First Bath – A Moment in the Family Bath

We said our goodbyes to the gillmen and returned to Neptunopolis. We arrived at Rondalan’s dock, which now looked all too familiar after the time we spent aiding its construction.

“Come on, I’m begging you! Make me a ship like that too...”

“Oh, be quiet! I need to talk to them now!” Rondalan looked like he was quarreling with a fisherman as he ran toward us. Apparently the fisherman wanted a ship like our Grande Nautilus. The townsfolk treated Rondalan like nothing more than a wart before, but his reputation had improved ever since building something this impressive. The temple might still turn him away, but at least he could get along better with his neighbors now.

Rondalan asked us several questions in rapid succession about how the Grande Nautilus fared. He seemed satisfied with the overall results, but it’d take time for me to explain all the details he requested.

“Step aside, let me handle this.” Right on time, Shakova interrupted our conversation. He’d be much more suited for handling Rondalan’s inquiries.

“I want to perform some checkups on the ship, so we’ll stay behind.”

“Thanks, Pardoe. We’re going deep underwater next, so make sure everything’s in shape. I’m going to close the door to the Unlimited Bath, so make sure you have everything you need.”

The water capital was right in the center of the bay, and so deep down that it couldn’t compare to the shallow waters nearby. Not to mention it was far out from shore. The Grande Nautilus just finished its first voyage, so we needed them to perform some thorough maintenance and make sure it was in tip-top condition for the next one. Mark was also staying behind to help, and Crissa would look after them.

Next, we needed to resupply on food. It’d be a long voyage, so we needed to restock from scratch this time.

“You need fish? Leave that to me!”

“Thank you, please deliver it to us on the day we depart.”

Fishermen amicably approached us with various offers. All of them had become familiar faces ever since we started coming here regularly. We could use the fishing pond, one of the latest features of the Unlimited Bath, to catch fresh fish, but we didn’t want to put everyone’s goodwill to waste.

Thinking about it, that fishing pond must actually be an altar. The Goddess of Fire’s altar was a pillar made from a giant fire stone, so in the same vein, this altar symbolized the importance of water to followers of the Goddess of Water.

Anyway, we left Grande Nautilus in Pardoe’s group’s hands and left to go shopping. I was worried we’d attract stares for making Yukina walk around in her swimsuit-like outfit, but there were actually plenty of women in the city clad in similarly revealing clothing. I guess it wasn’t too surprising, for a beach city. This city was divided between the elevated and coastal areas, but it looked like she’d be perfectly fine in the coastal area dressed like that.

All we needed to do was make advance orders for food today, then head to Ficus Brand. Yukina needed some new clothes. I wanted to buy her a tailor-made middle school uniform.

“Oh, Rulitora. Bring one of the treasure boxes.”

“One with gold coins in it?” Rulitora asked, cocking his head. I nodded in response. Yukina’s clothes were important, but we couldn’t waste any time to find Haruno. I was prepared to pay a rush fee if we needed to.

Rulitora carried the treasure box using a wooden rack tied to his back, and Rium sat on his shoulder. Of course, I held Yukina’s hand. Rakti looked at us with a hint of jealousy in her eyes, but Clena took her hand first so that Yukina would have some space. Roni smiled at the two of them warm-heartedly. Between Rakti in her maid outfit and Roni in her leather armor, the latter looked much more the part as our attendant.

First, we revisited the shop where we had all our nautilus meat smoked, and asked them to refer us to another shop to order a large quantity of preserved foods. The referral cost extra, but time was money when it came to finding a shop good enough for a professional seal of approval. The shop owner recommended lime and sauerkraut when we said we were going on a long voyage, but I said we already had a source for citrus fruit, so we only ended up ordering a bit of sauerkraut from his suggestions.

That source was one of my latest gifts, the “Goddess of Water’s Faucet.” The shop owner suggested foods rich in vitamin C to prevent scurvy, but the orange juice from the faucet already covered that. The juice might have been made from my MP, but its nutritional value was just the same as the real thing. Maybe the Goddess of Water granted me that gift because she knew she’d be calling us to the water capital. That awkward thoughtfulness really suits her, I thought as I recalled how she threw her flipbook at me with her cheeks flushed red. It was a convenient gift in any case, so I’d be sure to make use of it.

Something surprising came up as we conversed with the shopkeeper. He looked like he was approaching his golden years, but he actually knew of the gillmen’s island. About thirty years ago, the coastal area was home to many fisherman who worshiped the Goddess of Water. The shopkeeper often sailed to that island on his friend’s fishing boat to pray. The route to the island was well traveled since the fisherman wanted blessings from the ocean and prayed for large hauls. However, starting about thirty years ago, more and more monsters riddled the route to the temple and it became unsafe to sail there. Phoenix must have taken over the island to use as his hideout around that time. Faith in the Goddess of Water was already waning since the elevated area worshiped the Goddess of Light back then, but that event put a complete stop to it.

