Striving For The Luxury Liner – Vol 11 Chapter 6

Thanks to Just some guy for the Ko-Fi and this chapter! Join our Patreon to get more chapters, enjoy~

(1/20)

---

---

Chapter 6 – Villain?

After successfully retrieving the Sea Serpent, it was finally time to explore the underwater Duke’s castle. Well, the exploration route was changed due to my assumption before leaving, but I noticed it before leaving, so it should not be a problem.

“Was this grand staircase a symbol of the Duke’s power?”

Felicia muttered after jumping out of the Hideaway in the Egg as we made our way up the grand staircase in the entrance hall.

In my case, the grand staircase reminds me of the Takarazuka Revue, but it may have originally been a symbol of power, as Felicia said.

Otherwise, I don’t think they would have built the grand staircase with expensive-looking stones that would reflect the glow of the Egg No. 1 lights. Well, originally, the castle itself also served as a symbol of power, so I guess it is not wrong.

“Huh? Why is the surface of the stairs visible even though the castle has been underwater for a long time? Normally, they would be covered with dirt or seaweed, right? They’re crumbling in places, but aren’t they too clean? Is someone cleaning them?”

The sunken shipwrecks I saw on TV and the buildings of the sunken city right in front of the Aquamarine Kingdom were also in a state of disrepair, with a texture that showed the weight of history. Isn’t it strange that the grand staircase is in a state that reflects the light?

“Master. There are still some dirty parts. Not all of them are clean. Perhaps the battle with the Sea Serpent has exposed the surface of the stairs.”

“I see. It was quite a fierce battle, wasn’t it?”

The big Sea Serpent moved around so violently that the entrance hall looked like the inside of a washing machine. The lock was broken in several places, and the surface could be cleaned up a bit.

I almost made a fuss about mystery or suspense, but Felicia’s calm judgment prevented it. My mental state may have been a bit buoyant and out of control because of the exploration of the sunken castle under the sea. Let’s pull ourselves together.

As we climbed the grand staircase, Egg No. 3, which was leading the way, turned right. Following the Egg No. 3, I turned right and entered a passage. The passage is quite wide, but even with the size of the Egg, there is not much room.

Considering the connection from the main staircase, this passage must be the main passage. It would be difficult to explore the other passages. In any case, it would be impossible to explore every corner of the Duke’s castle.

“This is Egg No. 3, Marina. Do you want to explore the rooms en route?”

Marina-san radioed in. Well, it’s a castle, so it’s possible that there are expensive things left in the rooms, but in the current state, the rewards aren’t that good. If it were a game, I wouldn’t miss a single potion, but since I can’t search every nook and cranny, I’ll focus on efficiency.

“First, let’s go to the places where treasures are likely to be found. The Audience Chamber, the Treasury, and the private chambers of the Duke and his family are the places to target.”

“I understand. Then we’ll ignore this floor and go upstairs.”

So it has been decided that there are no important rooms on this floor? Well, the important rooms are in the back, aren’t they?

“Copy that.”

After radioing Marina-san, we proceeded through the dark corridor again.

“It’s kind of boring, isn’t it? Usually, there is a sense of excitement in this kind of exploration because of the monsters, but I wonder if the Sea Serpent ate them all?”

Well, it is hard to imagine that there are other monsters in the Sea Serpent’s lair unless they are symbiotic. But Ines, please don’t say something like that at a time like this because it would raise a flag.

“Ines. The Sea Serpent is still out there, so you mustn’t let your guard down.”

“That’s okay, isn’t it? We’ve all taken it down pretty good, and it’s one of those things that made me feel alarmed and scared.”

…Ines and Felicia’s conversation brought the situation to a head. First of all, there will be monsters soon, no doubt about it.

“This is Egg No. 3, Marina. There’s a Sea Serpent threatening to guard the stairs.”

You see? A promise is a promise because it actually happens. I’m tired of dealing with the Sea Serpent.

“This is Egg No. 1, Wataru. Do you think a fight is inevitable?”

“Impossible.”

A short answer came back. Phew. Attacks don’t work, but with Breath, the water current would push us away, so Sea Serpents are tricky in narrow passages.

“Got it. We will fight in ‘Caterpillar Formation’ as we talked about last night. Everyone, please.”

I have a certain method for fighting Sea Serpents in the passage. But it’s a subtle, conscientious method. Well, let’s leave it there because even if I think about it messy, I’ll just be swept away by the Breath, and that’s better than spraying poisons and irritants into the sea that came out of our discussion.

I move the Egg No. 1 so that it fits snugly against the back of Egg No. 3, which is at the front. The key is to make sure that the hatch part is touching the wall of the passage at this point. The hull is at an angle, and the position of the hull is difficult, but we have to be patient.

“Ines. I’m counting on you.”

“Okay.”

Ines pulls her sword from its sheath, quickly plunges it into the stone wall of the passage, and ties the hilt of the sword to a projection inside the submersible with a rope. It doesn’t make sense to me that the sword can be inserted into the stone so easily even when I see it in front of me, but I hear that it’s surprisingly easy when you’re at a high level. The Egg No. 2 in the back also works in the same way, firmly attached to Egg No. 1.

Egg No. 1 and No. 2 support Egg No. 3, the main attacker. It is called the “Caterpillar Formation” because it looks like a caterpillar when seen from the side. If the sword breaks, the rope is torn off, or the wall does not break, it is expected to withstand the Breath.

The downside is damage to the sword and walls and the fact that it makes actions inconvenient. It is especially heartbreaking to thrust a sword into the ruined castle of the Duke. But it’s a little too late for that now since we’re practically trespassing.

“Claretta-san. Please.”

