Author: Yume Neiji

The ship continued eastward and finally reached half of its intended route. When we arrived in this area, we often see uninhabited islands. Maybe the reason for this is because it is too far from the continent. In addition, the magical beasts that inhabit it are more ferocious than those on the continent. Even the weakest goblins are as good as orcs.

I even sometimes saw dragons. Of course it is mostly wyverns, but there are several types of drakes as well. Drake is a dinosaur-like dragon that is classified as a medium sized dragon. It looks like a tyrannosaurus, and each type can be identified by its body color and size. The weakest and smallest are the Yellow Drake. Their body length is about 3 meters. On the other hand, the strongest and largest is the red drake. It is more than 10 meters long, has an abnormally sharp sense of smell, and once it bites, it will not let go until it kills the opponent. In addition, they use skills and magic, so ordinary humans have no chance of winning against it.

“Uhiiiiiii! M-master, please help us!”

Liberto and the others, who had gone out hunting, dashed desperately towards us who are grilling meat on the beach of the island.

Beki beki beki beki beki.

Countless birds fly from the forest. I then heard the sound of trees snapping, and a red drake appeared on the beach through the forest. Judging from the situation, Liberto and the others seem to have been eyed as prey.

“Goooooooh!”

The Drake stops and roars, then snorts and starts running towards us. Every time it lowered its foot, the ground shook and it was already right behind Liberto and the others who continued to flee.

“Freya, Liz, help the five of them.”

“Understood. Let’s go, Liz.”

“It’s troublesome. But for the sake of my disciple, it can’t be helped.”

The two of them stood up and walked towards Liberto and the others. As soon as the five of them realized that help came, they hid behind the two of them.

“I’m going to use my divine power to seal its movement. Liz will finish it off.”

“Okay. I’m going to give Drake’s meat to Oniichan.”

Freya sticks out her left hand and made a squeezing movement. The Drake floated lightly, and its feet cut through the air. Straightaway, a dark cloud envelops the enemy’s body and forcibly invades through its mouth. In the next moment, countless black spines protruded from inside the Red Drake’s body. Out of breath, the Drake dropped to the ground with a thud.

Liberto and the others were stunned by the sight. The mid-level dragon was killed that easily.

Well, considering that a single Red Drake can turn a large city into a sea of fire, it is understandable why they are so shocked. However, Drake is also a relatively easy dragon to defeat. Since wyverns, are flying dragons, even if they are of the same race, the Drakes are slightly weaker.

　◇◇◇

“Ugh, I feel sick. I want to get back to the land as soon as possible……”

“Are you okay? If you feel like vomiting, just do it, don’t overdo yourself.”

“Thank you Pero. My stomach is empty now and I don’t have anything to throw up.”

In the cabin, a haggard Erna is being rubbed on the back by Pero. It’s been more than two weeks since we started our voyage but she still hasn’t gotten used to traveling by sea and is suffering from seasickness. In the bed next to her, Liz was snoring heavily. She seems to have gotten used to it.

When I was fishing for bonito, Erna was also making a fuss about how she didn’t like ships. Freya, sitting on a chair, is dexterously peeling an apple with the tip of a spear. She cuts it into pieces, puts it on a plate, and offers it to Erna.

“You can eat some fruit, right? You better eat some.”

“Thank you as always, Freya. I’m so indebted to you.”

“Please stop. It’s like you’re dying.”

“I’m probably going to die. This seasickness is an incurable disease. It must be so.”

A weakened Erna looks at the sea out of the cabin window and lets out a dry laugh.

This is serious. I’m sure she’ll get used to the sea soon, but I’m not sure if she’ll keep her spirits up until then. I’ll have to cheer her up later.

Then, suddenly, the door to the room was flung open and Margaret enters. For some reason, she looked angry.

“Enough already! Can’t you just come around from seasickness already? As a mage, you’re the only master I can have. I don’t want to be forced to train like a warrior every day. Or, are you inferior to me so you can’t teach me?”

“That’s not true…… I’m just not feeling well right now.”

“Then I want you to demonstrate the ability of those who wear that dark brown robe. That is, show me what a master-level mage is. I don’t like to ask people who are inferior to me to teach me. That’s all what I’m trying to say.”

Margaret waved her hand and walked out of the room. I had noticed that she had a strange rivalry with Erna from the time I met her, but I didn’t expect her to provoke Erna at this time. Suddenly, I glanced at Erna and saw that she was about to get out of bed with her staff as a cane.

“H-hey, you’d better still rest.”

“I can’t rest. As a master class mage, it’s frustrating to be ridiculed. If she wants me to show her my ability, I’ll show her! I’ll prove what I’m capable of. The magic of Great Mage Erna…… Uoh?!?”

I held Erna as she fell. Apparently, she is weaker than I imagined. I placed her on the bed and put a futon on her.

“I’m sorry. I felt lightheaded.”

“It’s okay, just take a rest. It’s not too late to do Margaret’s training after your seasickness subsides. I’m sure she’s just here to vent her frustrations with her current training.”

When I said that, Erna gives a small nod and smiles.

“But I kind of understand how she felt when she said that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Human mages are often compared to elven mages. Elves had high affinity for magic after all. That’s why I think Margaret has followed the path of magic to prove that she is not outdone by the elves.”

If you ask me, I feel that there is indeed such a tendency in the kingdom. This is because just being an elf, they are expected to be able to use powerful magic. If so, it’s not surprising that Margaret harbors something close to hostility towards Erna. As a mage, she is jealous of Erna.

“Still, rest for now. You are an important comrade and a force to be reckoned with after all.”

“Comrade…..? Haaa~”

“Uh-, y-you are also a dear person to me. So just rest well.”

