After the encounter with Leviathan-sama, the ship deviated from its planned course and took a straight course due east.
“Oh no, the sea breeze makes my skin rough.”
“Dominique is most proud of how beautiful your skin is after all. Here, this is my moisturizer.”
“Thank you Leila. But, as I’ve said many times, my name is Catherine, Catherine.”
“Oh, that’s right. Sorry, Dominique.”
On the deck, Dominique, the spear wielder, and Leila, the shield wielder, were sitting against the rail and were having such conversation.
If you only listen to their voice, it sounds like a conversation between women. No, they’re women. It’s a bad habit of mine to try to judge people’s gender based on their physical bodies. Recently, I’ve only noticed that Dominique and Leila looked like a man, physically that is. To put it simply, they are ga—……Oops, it looks like someone is coming.
“Leila, a minute please. I have something to talk to you about.”
“Okay. I am about to talk to you too.”
Leila runs up to Liberto and hugs him. As a bystander, they look like lovers. In fact, these two seems to be really dating. Despite the twists and turns, Liberto accepted Leila, and she seems to have accepted him too.
“Hey, does anyone know where Tanaka-shisho is? I’ve been looking for him but I can’t find him anywhere.”
“Why don’t you just give up? If you really want to train, there is Freya or Liz. Ah, but if it’s Pero-sama, I’d like to take some guidance too. He is a noble, big-hearted and kind person. Unlike Tanaka.”
“Hey Marga, don’t call our masters that way, especially Tanaka-shisho.”
Tina and Margaret wander to the deck looking for me, but they soon started a standoff.
I knew that Margaret had been calling me names behind my back, it seemed like I am much hated. However, it can also be said that this is exactly what I am aiming for. Wielding the whip on my apprentice is basically my, Shinichi Tanaka’s job. Freya and Liz are also assisting with the training, so they serve as half-whips. Pero, on the other hand, is like the candy. He is kind to the apprentices and shows them care. Erna…… well, she’s down, so she doesn’t have a specific role. That’s how I decided how we behave when training them.
“Okay, okay, stop fighting both of you. As for Tanaka-shisho, I haven’t seen him either.”
“I haven’t seen him since this morning either. I wonder if he is hiding somewhere and eating again.”
When Liberto and Leila said that, Tina sits down on the edge of the ship and dangles her legs. Her face was like a child who couldn’t buy a toy, and her boredom was clearly reflected on her face.
“Liberto and the others don’t know where Master is huh. I was thinking of letting Master see my new skills you see.”
“That’s interesting. I wonder what kind of trick you came up with this time.”
“Oh, Dominique wants to see my new technique? Then I’ll demonstrate it now!”
Tina jumped off the edge of the ship and raised her fist towards Dominique. Then, a familiar red aura is emitted from her body.
Did this girl learn superhuman skills?
“Tina-style corkscrew uppercut!!”
The next moment Tina made an uppercut, a swirling wind whirled around her. The other four are blown away, and I also braced himself to stay put.
“O-ouch….That’s too much, Tina. You caught me by surprise.”
“Sorry, sorry. I got stronger that’s why. So, how was my new move?”
“From what I see, it doesn’t look like a technical skill. Mmm, I wonder if it’s because of that red aura.”
Tina switches off her skill and answers Dominique’s confusion with a big smile.
“As expected of Dominique, you noticed it well. That’s right, this superhuman skill seems to increase my power many times over!”
“It’s not Dominique, it’s Catherine! But that superhuman skill is not that big achievement. It’s a rare skill that is rumored to be only available to high humans. I’m sure that Tanaka-san doesn’t have that skill either.”
“Eh? I heard that the master has the skill of superhuman transformation though?”
“……That’s a lie, right? How many skills does he have?”
The four of them, except Tina, were shocked. Among them, it seems that it is already common knowledge that I have a large number of skills. Of course, I didn’t mention in detail what kind of skills I have, so it should be recognized that I am a mysterious person in many ways. On the other hand, since I have Analysis+ skill, I know the status of the five people perfectly.
Tina sits down on the edge of the ship again, seemingly satisfied.
“I want to show Master my new skills as soon as possible. I wonder where he is.”
“Hmm, I wonder if Tina likes Tanaka-san? She’s quite fond of him, isn’t she?”
“Muu, Dominique and the others like to talk about things like that right away. Generally speaking, I don’t really understand what romantic feelings is. I just think he’s a mentor I look up to.”
“Is that so? But you’ve always thought of becoming his apprentice. You even said for a while that you don’t want to be taught by someone else.”
Hearing Dominique’s words, Tina bashfully scratches her head. She looked somewhat embarrassed.
“I used to go to a martial arts dojo you see. My teacher there was a Spartan, and I followed him because I believed he was a very strong person.”
“Well, you can’t be taught by a weaker person. I also believe that the one who should teach me how to use the spear should be the strongest of all.”
“Exactly. Well, one day I suddenly thought to myself. I wondered how strong my teacher was. Then, one time, I hit my teacher for a little joke. But he was stunned by a single blow, and at that time, my respect for him collapsed. Mmm, I think it’s more accurate to say that it cooled down.”
Tina laughs wryly as she dangles her legs.
I can understand her feelings. She was able to respect that teacher because she thought he was stronger than her. It is natural to be disappointed when she finds out that he was weak. It’s a common story.
“That’s why I swore that I would only learn from people who were stronger than me.”
“So Tanaka-san is a match for you then?”
“Stop saying that. I just knew by instinct that Tanaka-shisho was strong. He’s way stronger than anyone else. He may even be the strongest of all races. Besides, I had heard a lot of rumors about him until now. I thought there was no doubt about it. This time, it’s someone I can trust.”
