18 Chapter 19: Boa

"Mmm" I let out as I woke up

It's morning already.. That means the ship to Atlas is arriving today, Serena didn't say what time so i should ask her now.. I also don't know if i should mention anything about her being an elf but i'm curious...

As I tried to move my left hand, I felt that there was something heavy on top

"This sensation... I could recognise it anywhere... Ariel."

I tilt my head to see what the cause of the heavy sensation was and i was right. It was Ariel, How did she end up asleep on my bed when I saw her last night on hers? Wait, it's better not to think about it.

Under normal circumstances I would have waited for Ariel to get up and enjoy letting her use my elbow as a pillow. But right now we have to make it to the Atlas ship so...

"Ariel... Ariel, Hey Ariel wake up!" I said as i slightly shook her

This girl... How can she be such a heavy sleeper?

"Ariel, at this rate we might not go to Atlas..." I said

The noise being made to wake Ariel, ended up waking up Serena. Serena, silently got up and turned towards the direction of the sound before saying.

"Huh? Where is everybody?" Serena asked

I'm sorry, i had no choice. This was a huge misunderstanding, and i'm enjoying my new life so i'd rather not die so early. The moment she got up i had cast 'Furtim' and 'Silentium'

"Don't tell me, they're having breakfast without me!?" She said before getting up and rushing to the bathroom to get some sleep

I let out a sigh of relief as i deactivated silentium and furtim

"Look, Ariel, if you don't wake up right now, i'll die i'll honestly di-"

Before i could finish, serena interrupted "You'll what?" She asked with an icy smile on her face

"G-g-good morning Serena... There's a perfectly valid explanation for this." I said

"Of course, couples sleep together, it's normal. However, you're too young to be doing that sort of thing, much less next to me!!! Even i was only now allowed to this year!" She said

"S-Serena you're getting the wrong idea, i'm sure you remember right? Before you went to bed Ariel was sleeping on her bed."

All right, that should have convinc-

"So you 're saying you did those th-things to her while she was asleep!?" Serena said as she grabbed her wand

Oi oi oi, wait a minute, didn't i just make things worse... Crap wasn't that the wand she used in our fight? I'm not some beast!

"W-Wait, why don't we c-calm down, i can explain! I didn't d-"

As i was about to explain, i was interrupted by ariel, "Mn.. G-Good morning John.. Thank you for last night.."

...

"Oi... Ariel.. what do you mean by thank you?" I nervously said as i felt Serena's piercing gaze

"You were very warm..." She said with reddened cheeks

"Your shoulder was.." She added on

"Say that sooner! Serena's Already casting her spell!" I shouted

---------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm very sorry!" Said serena as she bowed her head

"It's fine.. Mistakes happen, it's partially her fault too." I said as i looked at Ariel

"Sorry!" She said as she bowed her head

"So... Ariel, why were you even in John's bed?" Serena asked

"Why? We always sleep together.." Ariel replied

"Don't look at me! We were low on money and had only bought a room with one bed! But we didn't do anything aside from sleeping together!" I said

"Ariel... You shouldn't sleep next to another guy, it's dangerous..." Serena said

"Oi.. Why am i the one that's getting treated as the villain here.." I replied

"No! John isn't dangerous!" Ariel said

"Ariel..." I said with a teary eyes

"Look Ariel.. I get it... All i'm trying to say is that a girl should only sleep next to a guy she plans on marrying or is engaged to.." Said Serena

"Engaged... Marrying..." Ariel muttered as she looked at me

Huh..? What's that look supposed to mean..?

"I-I understand, i won't do it anymore" Ariel said as she stopped looking at me

That was rather fast..?

"Serena... Since you two are good friends and you're both girls. Please tell Ariel later why it's only someone you plan on getting engaged to or marrying," I requested

"W-What..? Fine..." Serena said

"What are you guys talking about?" Ariel asked

"Don't worry, serena will tell you later." I replied

Not everyone goes through the same education, huh..

"Anyways.. Serena! What time does the Boat arrive?

"It arrives at noon from what i've heard.." She replied

"Noon.. It's been a while since sunrise... It should be arriving soon... Isn't there anything which can read the time in this world?" I asked

"You mean a clock? Yeah, but they're mainly available for nobles." Serena replied

"Crap... So how do adventurers measure the time?" I asked

"Hm? Like most, i track the sun's position, other's follow their shadow and i hear that there are people who look at the stars at night." She replied

So those basic methods work in this world too.. Good.

"Alright, Everyone, pack your things. We're heading to the port!" I said as i stared at the sun

According to the sun's position... There's only an hour till noon

"Yes!" Ariel said as she started putting her belongings in a bag

I didn't stare, that would be ungentlemanly...

"Um john i- Are you alright? Your face looks a bit red... Why are you just staring at the sun?"

