Chapter 107 - The Conflict Over Marmie and the Voyage to the Sandbar
The temperature was rising, and the mist had cleared considerably.
As our visibility improved, the riverbanks came into view, revealing a sprawling, tree-covered forest.
The rest of the Levante members gathered on deck.
"I knew it! Mizuki's getting special treatment again!" Maira declared, wasting no time.
"Hold on, Maira, you're a holy woman! Do you seriously want to wear something this embarrassing in front of everyone?"
"Embarrassing…?! You're the one who told me to wear it!" Mizuki snapped.
"…In any case, Mizuki is the only one who needs to wear something embarrassing."
"And why is that?!"
She's so loud. I pulled Mizuki into a hug.
"Gyaah!"
Mizuki shrieked, struggling against me with both hands, trying to push me away. This was a genuine, full-force rejection. What happened to her clinging to me just a little while ago, telling me not to let her go? Deeply wounded, I took advantage of the chaos to give her chest a firm squeeze.
Mizuki glared at me, her eyes slightly teary.
Watching us, Maira pouted.
"I'm still not convinced. Once we get to Heilong, we're all going shopping for swimsuits."
"I doubt we'll have another chance to wear them, though."
Given that Avea wore bikini armor, I figured swimsuits must be sold in this world. I wondered how they were made.
"Hmm?"
Maira was now silently pressuring me with her stare.
"…Er, never mind," I muttered.
I noticed Fam standing silently, looking at me as if she wanted to say something.
"What's wrong, Fam?"
"Master, it's about Moe."
Right, she still hadn't come out on deck. She was supposed to stand here and play a part in being the decoy. Even if the pirates didn't know Marmie's face, they wouldn't just ignore a ship with an elven girl aboard.
"What about her?"
"What do you plan to do with Moe, Master?"
"Nothing in particular."
She fell silent at my words. Her question was vague and hard to understand, and my answer was clearly not what she wanted to hear.
"Are you worried about her saying she'd become mine? She's just a kid. I'm not going to make a move on her."
"But, Master… isn't that childish look what you like? I did it, so did Hyakka… and Mizuki went completely smooth, too."
Fam had just sent the conversation careening in a wild direction. Caught in the crossfire, Mizuki hunched over, covering her crotch with her hands.
"Hold on, Fam. Let's talk about this somewhere private, just the two of us!"
I tried to lead Fam away, but Maira grabbed my boomerang briefs, nearly exposing everything.
"Eek! How embarrassing! What do you think you're doing?!" I protested to Maira in a campy shriek.
"Please continue your conversation here."
Maira pointed a finger at the deck and smiled sweetly. My joke hadn't landed. There was no escape.
Cecily and Aira, who had been staying out of the conversation, looked bored. I gave my briefs a little tug, flashing them just a tiny bit.
""So small.""
Their simultaneous murmur dealt a deep wound to my soul.
"…Consider Moe's status. Her behavior is so disarming it's easy to forget, but she's still the daughter of a noble. The daughter of the city's ruler, at that. Things are not going to go the way she wants."
Pulling myself together, I restarted the conversation, trying my best to steer it away from my personal preferences.
"But if things stay as they are, she'll be forced to marry her fiancé."
"You said you were going to talk to her. Did Marmie say she didn't want the marriage?"
"We haven't spoken about it since then."
Fam shook her head. Even if it was an arranged marriage, it didn't seem like a problem if Marmie herself wasn't against it.
"She said that regardless of her own feelings, she could solve the problem with magic that controls her fiancé's mind."
"…"
Now that I thought about it, perhaps her seemingly reckless behavior was born from a deep sense of resignation.
I wondered what Wake and Patricia thought. They served House Starunion, not her personally, so perhaps they didn't give her personal feelings much thought.
"You want to do something about it, don't you?"
"…Master, I'll handle things with Moe myself."
Her reply felt off. She must have started this conversation because she wanted to rely on me.
"This isn't just her problem, so it might be difficult for you to do anything, Fam. If Moe really hates the idea, the quickest way would be to summon Racshell in front of her parents. We'll have Racshell declare something random like, 'I forbid this engagement! Marry her off and you'll face my wrath!' to get it called off."
