Read Novel Full Vol 12 Chapter 1
Thanks toJust some guy for the Ko-Fi and this chapter! Join our Patreon to get more chapters, enjoy~
(17/20)
Chapter 1 – Invitation Date Decision
My conversation with Her Majesty the Queen went well, and she has agreed to send a trusty mermaid to the Dark Elf Island as well. Now, all I have to do is finish my business in the Aquamarine Kingdom and manage the ocean currents in the Mermaid Kingdom with the Sea God’s sacred treasure.
I have finally returned to the royal capital of the Aquamarine Kingdom on the Lutto. First, we need to find a place to stay. Since Pent will be with us this time, we plan to take a room with seawater that is used by mermaids.
Basically, we will stay in a normal room, and Pent will use a bathtub filled with water. If there is time, I plan to let Pent play in the room with the salt water.
When Pent is older, I will let him play freely in the open sea after power leveling, but since he is still small, that is not possible. It’s a lot of work. I also have to register Pent as my familiar with the guild.
When I was with Rimu, I had Camille-san register him with the Merchant’s Guild. I wonder if it would be okay to register Sea Serpent with the Merchant’s Guild as well?
I’d like to get Ines’ friend Flora-san to do something about it, but I’ve stopped being an adventurer altogether, so it would be difficult.
I’m a little worried because I don’t have any contacts in the Merchant’s Guild of the Aquamarine Kingdom, but I guess I’ll just have to go there. As expected, it would be difficult for an inn to accommodate a monster that is not registered as a familiar.
“Since the messenger from Her Majesty the Queen promised to come, the inn should be the Mermaid’s Inn, right?”
Well, it’s about ten days from now, so we don’t have to get a room now, but there’s a chance we won’t get a room, so it’s safer to get it under control as soon as possible.
“Yes, the innkeeper of the Mermaid Inn will take care of it. Until Ines’ family and Flora-san’s plans are finalized, we will stay in the royal capital, right?”
“Yes. That’s the plan.”
I will invite Ines’ family to the Chris and then offer them the treasures of the Duke’s castle. After that, we’ll go to the Mermaid Kingdom to do some business and then to the Dark Elf Island. It was supposed to be a vacation, but I’ve been pretty busy.
“There were no interesting requests in the royal capital, and since Ilma is staying in her room, we’ll also be relaxing on land for the first time in a while.”
Ilma-san is staying in her room? I looked at Ilma-san in doubt, and she smiled suspiciously at me while touching the bag she was carrying.
It’s sexy, but it’s okay. I won’t be fooled so often. This bag must contain the documents that came out of the chest in the Duke’s castle. I want to stay in her room to study those documents.
“Ilma-san. If you find any interesting magic circles, I’ll ask Ines and Felicia to help you.”
“Ara? Is Wataru-san okay with this? I’ll make sure to teach them well, okay?”
“Ahahaha. I’m good enough with life magic.”
I’ve grown up too. I knew Ilma-san was teasing me, but I would have jumped on her if she had said it like that.
For some reason, Ilma-san dressed as a teacher came to mind this time as well, and it was a close call, but since I didn’t jump, I guess I can count it as growth. Ilma-san’s slightly bored expression was proof of my victory.
“Wataru-san. I didn’t buy many sweets.”
While I was basking in the afterglow of my victory, Carla-san was tugging at my sleeve with a sad expression on her face. Speaking of which, after our adventure at the Duke’s castle, we had a party.
After that, we checked out the treasure, met with Her Majesty the Queen, and went straight back to the Aquamarine Kingdom, so there wasn’t much time for Carla-san to replenish her supply of sweets and food, was there?
Still, since it was Carla-san, I think she stocked up on food and sweets to some extent. But I think she is worried about the possibility of not having enough. Unlike Ilma-san, she is very straightforward.
“If you don’t have enough, you can tell me. But don’t eat too much, okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
Claretta-san laughs behind my back. Maybe she’s not so fine. But when she nods with such a big smile on her face, I can’t say anything.
Well, this time we’ll stay until we invite Ines’ family, and I don’t think it will take that long, so we’ll probably make it. Well, now that we have a general schedule, let’s get started.
＊＊＊
“…How is it that you, an F-rank merchant, can turn a Sea Serpent baby into your familiar?”
“It just happened.”
It’s really just a matter of chance. And also because Rimu wanted it to happen. Still, it seems rare for a Merchant’s Guild to register a familiar. Normally, adventurers would register their tamed monsters with the Adventurers’ Guild.
After getting a room at the Mermaid’s Inn, I took the plunge and came to register, but as I expected, the registration process was not as smooth as I had hoped.
“Can you tell us where and how you got your familiar?”
“That’s a trade secret.”
I have a feeling that if I explain that Rimu wanted a little brother and beat Pent up to make him a familiar, he’ll think I’m joking.
“Baby Sea Serpents are very rare. I think it is right for a merchant to treat them as a commodity instead of raising them as familiars. If you want, the Merchant Guild can buy them or act as an intermediary for the buyer. You might even get a connection to someone of a much higher rank, you know?”
As a merchant, what he says is probably right. But I’m a fake merchant, so I don’t use common sense. I’m more afraid of being disliked by Rimu than of having a higher level of influence.
