kscans

Chapter 37 - Practice and Accepted Feelings

I got to work on the beach.

First, I positioned the magic stone on the underside of the surfboard, near the tail. Then, I used Matter Conversion on some nearby rocks to create an iron ring and set the magic stone in the center. I had already converted the tail section of the board to iron, so I fused the two pieces together. Normally, you’d have to weld it, but objects converted with my skill could be blended like clay. The finished product looked like a car’s muffler or a rocket nozzle.

To test it, I got on the board on the sand and channeled magic downward. The magic stone reacted, and a gust of wind blew out. The experiment was a success. All that was left was to get in the water and practice. I finished changing. I was wearing a pair of trunk-style swim shorts and swimming goggles. The women saw me and let out a small shriek, turning their backs.

Why? I wondered.

"Dude," Bardos said, looking exasperated, "if you walk around dressed like that, people are going to mistake you for a pervert."

I was reminded once again that swimsuits didn't exist in this world. But I had nothing else to wear in the sea, so I picked up my board and waded into the water. I paddled out like I’d seen on TV until I reached a decent depth, then stood up on the board.

My balance was fine. I channeled magic into the stone. A gust of wind pushed me forward. I started off slowly, and though I was a bit wobbly, I managed to keep my balance.

Next, I tried to pick up speed. The board wobbled violently, and I spectacularly wiped out. I took a dive into the sea but managed not to drown. As I was underwater, however, I saw something.

I decided what I would make for dinner tonight. I dove back under the water and grabbed some kelp. With it in hand, I returned to shore.

"What’s that weed?" Tina asked. "Are you going to use it for something?"

Apparently, she didn’t know what kelp was.

I told her I would use it to season our meal and set the kelp out to dry. The weather was clear, a perfect day for it. I went back into the sea to practice. I failed over and over, but I didn't give up. I kept at it, and slowly, I started to get the hang of it.

When I started to get hungry, I returned to shore to make lunch. The kelp wasn't dry yet, so I used my fire magic to speed up the process. I made two iron pots, filled them with water, and set them over the bonfire to boil. In one of them, I put some clam-like shellfish I found on the beach. Tina and the others said these were edible but unpopular because they were often gritty with sand. But I knew how to get them to spit out the sand.

First, I scrubbed the shells together in seawater. Then, I put them in a pot with a small amount of fifty-degree water, just enough to barely cover them, and let them sit for about ten minutes. When I took the shells out, there was a layer of sand at the bottom of the pot. The clams had spat it all out. I discarded that water, refilled the pot, and then boiled the clams until their shells opened.

In the other pot, I made a dashi broth with the kelp, removing it after two minutes. I then added a miso ball and stirred until it dissolved completely. While that simmered, I checked on the other pot and saw the shells had opened. I took them out, shucked them, and added the meat to the miso pot, letting it simmer until the flavor soaked in. As a final touch, I chopped up some leek-like herbs I found growing in the forest and added them.

An Earth dish, Fukagawa-nabe, was complete.

I made iron bowls for everyone and ladled out the soup. They watched me eat with an iron spoon before starting themselves. The taste was excellent.

The group’s reactions were positive.

"It’s so light. I could eat bowl after bowl of this."

"It’s easy to drink. And the clams aren’t gritty, so they’re easy to eat."

"This is good. A perfectly satisfying meal."

"Delicious."

"Mhm."

It was quite a hit.

After we finished eating, I was about to resume my practice when Bardos spoke up.

"Hey, is there a way for me to fight on the sea? I feel bad leaving you to fight all by yourself, Shinsuke."

I appreciated the sentiment, but there was only one board. To fight, he’d have to be on a boat, which limited him to ranged attacks—not his strong suit. The only way to give his great axe a ranged attack was to use one of the four pieces of the Wind Magic Stone.

The power of a magic stone depends on its size. A palm-sized one, when fully charged, can produce a significant amount of wind. I once tested it on a discarded five-ton truck at a junkyard on Earth, and it sent the truck flying with ease. I fled without cleaning up.

That’s why I had split it into four smaller, more controllable pieces. I had Bardos lend me his great axe and fused a piece of the stone to the center of the axe flat, using the same method as with the board. I made an iron ring, set the stone inside, and fused it to the axe. I handed the finished weapon back to Bardos. He focused his magic into the great axe, cloaking it in wind, and then swung it horizontally. A blade of wind shot out, leaving a long gash in the sand.

"This is incredible!" Bardos exclaimed. "With this, I can attack from a boat. Thanks a lot!"

He slapped me on the back with a grin.

I coughed a little but was glad he was happy. Now, all that was left was to build a boat. With no ships in the harbor, I had no choice but to make one myself. Building one from wood would be time-consuming and I couldn’t guarantee its safety. So, I decided to make an iron boat. I used Matter Conversion to create a large piece of iron, big enough for several people, shaped it like a boat with a hollow hull, covered the top with an iron deck, and built a railing so no one would fall off.

This should give it enough buoyancy to float. Sure enough, when I put it in the water, it floated. Bardos got in, and it didn’t sink. The experiment was a success. To move it, we just needed to row with iron oars from the back. That worked too. Bardos was satisfied. All that remained was my own training.

I somehow managed to master moving on the board with wind power. As expected, learning with my body was the fastest way. I zipped across the surface of the sea, practicing attacks with my lightning and fire magic. Attacking while moving... it made me think of a shooting game.