She might not tell us anything about this world, but I was sure Racshell would cooperate with this. It wouldn't work on other transferees, but for the residents of this world, it would be devastatingly effective. As I was thinking this, I noticed Maira giving me an indescribable look.
"To treat Lady Racshell so casually…"
I decided to ignore Maira's comment. Racshell treats Mizuki and me pretty casually, so it's fine.
"Come to think of it, this plan has a lot of potential. Whenever I find a girl I like, I can just summon Racshell and have her deliver a divine revelation. I could have almost any woman in this world…"
It was such a brilliant flash of insight that I accidentally said it out loud.
"If you ever do something like that, we are through!"
Mizuki glared at me. We had just embraced and promised to always be together, and now, before the words had even cooled, she was threatening to break up with me. Not wanting her to hate me, I decided to seal away this particular strategy.
I turned back to Fam. She seemed not to have heard my blunder, her expression still dark as she continued to ponder.
"Is there still something wrong?"
"Moe looks down on you, Master."
"No need to worry about that. From her position as a noble, that's probably normal, right?"
"I don't like it."
Fam shook her head.
"Fam, you know this, but you'll regret judging someone based on only one side of them. She's your friend."
"I know. It's not just one thing. There are many things I like about her, and a few things I don't. It's the same way I feel about you, Master."
I stroked her ear. The soft, smooth texture was pure bliss.
"I don't have any friends, so I can't say it well, but I think people are precious because they think differently than you do."
"Yes."
From here on, this was something she had to resolve on her own. I hoped the two of them could remain friends forever.
Just then, Marmie appeared on deck, along with Patricia and Wake.
Marmie saw Fam and raised both her hands.
"Moo."
"Moo."
Fam raised her hands in response. They both shared a shy, bashful smile.
Watching the two of them exchange their peaceful greeting, I wondered what Fam had been so worried about just moments ago.
Marmie walked over, stopping a few paces from us.
Then, she gave a little tug to the hem of her dress.
"…Good morning."
"Morning."
To counter, I returned the gesture by tugging on both sides of my boomerang briefs.
"…Patricia."
At Marmie's call, Patricia strode up to me and bowed her head crisply.
"Pardon me."
Her voice was immediately followed by a fist to my head. It hurt. I clutched my skull.
Battle preparations were beginning on deck.
Fixed shields and crossbows were brought up from the hold and lined up along the rails. Ballistae were being set up on the bow and stern. I wondered about their power and accuracy.
Marmie took my hand. Then she pressed up against me, standing right at my side.
I could have sworn I saw veins pop on the foreheads of my party members.
"Moe, that's my spot. Please move away from Master," Fam said.
Marmie paid her no mind, simply looking up at me. I was just a suspicious character in nothing but a pair of boomerang briefs, yet neither Patricia nor her other retainers tried to stop her.
"…You're going to protect me today, right?"
"No, that's Wake's job, isn't it?"
I glanced over at him, but he just shrugged.
"…What do you think his Divine Blessing is?" Marmie asked.
Last night, he had definitely been about to use his special skill. Or perhaps he had used it, which was why he stopped the fight the moment I realized it.
"Who knows? I'm not even sure if Wake intended to win last night's match."
"…Wake's Divine Blessing allows him to see a few moments into the future. He can act on that knowledge to change what's to come."
"Hey! You should keep that a secret. Why are you telling me something like that?"
So that's what happened. With his special skill, Wake had foreseen that his all-out attack would be stopped by Mizuki. For him, who only wanted to gauge our strength, learning that outcome was enough.
But why was she so casually revealing his most secret ability to us?
"…It's obvious. I told you I would become yours. So…"
"That's not happening. Moe, you're a kid. And you're a noble's daughter, right? Sorry, but I don't want anything to do with the aristocratic society you live in."
A slightly triumphant smile touched Moe's lips.
"…My birthday is August 1st. I'll be an adult then. And I'm going to be an adventurer with you."
So this world had a calendar. I pulled out my phone. If it was synced with my original world, her birthday was in five days.