“That’s similar to love. It’s love at first sight.”
“Dominique really like stories like that huh. But I think it’s close. I think I fell in love with Tanaka-shisho’s strength. Oh, of course, I respect Pero-sama as well. He got the same fighting style as me, so I’m aiming for him too.”
“Aah~, that’s nice. Such a pure heart of a young maiden. Moreover, the heart that swings between the two men is just youth. If I had such body as a woman, I would have been able to make a wonderful love.”
Dominique wiggles his body and makes awkward movements.
Liberto called out.
“Do, Dominique….…”
“I’m sure I said it’s Catherine! Shall I tear off that ○○○○ and make it ○○○○! Ha!? Huh!?”
Dominique, who was overwhelmed, grabs Liberto’s chest and spoke in a loud voice. At the sight of it, I vowed to never to call “Catherine” Dominique again.
“No, uh-, Domi—Catherine. Look at that, that.”
“Oun? Eh?”
In the direction Liberto pointed was a land. It’s quite large and you can’t see the whole picture well.
Is that the forbidden island?
I unlocked my stealth skill and runs to Baja, who is at the helm.
“Eh!? Master suddenly appeared!?”
I could hear Liberto and the others exclaiming behind me, but now is not that time for them.
Baja puffed on his pipe and squinted at the island in the distance.
“Baja, is that the forbidden island?”
“Maybe-nya. We won’t know anything until we go ashore, but I guess Leviathan-sama knows a lot about it-nya.”
At that moment, something huge appeared from the side of the ship. A white mane with emerald green scales that grows from the top of the head to the back. Two long beards grew under its nose, and his long pupils looked at me.
It’s a ridiculously big dragon.
It seems that I had a terrible misunderstanding. Leviathan-sama was not a fish, but a dragon species.
“That’s the island of the God Tree, and from here on out, you can go alone.”
“Aren’t you going to follow us? There’s still quite a way to get to the island, you know?”
“We have already reached a position where you can see it with the naked eye. There is no point in guiding you anymore. I have told the Sea People who protect the island about you. Don’t hesitate to step on the island.”
After saying that, he sank his face into the sea. I hurriedly asked Leviathan-sama,
“Where is the God Tree on the island!? Who is the person who want to meet me?”
“That person is in the center of the island. The answer is already within you. Go back to your memory.”
After that, Leviathan’s voice could no longer be heard.
The answer lies in my memory? If so, have I ever met him?
Looking back, I can’t find anyone who looks like it.
“It can’t be helped. I’ll find out if I go there.”
“That’s what he said-nya. Let’s head to the island at maximum speed-nya. Open all the sails-nya!”
“Got it-nya! To the island-nya!”
The sailors and Lena followed the instructions and opened all the sails of the mast. The ship picks up speed and heads straight for the forbidden island.
“Shinichi, you guys are going to the island by yourselves-nya. We’re waiting for you offshore-nya.”
“I understand. We’ll be back within a week at the most. If we don’t come back after the deadline, leave us behind.”
“I’ll do that-nya. But I think I’ll have to wait about two weeks-nya.”
I smiled at Baja who grinned at me.
◇◇◇
The ship was anchored offshore, and we landed in the sandy beaches of the island via small boats. The ones who came to the island are the Homeless, the Sword of Glory and Lena, who insisted on accompanying us.
As for Lena, I told her to wait on the ship, but she didn’t listen and was adamant to join us. Apparently, she is worried about us. I was touched. And, as a former military adventurer, she won’t die prematurely.
“Haa~, the air is so good. Land is really great. I don’t want to leave here anymore.”
Lying on the sand in large letters is Erna, who is free from seasickness. With such a lively expression, that previous emaciated state was no longer seen.
“Erna-neesan, let’s keep going.”
“I don’t wanna. Let me rest a little longer. It’s been a long trip and my mind and body are in tatters. I haven’t fully absorbed the land energy yet.”
“If you say that, you just don’t want to walk. You can ride on my back then.”
“Yay! Pero grew up to be a really good kid. I think it’s because of my education.”
Erna rides Pero’s back with an excited look on her face.
What is land energy? I’ve never heard of it.
“On Pero-sama’s back…… Kuuu, I’m so jealous.”
Freya bit her thumb, the flame of jealousy is vivid in her eyes. Liz, on the other hand, is sleeping soundly, as usual. No matter how many times I look at it, it is strange after all. For instance, her being able to move while sleeping.
“Master, what should we do?”
The Sword of Glory led by Liberto exudes a thrilled atmosphere. I could have left them on the ship, but we came to an island where there was a high-ranking dragon. It will be a good experience for them to train here as well. I used my metal manipulation skill to remove the rings they were wearing.
“This…… My body is so light. It feels weird.”
“Prepare to protect yourself. If we are to be defeated, flee immediately without helping us. Understood?”
“Yes. We will do my best to meet my master’s expectations.”
The five of them bowed to each of us.
I don’t think they’re going to be a hindrance. In fact, while on the island, they may reach a second evolution. Actually, I have high hopes for their success.
“This island is a strange island-nya. Magic stones are all over the place-nya.”
Lena’s eyes widened at the pillars of magic stones growing on the beach. No wonder she wants to say that. The beach where we landed is a very beautiful place, but there are countless pillars of magic stones growing from the rocks and sand. It doesn’t matter what the attributes are, but colorful magic stones such as fire, water, wind, and earth elements are noticeable. In a word, it’s insane. This island is a mixture of magical powers of various attributes.
“Are you guys ready? Let’s go!”
We then stepped from the seashore into the lush forest. Our goal is to reach the God Tree, which is said to be in the center of the island.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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