Read Novel Full Vol 23 Chapter 20
Vol 23 Chapter 20
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Chapter 20 – Blind Spot
When I returned to Lucca, I found that Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, and Ilma-san were experiencing withdrawal symptoms from Earth’s culture after being left behind. To earn their favor, I took them out to the open sea right away to entertain them. However, I forgot to tell them about Saporabi’s consciousness liberation, and I stumbled at the very beginning.
“I see. Well, we have time, so let’s put the king’s reception on hold for now and think about the southern continent. Wataru’s sudden request means it’s probably something we should prioritize, even if we don’t know the details.”
Alessia-san began to speak seriously on the sofa in the Lutto.
The only people present were me, Ines, Felicia, and all of the Girasole. Camille-san was also there.
The familiar group was playing on the deck, by the way.
“Yes, it’s not that we don’t have time, but there are other matters that need to be taken care of before entertaining the king.”
Neither Alessia-san nor Camille-san asked any detailed questions about the request, and their suggestion to postpone entertaining the king implies that they know who made the request. Well, even if it’s only a small blessing, it’s still a blessing.
Carla-san even reported that there was something delicious to eat.
However, even though everyone understands that it’s a god’s request, I think it’s wise to remain cautious and not say anything. We can be a little more open with each other, but we should still be cautious.
In this world, even the slightest blessing can cause a commotion. Therefore, it is better to be cautious than to invite trouble, even if our caution is unnecessary.
It would be easier if it were an isolated place, like Dark Elf Island or the Mermaid Kingdom.
The mermaid royalty talks directly to the Sea God-sama, and the dark elves have seen letters from the Goddess of the Forest-sama.
Alessia-san and the others are aware of the situation, so they are probably more cautious to avoid accidentally revealing information outside our group.
Despite their caution, five days have passed since they joined us.
During that time, they have enjoyed Earth’s culture to the fullest.
They rode luxury liners and ferries, ate monjayaki, and went speeding around on the Galette and diving on the Egg. Of course, they also ate, drank, and enjoyed sweets.
They also communicated with the Saporabis, whose consciousness was liberated. I think they had five fulfilling days.
I had plenty of time, so I kindly watched over them.
However, I did turn down their request to play on a flying yacht. That would be dangerous in the open sea.
Now that they’re satisfied, we’ve returned to Lucca, where a meeting has been arranged.
Maybe they’re looking so serious because they realized it was wrong to spend five days playing around when I had a request from God.
They probably felt relieved when I said it wasn’t that I didn’t have time.
There’s no need to worry so much, but I’ll keep it a secret because they’ll cooperate better that way.
“I see. Are you making preparations while we’re resting?”
Alessia-san finds it difficult to admit that she was playing, so she changes her words to “resting” and turns her face toward Camille-san.
She knows I’ve been slacking off on my work. I suppose that’s to be expected after spending five days relaxing with Alessia-san and the others.
But Alessia-san and the others were so cute during those five days!
“Yes, I’ve already spoken with Lucca and Cagliari. We loaded a considerable amount of goods in the Southern City, so we should have enough to take to the southern continent.”
Camille-san said confidently.
While we were busy camping and cooking meals in the Southern City, Camille-san made various arrangements. The two ferries I own are now fully loaded, including the parking spaces.
She is planning to gather more supplies in this country and fill the unused spaces on the ferries and luxury liners to transport them; even the empty spaces in the rooms are packed tightly.
If the ship wasn’t designed to stay afloat, it would probably sink under the weight of all that cargo. Buying a transport ship would be even more impressive, but that would mean a huge increase in work, so I’m keeping that idea to myself.
I told her it wasn’t necessary to go that far. I got the impression that the God of Commerce-sama would be satisfied with a certain amount of supplies.
The role is to provide the water to fill the barrels, so I think transporting enough supplies to prevent the trade network in the southern continent from collapsing would be sufficient.
I explained this to her, but she said, “It’s not that we can’t make a profit, right? I don’t intend to make excessive profits, but I don’t see any reason to give up profits when there’s such an obvious business opportunity in the form of a supply shortage.”
Well, that’s true.
In this case, it’s not a matter of charity or rescue; it’s strictly a business matter.
I feel sorry for the people caught up in the war. However, I think God intends for the people living in that country or on that continent to solve the disasters that occur there. Therefore, it’s not our place to step in and help.
Alessia-san and the others would help people in need if they encountered them, but that’s within their personal discretion.
