Volume 7 - CH 12

Chapter 12 – Saved Money and Appeal for Compliments

I left the dark elf island and came back to the Southern City. I always thought that except for training and defeating the monsters that attacked us, being on a voyage was like a holiday.

I docked the Lutto in the harbor and headed for the merchant guild, surrounded by a group of women. Finally, I saved up enough money to buy a luxury liner, which was my goal.

Finally, it’s about… 2 years? When I think about it calmly, it’s impossible to buy a luxury liner in 2 years. A cheat is really a cheat. Thank you, Creator God-sama.

Recalling the hardships I went through after coming to another world… honestly, the biggest hardship was falling into another world and getting to the Western City… there were kidnappings and danger to my life, but other than that, I don’t feel like I went through much hardship.

No, I’m sure I made efforts like hunting horned rabbits every day and building hut boats while sleeping in a big room with a bunch of people. Even being involved in the war was a big deal, and I’m proud to say that I did my best.

I worked very hard in the other world, overcame many hardships, and got the luxury liner of my dreams. It’s more impressive to think that way. I’ll fabricate a lot of great adventures and hardships in my head.

I entered the merchant guild with a silly thought in my mind and called out to Camille-san.

“Hello, Camille-san.”

“Hello, I’ve been waiting for you. Let me show you to the back room.”

Camille-san leads me to a room in the back and offers me a cup of tea.

“Wataru-san, here are the 450 platinum coins for the pepper. Please check them.”

Camille-san, you work fast, don’t you? I received the platinum coins and continued my conversation with Camille-san while checking them.

“Wataru-san, are you thinking of doing the pepper trade again?”

“Well, I’m not thinking about it at the moment. I’ve made a lot of money, and I’m going to take it easy for a while.”

I am going to buy a luxury liner. I’d like to finish things off with Ines… and get my hands on some hot springs. I’m not going back to Southern City for the foreseeable future, so I’m not going to put any plans in my schedule. It’s not a big hassle since I’m just coming to wholesale pepper, but I don’t feel comfortable with a deadline.

“Well… it would be very helpful if you could wholesale the pepper, and I would appreciate the opportunity to do so.”

“Yes, I think there will be a pause, but I will come back to wholesale again. I would appreciate it if you could do that for me.”

“Thank you very much.”

After confirming the platinum coins, I parted ways with Camille-san after greeting her. Finally, a luxury liner… I am deeply moved.

I have to go back to the Lutto and discuss the future with Girasole. I can’t hold them forever, but I want them to stay with me. Let’s tempt them by pushing the luxury liner to the forefront. They are curious people, and there is still the dark elf island adventure to be had. It should be doable.

“Everyone, I’d like to discuss our plans for the rest of the day. Is that all right?”　

“Yes, it’s fine. Is there something?”

“Yes, this deal has saved me enough money to buy the ship I wanted, which I mentioned before. My estimate is that it will take me a month to fully enjoy that ship to my satisfaction. After that, I have some things I want to do on dark elf island, so I don’t even know when I’ll be back in Southern City. What will you all do?”

I sprinkled in a few words that might be of interest. I hope I got them interested. I thought about asking her to come with me as my escort, but I felt that if they came with me in a no-holds-barred situation, it would deepen our relationship.

“You mentioned that when we were coming back from Palermo. Then you bought the Stronghold and the Seeker. Is that a different ship?”

“Yes, it’s different. The new ship is much more awesome.”

“…It takes you a month to fully enjoy the ship? That sounds interesting. Can you take us with you?”

“Yes, I would love it if you could come.”

“Fufu, that sounds fascinating. Can you give us a moment to talk about it?”

“Yes, no problem. And I’m sorry, but I’d like to ask the Girasole to do some shopping for me if that’s alright.”

“Thank you. I’ll talk it over with them. I’ll go shopping right away. What do you need?”

“I would like to get some food to last a while, some carpentry tools, and any tools that might be needed for construction. Is that alright?”

“Construction work? What are you going to do?”

“It was mentioned that there is a place on the dark elf island that smells strange, wasn’t it? If that’s what I think it is, then I need to do some construction work there.”

“? Is it something good?”

