Read Novel Full Vol 13 Chapter 8
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(13/24)
Chapter 8 – Different World Gap
It’s been a few days since my angel saved me from severe muscle pain all over my body. The mermaids I drove into a hangover have also recovered, so the next step in the mermaids’ basic plan is finally underway. I may have let them drink a little too much.
“Now, I would like to decide on the waters of the island. Anyone with an opinion, please speak up.”
We gather at the village chief’s house for a meeting to decide on the use of the Sea God’s sacred treasure. The members are myself, Felicia, Alessia-san, Princess Annemarie, and Lea-san, the village chief and deputy village chief.
The others are relaxing in the village or preparing the mermaid base. Rimu and Pent are very popular with the children of the village.
“Um, Wataru-san. My daughter told me about it, but we don’t use the sea much, so I’ll leave it to Wataru-san and the mermaids. If I could make a request, I would be grateful for a secret ocean current that would allow us to come and go from the island for a short time once a month.
When the meeting began, the village chief immediately threw in a roundabout way. Dark elves don’t show much interest in the sea, as if living in seclusion is in their DNA. They are a race that will surely miss the ship when the Age of Discovery arrives.
“Felicia, are you sure about this? Even if it’s not a problem now that we can easily use the Sea God’s sacred treasure, it has to do with the future coming and going of the islands and the fishing industry, you know? Wouldn’t once a month be too little?”
It’s Felicia, so it’s not like she didn’t explain, but the nonchalant response of the village chief makes me uneasy.
Up until now, they could get out to sea if they wanted to, but it’s not so easy when the ocean currents are being manipulated, you know?
Oh, if it is easy to get out, it should be a simple ocean current… No. If it’s easy to get out, if you accidentally go out, you can’t just come back in and die.
“Dark elves have a slow population growth, and this island is large enough that they can live peacefully far into the future without famine, pestilence, or other problems. This is enough for the dark elves. The once-a-month trips in and out are just a precaution, and I don’t think they use them except in emergencies.
Felicia seems to agree that once a month is fine.
“But besides plague and famine, there could be monster attacks, right? The ocean currents created by the Sea God’s sacred treasure can prevent them from coming from the sea, but it would be dangerous if a large number of monsters attacked from the sky.
If a strong one attacks them, they might not be able to escape once a month, right? Huh? The Village Chief and Deputy Village Chief, Princess Annemarie, and Lea-san are also looking at me with a scowl. Did I say something wrong?
“Um, Master. The sky is the domain of dragons. If you fly individually or in small groups, there is no problem, but if you fly in large groups in the sky, you will incur the wrath of the dragons and be destroyed. Therefore, it is said that “there are no more monsters flying in the sky in large groups.”
By dragons, you mean those expensive material dragons, right? It’s no longer treated as a legend… ah, that’s why Felicia’s explanation sounds like old hearsay.
…I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I can feel the respect that people in this world have for dragons.
And I think people just looked at me blankly because it’s knowledge that everyone should know. Even Princess Annemarie and Lea-san, who live in the sea, seem to know about it, so it seems to be quite a famous story.
This is what I call the different world gap…
“But there are times when strong monsters fly in on their own, and if a dragon or something comes along and you can’t evacuate the island right away, isn’t that a problem?”
Except if you have Ship Summoning protection like I do, you’ll need a way to escape.
“There are places to hide, such as mines, so we can escape even if a dragon comes, although there will be casualties. It’s more dangerous if it’s a human.”
“I see…”
All I can say is that I see. The reason for limiting it to once a month for a short time is to prevent humans from invading in droves if the secret ocean currents are discovered. It is sad to see the depth of people’s karma that they are more afraid of humans than dragons.
The idea of trade has crossed my mind, but under the current circumstances, I don’t think they would even think of trade, let alone carry it out.
I can support them while I’m here, and if the mermaids and dark elves can coexist well, I’m sure there won’t be any problems. Fortunately, the two races seem to get along well.
“So, the dark elves’ request is for a secret stream that can be accessed once a month for a short period of time, is that right?”
“Yes, there is no problem.”
The deputy village chief and Felicia nodded in response to the village chief’s answer, so I guess that’s settled. I need to think about what to do about the secret currents, but first, let’s hear what Princess Annemarie and the others want.
“Princess Annemarie. What do the mermaids want?”
Princess Annemarie looks displeased when her name is called as if she doesn’t like having “princess” added to her name. In case you’re wondering, this can be considered an official place, so please be patient.
