Striving For The Luxury Liner – Vol 10 Chapter 22

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Chapter 22 – Everything’s Ready!

In an unexpected blind spot, or rather a mistake I should have noticed before buying, I discovered that fighting using the White Dolphin is difficult. I managed to find a way to fight with the effects of the Boarding Rejection, but it’s quite a tedious fight, so I guess we’ll have to sneak around. Sneaking into the duke’s underwater castle. I feel like a thief.

Hmm, I can practice tomorrow, so I think I’ll leave the training on the White Dolphin for now and practice on the submersible.

I had a hard time deciding about this submersible. Even I, who is not familiar with submersibles, knew about the Shinkai 6500, and I was very interested in this submersible.

The Shinkai 6500 had various functions, and it was explained that it could collect rocks, but unfortunately, its size was not suitable for exploring castles. It needs to be smaller.

There were other small submersibles from Japanese manufacturers, such as a submersible that looked like an anti-gravity future car from an old manga, and a cool Aston Martin submersible, so I couldn’t stop looking at them.

However, both the Japanese and Aston Martin submersibles were two-seaters or had no arms, so they did not subtly meet our goals.

In the end, I chose a three-seater submersible from Triton. This submersible is round and almost completely transparent. I felt that the single arm was too few and the yellow color was too conspicuous, but I guess it would be okay because the color could be managed by Ship Disguise.

“Now, let’s start practicing with the submersible. This is a three-man submersible, so the pilot and the two attackers will share the ride. In my case, I will be the pilot, Rimu will be the main attacker, and Ines and Felicia will be the sub-attackers. Also, this submersible is small, so I think it will be easier to attack with weapons to some extent, so please split up based on that.”

Alessia-san and the others began to discuss the matter. They were quite confused and said that they would like to try piloting the submarine and that attacking it would also be interesting.

“Ah, it’s a small submarine, so please note that we can’t bring spears or shields.”

Wow, Carla-san is looking at me with teary eyes. I’m sure she’s shocked that she can’t bring a big shield.

I know it can’t be helped, but it hurts me so much when I make Carla-san sad. I know how important virtue is because when I was at Ines’ parents’ house, and Ines looked at me the same way, I thought I deserved it.

Oh, Dorothea-san is also shocked. She also uses a spear, so she can’t bring it in, right?

In any case, this submarine can probably repel seawater, so if we leave the hatch open, we can take the spear with it out of the submarine. But it would be impractical to hold the spear against the resistance of seawater for a long time, wouldn’t it?

“Master. I don’t think I could help you…”

Oops, there was a frustrated Felicia here as well. Ah, since she uses a bow and lightning magic is diffuse, she can only fight with a dagger or something like that. I knew that but underwater is a big disadvantage for us.

“Felicia is helpful because she makes me happy just by being with me.”

“Thank you?”

It was definitely a slip. Felicia, who has always looked up to me as her benefactor, has this confused look on her face. It’s a pretty dangerous slip.

…………

“Wataru-san, it’s decided.”

I was heartbroken, and as I rubbed Rimu in silence, heaven’s help came to me. I wish they had decided a little earlier, but let’s not be extravagant. What kind of team division did we get?

Wataru Team

Pilot: Wataru, Attack: Felicia, Ines, Rimu.

Alessia Team

Pilot: Alessia, Attack: Ilma, Carla, Fuu-chan.

Dorothea Team　

Pilot: Dorothea, Attack: Marina, Claretta, Beni-chan

Hmm, is it kind of balanced? Well, Rimu and Claretta-san, who are the main attackers, are separated, and the combination of Ilma-san, who can use illusion magic, and Carla-san, who has high melee attack power, seems to be a good combination.

“But Wataru-san. Without seeing the ship, it was a little hard to know how to fight.”

“I’m sorry. Alessia-san is right.”

It would have been safer to divide the teams after showing them the submersible. Well, since they’re free to regroup, we’ll let them regroup after the training.

“Um, I’ll just summon them for now.”

I summoned a small submersible from the aft deck of the Lutto.

I knew it was small, but the hull, with a yellow body and a transparent, round sphere inside, looked like a toy. This is a 200 million-dollar thing… I feel like I’m being tricked somehow.

“Heh, it’s a nice ship. And it looks like it would be fun to dive in the ocean since most of the parts are transparent.”

Alessia-san and the others were in a good mood as they looked into the submersible I had summoned. I was a little nervous, but the ladies seemed to like it surprisingly well.

“What are you going to call this submersible, Wataru-san?”

Oh, that’s right. A name. The name of the manufacturer I bought it from, the Tri? I don’t know; it doesn’t seem to fit the round hull.

It’s simple, but it’s round, so I won’t use the Ball… because I feel like it’s from a very popular robot anime.

Hmm, the shape is a little different, but let’s go with the Egg. I feel like it’s kind of deep like it contains a life force when a person is inside.

