Read Novel Full Vol 12 Chapter 22
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(18/18)
Chapter 22 – In the Sea
For me, the awkward but wonderful incident with Alessia-san has been resolved except in my brain, as we both chose the mature solution of pretending it never happened. Now that the dinner with Her Majesty the Queen and others has begun, I think my brain is ready to settle down.
“Well, before dinner, I want to introduce you to this girl. She is the first princess, Adalicia. Please take good care of her as well as Annemarie.”
“I look forward to working with you, Wataru-sama.”
“Y-yes, I look forward to working with you. As I told Her Majesty the Queen, I am not a very important person myself, so I would appreciate it if you would treat me… somewhat… normally.”
Princess Adalicia bowed deeply, so I stood up quickly and replied. It’s an attitude that puts me on a higher level, no matter how you look at it. The authority of the Creator God-sama and the Sea God-sama is too strong for me.
Hmm, wasn’t it strange to say, “Treat me like a normal person” when dealing with the first princess? But it’s also strange to ask a princess to treat me like that, isn’t it?
It’s enough to be treated like a slightly superior guest, but I have no idea what words to use for the royal family.
Princess Adalicia is also a beautiful woman. Her hair is the color of the deep sea, almost the same navy blue as the Queen’s; her skin is pure white, and her eyes are clear blue. She is very beautiful.
Unfortunately, she is a bit young. She looks about the age of a high school girl. It is indeed a crime against high school girls, isn’t it?
Huh? But I was a college student, and I am still in college even though I am over 20 years old. If it’s a college student and a high school girl, I think I’m just about… out.
Well, dating a mermaid princess would be too much of a fantasy, no matter how fantastic it is. Just thinking about it makes my stomach tingle, so this fantasy is dangerous.
“Well, let’s start dinner.”
Oops, it looks like dinner is about to start. As soon as Her Majesty the Queen gave the signal, many dishes were brought to the table.
Fish, shrimp, crab, shellfish, seaweed, hmm, it’s a lot of seafood. But there seems to be a lot of seafood I have never seen before, even in a port city. Is that the cuisine of the Mermaid Kingdom?
“In the Mermaid Kingdom, meat and vegetables from the land are appreciated as hospitality, but since Wataru-sama is a human being, we have tried to offer an assortment of seafood. I hope you will enjoy the traditional taste of the deep sea, which is difficult for humans to reach.”
I see; it is true that there would be few surprises if imported ingredients from the land were served.
When I hear the words “deep-sea delicacies,” I imagine grotesque seafood, but many of the seafood served here are beautiful, as if they take care of their appearance. I can’t wait to try them.
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I was looking forward to it…
When dinner was over, I lay down on the bed in the guest room to which I had been shown, and recalled the dinner, which had been a little confusing.
Her Majesty the Queen was very tactful and enlivened the occasion, and Princess Adalicia and Princess Annemarie listened to our conversation with curiosity and amusement, so it was a very nice dinner.
Princess Adalicia was also interested in Rimu and the others, and she let Rimu and the others eat the food with their hands, which Rimu and the others enjoyed.
However, the food was… delicious.
Torokel-like* fish, plump shrimp, and crab legs so thick you couldn’t fit them in your mouth even if you opened your big mouth. The seafood was deep and rich as if stuffed with the delicacies of the sea. [T/n: I don’t really understand about this kind of fish (トロケル).
But… it is basically salty.
There is a combination of seaweed and broth made from shellfish and crustaceans, but there is very little variation in taste.
I can understand that it is delicately seasoned and skillfully prepared.
However, the fact that it is mainly seafood makes my heart long for soy sauce. I want to pour soy sauce over the grilled fish. I want to eat the tender fish in a pot like a monkfish hot pot with ponzu sauce.
Now, if you are obsessed with seafood, it may be inevitable that the salty taste will come to the fore. They call it a traditional flavor, so I guess they don’t use much land products either.
As expected, it would be impolite to use my own seasonings at the Queen’s dinner, so I will buy all the ingredients when I leave this country. The God of Gastronomy-sama and Claretta-san will be pleased.
And while we’re at it, shall we offer the Mermaid Kingdom a variety of things from my food supply? Like trade… no good. It would indeed be difficult to visit the Mermaid Kingdom over and over again.
…Whether Princess Annemarie stays on Dark Elf Island or not, trading with Dark Elf Island as a relay point is… too far away from Dark Elf Island and the Mermaid Kingdom.
You can’t give them spices halfway if you can’t trade with them continuously. If they don’t like the taste, that’s it, and if they like it but can’t get it, it’s almost like harassment.
Unless I come up with a great idea, I’ll just put it on hold.
“Master, aren’t you going to rest?”
Felicia calls out to me while I am in a daze, thinking about dinner. Felicia looks at me strangely, and it seems that I’ve been in a daze for quite a while.
“I was just thinking. I’m going to bed.”
