Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Deep Sea Dungeon Conquest (3)
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“Sharp!”
At my shout, the water surface rippled in resonance, and soon a massive wave rose as a gigantic armored shark revealed itself.
That’s right. I’d given this armored shark the name “Sharp.” Why? Because there’s that poem in the textbook. When I called his name, he came to me and became an armored shark... Anyway, it was also a matter of convenience. I couldn’t keep calling him “Hey, you” or “Oi, armored shark!” every time.
In any case, my armored shark Sharp displayed truly outstanding prowess. Stamina, speed, everything. His loyalty was so high that it made my worries seem unfounded, and I no longer had any concerns about the future.
-Splash!
Of course, that was all thanks to this hook camel’s hindquarter meat.
The moment I pulled the hook camel hindquarter from my subspace ring, Sharp leaped into the air to snatch it and vanished. Thanks to our mental link, I could feel just how ecstatic he was. Yeah, it must be a delicacy. Meat that can only be found in the desert...
Anyway, training the armored shark—which I’d been most worried about—ended much faster and easier than expected. Sharp obeyed me like a puppy, and the bond we forged with hook camel hindquarters was as tough as desert bull tendons, making our combat coordination even better than I’d hoped.
The real problem was something else.
“Waaah! This is weird!”
El flailing about in the sea,
“...”
And Lloyd, who hadn’t even entered the water in the first place.
“Roshanak, teach El how to swim.”
“She doesn’t even know how to swim?”
She wasn’t from a coastal area, and as a noble lady of the Empire, it was only natural. A noble from the Barak Empire’s capital wouldn’t dip a toe in the ocean.
“El’s different from you. She only saw the sea for the first time recently.”
“Heh.”
“Teach her well. You’ve got that special bloodline, right?”
A half-blood that others scorned and dismissed, but to me, he was a talent with abilities more unique than anyone else’s. Roshanak seemed pleased by my words, shrugging once before leaping cleanly into the sea.
-Splash!
Soon, they were splashing and tussling in the water.
Well, nothing beats water play for getting used to the water.
-Splash splash splash!!!
-Papapapap!!!
...Isn’t that a bit much? It’s not a water fight; it’s a water war.
Well, I could leave that side to Roshanak.
“Lloyd.”
The issue was over here.
This man who wouldn’t even dip a toe in the sea.
“Are you really not going to do it?”
“I can get a blessing at the Donar Temple.”
“That’s true, but wouldn’t it be good to learn the basics ahead of time?”
Well, Lloyd wasn’t wrong. With a specific blessing or grace from the Donar Temple, you could move freely even underwater. I planned to rely on the Donar Temple too. But still, preparing the basics couldn’t hurt, right? Survival swimming is crucial.
‘Anyway, since he mentions the Donar Temple, it seems he’s got some deep-sea combat experience.’
Lloyd’s past was becoming more and more intriguing. He seemed like a noble, so why did he have experience with deep-sea missions that even mercenaries shied away from...?
Would I learn more once we got closer?
Well, a man like this probably had a past full of things better left unknown.
“What if there’s a special curse on the deep-sea dungeon?”
“...”
“What will you do if the Donar Temple’s blessing ends up useless?”
“That won’t—”
“In a dungeon, anything can happen. You know that well enough, don’t you?”
“...”
“Come on, come on. Just try the gill pill. It’ll help you get used to it, and there’s no downside.”
A flicker of expression finally crossed Lloyd’s impassive face. It was a kind of ‘revulsion.’
“The smell and taste are a bit off, but once you try it...”
“...”
“You’ll get used to it quickly. Having gills is so convenient. It feels weird at first, but it’s like breathing through your mouth.”
I firmly placed the gill pill in Lloyd’s hand. He stared down at it for a long time with a distinctly uneasy look. Pretending to mutter to myself, I said,
“Jeez, even kids eat this stuff...”
It wasn’t wrong. El had eaten it just fine. At my words, Lloyd’s eyebrow twitched, but he still didn’t take the pill. Then, handing it back, he said something surprisingly reasonable.
“If webbing grows on my hands, it’ll interfere with gripping my sword. So I’ll pass.”
“...”
It did seem like webbed hands would be inconvenient for sword work... It was a convincing reason, but why did it annoy me so much?
“Then I’ll make one that only gives you gills.”
I replied with a grin. Lloyd’s eyebrow seemed to twitch again.