“I have a magic ship, so I intend to raise this child and have him escort the ship.”
That’s the plan from the beginning. In reality, he’s probably just Rimu’s playmate.
“You have a magic ship? Do you have a unique route?”
Unique route? Well, I heard that merchants who are not heavily involved in the Merchant’s Guild do business through their own routes without increasing their ranks.
“Well, something like that.”
“Huh. Then the cost of food for the Sea Serpent is also part of the expenses, isn’t it? I would like to see such a talented person help the Merchant’s Guild, but are you planning to raise your rank?”
I can afford the annual membership fee, so I don’t mind raising my rank, but I’m also inclined to go through with the F rank if I’ve made it this far.
Although I am an F-rank merchant Wataru, there is also a part of me that is eagerly waiting for… this kind of event to happen.
In the past, there have been similar things related to Mage-sama, but the magnitude was too great for me to enjoy. I would like to experience something like that, preferably on the scale of a bar fight.
“If I have the chance, I might ask for your help.”
The receptionist sighs in disappointment at my dazzling answer. As expected from the receptionist of a Merchant’s Guild. He seemed to have easily figured out that I had no intention of doing so.
After that, without further ado, the process was completed smoothly, and I was able to leave the guild without any problems. I had thought that they might force me to try to get Pent or that I might get involved with other merchants, but it seems that I was thinking too much.
It didn’t make sense for the whole Girasole team to come with me, let alone Ines and Felicia.
“Well then, all we have to do now is go back to the inn, and Ines, go to your parents’ house and adjust the schedule.”
“Master isn’t going with me?”
She still doesn’t want to go back to her parents’ house alone. This time, she is going to deliver the message that Bella-san and the others have been waiting for, so there is a good chance that she will be welcomed with open arms, but she has a look of displeasure on her face. Bella-san’s lecture must have really hit home.
“You see, I can’t do that because Pent is with me. I need to get him back in the water as soon as possible, right?”
“Well, can I take Felicia with me? Alessia and the others will be there to escort you, won’t they?”
I wonder how much she is afraid of her parents’ house. It’s a bit like watching Pent when Rimu approaches.
“Ines. What’s the use of a slave reducing her master’s escort for her own convenience? Go alone.”
Felicia tells her sharply, and Ines goes back to her parents’ house, grumbling. If she was welcomed with open arms this time, she might be a little less averse to the idea.
“Fufu. Wataru-san’s place is always busy.”
“Haha, well, I’m having a good time.”
Alessia-san says, smiling, but she and Ines often get into trouble together. I feel terribly uncomfortable with the way she says she is different.
…I feel like I’m going to insult Alessia-san if I continue this topic. If I had the courage to tell her that she’s just like Ines, would I be able to break the ice? Well, that’s impossible. Let’s go back to the inn.
＊＊＊
“I’m back.”
After dinner, Rimu left for the dream world, and Ines returned, looking exhausted for some reason. I’m sure there was nothing to be so tired about this errand, but what happened?
“Um, welcome back, Ines. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing serious. It was just that my mother and Flora were very excited. It’s not that we don’t have enough time, so why don’t they just take their time and make their own plans…”
Ines mumbled and complained. I’d already informed her of our general schedule in advance, and I’d also made it clear that the period I was inviting them to would be long enough for them to enjoy themselves if they could get some time off. There was no need to rush.
“What do you mean?”
“She must have been really looking forward to it. The moment I told my mother about it, she started to make her move. She had already made arrangements for a vacation, and she started making arrangements for the earliest and longest vacation she could get. So I had to run around between my father, Dario, and Flora.”
“I see; that’s because Ines said something thought-provoking and incited Bella-san and the others, isn’t it?”
Ines looked away, embarrassed. I had stimulated Bella-san and the others a lot with things like delicious alcohol and food, dreamy sweets, glowing skin, dazzling jewelry, and so on. Originally, they had been influenced by my souvenirs.
Their expectations were already high because of my souvenirs, but now I had added fuel to the fire, so it was natural for them to be excited.
Besides, the reason I dropped the fuel was to avoid a lecture from Bella-san and cold stares from Ines’ father and brother, as well as to secure Ines’ justification for becoming a slave, so it was understandable that she deserved it.
As for me, I’m just afraid that they will be disappointed by the consequences of their too-high expectations.
“So, have you set the schedule?”
“Yes, starting the day after tomorrow, for four days. Everyone’s vacation time has been arranged. Are you sure it will be okay?”
Ines. Don’t look so worried; I’m not going to pretend it didn’t happen.
But how could they arrange four days off, even though they had already done some of the groundwork? Also, it is a very sudden vacation, starting the day after tomorrow. I hope they are not doing anything reckless…
“I understand. It sounds like they’re expecting a lot, and it’s best to invite them as soon as possible. Can we meet at 8 in front of the Lutto?”
Having arranged the time off with considerable enthusiasm, they would be annoyed if we were halfway there and late.
“Thank you. I’ll go tell them.”
“What, now? Can’t you go tomorrow?”
Inez said, “That’s not going to happen,” and left the room with a sad look on her face. I felt a little sorry for her.
Oh, I’m sure there will be enough food for Carla-san the day after tomorrow. Carla-san has been begging me to give her sweets. She was looking forward to it, so it’s a bit disappointing.