With all our preparations complete, and the time nearing evening, we headed back to the port town to find an inn. As we were walking through town, I spotted a tool shop. I asked the others to go on ahead and get rooms while I went inside. Being a trade town, it had all sorts of items.

There were even tools and equipment I had never seen in the city. As I was browsing, I found something I had been looking for. The price was reasonable, two silver coins, so I bought it right away.

I left the shop in high spirits. It wouldn’t be useful for the Kraken fight, but I decided I’d use it on the next opportunity.

When I got to the inn, the rooms had already been decided. Leona had suggested we get three rooms. I assumed it would be two women per room, and the two men together. We ate dinner at the inn. The meal consisted of five grilled fish, and nothing else.

It was clear the town was in a dire state.

I went to my room. There were two beds, and I waited for Bardos to arrive. After a while, the door opened, and Tina came in. I asked her if she needed something.

"Hm? Leona told me I was sleeping in this room, so I just came here," Tina said nonchalantly.

What in the world? I thought.

"It seems I made a mistake," I said. "I’ll go find Bardos’s room."

As I stood up to leave, Tina approached me.

"Leona is already headed to Bardos’s room, so it’s no use going there."

Tina said this proudly, puffing out her chest.

I didn’t understand why Leona would go to Bardos’s room, but I had a hunch, so I decided not to think about it.

Tina stood before me.

"Shinsuke, as I’ve said before, I love you. Even if you think you’re not worthy, my feelings won’t change. I don’t like to put it this way, but please, just give in gracefully."

Tina’s face was slightly flushed as she spoke.

Even I knew it would be rude to do nothing after a woman had said so much.

"I just want to confirm one thing," I said. "We’re just going to sleep normally, right?"

"Y-Yes, of course," Tina replied. "I’m not asking you to... do that. But if that’s what you want, Shinsuke, I will accept everything."

Tina’s face was now bright red.

"In that case," I said, "would you be willing to sleep next to me while wearing your armor?"

Tina looked stunned.

"Huh? I understand sleeping with our clothes on, but why with my armor on?"

Steeling myself, I answered her question. "To be honest, I get excited by women in armor. The first time I saw you, I was captivated by how magnificent and beautiful your armor was. I thought I’d only ever be able to admire it from afar, but then you let me see it up close, and even let me touch it as thanks. I’ve never felt such bliss."

"And then, when you told me you loved me, I was truly happy. It was the first time a woman had ever confessed to me. But I don’t want to do that yet. I want to save that for when we have a place to ourselves. For now, just sleeping next to you in that armor would make me happy."

I said this while trying to suppress my excitement.

It was a rather peculiar fetish, but I figured Tina, who didn't know about Earth's erotic manga, wouldn’t understand. Still, I had said something that might make her recoil.

I braced myself to be seen as a weirdo, but when I looked at Tina, she seemed flustered.

"I-I see. So what you found beautiful was just my armor. I’m not sure how to react to that, but... if seeing me in armor excites you, Shinsuke, then that’s fine. If the situation calls for it, I don’t mind doing that while wearing my armor either. The smell is something every armor-wearer gets used to, so no one would mind."

Tina affirmed my proposition in a rush of words, her face blushing furiously.

"I wouldn’t want to get your armor dirty," I said, looking troubled. "In that case, I’ll make a special set of armor just for that, so please wait until then."

Tina, seemingly embarrassed by her own words, hid her face. I pushed the two beds together and lay down. I had taken off my armor and was just in my work clothes. Tina, with a determined look, lay down on the bed next to me, still in her full armor.

I turned off the light, and our night together began. I ran my hands over her armor from top to bottom. Tina, though embarrassed, closed her eyes and accepted it.

That night, I thoroughly explored Tina's body.

As an aside, in Bardos and Leona’s room, Bardos fell asleep peacefully, completely oblivious. Leona couldn’t muster the courage to confess like Tina had and ended up just going to sleep. She had given Tina so much advice but couldn’t do anything herself. Cursing her own inaction, Leona drifted off.

Rumily and Milfy, as always, slept peacefully side-by-side.

Meanwhile, in the deep sea at night.

Ten days had passed since the Kraken had arrived. At first, many ships had been coming and going, so it had sunk them one after another. After a while, a stronger-looking ship had appeared. It was equipped with large ballistae for repelling monsters on both sides, and its crew was armed. Among them were three powerful-looking warriors who were clearly the main force.

The fight against them had been intense. Spears and magic rained down on it like, well, rain, but its body healed and regenerated instantly, so it took no damage. The male swordsman had managed to cut off its tentacles, but it was only a little painful and they regenerated immediately. In the end, it had thrown the crewmen into the sea three at a time and then used its trump card to sink the ship with the remaining three still aboard.

The reason it threw the crewmen into the sea was to show off how much leeway it had.

Who am I even talking to? it wondered, but decided to let it go.

Returning to the story, its strategy had been effective, as they hadn’t come back since. After that, it had spent its days sinking any ships that secretly tried to set sail.

Today, there hadn't been a single ship. If there were no ships tomorrow either, and the humans were just standing around in a daze, it would report to Lord Sea General Daios. Then, it would finally get the merman’s form and power.

It went to sleep, giddy with excitement for tomorrow.