Striving For The Luxury Liner – Vol 10 Chapter 5

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(18/20)

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Chapter 5 – I Saw the Island

Last night’s pajama party was a very meaningful time for me because I got to see Carla-san and Claretta-san in a very unusual way. It’s nice to plan a lazy event like this once in a while. A pajama party with all the participants would be fun.

Since we hadn’t agreed to have breakfast together this morning, Rimu and I had breakfast in the main dining room and took a leisurely stroll around the ship. Alessia-san and the others are still in the middle of their race, but it looks like they will arrive in a few hours. We’ll have to adjust our course when they return, so let’s not forget that.

As I walked around, I found Carla-san and Claretta-san having tea at a cafe. I’ll join them for tea.

“Good morning.”

“Morning.”

“Oh, good morning. Wataru-san.”

I greeted Carla-san and Claretta-san in the morning and petted Fuu-chan and Beni-chan, who jumped on me. But… Claretta-san looks at me with a red face. The memory of yesterday must still be fresh in her mind.

I think it would be better if I pretended not to care. But if I leave it as it is, I’m sure Claretta-san will hold back next time, and I won’t be able to see yesterday’s pleasant scene. I’d like to ask a little more, but it’s hard to know how much to ask her.

“Yesterday was fun, wasn’t it?”

“It was fun.”

When I asked her about it, Carla-san nodded with a smile. It doesn’t seem to bother Carla-san.

“Y-yes. …Wataru-san, I’m sorry for showing you something embarrassing last night.”

As expected, Claretta-san was worried about yesterday. I want to end this conversation well.

“We were just drinking and having fun, and there was nothing embarrassing about it. I think you are taking this too seriously, Claretta-san. What happened yesterday is normal for a human being.”

Actually, it’s a pretty good part of the drinking habit. It’s a hundred times better than being out of control and getting into trouble.

“But I couldn’t control my feelings, and I got carried away.”

I, for one, wish she had been more excited. In the end, she said she had drunk too much and was going back to her room, and she took Carla-san and went back to her room as usual…

“No, no, if you say it like that, me, Carla-san, Rimu, and the others were all excited. Should we apologize as well?”

It’s a cowardly question because there’s no way Claretta-san would ask me to apologize, but it’s for the sake of a fun drinking party, so please forgive me.

“N-no, Wataru-san and the others have nothing to apologize for.”

That’s the expected answer. If it were Ilma-san or Ines, I would probably get an embarrassing answer.

“Since we have nothing to apologize for, you have nothing to apologize for either, Claretta-san. It is normal to make such a fuss. Alessia-san and the others make a lot of noise, but it would be worse if you didn’t make a fuss.”

I know it’s hard to keep a cool head at a drinking party, but I wanted to see Claretta-san in a frenzy, so I spoke out of turn.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it is. I know it’s a lot of fun when everyone makes noise together. Don’t you think so?”

“I suppose…?”

Claretta-san nodded her head, then tilted her head. Did I manage to convince her?　Well, that should make drinking a little easier at the next party. Probably.

“That’s why I don’t mind. So what do you want to do today? We were slacking off yesterday, so how about a little tennis to get some exercise?”

Both Carla-san and Claretta-san seemed to have no problem with that, so we went to the tennis court. Exercise and a change of scenery would be perfect.

Whoa, Alessia-san and the others are coming towards us from the open sea. Looks like the race ended without incident. At this rate, we should be able to catch up with them in the evening.

＊＊＊

…That’s the thing about the otherworldly people playing tennis, isn’t it? They move in a way that looks like it could be taken from a tennis prince manga or something. If it weren’t for the indestructible effect on the tennis equipment, the rackets would probably break, and the tennis balls would probably explode.

However, I was able to keep up with Carla-san and Claretta-san’s moves to a certain extent. It was a good feeling to have the two of them take it easy on me while we played.

When it comes to a match, I can’t even beat Claretta-san, who is the rear guard, but I can still get into the form of a match. To have a decent match with Carla-san, it was just right for me and Claretta-san against Carla-san.

“Kuhah. Beer after exercise is the best!”

After sweating through sports for the first time in a while and holding back some hydration toward the end, the beer tastes really good. It’s bad for the body to hold back hydration, but I’m willing to push myself to the limit for that delicious taste.

“Fufu, Wataru-san. You said the same thing after your bath.”

“Beer is great after a bath and after exercise. It’s not a mistake to say the same thing: why don’t you both have a beer?”

“I’d rather eat than drink beer.”

“Not today. It’s only noon; why don’t we have lunch after we take a shower?”

