Read Novel Full Vol 14 Chapter 12
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Chapter 12 – Too Short For One’s Belt, Too Long For One’s Sleeve
We arrived in the Aquamarine Kingdom and discussed the pioneering plan with Flora-san after Bella-san. Some tricky issues came to light, such as the lack of adventurers on land, but I want to do something about it with the help of money.
“We’re finally setting sail. Master, we’re leaving early!”
Ines is very excited. It had been five days since the meeting with Flora-san, and she seemed to want to release the stress that had built up during that time as soon as possible.
Well, that’s understandable. For the past five days, someone from Ines’ family had been visiting the Lutto every day, and she had been under a lot of psychological pressure.
It was the worst with Bella-san, but it was not without pressure from her father, Carlo-san, and her younger brother, Dario-kun.
Especially from Dario-kun, who would ask her, “Onee-san, are you okay? Are you making trouble for everyone?” I felt sorry for him when he asked me to take care of his sister.
I know she deserved it, but it must have been hard to live in a place you can’t escape from and have your family worry about you every day.
“Fufu, it wasn’t as hard as it was for Ines, but I would also like to get some exercise. Wataru, let’s leave early.”
Alessia-san and the others seemed to agree with Ines.
Is it too much to ask?
It seems that the attention on us hasn’t worn off yet, and since we’ve been holed up on the Lutto with minimal trips to the city, even the active Alessia-san and the others must be feeling stressed.
It seems that big news is hard to forget since there is not as much information available as in modern Japan.
I didn’t mind living on a small ship with beautiful women, playing with Rimu and the others and Pent.
…I can’t help it as far as the number of people is concerned, but the Lutto is small, and… I’ve become extravagant as well.
“Okay. Then let’s set sail. Felicia, please steer the ship.”
“I understand.”
Felicia went to the flight deck. The reason I did not entrust Ines, who wanted to leave early, to steer the ship was because I was afraid she would lose control under the stress. It would be unfortunate if the sunken city were damaged.
“Wataru, the supplies are okay, right?”
As we set sail and basked in the sea breeze while looking at the sunken city, Dorothea-san spoke to me.
She was the second-in-command of the follow-up team, so I guess she would be worried about this part.
“Yes, Flora-san has taken care of it, so it’s not a problem. She prepared so much that it was almost too much.”
“I see. Well, if Wataru doesn’t have enough, you can always go out to sea and get it.”
Dorothea-san smiles shyly. But it’s not that bad.
It is true that I can get by, but most of the supplies I have collected are for use at the base.
It would be a bit sensitive to distribute goods from a ferry or a luxury liner to a place that will be used by the inhabitants of this world, even if only by us. It would be awkward to have otherworldly goods flooding into a pioneer area.
The day after the meeting with Flora-san, supplies began to pile up in the warehouse.
Sneaking out in the middle of the night to collect these supplies was my only outing for the past five days, and since I brought them back by rubber boat every day, it was quite a lot.
Thanks to Flora-san for helping us get the warehouse, supplies, and everything else around so that we could move everything in secret.
Good job to Flora-san and me for making a contract with the God of Commerce-sama.
＊＊＊
“Master, we have arrived.”
After my conversation with Dorothea-san, I returned to the ship and was relaxing when Felicia called me to tell me of the arrival.
I went out of the cabin and checked the land.
…I knew that, but there was really nothing there. It is indeed an undeveloped area.
“Hmm, I knew from the data that it would be difficult to anchor the ferry because of the shallow water.
I took my eyes off the land and looked into the sea. The clarity of the sea is so high that you can see all the way to the bottom. It is shallow.
It’s not like the sunken city stretches out in front of you like the royal capital, so even if we wanted to do something about it, it would be difficult to build a ferry port from scratch in the time available. Is this a problem that should be addressed after a village is built?
If a ferry could be placed off the coast of the development area, it would have been easy to use it as a base and develop it all at once, even if Ship Disguise was required, but it doesn’t seem to work that way.
“Felicia, can you steer the ship along the land?”
“Understood.”
“Alessia and Inez, please check along the shore as well.”
“We don’t see anything.”
After checking the coastline of the pioneer land, we started exchanging opinions, and then Alessia-san made an opening remark that was quite blunt.
I don’t know how she felt, but please don’t look disappointed. There will be no undiscovered ruins or dungeons. Or rather, it would be a problem if there were.
In case you’ve forgotten, we came here to look for a potential location for a pioneer base, right?
“I don’t know about the forest, but the plains aren’t in the shadow of any monsters.”
If Marina-san, a scout, says so, I can trust her. It’s easy to cultivate the plains if there are no monsters, right?
“If you want to cultivate, you should cultivate on the plains, right?”
“It is easy to cultivate on the plains, but it is difficult to cultivate fields when the sea wind blows directly at them, and there is no water. In that case, it would be better to build a base half a day’s walk from the sea or even in the forest where the stream is closer to the plain.”