“W-what did you just say? Come on, what did you say~?”

“Eei! D-don’t cling to me! Wait, you’re fine!”

I pushed Erna’s face with my hand and tried to push her away.

I’m screwed. It seems that I said too much.

“……What are you doing-nya?”

Lena, who opened the door and came in, looked at me with a shocked face.

　◇◇◇

Baja and I were both holding a glass of liquor while looking at the map. We are discussing the journey so far and the future route we’ll take.

“It’s been three weeks since we’ve sailed-nya. It look’s like we’re going to get to our destination ahead of schedule-nya.”

“Then how much longer will it take to reach the island?”

“About a week if there’s no trouble-nya. But it’s been going so well so far that it is quite scary-nya.”

“….Those sea dwellers, right? They will probably only appear when we get closer to the island.”

“In fact, it wouldn’t be strange if they come out right now-nya. We entered the waters that the islanders said we shouldn’t be in-nya.”

On the map, the location of the island we are heading to was marked with a red X. There is a wide area with a no-trespassing word written around it. That said, it doesn’t mean that something will immediately happen when we enter it though.

Right at that moment I thought so, the ship that was sailing smoothly just now shook violently. Baja fell out of his chair and the glass of liquid was even poured on his face as he was about to drink.

W-what?! What happened!?

I rushed out of the captain’s cabin and moved to the deck while coughing.

“M-Master…… These guys suddenly got on ship….…”

On deck, Liberto froze with his hands raised high up. A three-pronged spear was attached to his neck, and it was held by a blue-scaled man. His eyes were sharp as a shark’s, his fingers and toes were webbed, and he also wore a metal armor. There were about five other similar men on board, and like Liberto, the members of Sword of Glory had a spear pointed at their necks.

The man glared at me and opened his mouth.

“What’s the purpose of you humans in these area? Answer well or I’ll kill them right here.”

“Wait. I’ll be honest with you, so don’t kill them.”

“I can’t promise that. Don’t lie, just tell me what you’re here for.”

The man presses the tip of his spear tightly against Liberto’s neck. I can’t make a bad move because I don’t know who the other person is. I have no choice but to respond to their demands for the time being.

“We are on our way to the Forbidden Island. Our purpose is to meet the God Tree.”

“For God Tree-sama? What is your aim Human?”

“It’s going to be a long story, but if I had to make it short, it would be for the sake of this world.”

“I don’t know what you mean. Are you making fun of us sea people?”

It seems that I have spoiled the man’s mood. But in the first place, it is difficult to only talk about the main points. Even me, a person involved, is still in a state where I don’t fully grasp the whole picture.

Angels, Barrier, World Tree, Gods…… These are the ones I want to hear.

“Do you know what the World Tree is?”

“I don’t know. We don’t know about the land.”

“It’s the entity that creates the barrier that protects this world. Ah, to be more precise, it’s the God Tree who did it. However, the World Tree is known as one of the Six Sacred Beasts which are the key pillars of this world, and it has recently been killed.”

“The Six Sacred Beasts…. Key Pillars……”

The man finally seemed agitated. He turned his face to the other men and exchanges words with his eyes.

“You are lying! There is no such thing as six sacred beasts on land.”

“Wait! I’m telling the truth!”

“I’ll punish you for speaking nonsense! This is your punishment for encroaching on our territory!”

Just as the man was about to put more force into the spear, a voice came out of nowhere, “Stop, Mars.”

“I didn’t expect Leviathan-sama to come to a place like this.”

“I have come because I was told that a guest is coming. Please leave them with me.”

“Yes! As the order of Leviathan-sama who sits at the top of the Six Sacred Beasts.”

The man called Mars moved his spear away from Liberto’s neck. However, the owner of the voice is nowhere to be found. He was said to be the leader of the Six Sacred Beasts, but I feel doubtful whether it is true.

“Human, if you are a guest, you are welcome. But if you behaved disrespectfully to Leviathan-sama, I will behead you immediately.”

“Not being rude or anything like that, I can’t see the Leviathan-sama you spoke of though?”

“Kuku, Kuhahaha! Can’t people of the land see Leviathan-sama’s great figure?”

Mars leans forward and looks directly under the ship. When I also looked into it in the same way, I saw that a huge object was moving under the surface of the sea. No, this is the torso. The enormous body, which is as thick as four ships lined up side-by-side and wriggles like a snake beneath the ship. Although its total length is unknown, it looks like a sea creature with a long body that extends several kilometers. I can barely tell that it is a fish because I can see the scales, but the size is too large to fit in that category. It’s a monster that humans can’t beat for sure.

“It’s so ridiculously big. I almost believe it’s actually a sacred beast.”

“It’s true! Leviathan-sama is a sacred beast! Kuu! Nevermind, it’s a waste of time to argue with you. At best, you should imprint the sublime form of Leviathan-sama in your eyes.”

After saying that, Mars jumps into the sea with his comrades. I used my analysis skills to peek at them at the last minute. As it turned out, their race was Merman. In terms of stats, they are only slightly stronger than Liberto and the others.

I changed my mind for the time being and decided to talk to this Leviathan-sama guy, that is swimming beneath the surface of the sea. Although he said we are a guest, but his purpose is currently unknown.

“What should we do now? If possible, we would like to go to the Forbidden Island.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve been asked by God Tree-sama to pick you up. I’ll show you the shortest way to the island.”

“Then thank you for that. By the way, is it true that you are one of the Six Sacred Beasts?”

“Indeed. In the ocean of this world, there are six secret sacred beasts, including me. Normally, the Six Sacred Beasts on the land are responsible for creating the barrier that protects this world, but in an emergency, we, the Sacred Beasts of the Sea, will be the energy source of the barrier.”