After finishing our underwater training, we headed to the Donar Temple. Just as we’d discussed with Lloyd, it was to receive blessings. The Donar Temple, which governed seas, rivers, and flowing waters, was packed with departing sailors, their families, merchants, and mercenaries. Though all life originated from the sea, it seemed anything with legs couldn’t help but feel instinctive fear before the vast ocean.
On islands like Ekaitz or in port cities bordering the sea, the Donar Temple’s influence even surpassed that of the sun god Arjan’s. It might take a day—or even days—to receive a blessing, but fortunately, we bought ours easily with Katarina Trading Company funds.
-Jingle, jingle, jingle.
Five gold per person. Far from cheap. Enough to feed a family for months. But compared to the price of a life, it was negligible. For five gold coins, we received the most expensive blessing from the temple’s high priest. Buying faith with money felt a bit off, but that’s how the world worked.
Lloyd and El paid an extra gold each to bless their weapons. Now, their weapons wouldn’t rust in seawater and would even grow sharper.
I planned to use weapons I’d crafted myself, so I skipped the weapon blessing. Same for Roshanak, who would use magic.
“...I don’t feel anything.”
Holding back a laugh at Roshanak’s words, I replied sternly.
“That’s how blessings are.”
“Boring...”
“Shh. Only say that when it’s just us.”
Leaving the temple, we headed to the market district. To stock up on tools for the deep-sea dungeon.
“Buy anything we think we need. Don’t worry about the price.”
“Really, Master?”
“Yeah. It’s not my money anyway.”
These expenses were covered by the Katarina Trading Company too. I planned to splurge on all the items I’d had my eye on.
“Go on, pick whatever. Lloyd, feel free to grab anything you need.”
“Thanks.”
We excitedly browsed the shops. Ekaitz’s market, frequented by ships from countless nations, overflowed with rare items hard to find on the continent: unicorn horns only available from elven forests, salamander oil from the volcanic regions near the Abyss, and Ekaitz’s specialty, sea serpent scales!
I bought several sacks of high-quality sea serpent scales. I planned to have them processed at a smithy into protective gear for the deep-sea dungeon. Being non-metallic, even a druid like me could use them, and they wouldn’t be affected by seawater, making them highly useful there.
I also bought teeth and bones to craft arrows specialized for the deep-sea dungeon. By the end, it was practically like buying a whole sea serpent.
El and Lloyd picked out their own gear, but only Roshanak stood awkwardly fiddling with something shiny.
“Roshanak, what’s wrong?”
“...”
Roshanak mumbled without answering my question. Looking closely, the shiny thing he was fiddling with was just a seashell. A decoration or child’s toy at best.
“You like that?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“...”
“Nothing catches your eye?”
“No.”
Roshanak’s blue eyes clouded with hesitation. I looked down at him calmly.
“I told you. Pick anything.”
“But...”
“But?”
“I don’t want to owe a debt.”
“Debt?”
Ah, I quickly realized what Roshanak meant.
To slaves, everything is a debt. Even their own lives. That’s why they can’t escape their status. Of course, some slaves do buy their freedom. Like that famous western trading magnate Otis...
It must hit close to home for Roshanak, who’d been a slave until recently. Food, drink—even breathing was a debt. I knew that life too. The crushing poverty and debts from when my father’s business went bankrupt in my childhood... Things you couldn’t pay off no matter how hard you tried. That’s what Roshanak was worrying about. Burdens and fears too heavy for a child to bear.
I understood him perfectly because I’d felt the same.
It was heartbreaking.
“Don’t worry.”
“...”
I found a necklace chain that would suit the seashell Roshanak held. Threading the shell onto a thin silver chain would make a nice pendant. Useless, perhaps, but all the more meaningful for it.
“Hand it over.”
I drilled a small hole in the seashell he gave me, threaded the silver chain through, and hung it around his neck. I paid the shopkeeper—but with my own money, not the Katarina Trading Company’s. Since he didn’t want to incur a “debt.”
“It’s a gift.”
“...”
“It’s different from debt.”
“...”
“You don’t have to pay it back.”
Roshanak silently fiddled with the seashell. His expression was ambiguous—unclear if he liked it or not. I recalled a toy my drunken father once brought home. There was a time when ramen was our daily meal. Then one day, Father came home with a toy worth far more than a box of ramen, and back then, I probably...
“Thank you.”
Made the same face as Roshanak.