CH 289

Chapter 289 – Makeover

“But my lord, with your <Shop> skill, couldn’t you easily find a transport that could travel through the ocean depths?” (Kaza)

“Well, you’re right, Kaza. I could try to buy a submarine, but… I have no idea how to steer one.” (Bouchi)

I didn’t have any special training, and I didn’t even have any grasp of a submarine’s structure. I could study up on it now, but it would take a long time.

Well, there were a few fantasy item submarines, but they were ridiculously expensive, just like Earth’s submarines.

Setting unmanned submarines aside, any kind of submarine that could safely carry people and dive over 10,000 meters underwater was staggeringly expensive.

An ordinary submarine cost more than ¥20 billion, but a safe, sturdy submarine that could respond in case of a monster attack would easily cost more than ¥100 billion. The funds I had weren’t enough.

“Then are there any items that would allow someone to dive that deep?” (Kaza)

“…Well, there are. There’s the [Mermaid Candy], which, if eaten, allows you to temporarily breathe and talk underwater. It should also allow the person who eats it to withstand water pressure.” (Bouchi)

“Is there a problem with it?” (Kaza)

“The effect is too short. Apparently, 1 hour is the limit. It also isn’t a type of item that can be used continuously.” (Bouchi)

After the effect wore off, there was a cooldown period of 30 minutes. This meant that it wouldn’t work in the deep seas.

“In that case, maybe the best choice would be to save up and buy a submarine. But I wonder if I could even get tens of billions of yen, no, even more than that…” (Bouchi)

Besides, a submarine would easily cost tens of billions of yen. If I really wanted to gather that much money, I would have to abandon my principles and resort to selling everything I could lay my hands on. If I were to steadily save up through upright methods, who knew how long it would take.

While everyone, including me, was hemming and hawing, trying to think of a good idea…

“Hey, hey, Bouchi.” (Oz)

“Hm? What is it, Oz?” (Bouchi)

Oz tugged at the hem of my shirt, pulling me out from my thoughts.

“You wanted to go to the bottom of the ocean, Bouchi?” (Oz)

“Yeah, that’s right, but…” (Oz)

“Then I’ll take you there!” (Oz)

“Cool, that’d be nice… Wait, what?” (Bouchi)

““““EEEHH?!””””

Everyone, including me, stared dumbfoundedly at Oz.

“O-Oz, what did you just say?” (Bouchi)

“Like~I~said~! I’ll take you there!” (Oz)

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…Well, if you think about it, Oz was the one who had brought this up in the first place. And in the past, Duarte had set foot in the Diamond Ruins at the bottom of the ocean.

“Don’t tell me… The Oz Freedom can go… to the bottom of the ocean?” (Bouchi)

“Yeah! I’m no ordinary ship! I am the ship that the great pirate Duarte Taylor sailed on! Not only can I sail on the sea, but I can also go under the sea if I want toooo!” (Oz)

“…How is that even work?” (Bouchi)

“Hmm, well, you’ll just have to see for yourself. Come with me!” (Oz)

Oz suddenly broke into a run, and we followed her, still half in disbelief.

We arrived at the coast where the ship was anchored.

“Come on, come on! Climb on deck!” (Oz)

Doing as Oz had urged, we boarded the ship.

“This ship is in quite the state of disrepair. I’m surprised it can still sail.” (Izu)

Izu was right. The ship certainly did look like it could sink at any moment.

“It’s fine! As long as I’m safe, it can go anywhere! Anyway, let’s get going!” (Oz)

Much to my surprise, the ship started moving on its own. Well, maybe it wasn’t that surprising since this was a ghost ship. The fact that we were about to set sail on a ship like this was questionable enough.

“We’re going under!” (Oz)

“No, no, wait, Oz! We’re diving down just like this?! When the water comes in, we won’t be able to breathe and we’ll drown!” (Bouchi)

My voice rose unintentionally, but Oz just laughed and said that we’d be fine.

“Oz Freedom—Full Makeover!” (Oz)

Immediately after Oz’s exclamation, we were met with a shocking sight.

Suddenly, many parts of the ship started to break down. Well, not really break down. They started to separate from one another like Lego pieces, then began to move and shift around to other places as the shape of the ship gradually changed.

As we watched with bated breath, the ship transformed from a pirate ship into a submarine before we knew it.

““““…..””””

“Ta-daaaah! Well, what do you think? This is my secret technique—Full Makeover!” (Oz)

Oz puffed out her chest proudly as we stared in shock at the unexpected phenomenon.

“H-Huh…? Uhh… Everyone? Bouchi?” (Oz)

“….Oz” (Bouchi)

“W-What is it?” (Oz)

“Oz! You’re amazing!!” (Bouchi)

“Bueeeh?!” (Oz)

“You’re seriously the best ship there is! Honestly, I’m really impressed!” (Bouchi)

I never thought I’d see such an epic mecha-like transformation scene in person. I was a man after all, so transforming vehicles like this were always cool.

“Hmph-hmph! That’s right! You can keep praising me!” (Oz)

Everyone started to pile on the praise in their own ways while Oz just stood there proudly with her head held high.

Oz had a fluffy, pleased smile on her face from all the praise.

“We can dive down like this, right?” (Bouchi)

“We’re already underwater. Let’s head to the bridge!” (Oz)

After arriving at the helm of the submarine, we found a surprising scene awaiting us.

There was glass in front of us, but we could already see the sea all around us. As Oz had said, we had already descended into the water, and everything around us was projected through a screen.

We were about 30 meters deep by this point. There were schools of small fish swimming in and out of rugged coral reefs. The sun was still shining down from the sky, illuminating the sea in sparkling, beautiful shafts of light.