15-4 Part 2
A New Sea Route: Scrape the Rocky
Reefs of Erin
- Aniki -
Translator : PolterGlast
Paddling the water
with both hands, I approached a rocky reef protruding from the sea surface.
Upon reaching it, beneath the water was a rocky area I could stand on.
「Shinza,
do your best!」
「It
might be tough, but you're our only hope, Shinza!」 Carral and Kachua raised their voices to
encourage me.
「That
guy, he jumped in without hesitation...」
「What a
crazy bastard...」
「I
heard he was a Prince-sama, but ain't he the same type of creature as Big
Sister Sigrun...?」
「Yeah,
no doubt about it...」
Perhaps thinking it
wouldn't reach my ears, the sailors spat out their true feelings one by one.
While listening in on that, I took my ancestor's Shovel strapped to my
body and pierced the rocky reef protruding above the sea surface from its base.
I was able to quickly remove the part sticking out above the sea.
But the sea surface
is too low for ships to pass. Let's scrape away the rocky area underfoot from
one end to the other.
『Oi,
you act like you're fine, but aren't you cold...?』
What are you saying,
of course it's cold. No matter how much I raise my status, it seems I'm no
match for the cold. I am freezing right now.
『Urp...』
In this situation,
there is only one course of action to take. Since it's unbearably cold, I
accelerated my work, single-mindedly gouging the bottom of the seawater and
scraping away the rocky reef.
◆ ◇ ◆
Thus, I completely
destroyed one entire rocky reef. But I'm at my limit. I turned back through the
sea and returned to the schooner.
「Shinza,
are you okay!?」
「C-Cold,
I have to warm him up quickly!」
On the deck were Carral
and Kachua holding blankets. They suddenly lunged at me, wrapping me in
blankets from left and right.
「This
is warm... Sorry, my head seems to be foggy...」
「Geez,
why is Shinza never satisfied unless he does something reckless...」
「It was
like that in Corin Village too... Fighting a group of goblins all by
himself...」
Warm. Warm, warm. No
other impressions come to mind. The two of them wrapped around me, who had
slumped down on the deck, and simply warmed me.
「I'm
jealous, but I don't wanna imitate him...」
「I
mean, seriously, he just erased an entire rocky reef...」
「I've
never seen such a brute-force deed before...」
I suddenly thought
that depending on the person, this situation might be a perk. However, I have
no leeway to feel such things. Warm, warm, human skin is so warm it dulls the
mind. That is all. This is hard, an unbelievably hard mission...
「Hey Shinza,
are you okay?」
「Say, we (Ore-tachi)... come to
think of it, we're doing something quite improper, aren't we...」
「D-Don't
say that, Kachua... It's making me feel embarrassed too...」
「Sorry.
But men are, rugged and bony, and being stuck together like this feels kinda
weird...」
Even though it was
through blankets, the two of them stayed stuck to me the whole time without a
single complaint, warming my ice-cold body with their body heat. After a while,
a sailor brought over hot soup. Since fire is strictly prohibited on ships, it
seems they had packed piping hot soup into a pot before setting sail. When I
downed that steaming shellfish soup, it felt like I had finally regained my
composure.
「Now
then, we should be able to advance a little with this. The next rocky reef to
scrape is probably around there. If there's no problem, bring the ship closer
to that one.」
「Wait...
um, Shinza... are you still going to continue this!?」
When Kachua
raised a scream, everyone seemed to agree with her. Continue or whatever, the
initial goal hasn't been fulfilled at all. If I don't destroy that rocky reef, Erin
Port is just a fishing spot where you can catch jade.
「No
problem, I can still do it. I've also gotten the hang of digging underwater.」
I want to turn that port, which resembles a
pirate's hidden fort, into a base where the Hez Company's galleons can dock. Just imagining how much
more of this freezing cold I have to endure makes me want to run away.
Therefore, I stopped thinking entirely.
「Understood.
We'll warm you up next time too, so do your best, Shinza! Us at the
merchant company will do our best later!」
「Indeed. Being shown this much
craziness, we have no choice but to do our best too.」
「Go
give 'em a taste of your power, Shinza-aniki!!」
Approaching the next
rocky reef, I jumped into the sea again. From then on, I went around destroying
not just a second, but a third rocky reef in quick succession. However, that
was my limit. When I returned to the ship, it seems I had gone from being just Shinza
to being Shinza-aniki.
「Welcome
back, Aniki!」
「Hurry, drink the soup! You're
amazing, a crazy idiot, but that's what makes you cool!」
「Uwoooooh,
Shinza-anikiiiiii!」
For the time being,
am I being praised...? My head is dull, and my mind can't focus on anything
other than the warmth of Carral and Kachua. It's no good. My body
is telling me to stop any more than this. Chilled to the core of my bones, no
matter how much of the two's body heat I absorbed, my stamina didn't recover
much.