“Yes. It’s called a hot spring, kind of like a bath, but it’s a very popular spot in my world. But I can’t tell if it’s the same in this world or not, and I have no idea what the benefits are until I try it. It might be a place that is totally different from what I expected and just stinks…”

“Hot springs? If it’s anything like a bath, you can get it in your ship, right? Does it have something to do with benefits?”

“Yes, in my world, it can cure diseases, make your skin beautiful, and so on, depending on the hot water.”

“Beautiful skin is very interesting.”

In my mind, women are beautiful, and they shine because they use shampoo, conditioner, and body soap… Is there no end to the pursuit of beauty even in this world?

To begin with, I think they are different from the Japanese when they are adventurers and spend a few days in the forest while camping out in the wild, and their skin is clean. Are there any benefits or effects? I’m afraid of getting my hopes up; let’s not raise the bar.

“First of all, I don’t even know if it’s a hot spring or not, so the benefits will come after that.”

“I see. But it sounds interesting. Oh, I’ll go shopping first.”

“Thank you very much. Please take care of it.”

I gave her one gold coin and asked her to make the arrangements. But will they come with me? Everyone seems interested, so the bait should be good, but… the problem is work and money. I’ve received almost all of my money from the Lucca case, so money is going to be tight. And yet they accepted to be my escort for ten gold coins… Is this a bad idea?

“Master, you’re buying a luxury liner, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am going to do that. It is indeed an expensive purchase, so I am going to compare the luxury liner I am thinking of buying with another luxury liner again, so I guess I will buy it tomorrow?”

“Is that so? I’m getting nervous. I’m going to be in your embrace soon, aren’t I?”

“That’s right. I’m getting nervous too. I’m sorry, Ines, but I can’t resist.”

I want to buy a luxury liner from now on when I am about to have a special moment with a beautiful woman with big breasts in front of me. And I want to be holed up in the best room.

“Fufu, I have no problem with that. That was my plan from the very beginning of the contract. Besides, Felicia is very lively, isn’t she? I’m interested too. Let’s have lots of fun on the luxury liner and at night.”

…No, well, I’m going to enjoy it as much as I can, but if you’re so open about it… I wonder if Ines is being stubborn or something. I’m not going to give up even if she’s being stubborn, though.

“Yes, that’s right.”

I looked at Ines… She talks with Felicia saying that the casino sounds like a lot of fun. Wondering if they have good drinks or not. They are discussing it. …I have no idea. Either way, I can’t stand it, so let’s stop worrying about it.

We finish our chit-chat and compare luxury liners while drinking canned coffee. Each ship has many exciting facilities. The more I look at them, the more I get lost.

Every luxury liner is made with a lot of money, and they all put their best effort into it. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but all of them must be good. In general, I think it’s wrong to make such an expensive purchase just by clicking a button like online shopping.

In the end, while I was idly looking at the screen without being able to decide, Girasole came back. When I realized it, quite some time had passed.

“Welcome back. How was it?”

“Yeah, no problem. I got the carpentry and construction tools. I ordered enough food to last for a while, and they will deliver the rest tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you very much.”

Girasole went into the guest room, saying they would discuss what to do now. They will come to a decision by dinner. What will happen?

When I think about it, I’m trying to have a moment with Ines for the first time, and I’m trying to get some women’s attention on that ship and ask them out… That’s just appalling and insensitive.

…Hmm, let’s pretend I didn’t notice. Again comparing a luxury liner to another to find the ship I want. What I finally found out is that looking and comparing is inconclusive. Let’s compare them until the very last minute before buying, and finally make a decision based on the feeling at that moment.

At dinner time, Girasole came out of the guest room, and we ate together.

“Wataru-san, we don’t have anything else to do except for Claretta going to the orphanage, so can you wait until tomorrow afternoon?”

Hmm? Does the wait that Alessia-san says mean the departure of the ship? If I wait, it means they’re coming with me, right?

“Yes, that’s fine. We were originally planning to leave tomorrow night, so there’s no problem.”

“Then please allow us to go with you. It would be a shame to miss out on Wataru-san’s new ship.”