“Six Secret Sacred Beasts you say…….?”

Then, there were a total of 12 major holy beasts in this world?

Now that I think about it, it is strange that the Sacred Beasts are concentrated only on land. It is a given that there are living creatures in the sea too. Then it is rather normal that they have one underwater too. I finally found out why the barrier had been repaired.

“You—the person who want to meet you, Shinichi Tanaka, is waiting on the island.”

“Is it a person who want to meet me? Isn’t it the God Tree?”

“You’ll understand if you go there. Follow me.”

Leviathan-sama begins to move forward leisurely, taking me and the others with him.

What kind of person is waiting for me on the forbidden island?

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

---

Previous ⚜ Table of Contents ⚜ Next

---

“What do you think-nya? This is the new ship of the Zañas family-nya.”

“It’s bigger than it used to be, and it looks like it’s going to go faster.”

Looking at the new ship, I nod as I watch the crew load the cargo. Next to me, Baja was watching in the same way while puffing his pipe. The ship that is currently docked at the harbor is what we would call carrack on Earth—in other words, it is a medium-sized sailing ship. It is easy to understand if you imagine the Black Pearl in a certain movie. There are also cannons on it, and it was built with the assumption of naval battles. Apparently, pirates often appear around that area. It seems that a herd of magical beasts can also attack the ship, and fishermen must always be prepared for battle.

“Tsu! Ugigigi! Agigigi!”

“I can’t do it anymore! I can no longer stand this!”

Liberto and Margaret carry luggage along with the crew. The two of them are sweating while holding the crate in a desperate manner. However, their progress was slow, and by the time the crew was able to make two round trips, they just finally brought the crate they are holding to the desired location.

“I just can’t understand! Why do we have to be used so badly!?”

“Okay, okay, calm down Margaret. Think that this is part of training……”

“Is this training!? Being ordered by those guys for convenience is training!?”

Margaret was complaining on the ship when they finished transporting the crate. Moreover, it was so loud that it can be heard by many people, including me. Margaret, who can’t contain her anger, grabs Liberto around his chest to express her irritation.

“This is all because you told us this absurd thing like becoming an apprentice! What is so amazing about Shinichi Tanaka!? Your stupidity is really amazing!”

“Hey, really, calm down Margaret. Everyone is listening.”

“You know what? Let them hear as much as they want! Most of the time you pull the team too far with your own opinions and prejudice! Who said we wanted to become a master level!? We never said a word like that, did we?! It’s all you! It’s all good as long we can indulge in luxury and have a good man to attend to us! It’s just you, you, you!”

“Abue, Bubue, Fugue!”

Enraged, Margaret punches Liberto’s dovetail repeatedly. Baja was laughing as he watched.

“They are lively guys-nya. They are going to live a long life-nya.”

“I suppose so. Alright, it’s time for me to go and help too.”

Just as I stood up, Tina came running up to me with a crate in her hand.

“Master! Where should I take this!?”

“It’s a cannonball, so keep it near the cannon. The sailors will put it in the storage room later.”

“I got it! Get out of the way! Tina-sama is on the way!”

With a light footstep that seemed to have no sound, she headed towards the ship. Dominique and Leila don’t seem to feel much weight either, they are quietly helping load the luggage.

It is only on the third day of training but the difference between the five of them began to appear. As I can see, Liberto and Margaret are not much different from the first day. As for Dominique and Leila, they are already overcoming the weight of the equipment. However, not only did Tina overcome it, but she is also now stronger than when she wasn’t wearing it. Well, this is as expected. The day after she put on the equipment, she was moving around normally after all. She even asked me and Pero to be her wrestling partner. It’s one thing to dismiss it like this, but I guess you could say it is all about qualification and talent.

By the way, the five of them are High Human. When it comes to special-class and master-class adventurers, there are quite a few who have evolved to the next level. As expected, it seems that those who are going to evolve for the second time can be counted on one hand.

“Father, these cannonballs should be placed near the cannon, right?”

“Yes. You can ask Tina for the exact location.”

Pero carried two crates full of cannonballs on each shoulder. Freya, who is right behind him, is carrying the same number with her four arms, and the two of them climbed up to the deck without any danger.

It’s about time for Erna to arrive, but I wonder why if she is still taking time to leave.

“I’m sorry, I’m late because I was dealing with the kids.”

Erna came to the port with Liz on her back. Beside her is Lena, accompanied by her mother and younger brothers and sisters. I looked into Liz’s face to see her state.

“It looks like it’s not over yet. It can’t be helped, just carry her to the cabin.”

“Okay. See you guys.”

She waves to Lena’s younger siblings. They responded with a smile, “See you soon, Elf-oneechan!”

During the few days she stayed at the Zañas house, Erna was completely accepted by the children. Just like in Mana, she is well liked by children. She herself, said that she likes children. Being friendly is one of her forte.

As for Liz, she started to evolve early this morning. The predicted outcome of the evolution is Novania, a race of primitive humans or just like Freya’s. But considering what had happened so far, it will not necessarily be the case. It is quite possible that she will evolve into something else as well. For the time being, she chose Novania after discussing it with me, but Liz looked a little dissatisfied. When I asked her why she was grumpy, she said, “Four arms is already Freya’s characteristics”. Anyways, to sum it up, Liz is currently evolving.

“Loading complete! Master, the vice-captain said we could go anytime!”

“Hn? Is that so? I’m sorry I couldn’t help.”

“It’s not a problem at all. But I want you to train us without holding back during the voyage.”

Although Tina has an innocent personality, her attitude towards receiving instructions was the best of the five to be taught. Maybe she has been trained by someone in the past. She bows, saying “Osu!” and runs off to the ship. She’s energetic and pleasant to watch too.

