Read Novel Full Vol 13 Chapter 5
Thanks toTbird90677 for the Ko-Fi and this chapter! Join our Patreon to get more chapters~
(10/24)
Chapter 5 – Ancient Turtle
The mermaids, including Princess Annemarie, Alessia-san, and the others, went underwater to find a place where the mermaids could have a base of operations. Meanwhile, I was trying to relax on the ship when Ines negotiated with me not to use Ines’ mother as a punishment. But I fought her off with sheer determination. I feel that I have grown as a man lately.
But even though I have grown, I have only gone from being extremely weak against women to being quite weak against women.
That is why I am afraid of Ines, who has a kind of predatory aura, and I want everyone to come back as soon as possible.
“I-Ines, would you like something to drink? A beer would be nice.”
“Ara? Master will prepare it for me? Just tell me what you want to drink, and I’ll get it for you, you know?”
“No, I have to go to the bathroom. I’ll get it while I’m at it.”
If that were true, I’d just want to lock myself in my room, but I know exactly what’s going on. I know that predators will come after me if I run away…
“Right. I’ll take your word for it and ask for a beer. I’ll take the golden one.”
“Okay.”
…Whew. Ines’ aura scares me, but it’s hard to complain because she only smiles on the surface.
Well, Ines is the kind of person whose emotions don’t last long and are back to normal tomorrow. The biggest problem is that it’s just the two of us in the room tonight.
It would be pitiful to call Felicia back, who is at home taking care of her parents, so I have to take some steps now to prepare for tonight. Otherwise, the night will be frightening.
As I told Ines, I finished using the bathroom and opened the fridge in the kitchen.
The contents of the rather large refrigerator are only beverages and are filled with my favorites of the various drinks available on ferries and luxury liners. Most of the drinks are alcoholic, which gives me a good idea of my fellow passengers’ tastes.
So, Ines says she wants the golden beer, and I wonder what I’m going to drink. I’m planning to dive as soon as the base is decided, so I should probably avoid alcohol, but I’m in the mood for a drink, and I don’t mind at least one bottle.
After all, there are no drinking regulations for mermaids. I’ll also prepare Ines’ favorite snack, salami.
This is not to ingratiate myself with Ines. It is a necessary step to protect my own spirit.
“Here you go, Ines.”
“Thank you, Master.”
I give Ines a can of beer and set the table with Ines’ favorite snacks. Yes, it’s good. Ines’ predator aura has relaxed.
I drink a lemon-flavored shochu while Ines drinks her can of beer. The lemon flavor is perfect for me right now because I’m in the mood for a refreshing drink.
“Wataru-sama! We found a good place!”
As we chatted for what seemed like a long time, I heard a long-awaited voice from outside the ship.
I quickly approached the edge of the ship and looked out to sea to see Princess Annemarie waving to me with a big smile on her face. Pent is wrapped around her, and Rimu is on her head, but is she all right?
Well, she’s smiling, so I guess she’s okay. Princess Annemarie is surrounded by mermaids, Alessia-san, and the others.
They’re all together, which means they’ve all gathered once to check out the place and come back. They don’t seem to have any intention of coming to the ship, and they seem to want to lead me straight to it.
“Ines, let’s go.”
I ask Ines to turn into a mermaid and jump into the sea. I was so excited to be with everyone else that I felt a release of mental pressure.
“Wataru-sama, this way!”
I swam over to Princess Annemarie and started swimming underwater. It seems that she wants to show off the location of the base as soon as possible. She was like a child… Princess Annemarie is a child, though.
Guided by Princess Annemarie, we swam in the waters of Dark Elf Island.
The crystal clear sea and the colorful seabed are unique to the tropics. I stayed on the ship because I wanted to relax, but it would have been better if I had accompanied them on their exploration of the base from the beginning. The sea is so beautiful that it is hard to take your eyes off it.
“Wataru-sama. Here it is!”
It was less than 10 minutes after we started swimming. Princess Annemarie proudly told me about a place that was one, maybe two steps deeper than the rest of the seafloor.
If it’s only 10 minutes from the ship anchored near the beach, it’s near the dark elf village, which isn’t bad, but it’s… ordinary.
The seabed is rocky and flat over a large area, so it looks like it would be easy to build, but it doesn’t look like a great environment compared to other places, does it?
Oh, is it good that the whole area around here is deeply hollowed out, unlike other places I’ve seen so far? Maybe mermaids are more comfortable in deeper water.
Huh? I don’t remember rocky areas on the ocean floor being this flat. There is some seaweed, but it looks unnaturally flat. The gouges are beautiful, and I wondered if they had been touched by human hands.
“Um, may I ask why you chose this place?”
“Yes! Because this was the territory of the Ancient Turtle!”
No, I don’t understand what you mean when you brag about that…
“Huh? Didn’t Wataru-sama know about the Ancient Turtle? Alessia-san and the others knew about it…”
Princess Annemarie asks curiously, perhaps because she didn’t get the reaction she was expecting.
It has the word turtle on it. Is it a famous turtle? An ancient turtle? It sounds strong.