「I'd
like to work on it a little more, but sorry, this is my limit... The rest, let’s continue in a warmer
season.」
「No,
it's more than enough! With this, if they proceed in a single file, even a
galleon can pass through!」
「Right,
there are still a lot of scary rocky reefs for full-scale operation as a port,
but it's meaningless if you catch a cold and die, Aniki.」
As if to show proof,
the schooner advanced towards Erin Port. There are no facilities yet,
but that place, created by cutting out a cliff, is simply spectacular when
viewed from the sea.
「You
did your best, Shinza. I couldn't bear to watch, but when I really saw
the rocky reefs disappearing, I (Ore) felt a thrill in my chest!」
「Yeah, Shinza
is truly the Frost Giant Bergelmir! His appearance is a normal boy, but
he's an amazing guy who does a huge job fit for more than a giant all by
himself! Ah, I have to call the company's ships here when we get back!」
From my perspective
it's a bit unsatisfactory, but from Carral and the others' perspective,
it seems it was a great achievement worthy of raising their voices in
excitement. Being shown that underground tunnel of the first Emperor might have
messed up my senses...
「Alright,
maybe I'll do a little more after all.」
「Eh...
Eeeehhh?!」
「You
can't do that, stop overdoing it, Shinza!?」
Carral screamed, and Kachua
shook my body.
「Aniki
is an amazing guy but... he's a crazy bastard after all...」
「But if
they run aground, it'll be a huge loss. It's better to destroy at least that
one over there too.」
While still crouched
down, I pointed my finger at the rocky reef I had planned to destroy next.
「Ehhh...
ehhhh... eeeeehhh... Shinza, I can't even defend you anymore... You're
crazy, Shinza!?」
「But if
my light life can prevent running aground, it's cheap.」
「No,
no, what are you saying... Shinza's life isn't cheap at all...」
Even being told
that, once I decide to do something, I do it. If Carral's precious
galleon were to sink, I would definitely regret it. If so, I should try my best
for just one more breath.
『You...
are you mistakenly thinking you are immortal...? Go home already, next time you
will drown...』
Ignoring Zirant's
words, I took my time until evening, going around destroying every rocky reef
that caught my eye.
Finally bringing the
schooner into the port, with this, the new trade port was complete. Voices of
excitement rose from the sailors one after another. It's the birth of Erin
Port. If we develop the facilities after this, it won't be as good as Naglfar
yet, but it will function as a decent port. There's still a possibility of
unseen rocky reefs hiding, so some anxiety remains, though.
However, I'll
definitely start over with that once it gets warmer. No matter how tough a body
I obtain, getting cold seems to be bad, and I couldn't move freely any more
than this.
「Since
we built it, we have no choice but to use it!」
Carral will
return to Naglfar once on the schooner with the sailors for stocking up,
and they decided to change their anchorage to Erin. Even though it must
still be inconvenient, they seem to want to bring in supplies and trade goods
here.
「Leave
space for the plundered goods too. We're going to strip it all from a villain
that makes you want to puke.」
「Of
course! Go beat up the bad guys, Shinza!」
In this whole area,
all export goods are transported to the destination called Naglfar. That
flow probably won't change immediately. But just by being closer to the Imperial
Capital than Naglfar, there should be quite a few people who find
utility value in this place. Let's leave the management and sales activities of
Erin Port to Puis and the others.
Thus, I was being
half forcibly repatriated to the Lord's mansion, pulled by Kachua's
hand.
「Wait, Kachua.
I've gotten hungry, so let's eat the bento around here.」
「Eeeeeeh....
You still want to eat...?」
「Umu, I
got hungry after throwing up. Shall I partake of the bento from you and
Princess Atomina.」
On the way there,
plunking down in the shade of a suitable tree, after eating a slightly late
snack. Every part of the bento Aneue made for me was delicious with
extra effort put in, and Kachua's home cooking, packed full of potatoes,
made me feel happy.
「Say...
I (Atashi), should I make it again...? If Shinza wants to eat
bento, I (Atashi), will wake up early and try my best...?」
「Really.
Then I request a hearty potato dish. To be extreme, I don't need vegetables or
meat. As long as there are potatoes, that's fine.」
「Eei,
do not request a bento that looks like it would get stuck in your throat!」
While saying such
things, Zirant scarfed down my potatoes, so it instantly turned into a
scramble.
With this, a transport route for stolen goods has been secured. Tomorrow marks the beginning of the dirty work. Uncover the true character of the villain Codwall, and if necessary, strip away his evil wealth from the root.
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