Read Novel Full Vol 13 Chapter 6
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(11/24)
Chapter 6 – Tired of Earning from Wasted Labor?
Princess Annemarie, who had discovered what was supposed to be the mermaid’s base of operations, led us to a place where we found the carcass of a giant turtle monster, the Ancient Turtle…I know you can make weapons and armor out of monster materials, but what about using the carapace of the carcass as a meeting place?
“Well… now that we have a place, what’s next?”
I look away from the giant turtle skull and ask Princess Annemarie what to do next. Let’s not worry about Rimu and the others who have already landed and are playing with the skull.
Oh, Pent, don’t get your face out of the eye area. It’s pretty gross.
“Right… Lea, what should we do?”
Princess Annemarie was a little worried, then asked Lea-san’s opinion with her head tilted. She was so childish that I felt comfortable in this kind of situation.
“That’s right. I agree with the idea of making this place a meeting place for all dark elves, but we can’t be in Wataru-sama’s care forever, so shouldn’t our first priority be to build our own residence?”
It’s not that I’m bound by time, but while the mermaids don’t have their residence, the ship’s summoning slots are down by one, so it would be more helpful if it could be taken care of as soon as possible.
“That’s also true. Then let’s build our residence!”
Mm! Princess Annemarie clenches her fists and shows her enthusiasm. She seems to be in a good mood.
“…Even if you say we’re going to build a residence, what do we have to do?”
Princess Annemarie, who is excited, asks Lea-san with her head tilted back.
Well, that’s right. Even though she is royalty, she is still a loli, and it is only natural that she has not accumulated knowledge of architectural matters.
“Fortunately, Wataru-sama will stock up on building materials, so in the meantime, we need to plan how to build the town and deepen our interaction with the dark elves at the same time. If we can still afford it, would it be the destruction of the bones of the Ancient Turtle?”
“I see. I understand.”
“Oh? The bones of the Ancient Turtle should have sold for a pretty good price. Are you going to destroy them?”
Alessia-san, who had been listening to the conversation while Princess Annemarie was being convinced, joined in with a surprised look on her face. It seems that the bones will be sold.
“Is that so? In the Mermaid Kingdom, they are discarded as unwieldy and useless, you know?”
This time, Lea-san was surprised.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It is true that it is as strong as metal, but its use is limited because of its buoyancy. It is not that there are no uses for it, but if we have to go through the trouble of processing the bones, we will use other materials.”
“…It’s valuable on land because it’s somewhat light and as strong as metal, but I wonder if the sea and land have different values? Sometimes, when bones wash up on shore, there’s a lot of excitement…”
I see, in the ocean, they must have some weight. Otherwise, they would float to the surface, so it is natural.
Even if it is made into weapons or armor, it would be difficult to fight if it is constantly pulled upward by the buoyancy.
On the other hand, light and strong materials would be very popular on land.
However, the strong buoyancy of bone is also disconcerting. On Earth, bones usually sink, right? Has the buoyancy of the bones been enhanced so that the giant bodies can float? Fantasy worlds are full of wonders, aren’t they?
“It seems so. Perhaps we should report this to Her Majesty the Queen. At the very least, it seems we need to discuss our values with the dark elves.”
You threw away the bones, didn’t you? The bones that sometimes wash up are probably discarded by the mermaids.
“Then why don’t you clean up the bones first? Some of the bones can be given to the dark elves, and the rest can be given to Wataru, who will sell them to finance the construction.”
“That would be very helpful. Wataru-sama, may I ask you to do this?”
“Huh? Oh, yes. It’s all right. I’ll sell the bones and buy all the necessary materials.”
I had been listening to Alessia-san and Lea-san’s conversation as if it were something else, so I was a little surprised when they asked me.
Well, I can ask Camille-san to help me sell them. And while we’re at it, let’s talk about Sea Serpent’s large inventory.
As for construction materials… the price of materials around Lucca may not have settled down yet, and it would be better to ask the guildmaster in the Southern City. In the meantime, it would be more efficient for me to visit Camille-san.
“Thank you. Shall we retrieve the bones of the Ancient Turtle first?”
The cleaning of the Ancient Turtle has started in a hurry. I have a feeling that it’s going to be quite a task.
“Huh? No bones…?”
After undoing the mermaid’s transformation, I went to the cave and peered inside the shell while illuminating the surroundings with a ball of light, and found a space different from what I had imagined.
Bones at the base of the neck and limbs? Those parts are still inside, but there are no other parts. Where are the spine and ribs? Don’t turtles have them? Huh?
I’m grateful that the flesh and organs are completely weathered and don’t smell bad. But… it’s strange for a creature to have no backbone, isn’t it? Huh? Is it an invertebrate? …I’m kind of confused. Turtles should have bones.
“Why is there no bone in the body if the skull and hand bones are well preserved? Did something eat them away?”