Ilma-san compares my questions with the data and the location and gives me her opinion. As expected from Ilma-san, she is not only sexy, but also an intellectual. Her opinions are very convincing.
“The Aquamarine Kingdom is an island with many fishmen, so I think it would be better to build a base by the sea for trading. Anyway, we need a port.”
Dorothea-san’s opinion is also reasonable. Especially at the beginning of the pioneering period, food was scarce, so transportation by ship and the blessings of the sea were very important.
Ilma-san, Dorothea-san, what are you going to do? I don’t like people looking at me.
“Is there a place that is suitable for a harbor and close to a waterhole? And if we could grow some crops, that would be great.”
“If there was such a convenient place, I think this country would have developed it by now.”
That’s true. I think Ilma-san is right, too. It hurts that the only stream is on the ocean side, in the middle of the forest.
“The place where the stream flows into the ocean is in the forest, so we would have to cut it open to make a port. For starters, I wonder how far the water in the stream can withstand farming.”
Hmm, Dorothea-san is right. I also checked the stream that flows into the sea from the Lutto, but the width of the stream is not more than 3 meters, and it has the atmosphere of an irrigation canal made a little larger. Large-scale agriculture seems difficult.
As expected of an undeveloped area, it is hard to do anything halfway. I guess “short on the belt, long on the sleeve” is what they use for this kind of situation.
What about logging? I’m sure they won’t be offended if we don’t cut down the forest unnecessarily, but as someone who has a crush on the Goddess of the Forest-sama, it’s an action I’d rather avoid.
“…For now, we can’t do anything without water, so let’s start with the place Ilma-san chose as a temporary base.”
If it’s on flat land by the forest and closest to the stream, wouldn’t it be possible to dig a canal out of the forest? The well… Let’s let the people who live there decide for themselves.
But considering the food problem, I think it would be hard to walk half a day from the sea. We can handle it, but if more than a hundred people get together, they’re going to starve, aren’t they? Can we manage with the blessings of the forest?
…At worst, we can manage with massive food aid like the dark elf village.
“Master, what about the harbor? As Dorothea said, ports are important in this land, right?”
“We’ll build a port later. A city, or maybe two villages?”
I have money! So let’s build both.
“Wataru, shouldn’t we build the harbor first?”
Dorothea-san tilted her head and asked me why the back first. When you understand that the port is so important, why? I guess. I completely understand the feeling, but it’s hard to make a decision.
“I’ve thought about it too, but I can’t decide where to put the port. What would be easier and more convenient, to cut through the forest and build a harbor in the forest or to build a harbor on level ground by carving a channel out of a stream?”
This is too much of a problem for a beginner.
“Master. It is difficult to expand the port in the forest, and it is also difficult to build a road through the forest. Wouldn’t a waterway be easier? After all, as a follower of the Goddess of the Forest-sama, I would like to keep the forest in its original state as much as possible.”
So Felicia belongs to the waterway group. I don’t want the Goddess of the Forest-sama to hate me, so that’s my opinion.
“Waterways are difficult to create and difficult to manage, aren’t they?”
That’s right. Ilma-san is right; it takes a lot of time and effort to maintain the slope and the water.
“…I can’t decide which is better, so I’m thinking of building it first, starting with the village in the back.”
They all agreed with my postponement.
It’s not that they were convinced, but it’s just a little sad that they’re used to me postponing difficult decisions, and they feel that Wataru would have done the same. I am sorry for my indecision.
Anyway, I don’t think I can make the decision on my own, so I’ll ask Flora-san to gather expert opinions even after we return to the royal capital.
“…So let’s check out the destination first, shall we? There might be some inconvenience if we go there.”
Even though we’re talking here, it’s just a theoretical discussion. Most of all, I want to escape from this delicate atmosphere.
We bring the Lutto to the shore.
Well, it looks like it would be nice to get to our destination… The weather is nice, and we can feel the wind on the Add, but… there are only three summoning slots left on the ship after returning the Lutto, so a two-seater amphibious buggy would not be able to accommodate all of us.
Let’s wait until we’ve explored the area around our destination for the Add to come out, and that’s where the Ranger comes in.
The amphibious bus is cool, but it is rarely used, so I would like it to play an active role at times like this.
“Ara, it’s been a long time. Has it been that long since that time on Earth Dragon?”
Alessia-san’s eyes narrowed in nostalgia. It’s been a while, but not that long.
“It’s a good, strong child that can withstand the attacks of the Earth Dragon.”
Carla-san patted the Ranger in praise. As a Shielder, she might have some feelings about it.
But the sturdiness is due to the indestructible skill, and I think a normal bus would be dented by the Earth Dragon’s attack. Well, I won’t tell her, but…
“Well then, please board the Ranger as it is about to leave.”
I’m a little excited because it’s been a while since I’ve driven. If it’s only half a day’s walk, would a bus get us there pretty quickly?