“Alright, we’re going to set sail now-nya. Let’s all get on board-nya.”

After finishing his cigarette, Baja lifted his heavy hips to signal the time of departure. As we boarded the ship, the sails were unfurled, and the ship slowly began to move away from the harbor.

Lena, who is on deck, waved to the young children of the Zañas family.

“We’re going-nya! Look forward to souvenirs-nya!”

“Wait a minute, why are you here?”

“Shinichi, what are you talking about-nya? I decided to go with you guys-nya.”

“Eh?”

“nya?”

Lena tilted her head, and I also felt confused. I wonder if I had done such a conversation with her. Well, I don’t have a problem with her coming with us. Since Baja gave permission, it would be rather convenient. In this case, there’s no reason for me to say no. The captain is Lena’s father after all.

The ship continues to accelerate to the far horizon with the tailwind. We are getting further and further away from Sarasvati, and before I knew it, it was out of sight.

“Please give me a break! Ugue!?”

“No way! It’s too naive of you to ask for forgiveness at this level! You think that mages can only do things form long distance!? Unfortunately, you don’t have enough power to beat me! Ora, ora, oraa!”

Liberto and Margaret were still fighting. It’s one-sided though. Maybe it’s a usual occurrence as the other three pretended not to see it. Still, I have to change my perception of Margaret. It doesn’t matter what equipment it is, she can move it steadily. At this rate, it might be okay to move on to the next step.

“Your apprentices are amazing-nya. I wanna try fighting them-nya.”

“Maybe it’s best not to make that mage girl too angry.”

“That’s right-nya. It’s really absurd that even your apprentices are weird-nya.”

“What do you mean?”

“Put your hand on your chest and think about it-nya.”

Lena walked to the cabin leaving such meaningful words behind.

I put my hand on my chest as I was told, but I couldn’t think of anything….

　◇◇◇

A week has passed since we left the port of Sarasvati. The ship continues to move due east, passing through some islands. The islands are mainly inhabited by beastmen, but surprisingly, I also saw glimpses of the other five races.

According to Baja, there was once a time when the humans ruled the world. It was called the Age of Exploration. The six races all ventured into the open sea, scrambling to secure land and resources. However, that too came to an end. The world war has begun. It was said that the battle spread across the continent, and many people fled to the islands by boat to escape the war. As a result, the great war was won by a coalition of five races, and the people who had taken refuge on the island returned to the continent.

However, there are some who did not return. They decided to abandon their homeland and settle on the islands they were in. The people who live on those islands today are the descendants of such people. The inhabitants of all those islands welcomed us with open arms. Although they are now natives, they are compatriots who lived on the same continent and in the same kingdom after all. For them, it must have felt like a distant relative had come to visit. We also actively shared some of our cargo with the inhabitants, including sharing information about the continent.

The main reason why I went to the island was to gather information. I was hoping that they would know something about the Forbidden Island. As a result, there were some gains.

First of all, there is an area of the sea far to the east that should not be approached. Next is that if we encounter a sea dweller, we are told to never attack them. In addition, it was said that there are monsters that cannot be defeated by humans that lurk in the open sea. There were several other pieces of information as well, but I thought that these three were the most important ones.

Currently, the ship had completed a quarter of its planned course.

“…M-master, please give me a break. I’m really going to die!”

“Not yet, you still have a long way to go. If you keep faltering like this, the name of Sword of Glory will be ruined.”

“That absolutely can’t happen! I’m swimming a few kilometers in armor though!?”

Liberto, with a rope tied around his belly, was chasing the ship hard while doing butterfly strokes. I am holding the end of the rope as I fly directly above him. As part of his training, I made him swim in full armor with a goal of 10 kilometers. It’s quite a hard task, but unlike on earth, the people of this world are blessed in many ways. If he doesn’t work hard, he may not even be able to train. In fact, being a high human, he can easily do 10,000 push-ups. Their equipment is no longer even a load.

“I can’t do it anymore! I’ve been seeing mom’s face flashing in my head for a while now!”

“You can stop. You just made ten kilometers.”

“Yes! Hurry up -uh, hurry up please. Please pull me up! Please!”

I pulled up the rope and Liberto, dripped in seawater, is lowered onto the deck of the ship. There, three more are also lying in the same state. Margaret, in particular, was knocked out, her eyes were unfocused with drool dripping from the corner of her mouth.

“Alright, today’s training ends here, you can do as you like.”

Even if I said so, the four of them remained collapsed and did not move from their position. Then Tina comes over, munching on a bread.

“Master, are we done with our training?”

“For this day, yes. Did you steal bread from the pantry again?”

“Why do I feel so hungry after training? Ahaha”

As usual, Tina is the only one who is tough. The other four probably don’t have the energy to eat.

“But bread alone is not enough, so I’ll have to ask Liz-san’s help as usual.”

“Did you call?”

Liz appears out of nowhere after hearing Tina’s voice. Now she has a stealth that I myself, cannot detect.

Her appearing like this so suddenly is really bad for the heart.

“Liz-san, I’m going to ask you for a big one today too.”

“Understood. I’m going to pitch in and help my pretty apprentice.”

Darkness is born around Liz, and it grows like smoke, expanding upwards and upwards. When one large round mass forms above the ship, countless tentacles-like darkness extended from the mass and stretched into the sea. The tentacles then quickly caught the creatures in the sea and threw it onto the deck.

In no time at all, several large fish were caught.

“As expected, Liz-san’s dark cloud is amazing!”

“You can get it if you evolve into a Dark Human. Or, if you become a Darkness Dimensioner, you can use it as much as you want.”

Liz has evolved into a new and powerful race. I secretly peek at her status with my analysis skills.