No. What kind of creature would eat bones as hard as metal? Could it be that this place is dangerous?
“Fufu, Wataru-sama. The shell is the bone. That’s why there are no bones inside.”
Lea-san told me with a little chuckle.
This is a shocking fact. The turtle’s shell is bone, and there are no bones inside.
Hmm? I don’t think I remember hearing something like that in a science class or something. I’m not sure, though; my memory is too hazy.
But, well, I’m glad I don’t have to be too embarrassed because everyone except the mermaids was just as surprised as I was.
Alessia-san and the others knew about the Ancient Turtle, but they didn’t know that its shell was made of bones.
“So all you have to do is take the bones from the head, neck, limbs, and tail?”
“Yes, that would be all.”
If there were only a few bones to carry, I should be happy because it would be easier, but it is strange because if there were only a few bones to carry, I would feel like I was losing money.
Well, I have a lot of money to spare, so let’s be honest and be happy about how easy it is.
＊＊＊
“It wasn’t easy at all!”
“Wataru. Don’t scream suddenly, or you’ll scare people.”
Carla-san scolded me. It’s unusual, or rather, it’s the first time, and I’m more shocked than I thought.
But Carla-san was so cute, her cute little bear ears twitching and making an angry face.
“I’m sorry, Carla-san. It was harder to transport the skull than I thought…”
“It’s Carla, not Carla-san. Don’t make a mistake.”
Come to think of it, I did. But when I’m tired or don’t have time, I call her by what I’m used to, right? Well, I apologize.
When I apologized for not calling her Carla, she nodded in satisfaction and forgave me.
Carla-san has big breasts, and she has the style of a supermodel. Normally, I would have thought she was a beautiful woman first, but her gestures were so cute that it was really relaxing.
But it was hard work.
I had plenty of time before I had to carry the bones out. It’s easy to summon a rubber boat when I need a rope and don’t have to hide the Ship Summoning. Come to think of it, when am I going to invite all the dark elves to the luxury liner? What a time to think.
When I lifted the skull, well, it was kind of heavy. Does it have a strong buoyancy? There was room to wonder what it was all about.
When I floated the skull on the surface of the sea, I had a bad feeling when I saw that the skull, which should have been so heavy, was floating around without sinking much.
We may be a little short on numbers, but let’s do our best! When Princess Annemarie called me, I had a bad feeling.
Twenty people were supposed to pull the skulls due to a combination of the number and length of ropes and swimming space. Twenty people, still not enough? I wondered what that meant.
Before I had time to resolve my doubts, Princess Annemarie gave the order for the pulling to begin. We wagged our tails as hard as we could and pulled on the rope as hard as we could, but our bodies moved only slightly forward.
Is the Ancient Turtle’s buoyancy a monster? I thought.
With the help of the male mermaids, we managed to pull the skull down into the cave and place it on the ceiling.
I deeply regretted that I had volunteered to do the hauling since I was a man and had to help with the heavy lifting.
After the break, we pulled the skull to scrape the ceiling of the cave. It is hard to pull it down because it is downhill to the exit. I bitterly resented the Ancient Turtle for building such a dwelling.
Swimming at full power while carrying a heavy load. The repetition of the strenuous exercise, which I suspect even professional swimmers don’t do, made me want to ask Ines and Alessia-san, who were watching nearby, to take my place. But I was afraid of what would happen later, so I managed to hold back.
Both the mermaid’s tail and the arm pulling the rope seemed to cramp.
Finally, we broke through the cave and were pulled by a skull that climbed through the water at a tremendous speed and finally reached the surface. I screamed with a sense of accomplishment, and Carla-san got mad at me.
“Whew! We’re only carrying the skull. I heard that the other bones are easier than the skull, but it’s still hard work…”
I should tell them that my stomach hurts.
“Hey, Master. Do you have a minute?”
“Hmm? I don’t mind, but my arms and tail are cramping up, so please don’t make me move.”
Come to think of it, my tail is cramping up. What will happen when I turn back into a human? … I wonder if my legs will be in trouble?
“You know, on the way in, I realized that since there was a large space, we could have summoned the Hideaway and loaded the bones onto it without going through all the trouble of transporting them, couldn’t we?”
…You should have told me sooner, I thought.
“Don’t stare at me with a dark look on your face; it scares me. It can’t be helped; we were in a cave when I realized it.
Everything is an experience, right? I was able to experience the buoyancy of the Ancient Turtle firsthand. It was a good experience.
“…Can you really believe that?”
I yelled, and Carla-san told me not to yell out of the blue. I’m sorry.
Anyway, I explained the situation to the male mermaids, who were praising each other for their hardship and apologized for causing them pointless hardship.
Then, poof, we’ll take the bones aboard the Hideaway and have a banquet to apologize. Let’s give them a lot to drink and make it all go away. It would kill two birds with one stone and put Ines in a good mood!