I can’t do it. I might want to help if I saw people in need, but seeing a place ravaged by war is scary enough that I’d definitely hide on the ship. Wait, I remember we needed an interpreter on the other continent. Ines and Felicia learned basic greetings and everyday conversation, but not enough to do business.
Am I going to be dragged into this?
No, no, no—I don’t want that! I’m just an ordinary, cowardly person. I can handle normal business negotiations, but doing business in a war-torn country is too scary for me.
I’m an interpreter, but I want to choose the time and place. When it comes to business, I’m in charge, and I take pride in my work, so I’ll do my best. I’ll try my best, even if I’m scared. However, I couldn’t handle rescuing people who’ve been victimized.
Especially if I see children suffering. Yes, I would definitely mess up.
I messed up with the children at the orphanage, and I ended up making it like a fortress. If I were to witness a more tragic scene, I couldn’t imagine what I’d do.
I’m faced with an unexpected dilemma. As I think about it, it seems that Camille-san and Alessia-san are discussing something.
We have to take action now. It’s best to nip the danger in the bud.
“Excuse me, how many people here understand the language of the southern continent?”
Silence falls over the room.
“That’s right. I can understand some written text, but conversation is difficult. Donatella is probably similar. We overlooked the fundamental problem.”
Camille-san mutters, her expression serious. She had been assigned to stay here for the king’s reception, and Donatella-san had been chosen to accompany us.
We planned to meet her when we received the supplies in Cagliari.
“I understand a little bit.”
Even among Girasole, only Ilma-san had a slight understanding of it. Had I not noticed, it would have caused serious issues with my work.
Learning the language was difficult in the Western continent, but doing so in a disaster area would be a whole other level of difficulty.
“Camille-san, could you prepare some language-learning materials for the southern continent? If possible, I’d like to start with something simple, like sentences.”
“Yes, the southern continent is connected to us through trade, albeit small. I should be able to prepare some materials.”
That’s good. Unlike the western continent, which was completely cut off from the rest of the world and unknown, the southern continent is connected to us through the pepper trade, so it seems we can obtain materials there.
Then we’ll be fine.
We’re not leaving right away, and the voyage will take some time.
It’s not enough time to learn a language, of course, but we have Ilma-san.
Just as she did with the Western Continent, she will be able to master the language quickly.
If the other members focus on specific fields, they won’t need much interpretation from me.
It’ll probably be enough to learn basic greetings, everyday conversation, and words that might be necessary in the disaster area.
“Then, please make the arrangements as soon as possible. Also, we were supposed to meet in Cagliari, but could we meet with Donatella-san earlier? I’ll send someone to pick her up.”
It shouldn’t take long to get to Cagliari on the Galette. We need to get her to focus on her studies as soon as possible, or I’ll have a lot more work to do when I arrive.
“Yes, I suppose so… The handover has already started. If we leave the collection of supplies to Mauro, we should be able to meet up.”
That means more work for Mauro-san.
I don’t want to push an elderly person too hard, but he’s energetic and in good shape, so I’m sure he’ll be fine.
“Then, please make the arrangements. The sooner, the better. Felicia, could you deliver Camille-san’s letter with the Galette?
“Leave it to me.”
Felicia likes driving the ship, so it will be a nice change of pace for her.
Ines and the other boat-driving enthusiasts look eager to go, too.
“We’ll need to go back and forth between Cagliari a few times, so please take turns.”
That was all I needed to say; they started deciding the order right away. They’re definitely planning to race.
They’ll probably try a time trial between Lucca and Cagliari.
“Wataru, I have some documents from the southern continent. Would you help me study them?”
While I was thinking about how busy I was going to be, Ilma-san approached me with a seductive smile.
I was supposed to focus on reviewing the documents from Saporabi and the Western Continent, but Ilma-san is so curious that she’s borderline crazy. She couldn’t possibly be uninterested in the southern continent, even if the connection is tenuous.
She already seems to have learned the language to some extent on her own, so she’ll probably master it faster than she did the language of the western continent.
Studying with Ilma-san, whose curiosity is so evident, will be difficult, but…
“Yes, I’ll help you as much as I can, so let’s do our best.”
It’s hard to resist lust. I understand it’s hard, but when I’m alone with her in a closed room and she shows her innocent side and unguarded behavior, which she doesn’t usually display, I can’t resist.
I’ll probably regret it sometimes.
For now, though, I’ll do my best to prepare so that I can seclude myself when we go to the southern continent.
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