Volume 6 - CH 7

Chapter 7 – Departure from Lucca and the Dark Elf Island After a Long Time

We are now sailing to Southern City. It was not long before I was relieved to hear from Alessia-san about the retreat of the imperial army, and a lot of people came rushing to see me, to ask me for a favor, and to ask me to sell them my ship.

There’s nothing but discomfort… as people (messengers and merchants from the nobility) gather around the mage who brought the prince down on his knees… I asked Alessia-san what was going on, and she said that the mage, surprisingly, seemed to be very popular.

Although he was the one who blockaded the port of Lucca… he is thought to be the one who rushed to the crisis in Lucca, liberated the port, brought in food and soldiers, and was the catalyst for the formation of the Allied Forces.

What about the blockade of Lucca? When I asked her, she said that the reputation of the second prince was so bad that the reputation of the mage was relatively high. He is a righteous mage who is not beholden to authority and is scary when angered but wields power for the good of the people… Who are we talking about here?

Me, who was lured by a beautiful woman and just holed up in the wheelhouse watching DVDs? That’s impossible.

I left the ships that had gathered in such a way because they were harmless. However, ships gathered around the Stronghold, causing trouble for ships entering and leaving the port, so we left immediately after retrieving the Fortress and receiving a reward from the marquis.

In the meantime, I repatriated the Fortress after reaching the open sea, but several magic ships were attracted to the Fortress to see where it was going somehow.

As the open sea approached, the number of magic ships decreased, and even the magic ships that had been chasing the Fortress until the end gave up when the Fortress completely went out to the open sea. It is advantageous to be able to go out to the open sea, isn’t it? We were coming and going normally, so it didn’t feel any different anymore.

After the retrieval of the Fortress, the marquis rewarded me with 30 platinum coins and Girasole with 30 platinum coins, a huge reward. I was told that even this was not much of a reward for my efforts and that if I went to the royal capital, I would surely receive even more privileges and an additional amount of money.

Well, I gave up, but the 30 platinum coins for Girasole and the ten platinum coins sent to Girasole by the crown prince were also transferred to me for a total reward of 80 platinum coins.

Alessia-san told me that she would also pay all of Girasole’s deposits in the Southern City, so I think that would be quite a reward. At the very least, there are 50 platinum coins from the sale of the Ryu scale…

Speaking of which, the auction for the Ryu scale should be coming up soon. Depending on the outcome, maybe I can get my hands on the luxury liner? There’s also a festival in the dark elf village to look forward to.

It’s time to change to the Lutto and drop off Alessia-san and the others; let’s check the schedule again. I’ll ask Ines and Felicia to gather the Girasole in the cafeteria.

“Alessia-san, are you sure you don’t mind getting off the boat and walking to the Southern City?”

“No problem. Wataru-san is going to another place, isn’t he? I heard that your destination is a secret, but you will come back to the Southern City, right?”

“Yes, I plan to take my time, but I don’t think it will take more than a month. Alessia-san, please be careful, as I am sure that information has spread to the Southern City.”

“Yes, the guild master of the adventurer’s guild will definitely ask me about it, and I can spread the word that Wataru-san introduced me to the mage, right?

“Yes, I think they will suspect me too, but I will go through with the fact that I introduced you to a mage that I became friends with during my travels. I will say that I bought both the Japanese-style boat and the Lutto ship from the mage, and I will insist on it as much as I can.”

“I apologize for the trouble I have caused you.”

“No, no, the mage has become famous, but he is hardly ever seen or even heard of. The empire is in turmoil. Other countries will come to check on him, but if he is feared, they will not be reckless. Nobles and merchants will be interested in the Japanese-style boat and the Lutto, but if I tell them that I am the only one who can use Mage-sama’s magic, I will be able to get by. I can use Mage-sama’s authority to counter their threats. They know it’s a special ship. I’ll tell them that I lied about going to Palermo this time, too, and that I was accumulating pepper by repeatedly doing the pepper trade. Besides, we were originally targeted in Southern City. When we go into town, Ines and Felicia will do their best, so everything will be fine.”

The conspicuousness and inconspicuousness won’t matter once I get my hands on the luxury liner. I don’t have to make a big deal out of it myself, but I’m going to turn this long boat trip into a period of time to secretly accumulate pepper and get a lot of money from the merchant’s guild.

“Well, we’ll be with you while you’re in the Southern City if you’d like us to come along.”

“Yes, I’ll look forward to working with you then.”

“Yes.”

Even after the war is over, troubles will follow for the time being, right? …Yeah, I’d like to stick around on this continent somehow until we can find some dark elves and get them to emigrate. The illegal slaves protected by the empire are apparently under the jurisdiction of the Allied Forces, and it’s out of my hands. If word gets out that the mage wants the dark elves, there’s going to be a lot more trouble.

“It’s about time we were at our destination. I’ll transfer to the Lutto and then head for the coast.”

“I understand.”

After transferring to the Lutto ship and sending Girasole off, we headed directly to the dark elf village.

On the way, we changed to the Stronghold and cooked with the help of Ines, Felicia, and Rimu. Since it was a festival, we cooked a lot of food with the ingredients we had in stock and served it to the people.

We’ll have fried chicken, pork cutlets, fried shrimp, fried fish, croquettes, pizza, and barbecue. There will also skewer a variety of meats, vegetables, and seafood.

I’ll also make mayonnaise, salads, potato salad, soups, pudding, and ice cream for dessert. Come to think of it; I haven’t made any new dishes even though I got soy sauce. The shark’s fin is already dry and parched, and the question is whether it’s a success.