“I will call this submersible Egg No. 1. The other two submersibles will be Egg No. 2 and Egg No. 3.”

The reaction of the ladies was, “Hmm, I see.” I was a little shocked because I thought I had named them well.

“Um, well, first, I’ll show you how to operate it, so let’s take it for a ride with just the pilot.”

I think they can manage it with the staff appointment, but it would be better to show them some of the controls first. I’ll also make up a ticket for Ines.

“Then it’s just me and Dorothea.”

“I think so. Shall we board?”

I open the hatch and enter Egg No. 1. I can see Rimu on my head. Beni-chan, who was held by Dorothea-san, is no problem either. But what about Fuu-chan, who was supposed to be on Marina-san’s head but was nonchalantly on Alessia-san’s head?

I couldn’t help but look at Marina-san through the transparent acrylic, and she was staring at Fuu-chan with a somewhat sad expression on her face. Fuu-chan might be a devilish little fellow.

“Well, let’s go then.”

“Yes, I’m looking forward to it.”

“Please do.”

Grabbing the joystick-like control stick, we slowly begin to dive.

“Wataru-san, the scenery is very beautiful, but it’s so slow.”

I know exactly what you mean, Alessia-san.

“Wataru-san. I don’t think we’ll be able to escape the monsters with this.”

I understand what Dorothea means.

“…Slow?”

Rimu, it’s full speed.

“I bought this submersible to explore the inside of the castle, so it’s one that doesn’t go fast.”

I knew it wouldn’t be fast because it’s supposed to go about 5 km/h, but I didn’t expect it to be slower than walking speed. In my mind, I thought it would be about the speed of a small run, but people walk surprisingly fast, don’t they?

“Ah, it’s dangerous to walk fast in a building, isn’t it?”

“Indeed, considering that we are moving inside a building, this kind of speed is probably just right.”

They agreed with me surprisingly easily. And I don’t think this submarine is suitable for driving in the open sea. It feels even slower because there’s nothing but seawater around us, and the scenery doesn’t change.

Well, it’s easy to maneuver, and we can practice fighting with Eggs 1, 2, and 3, and since there are three of them, we can think of formations and so on. I plan to practice again tomorrow, but I wonder if there’ll be much to do.

＊＊＊

“I’m finally back!”

I was relaxing in my room after two days of submarine training when Ines came back, collapsed on the bed, and called out in a dull voice. I’m glad to hear her say she’s back, but Ines was at her parents’ house earlier.

And what happened to the graceful Ines? It’s vulgar to flap your legs in bed.

“Well… Bella-san taught you a lot, didn’t she?”

“Yes, she did. It was hard for me because she made me do all the housework and cleaning and stuff. But thanks to Master’s gifts and the invitation to go on the luxury liner, I was able to wrap it all up perfectly.”

Ines looks terribly smug.

“What do you mean?”

“Fufu. My mother was so interested in Master’s ship that she let me off the housework and cleaning in exchange for the information.”

I knew it. Should I have waited until Ines had finished her education to invite them to the ship and give them souvenirs?

“Oh, yes. Um, I’m glad they’re looking forward to it.”

“Yes, both my family and Flora couldn’t wait to come. I told them to make sure they had enough money for a shopping spree, so they were all set. Flora even said she would borrow her salary in advance.”

Wow, can you borrow money in this world? That’s so wrong.

“Are you sure? They have to make a living after the invitation, right?”

I don’t want to make their lives difficult because of me.

“Ah, I need to ask you a favor. I’ve stirred things up too much, so I’d like you to limit their purchases. Well, Flora lives at home, and my father and Dario both work, so it will be fine.”

It seems that she used the luxury liner to stir things up to make things easier for herself. I don’t know if I should call it brazen or cheeky, but I guess Ines and Bella-san had me beat. Well, it’s easy enough to at least limit the purchase.

“More importantly, Master. I haven’t had a beer for ages. Oh, and tell me what you did while I was away.”

Ines got up from the bed and begged me with a tight hug. Well, even though we’ve only been apart for a little while, I’m still a little nervous. But tomorrow is an early morning adventure, right? I’d rather not let her drink alcohol…

“…Tomorrow’s adventure starts early in the morning, so it’ll just be a little bit.”

I’m weak.

“Oh, by the way, we’re going on an adventure. I didn’t hear any details; where are we going?”

“We’re going to explore the duke’s castle, which is sunk in the sea.”

“Really?”

Ines’ arms around me are so tight that I feel like I’m going to explode out of them. Apparently, it’s a famous place in Ines’ hometown, and with Ines’ curious nature, well, I’m sure she’ll be pleased. But let’s not talk about things that would please Ines the next time she hugs me.

Now that Ines is back and the preparations are over, it’s finally time to explore the duke’s castle in the middle of the sea tomorrow. It’s like the beginning of a great adventure, and I’m getting a little nervous.

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