Striving For The Luxury Liner – Vol 11 Chapter 7

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Chapter 7 – It’s Making Noise and Shaking.

We began our exploration of the Duke’s castle and arrived at the audience chamber, where we fought Sea Serpents that seemed to be guarding the treasures deep inside the castle. It seemed to be a place for Sea Serpents to raise their children, and there were small Sea Serpents and eggs that had not yet been born.

And now, in front of my eyes, Claretta and Rimu’s magic was flying around the audience chamber, shooting down baby Sea Serpents that had probably not been born very long.

Aside from Claretta-san being an adventurer, Rimu is also merciless. Well, if you miss a baby Sea Serpent, it will grow into a huge and ferocious Sea Serpent, so it is not wrong to kill it, but I feel sorry for it just because it is a baby.

A baby Sea Serpent is quite small compared to its parents, about the size of a python… Huh? I guess it’s just scary to think of a snake that size.

Yeah. I wasn’t sure because I think of it as a baby, but with a baby that size, it’s just a threat.

I feel bad that it’s like a break-in, but as something that mainly lives in the sea, I’m sorry, but I’m going to let it be sacrificed. If there’s a Sea Serpent, when many monsters gather in the open sea, it will be troublesome, right?

“Master. It’s no use just watching; why don’t we collect the eggs?”

“I suppose so. We can’t just sit here and watch, let’s try to collect the eggs.”

Following Ines’ suggestion, we decided to try to collect the eggs. First, let’s move Egg No. 1 in front of the eggs, shall we?

“How do we get it?”

Even though it was dark and at a distance, I could clearly see it as an egg under the light, so I knew it was of a certain size, but when I came closer and checked it out, I found a much larger egg than I had expected, sitting on a soft-looking piece of seaweed.

Did Sea Serpents warm these eggs underwater or something? No. It’s about 50 centimeters in diameter. I’ve heard that even dinosaur eggs are 30 centimeters or so at the most, but is this egg bigger than a dinosaur’s?

No, it’s a monster, so is it any wonder that it’s bigger than a dinosaur egg? …I’m starting to think that since Sea Serpent is a monster and has magic powers and even breathes Breath, it’s no wonder that the eggs are bigger than dinosaur eggs. The question is how to retrieve them.

“Master. Can’t you do something with the arm attached to Egg No. 1?”

“Hmm, it has the strength to lift even a certain size, but for a round object that is difficult to grasp, the arm isn’t big enough.”

It seems that this is not an opportunity for the arm to be active yet. In that case, the safest thing to do would be to lift it out of the hatch with a stick or something and summon a ship underneath.

“Ines. Can you lift the egg if you hold it between the sword and the scabbard?”

“If it doesn’t break, I think I can lift it.”

It’s an egg, so it might break, but I’ve heard that even an ostrich egg has to be cracked with a hammer, so I don’t think a Sea Serpent egg will break easily.

“Then I’ll pull the Egg No. 1 over to the egg, and you try it.”

“Okay.”

“Fufu.”

“Master. What’s with the sudden laugh?”

Ines and Felicia look at me curiously as I suddenly laugh.

“N-no, it’s nothing. Well then, please do.”

Phew, it’s not good. As expected, it’s not good. I said I was going to put the Egg No. 1 on the egg, and then I laughed, but that’s not good for a young man.

It’s a dad joke, and it’s a very advanced dad joke. If I said it, either the inside of this little submarine would freeze, or Ines and Felicia would look at me with lukewarm eyes.

But my mouth itches. Somehow, I feel the need to say it, even though I know it would be a slip.

Calm down. Calm down, me. If I can’t hold it in, I know I’ll be a great father. I’m only 20 years old, so I’m not ready to be a father yet.

Trying my best not to let my mouth slip, I tilt the Egg No. 1 and move the hatch in front of the egg, which Ines slowly lifts with her sword and scabbard. It’s in the water and doesn’t seem to weigh much.

When I gave the egg permission to board and summoned a rubber boat, it swallowed the egg easily, and the rubber boat rose. It’s just an audience room, and the ceiling is high, so it’s a hassle to go up there to check it out. Let’s see if I can repatriate the rubber boat here.

…Even though I reminded myself to repatriate the rubber boat, there was no sign of it being repatriated. This means that the Sea Serpent egg is recognized as a living thing, right?

While the food eggs can be repatriated, the Sea Serpent eggs cannot. It is possible that the food eggs are unfertilized, but it is hard to imagine that they are so different at this age.

It could be a matter of size or the difference between food and monster material. Or maybe it is because the Sea Serpent inside the egg has grown up quite a bit. The ones being slaughtered now are probably recently hatched Sea Serpents, and it seems very likely that the eggs we recovered will hatch soon.

“I can’t repatriate it; what should we do? It’s going to be a pain to have one of the ship’s summoning slots taken away by these eggs, isn’t it?

“I agree. If we find the treasure, we will need at least one free slot to retrieve it. Besides, even if we were to retrieve the egg on the way back, it would be difficult to leave the castle while moving the rubber boat.”