【Analysis Result: Liz Schmidt: The third daughter of the Schmidt family. Not long ago, she was suffering from seasickness, but recently, she have become accustomed to it and is already enjoying the boat trip. She’s a little happy to be relied on by Tina. Rarity: SS, Overall Ability: SS】

【Status】 Name: Liz Schmidt Age: 15 years old Race: Darkness Dimensioner Occupation: Adventurer Magic Attributes: Water, Darkness, Dark Magic: Aqua Ball, Aqua Arrow, Aqua Wall, Aqua Cure, Shadow, Desire Ball Skills: Telepathy, Shinobi’s Vessel Special: Fist King Technique Advanced: Sword King Technique, Eyesight Enhancement Intermediate: Danger Prediction Beginner: Super Ninjutsu, Decapitation, Physical Enhancement Z, Awakening, Disguise   Evolution: Conditions are not met < Evolution Requirement: Super Ninjutsu (Special Grade), Sword Emperor Technique (Special Grade), Awakening (Special Grade), Impersonation (Special Grade) >

Ninjutsu has evolved into Super Ninjutsu, and a new skill called Decapitation has been added. In addition, with the added new skill, Disguise, she has grown into a shinobi that is even more promising.

As for the dark cloud, it is incomparably bigger than before. At its condensed size, it is about the size of the ship we are currently on, and when it is enlarged, it can fit about 10 ships. Thanks to this, we now move the entire ship in the dark cloud on windless days. Liz doesn’t like it though as she won’t be able to take a nap.

Glancing sideways at Tina, who was devouring the fish, I stared beyond the horizon.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

---

Previous ⚜ Table of Contents ⚜ Next

---

Lena’s home was about one or two minute’s walk from the port. It is a small house built of the same white stone as the surrounding area. I halted when I tried to knock on the wooden door of the front door as it opened by itself before I could knock on it.

“Who are you, big brother?”

A little girl with cat ears was peeking through a gap in the door. Come to think of it, Lena once said that she has a lot of siblings. I wonder if this child is also her sister or something.

Then Erna crouches down and speaks to the child.

“We are your sister’s friend. Is Lena at home?”

“Yes, she is here. I’ll call her.”

The little girl leaves the door open and runs to the back of the house, her footsteps are echoing with pattering sound. I could only see a glimpse of her, but she was a very cute girl. If a lolicon guy was here, he would probably have been extremely excited. From the back of the house, I heard a voice that seemed to be Lena and the voice of the little girl I mentioned earlier.

“Unya? My friend?”

“Yes, she said they were your friend.”

“How many people-nya?”

“Uhm, well-, one, two, three…… a lot!”

“Oh, it’s stupid of me to ask Luna-nya.”

Shortly after, Lena came to the front door and opened the door, which was already slightly open, all at once. And the moment she saw our faces, her eyes widened.

“Nya! It’s been a long time everyone-nya!”

“Uh-, oh, well, since our vacation here, y-yeah, long time no see.”

Lena jumps at me who was right in front of her and kisses me on the cheek. As usual, she is only wearing a bikini on top and hot pants on the bottom. A soft object is pressed against my body, and I involuntarily breathed heavily.

This is good. It’s really awesome. Mufufu.

“Lena? Do you want to turn into ashes here?”

Erna had a scary smile on her face as she exudes anger. In addition, Liz held a kunai in her right hand.

“Hiii! I’m sorry-nya! I was so happy that I just did it-nya!”

“Good. I just need you to know. I don’t want to get into a useless fight.”

“That’s right. I’ll be sad to lose a close friend too.”

After Erna and Liz said that, they then glared at each other. Lena was terrified as she hid behind me.

“Why don’t we end our reunion greetings here and talk somewhere quiet? This time, we came here not for a vacation, but for work.”

“You guys didn’t come here to play-nya? Well, let me hear about it inside-nya. The house is small and messy, but please don’t hesitate to enter-nya.”

Led by Lena, we went inside the house. Though she described it as “small and messy”, everything was clean and tidy. If anything, it just seems that there are a lot of things. Well, it’s a large family so it’s normal.

After we were led to a large room that seemed to be a living room, we each sat down on something like a round cushion. However, my apprentices remained standing. This is also their training.

After a while, a woman who seems to be Lena’s mother, served us a drink. She was in her early forties. Still, she is a beautiful woman who seems to be only in her thirties. Unfortunately, unlike Lena, she wore less revealing clothes.

“It’s a special juice made by Zañas family. I hope it suits your taste.”

“Thanks. You don’t need to be so polite though. We are grateful to have it. By the way, Ma’am did not add “nya” to the end of your words huh.”

“That’s just because of Papa—Baja’s influence. Not all of the Sea Cat tribe have such an ending in their words. Oh, I’m sorry. You guys have an important topic to discuss with my daughter, right? Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

Lena’s mother greets us lightly and then opens the door to the room. Perhaps they were secretly observing us, but behind the door that their mother had opened, several small children were running away in a hurry. I think she said she has about 20 siblings. Our sudden arrival must have been a nuisance huh. I’ll give them something as an apology later.

“Well, what is the work you were saying-nya?”

“Technically speaking, it’s not really a work but it’s kind of similar. By the way, has Lena heard about angels?”

“The Beast King has been gathering his forces in preparation for battle, so I know all the gossip about it-nya. But the people of Naji are not so interested in the identity of the enemy because we have decided to defeat the enemy who wants to kill Airavata-sama unconditionally-nya.”

“I see, then I think it would be better to explain it from the beginning.”

I told Lena a rough story about our encounter with the angel and the battle that took place the other day. Of course, I did it with the intention of not only letting her hear it, but also the members of “Sword of Glory” who were here. I thought that those who are going to the island had the right to know the whole story. In addition, I thought that it would be better to have a sense of mission rather than jumping into a dangerous place without knowing anything.