“Hey, hey, Master, since this is our chance, let’s sleep in the room downstairs. I’d like to sleep in the sea.”
Ines joined the conversation between Felicia and me.
Unlike the restrooms, the guest rooms had beds upstairs and downstairs. Obviously, Ines wanted to sleep in the underwater room below.
Sleeping underwater sounded interesting, and I was a little curious about it. Although I was curious, I was a bit nervous when I heard the maid’s anxious talk about it.
“Ines, didn’t you hear what the maid said? Aren’t you a little afraid?”
“Oh, you mean about the person who, not being used to wearing jewelry, accidentally took it off while sleeping and almost drowned?”
“Yes.”
It seems to be an incident that happened a long time ago when interaction with other people was very active, but since I am also someone who is not used to wearing jewelry, I cannot deny the possibility that I might take it off out of discomfort.
It is a common experience for me to unconsciously take off my clothes at night when I have trouble sleeping. Suddenly drowning in my sleep is just a horror, isn’t it?
“As long as the holy treasure doesn’t come off, I should be fine, so why don’t I just tie a piece of string or something around it?
I see. I see? Unfortunately, I think that Ines, who looks very pleased with this, will feel even more uncomfortable and will accidentally remove the string from her finger because it is tied to her finger.
“Hmm…”
There is a way to make Ines sleep underwater, but I think that would be bad for my good name as a man.
“As long as you wrap it carefully, it’ll be fine. Right, Master? Besides, if you drown, you will wake up immediately, and it will be possible to put the sacred treasure back on and swim to the surface. In Master’s case, you’ll be able to summon a ship, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
…Actually, that’s true. There is the problem of whether or not you can find the holy treasure you took away in your sleep, but if I know how to summon a ship right away, I think I can handle it.
“I understand. Then let’s sleep downstairs. Is that okay with Felicia?”
“I was curious too, so downstairs is fine.”
“I see. Then let’s go downstairs.”
Felicia is curious, too. I’m a little sad that I’m the only one who puts personal safety ahead of curiosity.
When I went to the dressing room and changed into a mermaid, Rimu and Pent, who were playing in the underwater room, came up to me.
But thanks to Princess Annemarie, Rimu and Pent really got along. Sometimes, Pent gets scared of Rimu, but that will soon pass.
I pet Rimu and Pent as I make my way to my underwater bed. It feels strange to swim to the bed.
I reach the bed and lie down on my back. Ines and Felicia on either side, Rimu on my chest. For some reason, Pent has ducked into the small space under the bed. Maybe he feels more comfortable in the small space.
“It’s still pretty uncomfortable.”
The water vibrates more directly than the air, or maybe you can feel the movement of the water just by Ines and Felicia moving around.
Also, when I lie on my back, my legs in the fish form are strangely unsteady. I wish I had borrowed a sacred treasure that allows underwater activities while in human form.
“Yes. If I move my body a little, it floats up and off the bed. But this is interesting.”
“It’s a strange sensation, but somehow it calms me down. Maybe it’s because I feel surrounded by nature?”
Ines enjoys the feeling of discomfort, and Felicia seems to calm down for some reason. As a dark elf living in the forest, it’s understandable that Felicia likes nature, but isn’t the environment too different between the sea and the forest?
I am very worried if I will be able to sleep.
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…Carpets? Why a carpet?
When I woke up, I somehow slept on the floor. I was worried whether I would be able to sleep or not, but it seems that I slept soundly and easily. My nerves have become much thicker since I came to another world.
“Ah, I fell asleep in the underwater room.”
It seems that I fell out of bed in my sleep. Normally, falling out of bed would wake me up, but since I was underwater, the impact of the fall was probably less.
I looked at the bed and saw only Felicia. Pent is under the bed, but what about Ines and Rimu?
I look around the room and find Ines lying in the corner. She’s quite far away from the bed, but did she just roll over that far in her sleep?
And what about Rimu?
“For some reason, Rimu is floating near the ceiling of the room.”
“Rimu, were you awake?”
…There is no response from Rimu. It seems that he is still in that state of sleep.
After watching Rimu and Ines for a while, I found out something interesting.
When Ines moves her legs in her sleep, her fins scratch the seawater, and Ines’ body moves forward. As for Rimu, when he lies down, he shakes his body in a cutting motion, and the vibrations cause his tail to flicker and float away.
It seems that in seawater, small movements are directly transmitted to the seawater, and even a slightly bad sleeping position can have this kind of result.
When I think about it, Felicia sleeping soundly in her bed is just amazing.
While I was admiring Felicia, there was a knock at my room door. Then I hear the maid’s voice. It seems to be breakfast time.
If I let the maid in now, she will witness Ines’ ugliness.
I’ve learned that sleeping underwater is difficult in many ways, and from tomorrow, I’ll sleep in the upper room as usual. In the meantime, I’ll have to wake everyone up.