KKM Novel 8, Chapter 9
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However, the children who had never seen a boat before never mind a naval ship were dancing wildly and running around the deck causing trouble for the sailors and adults around them.
Take these children back to the ship and treat them nicely until I get back. I want to take them to a land that shinzoku live in after the tournament. After telling them this, the quiet ocean brothers nodded in acknowledgment. When we returned with our victory spoils after the tournament, the high speed boat had been taken over by the children and the Dugald brothers were worn out and haggard as they muttered to me with fed up looks on their faces.
I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.
After being told that, the Dugald brothers hung their heads, crestfallen, but the spirit of men of the sea prevailed. After a while, the shinzoku boys were helping out as apprentice crew and the girls learned the recipe for Man of the Sea Stew. At this rate the boys and girls will be nice and suntanned by the time they get where they’re going.
There were even ships of Great Demon Kingdom origin.
“It’s the Voltaire banner!” He had been acting more adult than I had been, but all of a sudden the act crumbled and he was smiling joyfully. “Older Brother’s ship came!”
However, after calming down and thinking for a moment, I come to realize a frightening truth. If even Lord von Voltaire has come, who is taking care of the kingdom? I doubt this is the case, but is it that person by himself? I’m repeating myself, but is it that person by himself!?
Imagining the worst case scenario, I started to feel sick.
Upon hearing that Murata and I would be riding on his pride and joy, ‘Friend of the Sea,’ Captain Sizemore left in high spirits to prepare his warship. Wolfram, having no reason to hide, was heading out to the Voltaire warship to meet his brother. Dacascos hit it off with the Plainsmen and was regaling them with details about living with a wife which he described as priceless. The single soldiers who had fought for a straight 25 years seemed to be quite jealous of his married life.
They were so impressed that they said they wanted to make their unit’s famous camp food, ‘Jellyfish Hotpot.’ I thought it was an excellent way to have some cultural communication, but sadly the high speed ship was extremely fast and we arrived at Caloria before they could make their meal. Because of that, now there was only a giant drum can left in the ship’s galley and the Plainsmen that we needed had already disembarked. If I get the chance to taste Jellyfish Hotpot someday, I’ll think of Commander Mountain Range and Mishy Terrine.
It doesn’t seem very amusing.
He lifted his head up in reflex and unknitted his fingers that were clasped in front of his chest.
“Don’t go ‘Oh, Shibuya.’ You haven’t left the ship yet?”
What does he mean ‘a lot of trouble’ when there’s someone like me who wants to leave but can’t?
“That’s to be expected. This is a swords and magic world, after all. There aren’t any red foxes or green tanuki here,” said Murata. (1)
Murata was laughing, but he seemed distracted. Is he worried about something? He ends up just putting tea leaves in a large cup and directly pouring hot water on top of them. If I poured a cup of tea like that, Günter would faint.
“Huh?”
“Oh, I was just thinking that when you go back to the Great Demon Kingdom, things will definitely get complicated.”
It will be a sight worth seeing how bewildered the people who made such a huge deal over me will be. Günter in particular with his black hair and eye fetish will probably faint just by looking at Murata.
“That’s rude. Don’t treat me like a tsuchinoko. At the very least make me a hibagon. It can walk on two legs and, even better, it’s smarter than ASIMO.” (3)
Glancing at the corner of the room, I saw the giant drum left out. It’s really quite big. The drum was placed directly onto the floor and it still reaches up to my chest. I step over and run my hands along the thick, smooth metal and look inside.
“The soup stock? The stock isn’t made from jellyfish, then? Oh well, we might as well have a taste.”
“Ugh, can’t reach… ah… ah… achoo!”
The sneeze had sent a piercing pain throughout my nose. Tears cloud my vision and I press against my eyes and nose.
Forcing my hurting eyes open with all my might, amazingly I saw a small fish inside the drum. Judging from its size, somehow it seems to be the fish I was forced to drink in Shimaron.
