Volume 5 - CH 4

Chapter 4 – Five Days on the Ferry and Lots of Monsters

Excitedly, I headed for the movie theater.

“Rimu, we’re going to see something interesting; you should be looking forward to it.”

“Interesting?”

“Yes, it’s called a movie. You’ll understand when you see it.”

“Looking forward to it.”

“Well, how do we watch it?”

I thought about how to play the movie, and a menu screen appeared in front of me. Anything is possible… I got myself back on track and looked at the list of movies.

Oh, there are quite a variety of movies, anime, classical Japanese, and foreign. I’m getting excited. If it’s a luxury cruise ship, will there be more? I’m excited.

Most of the famous ones are available. Oh, there’s the Blues Brothers; I loved that one. I’m glad, even though it’s a very old movie.

But since Rimu is also here, let’s save the Blues Brothers for another time and go with the anime. Maybe the classic ghibli? Let’s go with Totoro. Let’s play it.

“Rimu, it’s starting. Can you see it?”

“I can see it.”

Oh, it’s in Japanese. Can Rimu understand it?

“Rimu, do you know the meaning of the words you hear?”

“Rimu understands.”

“You can understand it? That’s good.”

Does it come with language understanding? Let’s ask Ines and Felicia next time. 

After watching the moving images, he sent me a strange intention for a while, but from halfway through, he seemed to have understood and sent me an enjoyable intention.

Does the famous scene have the power to excite even Rimu? In the scene where a tree buds with an umbrella and becomes a big tree, it feels like it is moving on your head.

Rimu is also growing up. It’s adorable. The cringing will fly in the scene of the girl who is excited about the Catbus and crying. Rimu is so into the scene.

“That was fun, wasn’t it? How was it, Rimu?”

“I love it; I want more.”

“You want to see more? But it’s time to go to bed. Let’s watch it together again next time.”

“Yes.”

Well, I haven’t watched Totoro for a long time, but I like it. Rimu seems to like it too, so what should we watch next time?

Before going back to the room, I go to the vending machine corner to see what’s going on. Yeah, it’s totally done… Carla-san and Claretta-san aren’t there, though.

“Ines, Felicia, time to go back. Alessia and the others, too, let’s go to bed.”

“Hmm? Wataru-san is here. Do you want a drink, too, Wataru-san?”

Yeah, I don’t think we’re on the same page here.

“Ufufufufu, Alessia is wrong. Wataru-san likes it here.”

Ilma-san came close to me, and then she held my head and hugged me to her disheveled chest… T-this, this feeling is Ilma-san’s raw breast.

“Uufufufu, Wataru-san loves it, ufufufufu.”

It’s pafupafu… pafupafu, isn’t it…?*

[T/n: The act of burying one face between a woman’s breasts.]

I need to concentrate all my nerves on my face… “Oh, Dorothea, I want some of that too.”… It’s Gone. Too bad. Is this the power of alcohol? Is this what you call a lucky draw? But thank you.

“Then I’ll leave you to it. Good night.”

“”””Good night.””””

I give up trying to persuade them and return to my room with Ines and Felicia. Let’s have another drinking session. I vow to do so and return to my room to sleep.

“Morning… Hmm? I don’t get the routine kiss…

I look both sides and see Ines and Felicia still sleeping. That’s unusual; they usually prepare themselves before I wake up.

Oh, I can smell the scent of alcohol. I’ll let them sleep for a while. I get ready and… Now, where shall we have breakfast?

…In the meantime, let’s go to the vending machine corner.

I put Rimu on my head, and when I got to the vending machine corner, I found Carla-san and Claretta-san sitting there.

“Carla-san, Claretta-san, Fuu-chan. Good morning.”

“”Good morning.”

“…Morning…”

“Where is everyone else?”

“Fufu, they were drinking until late, so they are still in bed. Must be a hangover.”

“They must have had a lot to drink.”

“Yes, it was already late when Carla and I returned to our room first. I think they continued to drink after that.”

“When I checked on them, they were pretty drunk, but they must have had a lot more to drink. Then let’s have breakfast first. Where would you like to eat?”

“Wataru-san, I want to eat at the buffet in the morning.”

“That’s fine with me, but is it okay with you, Claretta-san?”

“Yes, it’s fine.”

“Then we have a little time before the restaurant opens. Shall we wait a bit?”

“”Yes.””