Oh, I feel like the plan is going well. I’m not sure if I’ve awakened a new talent or not. If I continue to devote myself to it, I may be able to have a harem constitution unique to the main character.

…Something is starting to make me sad. A harem constitution… I wonder if there is such a skill.

I wonder what would have happened if Creator God-sama’s whim had not been the ship summoning but the charm, seduction, and other 18-restricted skills? It seems like the goal would be to create a harem of big-breasted beauties of all races or something.

I have to reply to Alessia-san and the others instead of having weird fantasies.

“You can expect it. It’s great. If it surprises you, please compliment me on the thing.”

I haven’t decided which luxury liner to buy yet, but they’ll be surprised no matter which one I buy, won’t they?

“Fufu, you’re confident, aren’t you? I understand. The whole party will give it an amazing compliment. But you have to surprise us all with something amazing. If it’s just a regular surprise, we’ll just give you a regular compliment.”

…Where’s the line between surprised and incredibly surprised? But all the Girasole are going to give me incredible compliments? That makes my heart flutter. I was supposed to get Camille-san’s compliment, but we talked about business, and she forgot about it.

Maybe I should’ve asked her to be more flattering than praiseworthy? It’s too late now…

“You’re going to be in for an incredible surprise, so you’d better think of a way to give me an incredible compliment.”

“Yes, you can count on it. We’ll think of something incredible.”

The use of the word “incredible” is too much. It’s very uncomfortable to talk about. The words that can be changed to “incredible” are… very, quite, unbelievably, and so on. I want to be a man who can have a sophisticated conversation with a beautiful woman.

“I expect incredible things from you.”

No, I know. You don’t have to say “incredible,” just say, “I’m very much looking forward to it.” That’s fine. But perhaps, because I used “incredible” so much, Alessia-san used “incredible” to match, and I didn’t have the option to use another word here.

I think it’s part of the sophisticated adult conversation to appreciate the other person’s thoughtfulness. Maybe.

………………

I wake up in the morning and get a kiss from Ines and Felicia. My head is in a daze, but as soon as I wake up, the tension rises. Today should be a memorable day.

I head to the living room, excited, and have breakfast. I receive the luggage that has been arranged for me, and I compare the luxury liner till Claretta-san comes back from the orphanage, and when she comes back, we will set sail for the open sea.

I can’t help but be excited. I continued to check the luxury liner while repatriating the luggage brought to the storage ship and the food storage ship.

“Wataru-san, are you alright? You seem busy smiling, making difficult faces, staring off into the distance, grinning…”

Does my facial expression really change that much? Smiling means I’m looking forward to seeing the amazing facilities on the luxury liner. The difficult face is when I’m worried about the other luxury liner. The faraway stare is when I was escaping from too many things, and the grinning face would have been when I had an erotic fantasy.

I think that the fact that they go to the trouble of separating smiling and grinning means that when I’m grinning, I’m full of desire. It’s embarrassing.

“Yes, it’s alright, Alessia-san. Did my facial expression change that much?”

“Yes, very much.”

Alessia-san looked around at the other women. I was also taken aback and looked at the women’s faces, and they were all nodding. I see… it’s bad for a merchant that his inner feelings can easily show on his face.

“I see… well, I’ve already decided which ship is my best choice… but I’ve been looking at other ships, and my emotions have been wavering, so I guess they showed on my face.”

“What kind of ship is it? Can you tell me a little bit about it?”

“That’s not good. I have to make Alessia-san and the others surprised and compliment me incredibly. I’m a confident guy, so you’ll have to think of a way to give me a great compliment.”

“Fufu, I get it. I’m going to go to the guest room to talk about it, even though Claretta is not here. No peeking, okay?”

“I won’t. It’s more fun if I don’t know. I’m looking forward to it.”

Alessia-san and the others laughed and went into the guest room. Was I a little persistent? But with all this appeal, I’m sure I’ll get a big compliment. I have a lot to look forward to today.

Funds on Hand: 47 gold coins, 12 silver coins, 32 copper coins.

Guild account: 0 platinum coins, 70 gold coins.

Savings ship: 1445 platinum coins.

Pepper ship: 285 boats.