Volume 8 - CH 12

Chapter 12 – Rubber Boat and Scarlet

After defeating the giant queen ant, we searched for a mineral deposit in the large room, drenched in sweat. It was difficult because the cracks in the rock looked like mineral deposits.

“Wataru-san, did you find anything?”

“Nothing. How about you, Alessia-san?”

“Nothing here either. I hope to see it on the next one.”

We didn’t find anything. But if we had found something in this room, it would have been good because we would have had to do the mining work in the heat—physical labor in a sauna that’s like death. Even with earth magic, this environment would be hard.

“Well, it’s time to move on.”

We gather to go to the next room… For some reason, Rimu and Fuu-chan are looking at the magma from the hole.

“Rimu, Fuu-chan, what’s going on?”

“There.”

“…Friend…?”

“? There? Friend? Rimu and Fuu-chan’s friend there? Friends are slime, right?”

Dorothea-san jumped at my words. …Dorothea-san, you’ve been holding back until now, haven’t you? She gave up because she couldn’t take a normal slime with her on a quest. It was sad but cute.

“Rimu-chan, Fuu-chan, where is it?”

“Over there.”

“…Yeah…”

At Dorothea-san’s words, Rimu twitched… yeah, Rimu, I don’t think you can tell then. And Dorothea-san is confused.

“Rimu, can you use light magic to point me in the right direction? Don’t attack it, okay?”

“? Like this?”

Rimu makes a ball of light float and move. It is hard to tell from a distance, but where the ball of light lands, it looks like a bright red slime on a bright red glowing magma.

It is hard to tell because of the combination of red and red, and it is also quite far away. It is hard to tell if it is really slime or not. Moreover, even if it is slime, it is impossible to get close to it when it is on the magma. It is impossible. …Can slime live on magma at all?

“Dorothea-san, it’s supposed to be very hot up there, but can slime survive in such a place?”

“We know very little about slime. All I can say is that it may have adapted to its environment.”

Hmm, if it adapted to its environment, could it stay on top of the magma? What kind of evolution is that?

“Rimu, can you call the slime to come here?”

“…Can’t reach him.”

I wonder if I can reach it with the thought? I don’t know how far the thought can reach, come to think of it. I’ll have to try.

“I don’t think that’s possible.”

I muttered, and Dorothea-san looked at me with a sad expression. …Is this something I should do? But, you know, it’s magma, right? If I fall in, I’ll die…

“Wataru-san, can’t you do something about it?”

Alessia-san said something absurd.

“Even if you say so, that thing is so hot that if you fall in, you will die.”

“That may be so, but can’t Wataru-san Ship Summoning do something about it?”

“I wonder if we can do that?”

Can a ship from Ship Summoning handle magma? It’s indestructible, so it won’t break, and if it can reject heat with boarding rejection, there’s nothing it can’t do… Right?

“I have a feeling that Wataru-san’s power could do it.”

“Well, I’ll give it a try, but if it doesn’t work, just give up, okay?”

“Wataru-san, I would appreciate it.”

Dorothea-san asked me to do it. I’ll give it a try. If I succeed, I’ll get a big boost in my popularity!

“First, I’ll experiment to see if the rubber boat is okay.”

I summon a rubber boat and place a large piece of ice in it. I’ll repatriate it as is and summon the rubber boat again, reminding it to reject the heat on the magma.

“Wataru-san, what are you doing?”

Alessia-san, you seem to be having fun. Do you like experimenting or something? I wonder if I showed her something like the PythagoraSwitch, she might get hooked on it. I wonder if there is a DVD about it?

[T/n: PythagoraSwitch (ピタゴラスイッチ, Pitagora Suitchi) is a 15-minute Japanese educational television program that has been broadcast by NHK since April 9, 2002. It promotes the expansion of children’s “way of thinking” under the supervision of Masahiko Satō (佐藤雅彦) and Masumi Uchino (内野真澄). A five-minute format called PythagoraSwitch Mini is also available.

“Um, I put ice in the rubber boat. I have to make sure that the hot air from the magma can be blocked, because if it can’t, I’m afraid we’ll die from the heat.”

“So that’s how you check it.”