We chat over a canned coffee. With Carla-san and Claretta-san, we basically talk about food. Such as, “That was delicious; how do you make that?” Or something like that… I guess the two of them are more interested in food than in romance. The restaurant opened, so we bought a meal ticket and went inside.

Well, first, it was Japanese food, and then Western food with a refill. To start with, there was rice, miso soup, grilled fish, grated radish, soaked spinach, chilled tofu, and natto. Is this what a typical Japanese inn breakfast would be like? It looks delicious. I took the same thing for Rimu and took a seat.

Carla-san and Claretta-san seem to be going for Western-style food.

“Then, itadakimasu.”

“”Itadakimasu.””

First, pour soy sauce over grated daikon and take a mouthful of rice with grilled fish… chew it thoroughly and slurp up the miso soup. Mmm, it’s a blessing. Next is natto.

“Um, Wataru-san, those beans are stringy, aren’t they? Are you sure it’s okay?”

As I was stirring the natto, Claretta-san called out to me… I know, there are a lot of Japanese people who don’t like natto, too, but it’s scary when you see it for the first time.

“Yes, this is called natto. Um, it’s a fermented food, like cheese. It tastes good, but there are many people who don’t like it because of the way it looks or smells, so I don’t think you two should force yourselves to eat it.”

“I see… Hmm, but I am interested in it…”

“Me too.”

“Really? Then try a little of this.”

“Well, I can’t get used to the smell, but I can taste the beans, the soy sauce… and the pungent taste.”

“I like it a lot.”

“So you both are okay with it, huh? Natto goes well with rice, so you can try it if you like.”

“”Yes.”” 

By the way, Rimu and Fuu-chan were fine with it too.

Next up is Western food. Bread, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, and corn soup. It’s a lot to eat in the morning, but when it’s a buffet, you go for it. But I don’t think I’ve ever experienced two consecutive buffets, even in Japan.

Carla-san and Claretta-san immediately tried natto; both of them are challengers, right?

After finishing the Western-style food, I finished up with rice porridge, braised burdock root, and pickles. I was so full. Rimu ate the same amount of food as I did… but he was happy to receive a share from Claretta-san, who ate more than I did.

Although Claretta-san and I finished eating, Cara-san, Rimu, and Fuu-chan seemed to be able to eat more. In the end, they kept eating until it was time to go. That’s amazing.

After leaving the restaurant, Carla-san and Claretta-san were going to check on the other members, so I went back to my room to check on Ines and Felicia.

When I entered the room, they were awake but holding their hands to their heads to endure the headache. Yeah, they are totally hungover.

“Ines, Felicia, you’re awake.”

“Sorry, Master, I overslept.”

“I apologize, Master, I overslept.”

There’s no energy in their voices… It sounds pretty bad.

“Well, it’s just an occasional thing; that’s alright, but be careful.”

“”Yes, we’re sorry.””

“I’m not telling you not to drink alcohol, but don’t drink it recklessly. Here, it’s water, drink this, and then you can take the rest of the day off so you can go back to sleep.”

“”Yes, thank you. Master.””

I put them back to bed and take a walk on the Fortress with Rimu. Remembering the manga, I head to the vending machine section. While reading the manga, I’ll have a soda and pick up some french fries.

“Oh, Carla-san, how were the others?”

“They said their heads hurt; they’re all asleep, so I came here.”

“Ines and Felicia were hungover too. They shouldn’t drink too much.”

“Yes.”

But Carla-san, why do you have two cups of noodles and an empty container of grilled rice balls after eating the breakfast buffet? Eating too much isn’t good either, you know?

Since Carla-san is here, I stop reading my manga and start chatting with her.

Five days passed with such a relaxing voyage.

All of us have become accustomed to life on the Fortress, and each of us has developed a favorite place, favorite food, and something to look forward to.

We tried various items from the stores and decided on which one was the best ice cream. No, the best ice cream is the chocolate chip ice cream from the vending machine. I was relieved that the war between mushrooms and bamboo shoots did not break out over chocolate.

And there was one tremendous change in the last five days. The girls liked the T-shirts from the store and started wearing them as nightwear and during training.

It is unfortunate that they don’t like the restrictions on their movements by the yukata and only wear it occasionally, but the no-bra T-shirts have more than made up for that.

After baths and training, the girls wear T-shirts and pants for the rest of their days. Frankly, it was too exciting, and I felt like I was going crazy.

Ilma-san, in particular, could see when I was upset and would sometimes stand up straight in front of me with her chest outstretched. She sometimes stretches her back with her arms crossed in front of her and lifts them up, keeping my eyes glued to her and teasing me. The effect is great because it reminds me of the feeling I had at that time.