“Eeee… No wonder it hurt.”
“… It turned into bones.”
“It’s swimming!”
Even though it was entirely bones, the goldfish was swimming smoothly inside the drum. It was even more nimble and speedy than when it had flesh. I’ve never seen a show like this. What’s going on with my stomach?
“Wh-what’s that?”
“Huh, what!? C-catch it?”
“Yes, I g-”
“M-Murata! Pull me up! Please pull me up! … mph!”
I thought it would come sooner or later, but I didn’t think it would come with this timing. I didn’t think it wouldn’t be through the ocean or a lake but a giant drum, either. I also didn’t think that I would master the art of regurgi-… uegh.
Murata’s voice is steadily getting farther away as I’m rapidly sucked through the water. This is a route I’ve travelled many times before so I’m not going to panic. In this situation, I should relax and enjoy the scenery. Before my eyes is a happily swimming fish skeleton.
After this, it’s just the first Star Tours in a while.
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(2) Two parts here. The ‘Great Sake’ joke here is pretty much just that. Yuuri says ‘daiginjou /大吟醸’ which is top-quality sake. It sounds a little similar to Great Sage ‘daikenja /大賢者’ The second part is the tsuchinoko which is a mythical, snake-like creature that is sometimes said to like alcohol and speak – although they lie a lot. The tsuchinoko might be compared to bigfoot in that people are constantly looking for it and some towns have annual tsuchinoko hunts with cash prizes if anyone can bring one in.
(4) A goemon bathtub is a bath that’s usually in the shape of a cauldron and is heated from below. It has a wooden lid floating on top that doubles as protection for feet on the bottom of the tub so when bathers get in, they stand on the lid and push it to the bottom. Incidentally, it’s called a goemon bath because a man named Goemon Ishikawa was boiled to death in one.
The backs of my eyelids burn from being in white light for too long.
Ah, summer. And the ocean.
Although, I do understand that I have come back.
“I ended up coming back before we met. We really do have horrible compatibility.”
Thick fingers cover my nose and mouth and my head is tilted backwards. Before I even have a chance to ask what’s going on, tense muscles touch my chest… muscles…
All the nerves in my body suddenly wake up and sweat gushes out of all of my pores. Using both of my arms and my entire body, I throw off the young man in a speedo hanging over me.
“Uhyaa, that was close!”
“You two, no matter how close you are if the friend who jumped in to save the other ends up drowning too there’s no point. More importantly, just what are you wearing to swim in the ocean? Clothes that absorb water and get heavy will simply bind up your arms and legs.”
“When you go into the ocean, both men and women should wear skintight bikinis. That’s the ironclad rule, okay? Ironclad.”
“Where are the college girls?” Ken Murata asks the lifeguard with a sigh, leaning against a boulder exhausted.
“Yeah…”
“Honestly, this is cruel,” Murata says as he moves to my side after a long time of staying motionless. “It’s like we drowned for those girls.”
“Shibuya.”
“What, the skeleton fish?”
Right at that moment, an explosive sound reverberated in the air and a puff of white smoke rose up. A group of young kids genuinely enjoying summer were setting off fireworks in the middle of the day.
“Oh that’s right, Shibuya. Tonight is the tourism bureau’s firework festival.”
“No I’m not! I’m going to help with the dishes. Let’s get it done quickly so we can watch the fireworks with some girls in yukata.”
“The fireworks are beautiful. I’ll show you my secret spot. If you watch from there, it’s like the stars are falling out of the sky. Okay? You have to rest your soul and refill your MP while your fiancé isn’t around.”
“I could also introduce you to someone who’s the same type as your recent ex, you know.” He pokes me in the side with his wet elbow. “How about that platinum blonde girl staying in the Muskmelon Hall?”
I loved my friend so much I couldn’t stop laughing.
I have friends in the other world and a friend in this world who knows that.