Come to think of it, it’s also important to know how we’re going to bring it back. It’s possible to take it with us if we break through some of the ceilings of the Duke’s castle, but I also wonder if we need to go through that much trouble.

“Um, it would definitely get in the way, and there’s a chance it could break, but I think it would be possible to bring it back with us if we could tie it down with a rope and pull it out.”

I see; Felicia is right; there’s no need to force it to be carried in a rubber boat. Even if it doesn’t destroy the boat’s summoning slot, we can still get the materials to the southeastern island or the Dark Elf island, just like we did. Then I can think of a way other than just dumping it.

“Ines. Did it seem okay to carry the eggs roughly?”

“Hmm. Through the sword, I don’t know. But if they’re too hard, they’ll be hard to hatch, won’t they?”

If it’s too hard, the baby won’t be able to come out of the egg. That’s a good point.

“If we are going to transport the eggs, it would be better to wrap them in something soft instead of just tying them to a rope.”

Well, even if we wrap them carefully, the eggs will probably spin wildly when pulled underwater. Even if we could carry the eggs without breaking them, it’s not clear that the contents would be safe, but, well, they’re baby monsters, so they’ll be fine.

It should not have been born this long, but if it avoids the magic of Claretta-san and Rimu, I think its vitality is different from that of an ordinary monster.

“First of all, why don’t we decide whether or not to transport the treasure after the exploration is over? We have more materials for the Sea Serpent than we can handle, and if we find a lot of treasure, the profit will be more than enough, right?”

Ines looked at me with a look that said, “Why are you trying so hard?”

“Well, Ines is right, but isn’t it fun to think about such things, like being an adventurer?”

I’ve never been on such a serious treasure hunt before, and I’m starting to enjoy trying things out and going through trial and error.

When I was active as an adventurer, my main focus was defeating Horned Rabbits and the only other adventures I could call adventures were exploring the Demon Forest, caves, and volcanoes. It’s not that I got involved in wars or anything, but treasure hunting is very adventurous and purely romantic.

“Master is more of a merchant than an adventurer, isn’t he?”

I can’t even confidently call myself a merchant because I do business with a lord, but I’m definitely a merchant in the eyes of the world. But since I basically live on a ship and my status occupation is captain, I guess I’m more of a sailor. It’s a cheat, though.

“It’s like feeling like an adventurer.”

…Ines and Felicia looked at me very kindly. Maybe those are the eyes that look at a child who waves a branch around and says he’s a hero or something. It’s so embarrassing that it makes me sad.

“Um, this is Egg No. 1. This is Wataru. Egg No. 2 and No. 3. What’s the situation?”

I was so embarrassed that I ran to the radio. …I’ll get back at them with some adult embarrassment when the adventure is over.　

“This is Egg No. 2, Alessia. Wataru-san, we’re almost done here. Rimu-chan’s magic is a bit delicate, so why don’t we take a break at the Hideaway?”

“This is Egg No. 3, Dorothea. The surrounding monsters have also been destroyed. Claretta’s magic power consumption is also very high, so I’d like her to take a break.”

This time, Claretta-san and Rimu were the main attackers, and even if they took a break, they were in a series of battles, so it would be better to rest in a spacious ship.

“This is Egg No. 1, Wataru. Understood. After repatriating the rubber boats, I will summon the Hideaway, so let’s take a break.”

“Egg No. 2, copy.”

“Egg No. 3, copy that.”

If we move to a bigger place, we can stay in the room alone. Let’s quickly remove the eggs from the rubber boat and summon the Hideaway. In the meantime, we should carry the eggs to the Hideaway, right?

＊＊＊

“Hey, Wataru-san. This egg makes noise, doesn’t it?”

Alessia-san, who had joined us at the Hideaway, asked curiously.

“Yes, it makes a sound.”

And by the way, it’s also rattling and shaking.

“I wonder if it’s going to be born?”

“I wonder. It was in pretty rough shape when it came into the Hideaway, so maybe it was angry and out of control in the egg.”

Ines was holding the egg so it wouldn’t hit the ground, but when the Egg No. 1 rolled into the Hideaway, the egg must have felt a considerable shock. It might have been a protest to be quiet.

“What are we going to do?”

“You say what are we going to do, but… Alessia-san said that the egg would be secured. So what are you going to do about it?”

Why is she asking me? I brought them to her, so she have to take responsibility for the egg.

“That’s true, but I didn’t think it was this close to being born. Should we get rid of it as soon as possible? Well, it’s a monster, but when it’s about to be born, I’m kind of hesitant.”

Alessia-san, Ines, and Felicia, who had just slaughtered the newborn babies, also looked puzzled. They wanted to sell the egg, and they killed the baby, so what’s the difference?

For me, I don’t think it makes much difference, but as a woman who gives birth to a child, maybe she feels confused at the moment of the birth of life. I mean, what are you going to do once it’s born? I have a very bad feeling about it, you know?

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