At the moment, the only way I can think of to counter it is to shut my eyes. At that moment, I forgot to shut my eyes and just watched. So far, I’ve lost all the games. Will there ever come a day when I can win? And even if I do win, what does that mean for me as a man? I am troubled by this.

Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, Marina-san, and Ilma-san are still drinking from the vending machine corner every now and then, despite the terrible hangover they had on the first day. Claretta-san is busy checking to see if the stuffed toys in the crane game have been replaced.

I also found a massage chair on my walk. It’s coin-operated by the hour, but it’s the best way to relax.

Ines, Felicia, and the rest of the Girasole team were surprised at first, but the massage chairs were so comfortable that they gradually melted away.

It was also awesome, a T-shirt, no bra, massage chair.. is the best. I couldn’t take my eyes off it, especially when it was vibrating.

Well, it’s been a generally trouble-free voyage, but there are two things I want to discuss, and I’m going to start that discussion in the vending machine corner now.

“Thank you all for coming.”

“Fufu, you seem to be acting strangely, Wataru-san.”

“Is that so? Well, let’s start normally, shall we, Alessia-san?”

“Yes, and what is it that you want to discuss?”

“Two things. One is about sea monsters.”

“Well, we haven’t fought any monsters since we got on board the Fortress.”

“So now the monsters are gathering around the ship.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, that’s right. We are quite far from the sea’s surface, so we were unaware that sea monsters were gathering. When I saw them, they were fighting with each other.”

“Are there that many of them?”

“Yes, sea serpents, gluttony sharks, kraken, merman… maybe, but I think the number of monsters gradually increased over the course of five days. I guess some of the monsters gave up or lost the fight, but I think some of them have been following us all along.”

I went out on deck to have a cup of coffee and smoke after a long time, and I heard a struggle in the sea, and I looked over and saw a sea serpent eating a gluttony shark.

“Does that mean that if we keep going, we’ll end up taking them all the way down to the Southern City?”

“I think it probably will.”

“Let’s go take a look.”

Following Alessia-san’s words, we went out on deck to check the sea.

“Wow, there are quite a few of them. It’s not good to take this many with us. Wataru-san, can you stop the ship? We’ll think of a countermeasure.”

“Yes.”

We returned to the vending machine corner, bought some drinks, and resumed our discussion.

“So, what do you think, Wataru-san?”

“As Alessia-san said, it would be bad to take them with us, so I think we should either lower the boarding ramp on the starboard side and repel them from there, or summon the Lutto ship from there, jump over and fight them off.”

“I think it would be better to summon the Lutto.”

“”Agreed.””

“Alessia-san, Marina-san, Ines, you’re not thinking that it would be fun to maneuver the ship in the middle of that group of monsters, are you?”

“…Don’t you think it would be good for a little bit?”

“…Of course not. If you do that, it won’t be over by the end of the night, will it?”

“””It’s just a little bit.”””

“You’re perfectly in sync. What should we do, everyone?”

“Ufufu, summon the Lutto and let these girls steer the ship?”

“There are that many of them; it’s going to be an intense maneuver. It is likely that we will miss some attacks or go on without retrieving the monsters we have defeated.”

“Since there are so many of them, it will be difficult to recover the monsters.”

“Oh, yes, that’s certainly true. Then should I summon the Lutto from the boarding gate and fight them off?”

“Hmm, I wonder if it will be alright. I don’t think we’ll lose because of the boarding rejection, but I’m worried about the three of them running out of control.

“”Yay.”””

They’re so happy…

“It’s decided, Wataru-san; let’s go.”

“Alessia, calm down. Besides, Wataru-san said he had two things to discuss with us.”

“Oh, yes, Dorothea, of course. I’m sorry, Wataru-san, but what is the other one?”

“Oh, no, the other one can wait until later. We’ll discuss it again when we get more time.”

With everyone so excited, I’m honestly afraid to propose the problem of overeating.

“Okay, let’s go then… Wataru-san, where should we go?”

“I’ll take you to the parking lot I showed you before. We’ll jump onto the Lutto from the boarding gate there.”

“I understand. Okay, everyone, let’s go.”

Well, the three of them are excited, and the others seem to be having fun too… Only Rimu and Fuu-chan seem to understand my feelings.

“Rimu, magic.”

It’s just my imagination, isn’t it?
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