ¡°At the moment, I¡¯m thinking of buying a small luxury liner. It¡¯s a ship that focuses on the cuisine of my hometown, and I¡¯d like Claretta-san to know about it.¡± Because the Japanese food on the Castle was not what I expected. The ship I am thinking of buying has a restaurant that is mainly run by Japanese chefs, so it should be fine. ¡°Fufu, I¡¯ll do my best to learn it.¡± We arrived at the church after talking about the characteristics of Japanese cuisine and about the gods. It is difficult to tell the truth about the gods, so it is a little difficult to end the conversation with a cover-up so that there are no lies. I entered the church and kneeled before the statues of the gods as I always do. When I open my eyes, I see the Creator God-sama. ¡­I¡¯ve gotten used to being called to the divine realm, haven¡¯t I? It¡¯s hard to get used to, and it doesn¡¯t seem to do me any good. If it weren¡¯t for the goddesses, I¡¯d probably leave the church. ¡°Wataru-kun, what¡¯s with your strange face?¡± It¡¯s not a strange face; it¡¯s a desperate face. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s been a long time, Creator God-sama, God of Light-sama.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been a long time. Is it okay if we make an appointment to play on a luxury liner next time?¡± ¡°Yes. I came to ask you since I can afford it. When would you like to go?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine right now, but God of Light, when would be good for you?¡± ¡°This time, the gods who couldn¡¯t come last time also want to attend, so I would like to bring about 500 people. I¡¯ve already made some selections, but I need some time. How about in five days?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Huh, five days is not a problem. I will prepare 500 tickets. The deadline is the same as last time, three days, right?¡± ¡°Yes, please take care of it.¡± ¡°Oh, wait a minute. I would like to have more days to play. Please, Wataru-kun.¡± It¡¯s not good. I¡¯m having trouble even with three days, and more days will make it even more difficult. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Creator God-sama, but I¡¯m very nervous about meeting the gods, so please make it three days.¡± ¡°Eh, you¡¯re not that nervous, are you? Even though you looked like you were having a good time seeing the goddesses.¡± It was fun. It was fun, but it was definitely nerve-wracking. The longer you stay, the more likely there will be trouble. I want you to give me a break. ¡°The goddesses were there to help me get through the three days. Creator God-sama knows that I have a weak mind, right? My mind can¡¯t take it.¡± ¡°Hmm, is that so? Can¡¯t you handle it for a while?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Creator God-sama, you can¡¯t go on like this. If you are too selfish, he will refuse you if you want to visit the luxury liner. If that happens, you will have to take the complaints of the gods who are looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Huh¡­ I understand. I¡¯m sorry, Wataru-kun, three days will be enough, so please don¡¯t refuse me.¡± He immediately gave up. He received so many complaints. The reason he originally asked me to be active was because the God of War-sama and the others had complained about me. ¡°Three days will be enough. I¡¯ll make sure to prepare well.¡± When I told the God of Light-sama and the Creator God-sama that I would return soon, he brought up another topic. ¡°Hey, Wataru-kun, you¡¯re going to buy a new luxury liner, right? I¡¯m going to put the statues of the gods on it.¡± ¡°As long as the God of Light-sama doesn¡¯t have a problem with it, I¡¯m okay with it.¡± I don¡¯t really care if there is a sanctuary or not. If it¡¯s discovered, I can just seal it off, and it won¡¯t matter much. Without sanctuaries, the gods can¡¯t visit¡­ which is easy, but it also creates the dilemma of not being able to see the God of Light-sama, the God of Gastronomy-sama, and the Goddess of the Forest-sama. ¡°I don¡¯t like to add too many sanctuaries, but in the case of your ship, the sanctuary was allowed to be built at the strong request of the gods. I would like to ask a favor of you if you don¡¯t mind.¡± A strong request from the gods, you say, is that so popular? The God of Light-sama must have been told something strong because she looks a little worried. ¡°How is it? If it¡¯s something difficult, it will be a problem for me.