I think it is possible to block the heat without testing it, but if not, it would be dangerous, so I have to make sure. After waiting a moment, I summoned the rubber boat back to my hand.

“It’s melting a little. Was it unable to turn off the heat?”

“It’s probably fine. There is not a single scorch mark on the rubber boat. If the ice was unable to block the heat, it should have melted and evaporated. This melted because it was left at room temperature.”

“Then I guess we can make it.”

“Hahaha, I don’t know yet. We have to try to see if we can reach the bottom safely.”

The safest thing to do is to summon the Hideaway above the magma and use a rope to descend. …I wonder if summoning the Hideaway above the magma would stimulate the magma and trigger an eruption.

The heat is dangerous, so maybe I should not do that. It would be unfortunate if the entire Hideaway erupted. A rubber boat would be less dangerous.

“Let’s just lower the water-soaked rope and see where it burns.”

Ines and Felicia would get the water out and let the rope absorb the water. Once the water was absorbed, the rope would be lowered. With about 5 meters to go, water vapor began to come out of the rope. I continued to lower the rope, and with about 50 centimeters to go, it caught fire.

“Hmm, that much is okay. There is a two-meter limit that blocks the hot air. As long as we let it absorb water, we should be able to reach the bottom.”

I’m scared, but with the Ship Summoning, it looks like we’ll be fine. Then we should go, right? Dorothea will compliment me.

“I think we can make it. Shall we go?”

“I’ll go!”

Dorothea-san replied without pausing. One by one, other ladies stood up and said, “Me too.” It’s like a scene from the Dacho Club. [T/n: It’s a Japanese comedy trio.]

“Ah, the more people there are, the more strain it puts on the ropes, so I think it’s dangerous. It might be better if it’s just me and Dorothea-san.”

“Ehh… but then I will go instead of Wataru-san. I don’t want to put Wataru-san in danger.”

I don’t know; I think Alessia-san is definitely worried about me. But I also see a curiosity that she can’t hide. She’s very excited.

“Master, this kind of thing is a slave’s job. So allow me to go.”

Ines is just like Alessia-san. She is full of curiosity. Felicia has also offered her candidacy, but I see that this one has made a serious offer. I feel like giving her an allowance later.

“It’s safe if I tie my body to the rubber boat. Besides, I’m the only one who can handle whatever happens. If push comes to shove, I can summon the Castle and still survive, so don’t worry.”

After convincing the women, I summoned the Hideaway in front of the hole.

“Please tie these four ropes to Hideaway. There is a possibility that the eruption may occur when we go down there, so please evacuate to the Hideaway immediately if anything unusual happens.”

Well, it won’t erupt with just one rubber boat, but if I exaggerate, it should make Dorothea-san’s impression of me more favorable. It’s a bit of a crazy idea, but I’m going to go for it!

Dorothea-san and I tied ourselves firmly to the rubber boat I had summoned. That way, we won’t be thrown out of the barrier. It’s safe.

We tie ropes to the four corners of the boat to reject the heat and poisonous gases. Is there anything else…? I can’t think of anything else, so I guess we’re okay.

The rubber boat with me and Dorothea-san aboard is lowered into the hole. The bottom of the unstable rubber boat is not so secure. Dorothea-san and I hold the oars so we don’t hit the cliff or get caught, and we keep a little distance from the cliff.

Sometimes the boat goes at an angle. Even though we had tied a rope for safety, it was still scary when there was magma underneath. I carefully support the boat with the oars while asking the ladies to lower it slowly.

“Dorothea-san, it’s pretty scary, isn’t it?”

“Is it? It’s okay. Wataru-san is amazing.” 

“Haha, it’s not me; it’s the Ship Summoning that’s amazing.”

“Fufu, it’s Wataru-san’s ability, so you’re amazing too.”

“Thank you very much.”

I’m a little happy. I feel like I’m only being praised for my Ship Summoning ability, but I’ll settle for that. While I was talking to Dorothea-san, the boat slowly descended.

“Well, at least we descended safely. Should we remove the rope?”

We went down on the magma. It was scary when the rubber boat came in contact with the magma, but the boarding rejection did the job perfectly. I felt no heat from the magma at all from the bottom of the boat. Ship Summoning is truly amazing.