It’s a private house that’s just a little bit bigger, and it has the atmosphere of an ordinary family parlor, but it’s an official place. Probably…
“Well, it would be easier to move around if you could surround the island with a wide open space. And I would like to have a gap big enough to make a gate at the bottom of the ocean current closest to the base and about three other places with enough space for a mermaid to pass through. Also, if possible, I would feel safer if the base could also be surrounded by ocean currents.”
I was worried that she seemed a little unhappy, but she seemed to be able to read the atmosphere and answer directly. She may be young, but she is still a princess.
The request is… for one main gate and three back doors. The base is visible, so it would be good to have her tell me on the spot.
“How big is a certain space?”
I can’t imagine how big a mermaid’s room would be, but I know that if I set it up with my own sense as a Japanese commoner, it would definitely be a failure.
“I think it would be just right if you could enclose it about five kilometers away from the island because it would be too big to handle.”
Right? Princess Annemarie confirms this to Lea-san, who nods her head and says, “No problem, well done.
She says it is 5 kilometers. I thought it was like hundreds of meters or something, but the measurements were wrong.
But a mermaid can swim fast, and if the distance is about an hour’s walk for a human, it is not that far… Right?
It would take less than 10 minutes to reach the ocean currents, so let’s say it’s not that wide.
What I’m a little worried about is the environmental change, but the environment changes when new ocean currents are created, no matter how wide they are, so it’s not a new thing.
“I understand. Then let’s use the Sea God’s sacred tools while we inspect the site later.”
It’s a bit big, so it’s better to go around in a circle on the Lutto, right?
“Please do.”
Princess Annemarie nodded her head, and with that, the discussion about isolating the island was over.
It’s funny how setting up a sea area would be a complicated matter on Earth, but in this world, it’s a simple matter.
“Oh, and as you probably heard from Felicia, I’d like to invite all the dark elves to come aboard my ship. I’m thinking three days and two nights for the duration, but when would work for you?”
Just in time, let’s also finalize the plan to invite all the dark elves to the Chris.
“…I’ve heard about Felicia, but I’m having a little trouble imagining it, and I’m a little confused. Why would you need a huge pond to swim in on the boat?”
The village chief looks puzzled as if his thoughts have not caught up with him when it comes to the pool. I don’t think it’s fair that he’s the father of a daughter at his age and the village chief, but it’s not fair that he has a cool, confused look on his face. I envy the dark elf.
“Master. I tried to explain it to him, but it seems that my father can’t imagine that there are many rooms and many entertainment facilities on the ship… I’m sorry.”
“No need for Felicia to apologize.”
So don’t look so sorry.
But is it hard to imagine? …I see. Earth people are used to imagining unknown things through pictures and books, but for people from this world, it might be difficult to even get an idea of what to imagine. This is also a different world gap.
Now, it would be easy to explain to them if I showed them pictures taken with a digital camera or a video camera, but I think it would be a waste to take away their surprise when they board a luxury liner for the first time.
However, if Felicia, who lives on a luxury liner, can’t explain it, I’m not at all confident that I can do it well.
It would be difficult to give a detailed explanation, so I would try to explain it as simply as possible, and if they didn’t understand, I would show them the video.
“Let’s see, to put it simply, it’s like a very spacious ship that all the dark elves can board, and we can have a festival there.”
“Wataru…”
Alessia-san, who had barely participated in the discussion, looked at me with eyes that said, “What about that explanation?
I thought it was pretty easy to understand, but was it not? When I looked at the village chief and the deputy chief, their expressions remained puzzled. It seemed that it was not good enough.
“Alessia-san, please explain.”
If you are looking at me like that, it means that Alessia-san can explain well, right?
“Hah, it can’t be helped. Village Chief… you can think of it as a huge ship with an exotic village on board. Wataru is the village chief there, and he says that everyone is welcome in his village.”
Alessia-san’s explanation is not very different from mine, is it? Okay, I look at Alessia-san with a look that says, “What about that explanation?”
“I see a ship containing a whole village in a foreign land. Well, then, you need water.”
What? Why are you so convinced? It’s not so different from my explanation, is it?
“Yes, it’s an interesting village, and you should all come and visit it.”
The discussion between Alessia-san and the village chief goes on smoothly, oblivious to my dissatisfaction. Is this also a different world gap?
With me out of the way, the discussion continued, and it was decided that since all the dark elves needed to prepare to leave the island, I would stock up on building materials and invite them back when I returned.
I’m glad the discussion ended so easily, but I’m not sure I’m happy about it…