My eyes are starting to hurt...

"Y-You know.. The sun is beautiful, staring at it calms me down."

Lies.

"O-Okay..? I just wanted to say, that i forgot my belongings at the inn i was staying at.. So do you mind going with me to get them?"

"Of course not. You're a member of our party now so no need to act so reserved around me..."

"John..." She said with a smile on her face

"Yes?" I asked

"It's just... You would've sounded a lot more cooler if there weren't tears flowing out of your eyes as you said that." Serena replied

"Ah.. Don't worry, it's just one of the side effects from staring at the sun for too long. It also damages your vision." I said

"Like i asked, why are you staring at it?" She asked

"There are times where a man must make sacrafices..." I replied

"John..." She said again with a smile on her face

"Yes?" I asked a second time

"You're crying." She said

-------------------------------------------------------

After Ariel packed her things, I packed mine and we followed Serena to her inn and waited for her to pack her things, before heading to the port

"Ahhhh... Nothing beats the fresh breese you can get from the sea.. Ariel, what's it like seeing the sea for the first time?" I asked

Unlike we expected, after enterring the city through the gates, we weren't able to see the ocean, we needed to head to the port to see it, but since we were busy we didn't have time. However, now she is finally able to see it

"It's beautiful..." She replied as she stared at the ocean with sparkling eyes and a bright smile

I stared at Ariel, as her hair moved in motion with the breese as it passed by

"Yeah, it is. Hey ariel..." I replied as i looked at the sea

"Hm, what's wrong john?" Ariel asked

"It's nothing... Let's move on." I replied

After we arrived at the port, we saw a few adventurers and merchants there was around 50 waiting for the Boat to Arrive

"There's quite a lot.. Will we really be able to get in with this many?" I asked

"Yeah, there's no need to worry about that. They send 3 ships once a week which is capable of carrying 50 people each."

"Ah, that's good. You guys hungry? Looks like they're selling sea food and drinks there" I asked as i pointed at the food stalls

"Yes!" Said the two girls

And so... We ate as we waited for the boat to arrive. And after half an hour it did.

"ID?" asked the boat guard at the entrance to the boat

We spent 20 minutes waiting in life for our turn, so i handed the man my adventure's card without saying a word. I just wanted to go inside as fast as possible. Ariel and Serena did the same

"All right, that will be 3 Gold coins." The guard said

Expensive! Now i see why there are so many adventurers here in the port. Not everyone can afford the fees. But if you do, you should be able to make more in the dungeon, which is why the boat fees are so high.

"Yes... Yes... Wait a moment." I said as i pulled out 3 gold coins from my magic tool box

Wait... 3 Gold coins... Then that means it's one Coin per person.

"Oi... Serena... Give me a gold coin... I'm running low on funds." I said

"W-what.. are you talking about john... You're the party leader i believe these sort of fees are your responsibility..." She said

"Why of course i'm responsible for the party however any fees the members have to pay individually has nothing to do with me. Ariel is one thing, the money i have was made with her help as we went hunting but you just joined. Shouldn't you be treating your seniors with more respect?"

Serena intenionally tried to avoid my gaze as i stared at her

"You two stop fighting! Can't you see that there are people in line waiting for us? Sorry guard, for wasitng your time, here." Ariel said as she took the 3 gold coins off of my hands and handed it to the guard

Seeing this the guard let us through and handed us 3 separate keys, with the numbers 31, 32 and 33 written on them

"Sorry" We said to the guard as we passed by

Seeing as how we were truly apologetic the guard said. "Don't worry about it."

"What a nice guy... Now that i'm inside i'm starting to see how big this boat actually is..." I said

"Of course! This boat is top-quality, It has food, drinks and it even has rooms for us to sleep in. Judging by our numbers our rooms are right next to each other. Why else did you think the fee was so high?" she asked

"Yeah, the fees that i payed for." I replied

"Huh? Weren't you the one who said that you were going to pay for anything yesterday to congratulate you and Ariel getting a new member? Besides i already thanked you!" She said

"That Was only for yesterday!" I replied

As we continued to argue, we both stopped as we heard Ariel chuckle

"What's so funny?" I asked

"It's just you guys look like you're having a lot of fun. I'm sure you two are already close friends." She said

"Truce?" Serena asked

"Sure." I replied

"Um... John... Sorry for getting mad at you, i've been very ungrateful..." Serena said

"It's fine... I was also being a bit childish. We're party members we should help each other" i replied

"But you're a kid? It's normal to be childish." Serena replied

"Oh yeah that's right" I said

"pfft"

"haha"

The three of us laughed at my answer and just like that, we began our trip on the boat to Atlas. I didn't mention anything about serena being an elf, i'm sure that she must have a reason not to tell us, but honestly i don't mind at all. I really like the elf race after all.