¡± ¡°It is not difficult. You just have to hide the fact that there is a sanctuary. It would be bad if word got out that there were more sanctuaries.¡± ¡°I originally planned to hide it, so if that¡¯s the extent of the problem, there¡¯s no problem.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Since it is not usually possible to go down to the lower world casually, the gods look forward to it. The last time we went on a luxury liner, it was so well received that more and more people wanted to go¡­¡± The God of Light-sama smiles in annoyance. I guess there is word of mouth even among the gods. It seems that the popularity has been ignited. ¡°I see. I¡¯m happy if I can repay Creator God-sama a little since I originally received this ability from Creator God-sama.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! You are wonderful, aren¡¯t you, Wataru-kun? The gods who benefit from me are always complaining, but you understand who gave you the power. I wish the gods would learn from you. Wataru-kun, why don¡¯t you make a speech to the gods next time? All you have to do is tell them how you feel about me.¡± I don¡¯t think that Creator God-sama is the least bit aware that I am in trouble. When I give a lecture, I list all the things that are troubling me, but he seems to think that he¡¯s going to be completely praised. If I agree to do it because I think it¡¯s a joke, there¡¯s a possibility that Creator God-sama will actually do it. I should say no. ¡°If I gave a lecture in front of the gods, I would be so scared that my heart would stop. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You will only be a soul, so your heart will not stop. Creator God-sama, that¡¯s not the point. ¡°Creator God-sama, even if Wataru-san gave a lecture, it would only transfer the evil deeds of Creator God-sama to Wataru-san.¡± ¡°Why? There are no evil deeds.¡± ¡°There are many gods who are in trouble just because Creator God-sama seems to think so. If Wataru-san gives a lecture praising Creator God-sama, they will try to wake him up and refute him by telling him what has happened so far. It is useless to do that because it will only make things worse. Creator God-sama sulked as he mumbled something about how that wasn¡¯t true. I¡¯m impressed that he has the mentality to clearly say that there is no such thing as evil deeds, even though he created a demon king, from what I¡¯ve heard. ¡°God of Light-sama, will you come to the new luxury liner that I¡¯m going to buy?¡± ¡°No, it seems that there will be fewer opportunities to go on the ship that will be opened to the public in the future, so please go on the same ship as last time. I didn¡¯t get a chance to enjoy everything on the Castle.¡± Well, it was only for three days. You will still be able to enjoy the Castle. Even though I¡¯m having a lot of fun, I¡¯m not enjoying it at all. I feel like I¡¯m going to get into trouble just by being here. I¡¯ll have to lift the sulking Creator God-sama¡¯s mood and bring him back to normal. I feel a little uneasy about Creator God-sama, who revives easily when I praise him. When I open my eyes, I see the statues of the gods in front of me. I¡¯m back. I call Claretta-san, who is about to get up and start cleaning. I come back in an instant, so it doesn¡¯t feel quite right, does it? ¡°Claretta-san, I¡¯ve finished praying, so I¡¯ll talk to you during dinner. ¡°I¡¯ll let the other members know. Where would you like to eat?¡± ¡°Oh, well, I¡¯d like to have pizza. If there is nothing else you would like to eat, please suggest a pizza place.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± I left Claretta-san and went back to my room. Ines, Felicia, and Rimu haven¡¯t come back yet. I guess I¡¯m too early because I just came back right after going to church. Since I have time, I should buy the luxury liner. Crystal Serenity is my first choice, but¡­ I¡¯ll look for other options. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Hmm, if I had to worry about it, I could just buy Asuka 2¡­ or I could buy both ships, but I¡¯d rather enjoy one of them and buy the next one anyway. This time I¡¯m going to buy the Crystal Serenity. I am interested in the luxury class. If I decide to buy one, I should buy it right away. If I give it some time, I¡¯ll worry about it again. I summon a savings ship and take out 350 platinum coins. One by one, I put the platinum coins into the slot. Now that I can meet Creator God-sama, should I ask him to change this annoying system? No, I shouldn¡¯t overdo it. God can be a little rough. ¡­When I think about it, asking the God of Gastronomy-sama to give me a lap pillow is a bit foolhardy, isn¡¯t it? That went well because Creator God-sama was the one who initiated the conversation, but one wrong move and it could have been disastrous. It was thanks to Creator God-sama that I was able to get the earwax on the lap of the Goddess of Gastronomy-sama and the Goddess of the Forest-sama. Next time, I¡¯ll pray to him firmly. It¡¯s no use telling him directly because that would cause a fuss. I finish inserting the 350 platinum coins and press the buy button. Yes, it¡¯s on the purchase page. Now all I have to do is choose a name. ¡­..I can¡¯t think of a good name. I¡¯m limited to ¡°Chris¡± because of the name of the ship and ¡°Lux¡± because of the luxury class. I think I¡¯ll just go with Chris. ¡°Master, we¡¯re back.¡± ¡°Oh, Ines, Felicia, Rimu, welcome back.¡± I hugged Rimu, who jumped into my arms. He¡¯s so cute. ¡°Rimu, ate.¡± ¡°Hmm. What did you eat?¡± ¡°Donuts.¡± ¡°You ate a donut. Was it good?¡± ¡°Delicious.¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s good. Did you thank Ines and Felicia?¡± ¡°I did.¡± I asked in the heat of the moment, but Ines and Felicia didn¡¯t understand Rimu¡¯s intentions. I wonder what happened? I am a little curious. ¡°Can you show me how you thanked them?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± With that, Rimu bounced up and down, went over to Ines, and climbed onto her shoulder. He rubs Ines¡¯ cheek. When he¡¯s done, he goes over to Felicia and does the same. I see; that¡¯s how he thanks them. Ines and Felicia also heard me and were surprised that it was a thank you. I guess it can¡¯t be helped. It just looked like he was playing with them. But I think it¡¯s a way of saying thank you because it heals me too. Ines and Felicia also smile and pat Rimu. After playing with Rimu for a while, Felicia calls out to me. ¡°Master, Claretta-san said we will meet at the pizza place for dinner.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand. Thank you.¡± ¡°So, what was Master doing?¡± ¡°Well, I bought a new luxury liner.¡± ¡°Ara, you already bought one. Which one did you buy?¡± ¡°I bought the smaller one with better service. We¡¯ll talk about it over dinner at the pizza place, and the unveiling will be tomorrow.¡± Was it a mistake to decide where to have dinner first? No. Maybe it was a good thing because if I had told them about the new luxury liner, they would have spent a lot of time asking me about the gods. I was probably too busy showing them around the ship. We relaxed until dinner time, talking about the features of the new luxury liner, and then we went to the pizza place. When I walked in, everyone was sitting down. I guess I kept them waiting. ¡°Thank you for your patience. I¡¯m sorry to keep you all waiting.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay. So, after you go to the church, you want to talk to us about something that has to do with the gods?¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right, Alessia-san. Well, let¡¯s just eat, and then we¡¯ll talk.¡± Looking at Claretta-san, she seems to be one step ahead of all the excitement. There¡¯s a chance we won¡¯t have dinner until later. She loves the gods so much, and I think it¡¯s possible to get her to meet them if I ask the gods when they descend¡­ I¡¯m afraid that if I let her meet them, she¡¯ll say she¡¯ll serve the gods for the rest of her life or something like that. I can¡¯t stand the thought of her beautiful chest being dedicated to the gods. ¡°Well, let¡¯s eat before we talk.¡± Alessia-san also smiled bitterly when she saw what I was about to say from the way I looked at her. We ordered a variety of pizzas and ate them, taking what we wanted. It¡¯s convenient that even when we order a large quantity, there¡¯s never a surplus because of the gluttonous quartet. However, if we¡¯re not careful, the food we want to eat gets flattened before we get a chance to eat it. It¡¯s not curry, but the gluttonous quartet makes pizza look like a drink. Funds on hand: 32 gold coins, 69 silver coins, 78 copper coins Guild account: 0 platinum, 70 gold Savings ship: 739 platinum coins Pepper ship: 0 ship Charity expenses: 95 platinum, 70 gold coins Volume 9 - CH 13 Chapter 13 ¨C The Chris and the Grand Gala Buffet After a hearty meal of pizza, we start talking. Let¡¯s see, what do we want to talk about again? ¡­Oh, start with the gods¡¯ thing. ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s time to start talking.