“Fufu. Even high-ranking adventurers hardly know about it, so it’s no wonder that Wataru doesn’t know about it. The only reason we knew about it was because we happened to be involved in it.”
Alessia-san adds with a wry smile. Ines doesn’t seem to know either, and that must be a rare occurrence.
“Is that so? It’s famous among mermaids, but not on land, huh?”
Princess Annemarie was sad that she couldn’t share her surprise, or maybe she was just a little disappointed. I’m sorry about that.
“Let’s see, this Ancient Turtle? How can it be a good place to live in a place that was once the territory of the Ancient Turtle?”
I mean, that’s in the past tense, so the Ancient Turtle is no longer here, right?
“The Ancient Turtle is a huge monster, but it is usually mild-mannered and cowardly in nature.”
It was a monster. A giant turtle, so should I think of it as being like Gamera? It is said to be mild-mannered and timid, but when it gets angry, it seems to be so strong that it is considered dangerous.
Ah, because the giant turtle used this area as its home, the obstacles were destroyed by its migration, and the rocky terrain in this area was leveled. It destroys the environment, but for a species that builds its home in the sea, it might be a useful monster in a way.
“Since this was the territory of the cowardly Ancient Turtle, does that mean this place is safe?”
I plan to use the Sea God’s sacred treasure to prevent anyone from entering the island, and I think most of the place will be safe, right?
“That’s one of the reasons we plan to build our dwellings here, but it’s not the only reason. This whole area is the entrance and exit for the Ancient Turtle. The Ancient Turtle’s residence is right in front of us. Let’s go there.
Ahead? There’s just a cliff in the direction Princess Annemarie is pointing… No, there’s a huge hole in the cliff.
Maybe that hole is the main reason why she chose this place as her residence.
As expected, Princess Annemarie swims towards the hole, and we follow her so that we don’t fall behind.
Even from a distance, I thought it was a big hole, but when we got closer, it seemed even bigger. Two large vehicles could fit in there side by side.
Oh, we have to go inside. It looks like a cave. The entrance is a bit big, but it looks like it could be a pirate’s hidden treasure. Well, it’s in the sea, so it’s probably impossible for humans to get in.
Come to think of it, the cave must be pitch dark inside, although it looks normal because I’m transformed into a mermaid.
There is a slight slope in the cave, and it seems to go up gradually. Hmm? Is that the sea level? It seems to have risen to the same level as the water outside.
“Whoa!”
“Fufu… Wataru-sama. Were you surprised?”
“No, I think everyone would be surprised.”
My heart was pounding.
“We did it!”
Princess Annemarie and Alessia-san high-fived each other. It was as if to say that the surprise had been a great success. When had they become so close?
“Fufu… I knew you’d be surprised.”
Ilma-san was probably looking forward to it as well, and she was happy to see my surprised face. I’m sure Alessia-san and Ilma-san are a bad influence on Princess Annemarie. I will tell Lea-san about this later.
The other members are just as guilty, but Dorothea-san and Claretta-san look apologetic, so I guess there are some extenuating circumstances. I think they were pulled over by Alessia-san and Ilma-san.
Marina-san is… playing with Fuu-chan, and I’m not sure. She doesn’t seem interested; maybe she’s holding out?
“It’s okay. I was surprised, too.”
Carla-san tapped me on the shoulder and nodded her head with a serious face. She’s probably consoling me, so she’s not guilty?
Ines was surprised by me, so we’re comrades. I’m tickling Alessia-san to get back at her for surprising me but do it more. And let’s not forget Ilma-san.
My racing heart finally calmed down as I thought about the nonsense.
Whew… I could see the surface of the sea, and I’d heard that it was a giant turtle dwelling, so I expected a wide open space up there. But…
“The Ancient Turtle… is dead, isn’t it?”
I didn’t expect to be greeted with the skeleton of a giant turtle when I left the surface of the sea, you know? It’s not going to start walking around like the undead, is it?
Oh, I guess it was past tense that it was a dwelling because they saw this carcass.
“Yes, it is definitely dead. The shell of the Ancient Turtle is incredibly tough, so we plan to clean it up inside and use it as a meeting place and plaza!”
“I-I see…”
…That’s a nice idea! Can I say that? As someone who has personally come face to face with a skeleton, it looks uncomfortable…
“It’s a big space, by the way. Did the Ancient Turtle build it? Will it collapse? Besides, it’s dead, but wasn’t it killed?”
“It’s okay. Ancient Turtles have a habit of building a safe place to sleep and barring an accident, they will die in their beds. I’ve never heard of any collapsed dwellings, although they are occasionally found in the ocean.”
“Isn’t that just because no collapsed dwellings have been found?”
Is this place safe? I’m extremely nervous.
“No, they dig a hole with their huge bodies, push down the walls with their huge bodies, and then coat them with the ingredients that make up the shell. It would be harder to collapse the wall as it is. But if you roast it over a fire, the coating will come off, so you have to be careful there.”
If it doesn’t catch fire, it’s safe.
“Depending on the distance to the ground, we might be able to connect this place to the ground and make it a place to communicate with the dark elves. We must do our research!”
Princess Annemarie, it seems, is already thinking of various plans. She is very reliable for a young girl…