“Yeah, I’ll take this off.”

I removed the ropes at the four corners, had the members above us retrieve the ropes, and continued.

“Rimu, do you know where the slime comes from up there? If you do, show us the way like you did before.”

“Yes.”

As soon as he answers, Rimu floats a ball of light and moves it slowly. I think we should follow this light.

“Dorothea-san, I’m going to paddle, so please guide me if my path deviates.”

“Thank you, Wataru-san.”

I slowly paddle the oar through the magma… A rubber boat going through magma, no doubt it’s great, but it’s cool, isn’t it?

I followed Rimu’s light as Dorothea-san guided me. Magma… It’s scary but also beautiful. It’s a fantastic sight, and I almost forget that it’s a searing hell outside. I keep paddling the oars while admiring the view.

“Oh, there he is. Wataru-san, is that red over there a slime? It has a nicer color.”

Dorothea-san, you’re getting too excited, and your words are getting funny. Let’s see, that slime, huh?

“It’s true; it’s not red; it’s more like scarlet.”

“Scarlet?”

Is there no scarlet in this world? The famous song by a certain famous group is… not well translated. It’s a different world, after all.

[T/n: Is it scarlet love song? I’m not really sure about this.]

“Well, it’s also called safflower red, and when you dye cloth with dye from a flower called safflower, it becomes a bright red like this slime, I think.”

The slime is even more beautiful because it emits a faint light on its own. But it is leisurely soaking in magma. It must be the subspecies of slime… that doesn’t mind magma.

“Heh, it’s bright red. It’s perfect for him.”

“Anyway, Dorothea-san, are you sure about this slime?”

“Yes, very!”

…Where has the usual calm Dorothea-san gone? She has been holding back for so long that she cannot control her emotions. I quickly stopped her as she was about to put her hand outside the barrier.

“Dorothea-san, it is dangerous outside the barrier, so please be careful.”

“Oh, you’re right.”

The slime that had been floating lazily in the magma slowly moved away, perhaps alarmed by our noise, while twitching his body. Cute.

“Dorothea-san, Rimu and I will talk to him first, so please calm down in the meantime.”

“O-okay.”

I brought the rubber boat next to the slowly escaping slime and talked to it.

“I’m sorry for the noise. Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“…?…”

He doesn’t quite understand, does he?

“Would you like to talk?”

Somehow I feel like I’m doing a bad pick-up job. It’s not wrong in content, so it’s okay.　

“…No…”

I was shocked… that I was rejected so easily. It seems I’m not good enough, so I’ll ask Rimu to do it for me.

“Rimu, will you talk to that slime for me? Dorothea-san wants to make a contract with him. Oh, and don’t go outside the barrier, okay?”

“Yes.”

After saying that, Rimu jumps onto the edge of the rubber boat. I’m afraid he’s going to fall off. I’ll support him lightly from behind. When Rimu spoke to him, the slime stopped moving, perhaps because he was interested in Rimu. As expected from Rimu, they are talking to each other using only their thoughts.

I can’t understand what they’re saying to each other because they’re only talking to each other through their thoughts. But they don’t move away from each other, so is everything going well?

“Wataru. He is going inside.”

“Inside? …The slime wants to get into the boat.”

“Yes.”

“Have you become friends?”

“Friends.”

Friends, huh…? I haven’t made friends yet. Well, I can’t make friends just by being on a ship, can I? I envy Rimu.

“Alright. I’ve given him permission to come aboard, so tell him he can come in.”

“Okay.”

After Rimu told him, the slime climbed onto the rubber boat. Yes, he’s cute. But is it safe to touch him? I think it’s so hot that it would normally burn you.

Dorothea-san, who was standing behind me, came up to me. She doesn’t look calm at all. Her hands are waving, and she is ready to touch the slime.

“Dorothea-san, you might get burned, so please don’t touch him carelessly.”

“Y-yes.”

She looked a little nervous, but she accepted my advice. But she looked very disappointed. I’m not sure if she can successfully tame the slime like this. I want her to calm down so she doesn’t have to work so hard.