¡± ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± Alessia-san replies on behalf of the group. ¡°Well, first of all, the gods are supposed to come to the Castle in five days, so we¡¯ll be changing ships in four days.¡± ¡°Fufu, you¡¯re talking about the gods visiting like it¡¯s a normal thing. My mind understands it, but my emotions can¡¯t keep up.¡± I understand what you mean, Alessia-san. I¡¯ve never heard of a god descending to this world, either. In Japan, it¡¯s at the level where people worry about their heads. Even in this world, where people are more accepting of the gods because there are actual contracts with the gods, there seem to be very few stories of gods descending, even in the records. It¡¯s amazing, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Well, I¡¯ve met them too, but I feel nothing but unease.¡± ¡°I know the feeling. So we should just move on in four days, right? Is there anything else?¡± ¡°Yes, there is something else. I bought a luxury liner, and I¡¯m going to show it off tomorrow.¡± ¡°I see, I¡¯d like to hear all the details, but if you show us tomorrow, I¡¯ll put up with it. It¡¯s more fun when you don¡¯t know anything.¡± The other members nodded. I¡¯ll show them the Chris tomorrow and explain everything. I¡¯m a little disappointed because I wanted to tell them everything now. ¡°I understand and look forward to it.¡± I wanted to talk a lot more, but the conversation just ended. I hadn¡¯t expected that. I went back to my room, watched Rimu¡¯s training, and went to sleep. In the morning, I had breakfast in the main dining room of the Castle and went out on deck before summoning the Chris. A magic circle of light floated up, and the Chris appeared before us. ¡°Wataru-san, you said it was small, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, I said that.¡± ¡°It still seems very big, doesn¡¯t it?¡± I understand what Alessia-san is trying to say. Even a ship like this would be considered small in the luxury liner category, I guess. A 250-meter-long ship is small? The luxury liner is amazing, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Yes, that means it¡¯s small in the luxury liner category, I guess. ¡­Compared to the Castle, it¡¯s small, right?¡± ¡°Well, maybe so, but isn¡¯t it strange that a ship of this size is small?¡± As a matter of fact, it is twice the size of the largest class of magic ships in this world. Thinking about the Castle, why do people need such a big ship for entertainment at sea? Is it because of a man¡¯s romance? Or something like that? ¡°Yeah, I think it¡¯s crazy. Well, I don¡¯t really understand it either, so just assume it¡¯s something like that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ship in Wataru-san¡¯s world, isn¡¯t it? Don¡¯t you understand?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t quite understand either.¡± To be honest, a luxury liner has nothing to do with ordinary college students. I didn¡¯t ask for the ability to summon a ship, and it was given to me just because my name sounded vaguely like the ocean. I don¡¯t like it when people say that. That¡¯s why, huh? I don¡¯t know? Why? I don¡¯t want you to look at me like that. ¡°But¡­ this is such an amazing ship; how come you don¡¯t know about it?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t know how to describe it, I knew it existed, but I didn¡¯t know about it. Unless you¡¯ve had a chance to board one, you don¡¯t know much about it, do you? Can Alessia-san and the others tell me more about the magic vehicle?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s what you mean. I know about the magic vehicle too, but I don¡¯t know much about it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I meant.¡± After we somehow ended the conversation, I turned my attention back to the Chris. I decided to get in anyway and then jump on the magic circle, reminding myself to go to the lobby with the re-summoning. ¡°Hmm, the atmosphere is so different from the Castle. It¡¯s kind of serene, or shiny, yet elegant.¡± Alessia-san¡¯s mouth is half open, and she looks a little silly. ¡°I named this luxury liner the Chris. This is the lobby. I think it¡¯s classy because it¡¯s one of the top luxury liners in the world. Let¡¯s take a look around the ship, with Saporabi stationed here and there.