Published at 7th of February 2021 04:17:52 PM
Chapter 267
Translator: Kell Editor: Weasalopes
Fishing and Duinkler
Hikaru and the girls, wearing shady masks and hoods, followed Deena out of the room . Some soldiers watched them with great interest, others with disdain, a few baffled .
As for Drake, he was wrapped around Lavia’s neck .
Hikaru checked the passages that were not off-limits and emergency exit routes . They weren’t allowed to see the soldiers’ private rooms, the power room, and the bridge . There was no point in checking the storage room . There were no stalls, and Deena only told them the bare minimum . As such, the tour ended in no time at all .
Hikaru’s party went out to the deck .
「Ah, please stay away from the railings!」Deena warned . 「There are weapons there!」
Not paying any attention to her, Hikaru kept on walking . Waters as far as the eye could see . White clouds . Apart from the other ships sailing parallel to theirs, there was nothing else . Only a world of blue .
「Now that I think about it, this is my first time on a ship like this . 」
Hikaru had been on planes and bullet trains, but never on a cruise ship .
「Might get bored quick . 」
Lavia and Paula roamed about the deck . Lavia, in particular, tried to take a peek of the machines covered in cloth .
「No! Please don’t do that!」Deena yelled .
As Hikaru wandered the deck, he spotted three men in one corner with fishing lines in the water . One of them watched his line eagerly, one was staring blankly into space, resting his chin on his hand, while another lay sprawled on the floor .
Fishing rods with reels… That’s advanced technology right there .
Hikaru wasn’t an expert in fishing, but the anglers he’d seen before—most of them fished at rivers—used more primitive rods, just a pole with a line tied to it . He’d seen rods with reels only once or twice .
It’s deep out here in the open sea . Maybe they need longer lines to get a bite .
Hikaru casually used his Mana Detection at the direction of the water .
Holy cow… There’s a whole lot of them! A large school of fish was swimming about . He even wondered how the soldiers weren’t getting so much as a nibble .
「I see . The hook and bait are not deep enough . Hey, you there . I think you’re fishing in the wrong spot . Drop your line about thirty meters deep . 」
The men were startled when Hikaru called to them, all the more so when they realized the voice came from the masked boy . Unfortunately, they could not understand a word he said . Hikaru searched for Deena, but couldn’t find her .
「Fine, whatever . 」Hikaru muttered . 「Let me try . 」he said to one man as he held out his hand .
Although still baffled, the soldier knew what he wanted and handed his rod over . As Hikaru reeled in the line, he realized the line wasn’t too deep . After confirming that the bait was attached, he dropped the line about thirty meters deep in the water .
「Oh, I got a bite!」
『What?! Who is this guy?!』
『You can actually get fish here?』
『Zzzzzz…』
『You can’t! No one’s got a bite here before!』
『Yeah…』
『Zzzzzz…』
「Hey, help me out here… Wait, what?!」
Hikaru’s rod bent as it became heavy all of a sudden .
「What the?! It’s too heavy!」
『You idiot! Pull the rod up!』
『It’s gonna snap!』
『Zzzzzz…』
Yelling and shouting, they pulled on the rod, and a tuna weighing about five kilos appeared on the surface . One man rushed to get a harpoon and stabbed the fish with it . They successfully got it onboard .
A different fish was in the tuna’s mouth . Apparently it was the one that Hikaru caught at first, but then it got eaten by the tuna .
「This is my first time fishing . It’s actually fun . 」
『You’re amazing! Incredible!』
『I’m bushed from all that running…』
『Zzzzzz…』
『Oh… Getting friendly with the enemy during break time, eh? Perhaps more discipline is needed . 』Duinkler appeared with five soldiers in tow .
『Oh, crap . 』the men said as they ran away .
The sleeping guy, who seemed to be a habitual truant, jerked awake as he sensed danger and hightailed it out of there .
「I, Duinkler . Nice, meet you . 」
It appeared he could speak Hikaru’s language, although broken .
「Likewise . I’m Silver Face . A pleasure, I guess . 」
One of Duinkler’s men looked familiar . He was the guy who went after Deena back when Hikaru snuck onto their ship . The man didn’t know about him, of course .
「Want tea? No interpret . 」
The plump man smiled broadly . This guy is shady as hell, Hikaru thought . There was no doubt that he had an antagonistic relationship with Grucel, as he even ordered his subordinate to go after Deena .
「You think, dangerous . I alone . 」
He wanted to talk privately . After mulling it over, Hikaru accepted his invitation . They still had plenty of time left in their voyage .
「Okay . Let’s go . 」
Compared to the others, there wasn’t anything noteworthy in Duinkler’s Soul Board . He excelled in fighting and had a high Soul rank . That was all . Yet he said he was the person in charge of this ship, and the crew seemed to be obedient to him .
When Hikaru told the girls he was going to talk to Duinkler, Deena turned pale .
「I’ll go with you . 」she said .
「He said we’ll talk privately . 」
Sponsored Content
「But I’m your interpreter!」
Deena insisted to go, but a word from Duinkler and she reluctantly backed down .
『It’s a private conversation, Deena . It does not concern you . 』
Deena’s expression was a mix of frustration and helplessness . This confirmed Hikaru’s theory that Grucel and Duinkler were from opposing parties .
Duinkler led Hikaru to what was most likely his room . Smaller than the guest room, the cloak and hat hanging by the wall and desk all looked like luxury items .
As the plump man promised, there were only two of them here . As such Duinkler himself prepared tea .
「Oh…」
The tea he served was fragrant, similar to a roasted green tea .
「This is good tea . 」
「Can tell?」
「It’s fragrant and flavorful . Even though we live in different continents, it seems our tastes are still the same . 」
Duinkler nodded in satisfaction . Hikaru could tell after talking with the man for a bit . While he couldn’t speak well, he could understand fine .
「You invited me here for a reason, right?」
「You wary . 」
「Why wouldn’t I be? We’re in enemy territory with only the three of us . Of course I’d be cautious . 」
「You destroy ship alone . 」
Surely with that much power, there’s nothing to be afraid of was what he was saying .
「What would happen to us if I destroyed this ship? I don’t even know if my weapon will work against the sea monsters . 」
「Ah, yes . You can’t kill monsters here . 」
「Can you?」
Sponsored Content
「No . The route we take, no monsters . 」
Hikaru was shocked . Duinkler just revealed their secret like it was nothing .
The man smiled . 「Important matter . Will be straightforward . 」
I guess he’s saying he’ll be open about everything .
「So you found a route with no sea monsters? And you have to take a long detour that’s why the trip takes long . 」
「Mostly right . The route still has monsters, but we drive away . 」
「You can repel them? How? With magic items?」
「Yes . 」
「Not with heavy artillery?」
「Artillery? Oh, the blast cannon?」
「A tube that shoots shells using gunpowder . 」
「Yes, blast cannon . We not use them . Not work . 」
They didn’t kill monsters, but instead drove them away . According to Duinkler, they managed to create a magic item that repelled a specific kind of monster . They then found a route inhabited only by these monsters .
「Let’s go back to my question . Why did you invite me for tea?」
「First, exchange information . Have many things I want know . 」
「Same here . 」
「Then we share same interest . Let’s talk . 」
「Anything else? You said “first” . 」
Duinkler was in a good mood all the while .
「After exchange information . If I find you trustworthy, I tell you . That be best . 」