Kuh, I’m sure Alessia-san and Ilma-san would have had a drink without me telling them, but it’s pretty hard, and drinking alone is a little lonely. I agreed to take a shower and have lunch, and after deciding to meet them at an Italian restaurant, I separated from them. After lunch and relaxing, Alessia-san and the others would be back.

I wondered why it was a race, but in a way, it was a nice event on a relaxing and unexciting boat trip.

＊＊＊

“Hey, Claretta-san. Isn’t Alessia-san and the others having a bit of a hard time?”

“I think so. They seem to be working through their depression. But Ines and Felicia feel the same way, right?”

“Yes, I suppose so. Marina-san and the others are normal, and I think it was Marina-san’s group that won.”

Below us, two powerboats are chasing the monsters that have gathered around the Chris as if they are letting out their anger… Well, if they feel better after letting out their anger, the atmosphere will be better when they come back up, and I’ll let the monsters make the sacrifice.

However, before Alessia-san and the others left, the monsters around the Chris were wiped out, so there weren’t many of them. I’m worried about whether the monsters will be able to hold out until Alessia-san and the others are refreshed.

“Welcome back. Did you have a good time?”

I greeted Alessia-san and the others upon their return and asked them how they felt about the race.

“Yes, it was fun, but it was frustrating because we lost.”

Alessia-san said as she looked at Marina-san and Ilma-san. I see; it looks like it was those two who won, as expected.

“Well, let’s talk about it later. You must be tired, so please take a bath and refresh yourself. What about dinner? It’s hard if you haven’t slept, isn’t it?”

“If I go to bed now, my life will fall apart, so I’ll have dinner with you. I’m in the mood for a drink…”

Alessia-san says something decent for someone who has been blasting through the night. But the rhythm of life is just a cover, and she probably really wants to have a drink. Well, tonight is going to be a hard night!

I leave Alessia-san and the others and go back to my room to listen to Ines and Felicia. Well, while Alessia-san’s group and Ines’ group fought hard, Marina-san’s group came out on top. They really embodied the word “profit while others fight.”

“That’s why you lost. Ilma-san’s strategy completely won. They didn’t break any rules, so you can’t complain.”

“I know, but it’s frustrating. The game was a heated battle of nerves and physical strength. We lost in the end because Alessia’s group held our way, but we were satisfied. Until we found Marina’s group resting comfortably at the finish…”

Since when does Ines have this tenacity? During a race, she seems to have flames in her eyes like a hot-blooded manga hero.

“Yes, yes, go take a bath, both of you.”

I let Ines and Felicia go to the bathroom and lie down on the bed.

“Wataru, you don’t want to take a bath?”

Rimu comes over to my stomach and sends me a strange thought. It’s probably strange because when Ines and Felicia took a bath, we always took a bath together. But I don’t want to go in with them now because I’m afraid I’ll have to deal with their complaints. I guess I’m a “stay away from danger” kind of guy.

Today is the day I use words I rarely use, such as ‘profit while others fight’ and ‘stay away from danger.’ While rubbing Rimu, I made the excuse that I had just taken a bath.

…Ilma-san is amused and triumphant at the dinner table. With the composition of frustrated losers gnashing their teeth, it was hard…

＊＊＊

“Ines, are you sure that island is the Aquamarine Kingdom?”

We arrived near the Aquamarine Kingdom, so we changed to the Lutto and were looking for the island when we saw a large island in front of us. It was much larger than I had imagined.

“Yes, it is.”

A few days after the race, we finally see the island where the Aquamarine Kingdom is located. Aside from that rough dinner party, the boat ride was relaxing and peaceful. Maybe it’s just as well that people are a little uninspired. Maybe that’s not what I said before, but it’s my honest feeling right now.

“Ines, you don’t have to sound so disgusted. It’s good for you to show your face to your parents, so give it up.”

“No!”

Ines turns her head away. She still doesn’t want to see her parents. She was fine with it until halfway, but as we got closer to the Aquamarine Kingdom, she seemed to get more and more anxious. When she saw the Aquamarine Kingdom in front of her, she was in a very bad mood.

Well, it was her own fault, but I understand how she felt because she did not want to return to her homeland as a slave. I hope she considers herself lucky that her hometown was an attractive place to live. When you say sunken cities, people want to see them.

“Um, Ines, which way is the royal capital?”

“…..”

Ines turned her head to the side and did not look at me. It seems to be her last stand.

“Fufu, Wataru-san, I’ve heard that the royal capital is on the open sea. I heard that there is a big city on the continental side, but the sunken city is in the royal capital.”

Alessia-san laughed and pointed us in the direction of the royal capital. Ines, don’t cluck your tongue. But if she doesn’t want to go to the capital, then Ines’ parents’ house must be in the capital. I’m getting nervous too.

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