¡± I led the scurrying ladies on a tour of the ship. We will tour the main dining room, the Asian restaurant, the Italian restaurant, the Japanese restaurant, the sushi bar, the bistro, the theater, the tennis court, the swimming pool, the gym, the spa, the cafe, the bar, the disco, the golf course, the library, and various other places while placing Saporabi. The summoned Saporabi are somewhat sharp and elegant. Is it the influence of the luxury class? I also checked the church, where the statues of Creator God-sama and the other gods are well placed. If I pray now, I¡¯ll probably be called and told a lot of things, so I¡¯d better not. The room we will be using is the Crystal Penthouse, which is also luxurious. This room is also furnished in a luxurious but quiet atmosphere, and the king-size bed is an eye-catcher. This is something to look forward to at night. I was a little disappointed with the bath, as it looked like a regular bathtub, but I could see a vent inside, so I guess it is a Jacuzzi. I¡¯ve never had a Jacuzzi this size, so I¡¯m looking forward to it. The balcony, the living room, and, all in all, the room look seamless and comfortable. Girasole has penthouse suites and penthouses. I toured that one, too, and it¡¯s still a nice room. ¡°We finished looking at the rooms; how did you like it?¡± ¡°Yes, I like it. I think the Castle is more pleasant, but the Chris has¡­ a certain elegance to it.¡± ¡°I see what you mean, Alessia-san. The Castle is great, of course, but I got the impression it was all about having fun. The Chris is a ship for enjoying a leisurely and elegant cruise. It¡¯s interesting how different our impressions are of the same luxury liner.¡± Alessia-san and Dorothea-san also seemed to have a good impression of the Chris. Marina-san seems to be busy checking the passageways of the Chris. She moves quickly and checks the place. Is this a habit of the scouts? Fuu-chan on her head also seems to be enjoying her fast movements. Ilma-san¡¯s hands are waving as she looks at the spa facilities and beauty products. It¡¯s kind of motivating, isn¡¯t it? Can she give me a massage with those waxy hands? It¡¯s definitely going to be hard. Carla-san seems lost in the grand gala buffet she saw in the Crystal Dining Room, and her memory of the ship seems a bit fuzzy. I promised her we¡¯d have lunch in the Crystal Dining Room today and went back to show her around the ship, but from the looks of her, I can¡¯t imagine how much she¡¯ll eat. Claretta-san was more interested in cooking, but she was also interested in the classroom, where many lessons are offered. If she gets into creative things other than stuffed toys, Claretta-san¡¯s room will become a witch hole. Of course, Ines¡¯ eyes lit up when she saw the casino on the Chris. I can tell she¡¯s itching to get in there. I¡¯ve told her she¡¯ll be off while I lead the gods, but¡­ I wonder if she can hold out until then. After a quick tour of the ship, it was time for lunch, so we headed to the Crystal Dining Room as promised. The Grand Gala Buffet is held on special occasions, like a luncheon, it seems. Is today a celebration of my purchase of the Chris? I don¡¯t know, but since it¡¯s held irregularly, even on the screen, it may be out of my control. I wish I could have had it anytime because the thing is so beautiful. Once inside, a variety of dishes are lined up in a small space. Each dish is beautifully decorated, and looks like a lot of work went into it. However, there is also a bold side to the dishes, such as the piles of lobster on the three-tiered trays. There are many dishes that you cannot imagine just by looking at them, which is somewhat exciting. I can¡¯t miss the roast beef and lobster. I¡¯m also curious. They serve a lot of raw and cooked shrimp. There¡¯s a strong shrimp push. Other than that, tables decorated with intricately cut fruit, sushi, and tables full of bread, cheese, and salads. I can¡¯t count them all¡­ I don¡¯t think I could eat all the food. As I looked at the whole place again, Carla-san spoke to me with a face like a dog that had been left alone. ¡°Come on, Wataru-san, hurry up; I¡¯m hungry.¡± Carla-san is a beautiful woman, but in front of food, she becomes a disappointment, isn¡¯t she? Well, that¡¯s cute too. ¡°I guess so. Let¡¯s eat a lot.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± We choose a table to sit at, and each of us scatters to get our food. We have to eat our favorite food first. If we force ourselves to eat when we¡¯re full, we won¡¯t know how good the food really tastes. While we were walking around and taking dishes, Dorothea-san spoke to me. ¡°Hey, Wataru-san, that flowing thing is chocolate, isn¡¯t it? Why is it like that?