Striving For The Luxury Liner – Vol 10 Chapter 1

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(14/20)

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Chapter 1 – New Destination

The ceremony on the luxury liner is over, and I’ve had enough of cleaning my ears on the lap of the God of Gastronomy-sama. Camille-san and the others seem to be having a hard time with the Crown Prince’s various requests, but I’m feeling a bit of a sigh of relief. Now that I have a break, I would like to relax a bit.

I have promises to make to the God of Commerce-sama and the Goddess of the Forest-sama, but… I can’t think of a good idea for a promise to the God of Commerce-sama right now. The promise to the Goddess of the Forest-sama would be to transport the people of the Earth Dragon Forest Village to the Dark Elf Island… and it hasn’t been that long, so I’d better give it some time.

“Ines, Felicia, is there anything you want to do?”

I ask the two who are playing catch with Rimu next to the sofa where I’m lying down.

“Master, what’s wrong all of a sudden?”

Ines, who had caught Rimu, asks me curiously.

“Hmm, I’ve been pretty busy lately, so I thought I’d have some fun, but I don’t know what to do.”

“Oh, I see. Then I think you and Alessia-san should think about it together. You’re not planning on breaking up, are you?”

Is that so? It would be terrible if we decided to go out without confirming our plans and ended up splitting up, wouldn’t it?

“That is true. Then I’ll discuss it with everyone at dinner. Ines and Felicia, if there is anything you want to do, please think about it.”

Since Carla-san wanted rice with saikyo-yaki gindara, we wanted to have Japanese food today. I’m in the mood for a big bowl of sea urchin today, so let’s focus on sushi.

“I understand.”

“Understood.”

“What about Rimu?”

Rimu jumped on my belly. He’s so cute, so I rubbed him quickly.

“Do you want to do something, Rimu?”

“Yes.”

Rimu shakes and gives his thoughts. What do you want to do? I’ll try my best to do most things for Rimu.

“What do you want to do?”

“Play with Fuu-chan and Beni-chan!”

What’s with this Rimu cuteness? Is he an angel? No, Rimu was an angel. He had such a unique ability, didn’t he? I’m convinced he’s cute.

“Well, after dinner tonight, let’s invite Fuu-chan and Beni-chan to play in the kids’ corner of the Fortress.”

“Let’s go!”

Yes, Rimu jumps happily on my belly. So cute.

＊＊＊

“I think it’s fine to take a break and do something interesting. Wataru-san. So what are you going to do?”

Alessia-san asked happily as she popped some chutoro (medium-fat tuna) into her mouth. At first, she seemed uncomfortable with raw fish, but lately, she has been eating sushi without any problems. Maybe it’s because she’s an adventurer, or maybe she’s just curious, but she’s very adaptable.

“I thought we should all think about this. Do Alessia-san and the others have any plans or things you want to do?”

“We just met our families the other day, so nothing in particular. Do you all have anything you want to do?”

Alessia-san talked to Dorothea-san and the others, but they didn’t seem to have anything in particular they wanted to do. Rather, Carla-san is absorbed in eating, and Dorothea-san and Marina-san are absorbed in taking care of Fuu-chan and Beni-chan.

Ilma-san is enjoying sake with Ines, and Claretta-san is thinking about something while looking at the conger eel sushi. They are not concentrating on the conversation. The only ones listening to what I’m saying are Alessia-san and Felicia.

“Wataru-san, Dorothea, and the others don’t seem to have any particular opinions. I can only think of one thing I’d like to do: go to a country I’ve never been to and have fun.”

“I see; going to a country you’ve never been to sounds like fun. Is there any country you would like to visit, Alessia-san?”

I feel like I travel all year round, but it would be fun to go to a new country without any restrictions.

“Hmm, there are countries that interest me as an adventurer, but I’m not sure if I want to go there for fun.”

I would rather not be interested as an adventurer. I’m not active enough to go on adventures on vacation.

“In that case, how about that place? How about the Aquamarine Kingdom? We had given up on it because it was too dangerous for us to go alone, and it would be hard to be active there, but I think it would be different with Wataru-san there. It’s perfect for sightseeing, and with Wataru-san, we might be able to have an adventure.”

Ilma-san expressed her opinion after sipping from her sake cup. It’s perfect for sightseeing, but an adventure? If it’s with me, does that mean it’s a place where ships would be active, given the name of the country? When I couldn’t understand, Alessia-san and the others started to get excited.

“I’m against it. I’m against going to the Aquamarine. Master, I don’t think we need to force ourselves to go there to have fun. Let’s just relax and enjoy the Chris. I’ll give you a massage every day.”

Suddenly Ines raises her objection. It’s rare to hear Ines object to something so fun. Alessia-san and the others are surprised and look at her with surprise.

“Um, Ines, what’s wrong all of a sudden?”

“Nothing. I just thought it would be nice to relax.”

Her tiger’s tail is moving impatiently, and it’s obviously not just that. The tail movement is more like annoyed than amused. The reason why Ines doesn’t like it… But it doesn’t sound like a serious reason. Oh, I figured it out somehow.

“Hey Ines, could it be that the Aquamarine Kingdom is Ines’ hometown? You said before that you didn’t want to see your family because of the reason why you became a slave.”

Oof, Ines freaked out in a way that was easy to understand. It seemed to be the right answer.

“Ines, if that’s the reason, you might get scolded, but you should ask Master to let you see your family. If you don’t see them when you can, you might regret it.”