“Understood. We will begin our attack.”

A few moments after the radio reply, a light shot out of the Egg No. 3 in front of us. It seemed the battle had begun.

“Master. Instead of putting Rimu-chan on Egg No. 2 in the back, wouldn’t it have been better to put him together with Claretta?”

“I thought about that, too, but it would be more troublesome if we had no means of long-range attack if we got caught in the back while the front was busy fighting.”

Ines was right; it would be faster to fight a battle if we stayed together, so I thought about changing places during the battle. But the Egg No. 1 is slow, so there is a good chance that the situation could change while we were moving, and it would be useless.

I considered having Egg No. 1 act as a rearguard, but the best place to summon a ship in an emergency would be in the middle, where it could be seen by both sides. As a result, Rimu, who can perform magic attacks underwater, will be on Egg No. 2. It’s a bit sad.

“But we are free, aren’t we?”

Ines. I got a flag because Ines said we were free during the exploration. If she says more, I’m afraid another flag will be raised, so let’s not do that.

“It will still take some time. Sea Serpent seems to be concentrating mainly on protecting the stairs without forcing the attack.”

Felicia explained the situation in detail with her night vision. Oh, Ines pouted when she heard the explanation.

“Marina-san also said that the Sea Serpent is threatening to protect the stairs. Is there a reason why they don’t want us to go through the stairs?”

“Could it be that the Sea Serpent is guarding the treasure?”

Ines, who had just been sulking, happily joined the conversation. This is what they call a woman is as fickle as autumn weather. I’m learning a lot.

[T/n: In English-speaking countries, it might be, “Man is as fickle as April Weather. In Japan, they say, “女心と秋の空：Onna (female) gokoro (mind) to (and) aki (autumn) no (‘s) sora (sky or weather),” which means, “Woman is as fickle as autumn weather. This saying is sometimes used to emphasize how difficult it is to understand women’s minds and how the weather changes so suddenly in the autumn].

“In my former world, I have an image of Dragons collecting treasures, but I wonder if the Sea Serpent is the same?”

“I have heard stories about Dragons and highly intelligent Dragons who collect treasures. However, I have never heard of Sea Serpents collecting treasures.”

Hmm, is there even the slightest possibility? If they were collecting treasures, it would be easier in a way since we could just rob them.

“Hmm? …Hey, speaking of Dragons, there is no pattern of a Water Dragon living here and the Sea Serpent being its servant, is there?”

Even if it is a Water Dragon, it won’t be able to break through the Ship Summoning barrier, which the gods can’t do even if they get out of control, but I don’t think we can do any damage to it either. If we make it angry, it’s a terrifying opponent.

“I don’t think that will happen. We can’t deny the possibility of Water Dragons living here, but Dragons are solitary creatures, and they won’t allow the Sea Serpent to exist nearby.”

“So the possibility of a Water Dragon is zero if there is a Sea Serpent?”

“I suppose so.”

I see. That’s a simple explanation. Come to think of it, I’ve had the scales and fangs of the Wind Dragon in my storage for quite some time. I’ve been putting them aside because they’re so conspicuous and cause a stir, but now that things are conspicuous and it’s too late, maybe I should think about updating my equipment. I’ll discuss it with Alessia-san and the others when we’re done exploring.

“Breath coming!”

A short time after Felicia’s words, a strong current of water hits the Egg No. 1. …The fact that the three boats support each other may have helped, but it doesn’t shake as much as I thought it would. I was afraid that the rope would break occasionally, but as long as it didn’t break, there was no problem.

If there is no problem with the Breath, it is only a matter of time before the Sea Serpent falls over or runs away. Let’s wait for Claretta-san to slowly defeat it.

＊＊＊

“The audience chamber may be up ahead.”

“Roger that. Marina-san. I know it’s not easy, but please proceed with caution.”

“I understand.”

Finally, we come to the place where the treasure seems to be. If there were a jeweled throne, I would be very excited. But it was quite a hassle to get here.

It took a long time to get here, partly because it took a lot of effort to pull out the swords and form a caterpillar formation and partly because the Sea Serpent kept appearing and blocking us, which took a lot of time and drained our spirits.

It must have been very hard work because the high-ranking Claretta-san even asked for a long break.

There was a suggestion to swap Egg No. 2 and No. 3 and let Rimu do the attacking, but as we went on, the Sea Serpent started attacking us from behind as well, and the idea was shelved.

Well, considering that the Sea Serpent has so many things to protect, it’s pretty promising. Excitedly following Egg No. 3, we passed through the entrance to the audience room, which was probably equipped with a magnificent door.

“Ah, so that’s what this was all about…”

“That’s why the Sea Serpent is resisting so desperately.”

“We’re really the villains in this composition, aren’t we?”

According to Felicia’s explanation, who has night vision, small Sea Serpents, and countless egg-like objects are placed in the large space of the former audience chamber.

In short, this is the place where Sea Serpents raise their children, and the Sea Serpents who fought against us are the mothers and fathers who risked their lives to protect their children.

So we are like robbers who came to look for treasure in the Sea Serpents’ nest where they were living peacefully. I feel like I’m doing something terribly wrong.

“Um, what should we do?”

“Let’s get rid of as many young Sea Serpents as we can and collect the eggs. They are rare and should fetch a reasonable price.”

When I asked Alessia-san what we should do via communication, she gave me the usual dry opinion. Apparently, monsters are the enemy, and it doesn’t matter if they are children or not. I guess that is the difference between the people of this world, who fight monsters day and night, and the peaceful Japanese. Huh? Can eggs be repatriated by ship? Ordinary eggs can be repatriated, but I won’t know until I try.

<< Previous Table of Content Next >>