Well, it wouldn’t be suitable for serving at a festival, with all the rehydrating and stewing, so the shark fins will have to wait until next time. Let’s dry it some more.

I cook a large quantity of food and repatriate the dishes one after another. As for drinks, distilled spirits, and wine are fine. I hope it will be a lively festival.

“Master, it’s going to be a fun festival with all this.”

“Yeah, it’s a celebration, you know. It’ll just be drinking, eating, and making noise, but that’s all right as long as it’s fun.”

“Ufufu, yes, as long as it’s fun, that’s all that matters.”

…I feel like there’s a problem when Ines, who has sold herself into debt by gambling, says that. Moderation is important, you know.

“Master, thank you so much for all you’ve done for me.”

“Haha, I’m sure Felicia knows that, but it’s a generous offer full of ulterior motives. Don’t worry about it.”

“Fufu, but still, thank you very much. It makes me very happy.”

“Hmm, yes. You’re welcome?”

Oh no, I’m getting nervous. Soon Felicia and I will be… and the festival I was looking forward to is starting to feel like a hassle.

Somehow, I managed to redirect my desires toward the festival and pushed forward with further preparations.

“Wataru, a lot?'”

“Hmm? Is it strange that I make a lot of food?”

“Nn.”

“That’s the thing. We are going to have a festival next time. We’re going to eat a lot of delicious food with a lot of people and make a lot of noise. Looking forward to it.”

“I’m looking forward to the festival.”

“Yes, let’s eat a lot of food and make a lot of noise.”

“Have fun.”

Rimu was happily bouncing around… It’s a soothing sight.

I spent the voyage to the Dark Elf Island imagining a fun festival.

We arrive at Dark Elf Island after a long while. Village Chief-san was already there to welcome us. …For some reason, they are looking so deadly, and armed dark elves are gathering… Are they not welcoming us to the island?

I step out of the living room and call out to the village chief, who looks alarmed.

“Village Chief-san, what’s going on with everyone gathered here?”

“Oh, was that Wataru-san? We were alarmed to see an unfamiliar ship approaching. I apologize.”

An unfamiliar ship? …Ah, I changed the shape of the ship in Lucca and left it as it was. I’ll have to remember to return it to its original shape before returning to the Southern City, or all hell will break loose.

“Haha… sorry. This time it’s this ship, but next time I’ll come back with the previous one.”

“Oh, Wataru-san, you have another magic ship; isn’t that wonderful?”

“No, well, that’s about it. It has been a long time since I’ve visited the village, but is there any trouble in the village?”

“Yes, everything is fine. Well, since it’s not good to talk here, please take a look at the village.”

“Yes, I see. I am looking forward to it. I’ll unload the cargo. Can you carry it for me?”

“Thank you for everything. As you heard, divide yourselves into two groups: those who will carry weapons and those who will carry cargo.”

At the order of the village chief, the villagers gathered weapons to three men, and then I handed them the luggage I had summoned in advance, and they carried it lightly to the village on the hill.

It’s been a long time, and I leave them half of the food I had stocked up on and offer them everything else. Since we haven’t used much food since I bought the ferry, should I have offered more? Well, let’s just see how things go and think about it.

When we arrived at the village, the situation had changed drastically. A house, though not large, had been completed in a fenced-in area, and even flower beds had been created, and flowers were blooming. The area where the tents had been pitched had been turned into a plaza, where flowerbeds had also been built, and even benches had been set up.

“It’s amazing; I’m amazed that it has been completed to this extent.”

“The people in the village have also improved their skills since they built their own houses and began to try their hand at interior decoration. Even if they can’t do specialized things, they can do most things. Of course, we are ripe for work in the fields and hunting, but when we have time, we talk about what we want to build and set up in the village. By no longer having to hide, we can enjoy things we couldn’t do before. Oh, and we’re properly prepared for defense.”

Ah, I see. So this is the result of a combination of what they were unable to do when they were living in hiding and their improved carpentry skills. That’s amazing.

“Village Chief-san, this is enough to say that it’s finished, isn’t it? Shall we have the festival we talked about before?”

If the houses hadn’t been built yet, it would have been a continuation of live an uncivilized life. Thanks to everyone’s hard work.

“Yes, in fact, the villagers are looking forward to it. I’m sorry to have to trouble you with this, but thank you very much.”

“Haha, actually, I’ve been preparing for the festival myself. Let’s have a big party.”

“Thank you very much. I’m sure everyone will be pleased.”

“Since there are preparations to be made, why don’t we set the festival for the day after tomorrow and get all the work and festival preparations done by then? You can’t take time off to work in the fields, etc., but that can be done earlier if there is more help. If the weather is nice, we can have a big party here in the plaza.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun. I will ask the hunter about the weather. If there is no problem, let’s get ready.”

The village chief is getting excited. This is the first festival since they moved here, and I want to make it a big success. We headed to the village chief’s house and had a cup of tea while chatting with Cecilia-san. By the way, the village chief was so excited that he left the house and said he was going to inform the whole village. Apparently, there will be a meeting tonight.

“Fufu, Wataru-san suggested this festival before, and everyone in the village was very excited about it. If it’s going to become a reality, I’m sure everyone will be very excited from now on. Thank you very much.”

“It’s good to have fun first, isn’t it? Let’s make it a fun festival.”

“Yes.”

From then on, the conversation moved rapidly. It seems that the weather was not a problem, and everyone is discussing the division of work to prepare for the festival. I’m looking forward to it.

Funds on hand: 62 gold coins, 80 silver coins, 46 copper coins.

Guild account: 33 platinum coins, 70 gold coins.

Savings boat: 165 platinum coins.

Pepper boat: 485 boats.