Felicia gives Ines some serious advice. Felicia’s family was safe, but it seemed that there were people who couldn’t see them because their village was attacked. But in my position, it would be awkward for me to meet Ines’ family.

“What was the reason why Ines became a slave in the first place? From the sound of it, it can’t be anything serious, can it?”

“That’s not good. Alessia, it’s not polite to ask people why they became slaves.”

Alessia-san is right. When I first heard it, I hesitated to buy Ines because it was so trivial and commonplace.

“Normally, I wouldn’t ask such a question either. But when I saw the looks on Wataru-san and Felicia’s faces, I thought it wouldn’t be a problem to ask. Ines doesn’t regret being a slave, does she? I feel Felicia has a sense of mission and a desire to repay her debt to Wataru-san, but Ines is just trying to get involved in something interesting.”

Alessia-san confronted Ines with a direct challenge. The two of them get along well, perhaps because they’re kindred spirits in their drunkenness. Ines is at a loss for words at the sharp point.

Perhaps intrigued by this sight, Ilma-san, who was standing next to her, poured Ines some sake and tried to crack her open with her skillful storytelling.

“What’s that? Just give up and accept the scolding.”

Alessia-san looked aghast when she heard the reason for Ines’ fall into slavery.

“Fufu, I can’t feel sorry for you.”

“You can’t be careless. You can’t go into debt just to have fun.”

Ilma-san laughed while Claretta-san warned her seriously. Well, that’s the kind of reaction you get when you have gambling debts and fall into slavery. Ines cries that she would have been fine if she hadn’t gotten hurt there, but that’s not the point.

“Wataru-san. It would be a good opportunity for Ines, so why don’t we go to the Aquamarine Kingdom?”

Alessia-san is amused and suggests the Aquamarine Kingdom to me. She laughs, probably imagining an emotional reunion with Ines’ parents.

“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have a problem with it, but before you knew about Ines, you recommended the Aquamarine Kingdom. What kind of country is that?”

Speaking of problems, I’m a little uncomfortable meeting Ines’ family, but I’m interested in this new country.

“Oh yes, of course. Aquamarine is a country that is said to have suffered some kind of natural disaster or major conflict a long time ago.”

“It doesn’t sound like a very pleasant place to hear that.”

I wonder if it was a demon king that the God of Light-sama mentioned that went on a rampage?

“Well, you might think so if you only heard that part, but here’s where it gets interesting. Actually, the Aquamarine Kingdom is a small kingdom on an island cut off from the continent by some great force. And what’s amazing is that in the shallow part of the ocean, you can see an ancient city that has sunk. It’s called a sunken city, and because the entire city is sunken, even today, valuable things are being discovered during exploration!”

Alessia-san says with a bright smile. It is true that a city sunk in the sea does inspire romance.

“But there is a country, so it’s been a long time since the sunken city was discovered, right? Are they still discovering valuable things?”

I’ve heard that ancient cities look normal, and it’s not like they’re forgotten ruins like Angkor Wat.

“Because it’s underwater. The shallow areas have been fully explored, but the deeper areas are inhabited by sea monsters. We were curious about it too, but we couldn’t use water magic, so we gave up. But with Wataru-san’s ship, we can be sure of safety. Even if we can’t go into the sea, it will still be fun!”

Everyone except Ines agreed with Alessia-san’s happy voice. Ines, please don’t look at me like an abandoned puppy. Flame Tiger Tribe… Tigers belong to the cat family, don’t they? Unable to bear her gaze, I gently look away.

“Hey, hey, Master. Master’s beautiful slave is staring at you with wet eyes. Why do you look away? Do you want to go? Are you going to the Aquamarine, Master!”

“Um, sorry Ines. A sunken city sounds kind of cool, doesn’t it? And that’s the point. Ines should at least say hello to your family. I’m sure they’re worried…”

I don’t feel comfortable with Ines’ family either. But if I hear about a sinking city or something… Besides, it’s not like they don’t get along, so I hope she just gives up and accepts the scolding. After that, I’m sure we can build a good relationship.

“I guess I don’t have any allies…”

Ines mutters sadly. I want to tell her not to go, but someone’s hand stops me. Felicia looks at me with a raised hand and silently shakes her head from side to side. Does that mean I’m not to be fooled? I hear a tongue click from Ines’ side. I’m about to be completely fooled.

“Then it is decided that our next destination will be the Aquamarine Kingdom. Dorothea-san, Marina-san, Rimu wants to play with Fuu-chan and Beni-chan, so I’m thinking of going to the children’s room of the Fortress.”

“Can I go with you?”

“Me too.”

“If you want to go to the Stronghold, I’ll go too. I have to collect stuffed animals again.”

Dorothea-san and Marina-san are also coming with me. Claretta-san seems to want to collect stuffed animals again since she donated them to the orphanage.

Carla-san also stopped eating and stood up. Normally, Carla-san would continue eating, but she is going to help Claretta-san. I told Ines she could have a drink and left the Japanese restaurant. Ines probably drinks out of desperation.

Cash on hand: 25 gold coins, 98 silver coins, 23 copper coins.

Guild account: 0 platinum, 70 gold

Savings boat: 922 platinum coins

Pepper boat: 0

Charity spending: 81 platinum coins, 63 gold coins (another 900 platinum coins with the God of Commerce-sama)

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