¡± Huh? Ah, chocolate fountain. You know, the three-layer fountain with the chocolate cascading down like a waterfall, the kind you see in hotels and such. ¡°It¡¯s a dessert where you skewer the fruit and sweets around it and dip them into the flowing chocolate. They are popular because they are fun and delicious. Try it for dessert. ¡°Fufu, that sounds very fun. There are so many delicious-looking dishes it¡¯s hard to keep up. And for dessert, there are cakes and donuts that I¡¯ve never had before. And I can¡¯t miss the pudding.¡± No, you don¡¯t have to worry about that, Beni-chan is jumping on her head and wants to eat as fast as possible, but she doesn¡¯t notice at all. It¡¯s rare to see Dorothea-san like this. Is she encouraged by the grand gala buffet? I take the food and let Dorothea-san worry about it. It¡¯s for me and Rimu, so it¡¯s quite a lot. I return to my seat and start eating with Rimu. I stick a fork into the halved lobster and remove the shell from the lobster meat. It may be vulgar, but I bite into the big piece of meat as it is¡­ It¡¯s delicious. The lobster is so sweet and juicy I could eat as much as I want. It¡¯s incredible that this is all you can eat, isn¡¯t it? If I had been in Japan, I would have been worried about being able to take some home. Next, roast beef. Every time I think about it, I wonder if the meat is cooked even though it is so red. Well, I like it rare, so I don¡¯t have a problem with it. I wonder if I can call it juicy. The roast beef itself is not very flavorful, but it goes very well with the sauce, which seems to have red wine in it. It¡¯s delicious, as only a ship that puts so much effort into its cuisine can be. But¡­ I want to eat it with rice with an overflowing amount of roast beef and wasabi, and soy sauce. ¡­I think it would ruin the elegant atmosphere, so I¡¯ll hold off until I get used to the Chris. Let¡¯s enjoy the atmosphere of the ship today. ¡°More!¡± As I basked in the afterglow of the delicious food, I was urged on by Rimu, who had eaten all of his food. He is still a fast eater. He wants more lobster and roast beef. I piled up the plate and took more omelets, sushi rolls, salads, and small bowls of food. ¡°Oh, Claretta-san, how do you like the food?¡± ¡°Ufufufufu, it¡¯s wonderful. I was surprised on the ferry and at the Castle, but I¡¯m still thrilled to see so many dishes I didn¡¯t know. I look forward to having you appoint me to the restaurant. I look forward to working with you, Wataru-san.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re excited. I¡¯m looking forward to your delicious cooking.¡± ¡°Leave it to me. I¡¯ll make sure to show you how delicious the food will be.¡± When it comes to cooking and stuffed toys, Claretta-san¡¯s normally reserved personality changes and becomes more aggressive. Stuffing my food to the limit and rubbing my aching belly, I watch the gluttonous quartet. A different place different food than usual, and the pace doesn¡¯t slow down at all. It looks like it will be a while yet, so the rest of us will discuss the food. Girasole, Ines, and Felicia are all quite satisfied with the food and seem to be suffering a bit from overeating. A grand gala buffet, or maybe it¡¯s a special occasion, so I¡¯d better take my chances. Well, if I summon the Chris, Carla-san will check it out on her own. So there¡¯s no problem, right? We kept the gluttonous quartet company until they were satisfied with their meal, and then we left the Crystal Dining Room. We thought about playing tennis next, but our stomachs were all suffering, so we went back to our respective rooms to rest. Two hours later, when our stomachs had calmed down, we gathered again and enjoyed playing tennis. I was able to play with the ladies to some extent, thanks to the effect of my level-up. However, even though I could move better than my opponents, my improved dynamic vision was focused on their bouncing breasts, and I lost all the matches. I don¡¯t think I can win forever. I was sweating from training, so I took a shower and went to the spa. I went in and appointed Ilma-san and Claretta-san to give us massages. I was as stiff as ever, but Ilma-san gently washed it off. I was also curious to get a massage from Claretta-san. In that case, Claretta-san would have been upset, and I would have been even more embarrassed, so I am satisfied with Ilma-san¡¯s massage. After Ilma-san¡¯s pleasant massage, I took a short nap. The ladies are busy checking out the new beauty products, so I¡¯ll be able to rest for a while. Good night.