"Do you have any siblings?"
"…No. Children are rare among the elven race."
If she was an only child, then it was even more impossible. The freedom she desired was not hers to have.
"Not gonna happen. Besides, my party is the six of us here. No matter what, we'll get through it with these six."
"…Then I'll have Wake assassinate a few of them in the night."
Marmie had started saying some dangerous things. Given the current members, wouldn't I be the target?
"Hey, stop it. Besides, Fam is angry about you saying you'd become mine."
"In the first place, Moe said she was starting at a magic academy in September. She was bragging about being accepted as the top student," Fam cut in.
"…I'm not going. I'm going to travel with you and Fam, Mash."
With that, Marmie knelt down and settled into a formal seiza posture.
"…I'll sit here until Fam forgives me."
"I'm… not angry. The decision is up to Master."
A considerable amount of time passed before Fam answered. Throughout it all, Marmie didn't break her posture.
"…Really? So that means you'll allow me to become your companion."
Marmie tried to stand, but her legs were numb and she couldn't get up. She grabbed my arm and staggered to her feet.
"…By the way, Fam is always so clean, not a speck of dirt on her. The rest of Levante, too. How do you all manage it without a bath?"
Marmie asked. Did she have a bath at her house? I yearned for a long, relaxing soak in a tub.
"That's because we wash ourselves with magic."
Either at night or in the morning, Cecily and I use magic to clean everyone. At my words, her eyes widened.
"…With magic? I want you to teach me how you do it."
"Then you should ask Cecily."
"Huh? Me? Mash, you can just teach her."
"Don't say that. You're better at it than me now."
I turned back to Marmie.
"Have her teach you."
"…Okay."
Upon hearing my words, she gave Cecily a polite bow. Cecily scratched the top of her hat, looking troubled, but began to explain. I hoped the two mages would get along. I watched Marmie listen intently to Cecily's explanation, her long ears perked.
Even so, there was nothing aristocratic about Marmie's behavior. Was she really the daughter of one of the so-called Four Ruling Houses? Maybe she was a body double? She lacked any noble air; in fact, Fam seemed more like a young lady from a good family. Or perhaps the nobles of this world were different from what I imagined. As I watched Marmie with these thoughts, Patricia approached me.
"Lord Mash, Lady Moe was raised with me, a commoner, serving as her handmaiden and playmate… As I grew older, I learned a little about the affairs of the house, but Lady Moe has always been rather free-spirited… fundamentally, she's only interested in magic."
She said it with some hesitation. Just then, Cecily was giving Marmie a practical demonstration by washing Aira. Marmie was actively asking Cecily questions.
"By the way, does that tulip really grow out of your head?"
"Eh? Yes, I'm from the Flower-Kin. But my flower only blooms in the spring, so I'm wearing an artificial one for formal attire. The only real one blooming right now is the one that opened yesterday."
"…I see." I had no idea what he saw, but I nodded anyway. "By the way, formal attire?"
"Yes. I heard that you were the transferee sent by Lady Racshell."
So she'd dressed up with an artificial flower just for me.
"You don't need to call me 'Lord' or be so formal."
"Understood. In that case, please just call me Patricia."
Patricia smiled.
It was then that the mist finally cleared, and the view opened up far into the distance. I could see the river ahead of us splitting into two channels. The landmass in the middle was the sandbar, the supposed base of the pirates.
It was a large island, with a hill about fifty meters high. A dense forest of trees covered the hill, making it a good place to hide people and ships. Near the summit, a patch of rocky cliff face was visible. From there, one would have a clear view of any ships sailing the river.
"Master."
Fam stared at the sandbar with a tense expression. Had she seen someone? I'd heard that dogs have weaker eyesight than humans, but what about the dog-eared race? I recalled how she'd been able to identify medicinal herbs from a distance at the castle in the mountains.
The members of Levante drew closer to me, their faces all uniformly tense.
"No matter what, we all survive."
My comrades nodded at my words.
Thank you for reading. To everyone who has liked, bookmarked, and rated this story, thank you so much. It encourages me to keep going. I'll do my best.