Chapter 190: Future prospects

Also, for those who are unaware, the light novel illustrations are up here! Courtesy of Frozen & Sparhawk ????

Naturally, the enormous sailing ship Pionia constructed could not be used in the shallow inland sea so we sailed on the same ship and headed to the mountainous land between Port Kobe and Port Ithaca.

I left all the steering to Hallock so Carol and I were enjoying the scenery from the deck but the aroma of the sea was stronger compared to yesterday so I inadvertently smiled wryly.

“What’s wrong? Ichino-sama.”

She probably found it strange why I suddenly smiled. Carol asked as she peered at my face.

I replied “It’s nothing serious but, ” as a preface,

“I was wondering how it would be like for a person with sensitive nose if the smell of the sea is this bad.”

“Were you thinking of Haru-san?”

“Well, to be frank …”

I felt that it was a little rude to say that I was thinking of another girl when I was beside a girl who said that she liked me so I gave a vague answer but I guess she noticed after all. Won’t it make her feel bad? I thought to myself but it didn’t seem to have fazed Carol much as she answered my question.

“I’ve heard about it from beastmen that those who live along the coast all year round do find the smell of the sea hard to bear but it doesn’t really affect their ability to smell. But it would apparently take a couple of days to weeks for a beastmen to get used to it. Haru-san who has lived her life inland would probably find it uncomfortable in various ways.”

“I see. Then she might struggle when we sail to the Southern Continent.”

This time, Carol and I smiled normally instead of smiling wryly.

“Sensei, it’s about time you put on the armor.”

“Okay — , I get it.”

It’s okay, I’ve already gone to the restroom just now before boarding the ship and although the scent of the sea was tough, the humidity and temperature were lower compared to yesterday so I won’t need that much hydration.

Furthermore, even with the armor on, I have pretty much gotten used to moving in it.

I put on the armor, checked my steel sword, and sheathed it before I turned to one side and unsheathed it once again, holding it vertically.

“Sensei, what are you doing?”

Hallock who was steering and could see me standing at the bow asked me in puzzlement.

“Ah, I was just feeling nostalgic as it has been a long time since I fought seriously with a sword.”

“Ahaha, so you didn’t have to fight seriously with that guy yesterday. Ah, so Sensei specializes in magic huh? Then why do you choose to fight with a sword today?”

“Since the opponent would more likely concede defeat if I defeated them in their own field?”

“I see, as expected of Sensei.”

… It seemed like Hallock couldn’t decide on what tone to use. He was trying very hard to speak in an underling tone but to be honest, his normal manner of speech breaks the tone and forms a gap between them.

The truth was that I chose to fight with a sword because I could not depend on my MP and I thought that it would look cool to draw my sword at the bow of the ship but Hallock grabbed on to my lies favorably.

He was unconscious the previous time I showed off my magic but he personally experienced my skill with the sword so I guess he didn’t doubt my ability to fight with one.

“By the way, where would Sensei be heading to after you meet up with your companions?”

“I was thinking of going to the Southern Continent. I want to meet someone there.”

“Don’t tell me it’s a lover? Even though you already have such a cute half-mini hume with you, Sensei sure is loved.”

“You’re wrong, it’s a guy. He’s a benefactor to me and my companion and another companion of mine want to meet him too.”

“I see. Please leave the arrangements for the trip to the Southern Continent to me. It will take a couple of weeks to negotiate for the permit to dock at the Southern Continent harbor so if you’re in a hurry, I can ask an acquaintance who runs a trade ship to prepare his VIP room for you.”

“We’ve been in Sensei’s care after all — incidentally, if you plan to travel on a trade ship, what would you do with this ship —”

Ah … so that was his intention.

“I get it — let me see, if you can make the preparations for the trade ship and fulfill some of my requests, I will ask my companion who made the ship if she is willing to hand it over.”

“Oo, Sensei you’re so generous — by the way, what are the requests?”

“The eggs of river fish like previously, various seeds of fruits and vegetables, fertilized eggs of domestic animals like chickens and also a lot of interesting books.”

That would probably convince Pionia.

Constructing and eating seems to be her only interests so I wanted to increase her cooking repertoire.

“Leave it to me if that’s all you need. I’ll ask my acquaintances to gather them … er, what if I gathered them but your companion doesn’t agree to hand over the boat …”

“If my companion refuses then I will pay with gold so don’t worry —”

“Then I can gather them with ease of mind.”

The conversation was pretty much settled but our plans after this huh …

I do need to think of what we plan to do after we go to Daijiro-san’s place.

Haru would probably want to continue adventuring with me. She loves fighting and dried meat after all.

Carol is a peddler but she has already accumulated quite a sum of money so she would probably get her own shop.

Malina actually wants to return to Japan so she would probably assist Daijiro-san.

As for myself — that’s right, even though my job is listed as Jobless in the system, I want to get some kind of a job as a title. What about a Journeying Alchemist? No no, maybe I’ll train my smithing skills and be a Journeying Swordsmith, that might be cool.

If Carol buys a shop, I can also continue adventuring with that town as my home base and if Carol buys a shop in Mallegory, we can continue our usual four-man journey accompanied by silly talks.

Mallegory is roughly about 1 week away via carriage from the harbor town in the Western Continent country of Tsuaobal.

It feels like a long journey but it’s actually only a short duration left.

“Sensei, I have stopped the ship and prepared the barge.”

The boat was stopped about 6 meters away.

I confirmed that the ship had stopped and jumped onto land.

The crew cheered as they saw me easily jump onto land in excitement.

Great, let’s get this discussion over and done with.