Sure enough, Lena and the Sword of Glory were at a loss for words.

“—Are we fighting against God-nya? I can’t believe it-nya!”

“You are free to believe it or not. Anyway, we are here as we want your father to tell us about the island.”

“I’d like to do that, but I think it’s difficult-nya. Actually, Papa doesn’t seem to be on good terms with grandfather, and he really doesn’t like to talk about the old Zañas family-nya.”

“We should do something about that. This is an important matter related to the survival of the world. I want Lena to convince him as well.”

“…………”

Lena furrowed her brow and looks worried. She crosses her arms and glances at me. Somehow, I could guess what she wants to say.

“The family budget is tight this month-nya~. I’m sure Papa is also worrying about it a lot-nya~”

“Then, how about this, a gold coin?”

“We don’t make a fool of child-rearing expenses-nya~”

“Ten gold coins.”

“I heard about your conversation-nya. What do you want to know-nya?”

The door opened, and Lena’s father suddenly appears. Lena quickly pocketed the ten gold coins and gave her seat to her father. With a smile on his face, Baja Zañas sat down and gulped down Lena’s Zañas family’s special juice.

“You tricked me. How long have you been at home?”

“Munya? It’s been about an hour now-nya. It’s your fault for not noticing-nya.”

“Now then, is it a lie to say that you are not on good terms with your father?”

“That’s true-nya. I used to fight with my dad a lot-nya. If you didn’t offer money, I wouldn’t even talk about those old stories-nya.”

Lena apologizes to us, saying, “My family budget is really tight this time-nya. We need money-nya.”

Well, considering that I paid for a valuable information, this is not a big problem. Still, I think it’s quite expensive.

“Alright. I want to know the story about the island that your father went to.”

“It’s the mysterious island-nya. My dad used to say that while drinking-nya. I don’t know the details either, but I remember how to get there because I was told about it till his death-nya.”

“What!? Can we go to the island!?”

“That’s what you really wanted to hear, right-nya? When my dad was still alive, he wanted to go to that island again, but apparently, the inhabitants of the sea made him promise never to come again-nya. He didn’t tell me until the end what the inhabitants of the sea were, but I thought they were probably mermaids-nya.”

We have made a lot of progress here. I didn’t think he would know the route to the island. But then again, it’s too early to tell. Let’s make him take us to the island first.

I took out a hundred gold coins from my bangle. Then, with a loud, coin clinking sound, I placed it in front of him.

“There are a hundred gold coins here, please take us to the island.”

“Nya-nyan….this lot of money…… Who the hell are you-nya?”

“I’m Shinichi Tanaka of Homeless.”

“T-that Shinichi Tanaka-nya!? W-well, do excuse me-nya! I’m sorry for showing you something so embarrassing-nya! Hey, hurry up and bring me a good drink-nya! Vishu-sama’s best friend has come to our house-nya!”

At her father’s behest, Lena hastily brings a bottle from the next room. He on the other hand, prepared a glass, took the liquor from his daughter and poured the amber liquor into the glass. After receiving it, I immediately put it in my mouth and nodded at the taste. It’s certainly a fine drink.

“I told you beforehand that they were the Homeless party-nya.”

“Oh, you fool, tell me the name of the individual first, not the name of their party-nya! And if we deceive his friend, we will be blown away by Vishu-sama.”

“Papa should be beaten by the Beast King once-nya.”

Baja tried to return the money he had received earlier but I refused. I paid for it as a legitimate information fee. On the contrary, it is troublesome if it is to be returned. Besides, his guilt is also convenient for us. The voyage will be a long journey. There are bound to be a lot of problems on the way. Therefore, I think that we should establish an equal or better relationship with the captain, who has the greatest say on the ship. It’s easier to deal with problems that way, and he may be more supportive.

“So, will you be able to take us to the island?”

“Nyahahaha! I can’t even find the words to say no since I’ve been loaded with this much-nya. Leave this job to Baja Zañas, Naji’s best sailor-nya!”

I felt relieved as he slapped his chest. Now, we can go to the island. All that’s left to do is meet the God tree and listen to its story.

Suddenly, a question crossed my mind. It was a story told by an old man in the harbor.

“I’d like to ask you one thing though, is the fruit that your father said he brought home still somewhere in this house?”

“Ah, that mysterious fruit-nya? It was rotten a week after my dad came home. My dad was so sad about it that he kept it bottled up for a while-nya.”

“Rotten? Didn’t that fruit remain inconsumable even after how much it was eaten?”

“It’s strange even now that I think about it-nya. It was as if it had finished its role when my dad came home-nya. Maybe it had some kind of will-nya.”

Is there something like a will on a fruit……? Perhaps it was the fruit of the God Tree.

I already understand that the tree we are looking for is extraordinary. It may be possible for the God Tree to give permanence to the fruit. If that’s the case, it’s a monster in some sense.

When our conversation ended, my five apprentice, who were standing behind me, sat down exhausted. In terms of fatigue, Margaret is the most exhausted. Then Liberto and Dominique. Tina is next. Finally, there’s Leila. As a large shield user, her endurance is by far the best among the five. Still, it looks like she could not bear the weight of the equipment. Leila was lying limp, resting on Liberto’s side.

“By the way, who are they-nya? Are they new members-nya?”

“They are my apprentices. They are known to be operating under the name, Sword of Glory, in the Kingdom.”

“Heh~, there are also humans who were into such things-nya. If you become an apprentice to Shinichi and the others, the common sense you have cultivated will be destroyed-nya.”

“What do you mean? That—”

“It’s as I have said-nya. It’s even scarier because you don’t realize it-nya.”

This impolite girl. I lived my life while respecting the common sense of this world. What this cat girl means is a good sign. I resolutely interpret it like that.

“You can stay at my house for a couple of days-nya. We must prepare for the voyage and discuss the route-nya.”

“I’m grateful for that. Please let me know about the preparation cost. Also, I don’t know if you can call this a souvenir, but please take it.”

I took out meat and vegetables out of the bangle and offers them to the Zañas family. In an instant, the living room was filled with foodstuffs, and Baja and the Sword of Glory team stiffened as if they had been taken aback.

“Thank you so much-nya. I’m going to make Mama cook a treat tonight.”

“We are going to be taken care of by a friend’s family so this is only natural. Oh, and as you can see, you don’t have to worry about food. I have enough savings to live on the ship for a year.”

“That’s why I said so-nya. You’re breaking the common sense-nya. Okay, I’ll carry the ingredients to the kitchen-nya.”

Lena grabs the meat and vegetables and walks out of the room after saying that. Behind me, Liberto muttered, “We might have become the apprentice of a dangerous person……”

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

---

Previous ⚜ Table of Contents ⚜ Next

---

I meet up with my comrades and then we entered a suitable café. This is to share the information we gathered with each other in a quiet place. When we sit down on the terrace of the restaurant, we each placed an order with the waiter.

From my seat, I could see the blue sky and the bright sun that dazzled my eyes. The beautiful sea that spreads out below would have been exciting if we were on vacation. Unfortunately, we didn’t come for that purpose this time. After the coffee was brought to the table, I started talking.

“Did you get any useful information?”

“Nothing at all. On the other hand, I was asked what the forbidden island is.”

“I’m the same with Rival. And for some reason, they just laughed at me.”

“All I was told was that there seems to be a man who once went to the island.”

“The story I heard was from a very long time ago. The person who provided the information said that there were people who went to the island several decades ago but it seems like they didn’t come out.”

Erna, Liz and Freya have no harvest. Pero seems to have met someone who has valuable information. Anything is fine right now. I want to know about the island.

“The person who provided me the information was the person who manages the city’s archives. When I told him I would pay him a reward, he was happy to answer my queries.”

“Hmm, so what’s the story of the old days?”

“It’s not that long and it’s not very detailed.”

Pero’s story went like this,

About 1,000 years ago, a human male came to this city. That man asked a sailor to take him to a distant sea. The sailor gladly accepted the request because of the good payment. Following the man’s instructions, the ship continues to sail on the open sea, and one day finds an island. The sailor anchored his boat in nearby waters and lent a small boat to the man who was going to cross to the island. Three days later, the man returned to the ship looking exhausted. After that, he returned safely to the city, but the sailor said he could not ask the man what had happened on the island.

“I’m curious who that man is. I also wonder how he knew about the Forbidden Island.”

“Actually, I asked about that too. He said it was probably Great Mage Moore.”

“Moore-sama!? Moore-sama went to the Forbidden Island!?”

It was Erna who overreacted. I called out to her, “Calm down.”

“It’s just a guess from the person who gave me the information. But the records mentioned that Moore was active in Naji around that time. There are also testimonies that they saw a man in a white robe talking to a sailor.”

“Then it’s Moore-sama for sure! He’s the greatest mage I admire! I can’t believe he has been to the Forbidden Island!”

Snorting heavily, Erna gulped down her coffee. When the situation calms down a little, I told the four of them the information I have obtained.

“So if we meet Lena’s father, we’ll know more about the island huh.”

“It’s very likely. I’m thinking of relaxing here for an hour or so and then visit their house.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting Lena!”

As the five of us are talking about Lena, who we will see for the first time in a long time, a strange group of human adventurers approached us.

A man who looks like a swordsman. A woman who looks like a mage. A woman who looks like a martial artist. A man who seems to be a spear user and a woman who seems to be a large shield user. There are five of them in total.

When the swordsman got close to me, his gaze moved from my head to foot, as if observing me carefully. Their purpose is unknown, but the atmosphere does not seem to indicate hostility.

“Uhm, are you perhaps Shinichi Tanaka of Homeless?”

The man asked me a question, so I nodded obediently.

Then all of them quickly sits upright on the ground and strikes a dogeza pose.

“Make us your apprentice!!”

……Huh? Apprentice?

　◇◇◇

They are a party of adventurers who call themselves the “Sword of Glory”. They came to Sarasvati for training. Of course, they are also here to earn money like the other adventurers.

The name of the leader swordsman is “Liberto”. He has short brown hair and a relatively well-groomed and refreshing face. However, I must add that I would like him to remain silent. When this man starts talking, he has a really smug expression on his face. Well, as far as the analysis results go, it is certain that he is not the kind of person who commits crimes.

The mage woman is “Margaret”. She has a loose pink bob hair with a perm. She had a cute face rather than a beauty, and her plump lips were impressive. Her robe is purple, indicating that she is a high-class mage. Her eyes are lightly turned upwards, and it looked like she was glaring at Erna.

The female martial artist is “Tina”. She has short boyish red hair and an androgynous face. She has an air of innocence, and her big clear eyes are always moving around, in search for something. She looks like an adult, but a child inside. Well, she has the biggest breasts of the three women, and I can’t help but glance at her. Her breasts are so outrageous that they bounce like that. Mufufu.

The person wielding the spear is “Dominique”. He has a toned, masculine, chiseled face and a short green hair with left bangs that hang down to hide one eye. His body is also bulky and toned. However, for some reason, he himself likes to use a fake name, saying things like “I’m Catherine.” I think it’s good to call him Dominique because he’s masculine.

The woman who wields the shield is “Leila”. Her honey-colored long hair draws gentle waves, and her face is very beautiful. Her demeanor is soft and calm giving an impression that she is an adult woman. She didn’t look very strong and she doesn’t look like someone who would be fighting with a large shield though. Unfortunately, she got flat breasts. And strangely, when I looked at her, I didn’t get excited. It is very rare to see such a beautiful woman in front of me after all.

I made the five of them sit in a nearby seat, and I also sit at the same table to ask about the situation.

To be honest, I’m still confused about this. Someone suddenly volunteered to become my apprentice. It’s natural to be bewildered. Moreover, I wanted to know as to why at this time.

“Liberto, right? ……Are you guys serious about apprenticeship?”

“Yes, we want to learn about the strength of Homeless firsthand. If you say you don’t trust us, we can take an exam or whatever. I’m sure we’ll pass it.”

“No. I’m not that suspicious and I don’t intend to conduct any tests. Aren’t you all special-class adventurers?”

“It’s because we’re special class adventurers. We have crawled up to this point by training desperately. We finally made it to a place called top notch. However, recently, we have been feeling that we reached our limits. At this rate, we’ll not be able to reach the master level.”

Liberto had a frustrated look on his face.

Master level? We ourselves are just advanced adventurers…. I wonder why they think about us? Normally, one will feel like it’s pretty humiliating to ask someone from a lower class to teach them.

He continues.

“Actually, we went to Mana to scout you. We went upto the thirtieth floor of the Great Dungeon in search of the place where you guys live. Unfortunately, Leila was injured at that time so we had to turn back.”

“You’ve made it to the thirtieth level huh. That must have been hard.”

“Yes, it was tougher than I imagined. It made us even more convinced then. Tanaka-san is the one who will give us the opportunity. So, when I found you here, I am so happy.”

He takes my hand and squeezes it. His eyes shone with joy at meeting the person he longed for. I feel sorry for him though. I’m not the kind of person he should look up to. Turning to my comrades, each of them moved their head to express their volition.

Pero nodded, meaning YES. Freya is also a YES. Liz shook her head, meaning NO. Erna…… Ah?, OK if it’s not a woman?

As expected, opinions were divided. It can’t be helped. As long as my comrades do not agree, there is no way I could make “Sword of Glory” my apprentice.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll refuse. I’m busy.”

“It doesn’t have to be long so please consider it! We just need a little time, just for a while, please guide us! Oh, yes, please take this!”

Liberto handed a leather bag to me. It must have been filled with gold and silver coins. I guess you could say it’s a tuition. But I can’t take it. I decided to refuse so I couldn’t accept something like this. However, when I was about to return the bag to Liberto, Erna quickly took it from the side. Opening the mouth of the bag, Erna and Liz began to count the money.

“Ten gold coins and twenty silver coins, not bad.”

“The world depends on money, and those who pay for what they should pay must be respected.”

What a cash bunch! Even though they are my comrades, I feel they’re quite scary. Pero smiled wryly, but Freya nodded in agreement.

“We can’t say that there won’t be another angel attack in the future, so isn’t it our duty to increase the number of people who can fight as much as possible? Moreover, they are special class adventurers, they are people who need to grow further in order to protect the kingdom.”

“Hmm, that may be true, but I don’t think it’s the right time. We are going to the Forbidden Island after all.”

“You can take them with us. I’m sure the voyage will be long. If you use that time to train them, even if not as much as we do, they will surely be able to fight one-on-one with third-class angels.”

With Freya’s persuasion, I began to consider about them becoming an apprentice. With Saint Water, they can grow to the level she described. Besides, there is no merit or lack of merit in taking apprentices.

First of all, they can be expected as a reserve force. The next time I have a problem other than combat, I can rely on them. This is something I don’t really want now, but it might give me the reputation of having raised them. There were a few others, but I was sure that there would be enough change for the effort.

“Alright then, I’ll give you a condition: make Mana your base for a while after you become my apprentice.”

“Mana?”

“Yes. I don’t want you to stay that long, six months at most. Instead, I’ll train you at any time, and you can rely on us when you’re in trouble. Oh, let me emphasize, I won’t lend you money.”

Liberto and the others replied in a cheerful voice, “Yes!”

Of course, there is a purpose in designating their base. I want them to be a billboard for Mana, which is going to be the Food City. The restaurant opened by the chefs who can be said to be Kanzaki’s apprentice is now a very famous restaurant. The supermarket built by Arnold has also been accepted by the residents and it is crowded with many customers every day. As a result, new eateries were opening in Mana, albeit little by little. I also began to see glimpses of people called gourmets. The groundwork is done. Then there’s the question of name recognition.

In the not-too-distant future, my and Kanzaki’s plans may be half-fulfilled.

“So, Master, what are you going to do now? We will follow wherever you go.”

“Hmmm, let’s start by putting this on you.”

I took a block of metal from the bangle and used my metal manipulation skill to create five sets of five rings. They were fitted to their necks, arms, and legs so that they could not be removed by skill. It is a silvery metal with a black tint. It is called Visnir. It is a very heavy substance with properties that are the exact opposite of mithril. It even has the added bonus of making magic harder to use and is a well-known metal in another way that is used to restrain sinners.

“Agh…… Master, what is this!?”

“It’s a strength training device made by Visnir. You guys are going to live with it on you for a while.”

「「「「「What!?」」」」」

“Alright, now let me tell you. We are going to go to an island where the high-ranking dragons roam.”

「「「「「What!?」」」」」

The five of them opened their eyes wide in shock. Well, they were unlucky to apply for an apprenticeship at this time. I’m going to train them hard enough so that they won’t die. Kukuku.

Seeing the pale faces of the five people, I slowly sipped my coffee.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

---

Previous ⚜ Table of Contents ⚜ Next

---