Damn, Phoenix. I know you’re the infamous general who lost 100 battles, but you don’t have to go make other parties win on top of that. Not to mention it’s the light temple, your supposed enemy, who you helped lead to victory... Could you take a hint? I had so many complaints for Phoenix, but I didn’t want to see him again either.

The shopkeeper was still faithful to this day, so I told him that the hero Cosmos and I collaborated to defeat the demon lord’s army and freed the island and the gillmen living there. I defeated Phoenix, and Cosmos reclaimed the hideout, so it wasn’t wrong to say that we collaborated. We just split up the work, is all.

Cosmos wasn’t the type to bother with the details here, but I needed to keep the princess in mind. This would serve as a form of publicity for Cosmos’ party. The only concern left was how this follower would behave, but he was kind toward Rulitora and apparently toward the gillmen as well, so I wasn’t too worried.

Now that we finished putting in our food orders, it was finally time to shop at Ficus Brand. Clena and the other girls had come here before to buy swimsuits, but this was my first time here. A statue of a woman clad in a bikini stood at the entrance. The sculpture looked like an ancient piece of art, yet the bikini was modern and chic—kind of a surreal combination. The store’s interior was spacious, with products lining every wall. The middle of the floor was filled with more statues of women in swimsuits. Men’s swimsuits took up a small corner of the floor, not too different from the gender ratio at the brand’s location in Jupiteropolis. Well, this ratio wasn’t too different in swimsuit shops back in Japan, either.

“Touya, should I buy a swimsuit too?”

“I think you should, but... should we also get some wetsuits while we’re here?”

“What’s that?” Rakti answered my question with a question.

I guess I wasn’t surprised that “wetsuit” wasn’t a term here. I explained that it was a protective suit worn when you needed to spend time underwater.

“I’ve never heard of something like that...” Roni couldn’t think of anything it might resemble. Apparently wetsuits hadn’t been invented in this world.

“Wouldn’t the water veil work?” Clena suggested.

“Does that work deep underwater?”

“I’m not sure, but I at least haven’t heard any warnings against using the veil underwater, so it should be fine.”

“Was spirit magic always that haphazard?” I suppose magic in this world was all pretty haphazard.

I remained silent for a moment, but then Rium spoke up from atop Rulitora’s shoulder. “A long time ago... a demon general used that spell to cross an ocean.”

“...Seriously?”

As the story went, a demon general led a few of his troops from one shore to another on foot as part of a surprise attack on a fortress. Unlike us, there was no way for them to rest along the way, which just went to show that general’s fortitude. That battle was apparently well documented, so it served as proof that the water veil would work. In that case, I didn’t need to worry about finding us wetsuits.

“Okay then, let’s stop the chitchat and buy Yukina some clothes!”

“Alright!”

“Did the rest of you need anything, Clena?”

“Not really—we bought everything we needed during the last trip.”

“Okay then, can you help Yukina pick out some underwear? I’ll go ask if we can get a school uniform tailored for her.” I couldn’t exactly hang around the girls as she tried on underwear, so I opted to ask the tailor about the school uniform in the meantime.

“Sure. But make sure to be back by the time we start looking at clothes, okay?”

“I know.”

Clena gave me a stern reminder, but I was already way ahead of her. No chance in hell I’d miss that. In fact, I bet I wanted to pick out some cute clothing for Yukina the most out of all of us.

“Yukina, I’m going to discuss an order with the shopkeeper, so go ahead and start shopping with the other girls.”

“O-okay...” Yukina looked a little hesitant, but nodded.

Her dejected face tempted me to take back what I just said, but I suppressed the urge. She wouldn’t be traveling with just me, but with the whole group. The other girls needed some time to become friends with her as well. Most importantly, I was about to request the middle school uniform that she had dreamed of wearing in her past life. As her older brother, I absolutely had to make her dream come true.

I remembered the details of the uniform, so I brought with me a paper that I’d drawn the uniform on. The employee in the raver market had been wearing a similar sailor uniform, though the designs differed. The tailors in this world should be able to make them. I called for the tailors, getting a little excited thinking how closely we could recreate the uniform. Surprisingly, they got right on board as soon as they saw my drawing.

“Um, is there something wrong?”

“Not at all, it’s just... this design from your world looks so similar to the uniforms at our raver market.”

They were unexpectedly enthusiastic. I listened in on their conversation, where they suggested that this design could be used for a new product. Apparently their reaction was connected to the medals I had received in Hephaestusopolis. From the bits and pieces I could hear, they were considering using my appearance as publicity for their shop. Uh-huh, so my fame as a hero could be used like this, too. I didn’t have any problems with it, so I might as well let them. But just in case Haruno might misunderstand, I explained to them that I wanted to make a school uniform for my little sister. I hoped the message went through.

“Also, I was hoping that this order could be done as soon as possible...”

“We can finish this right up by tomorrow.”

“I’d be grateful for that, but are you sure that’s okay?”

“We already know how to make these uniforms. And since it’s an order from you, Sir Hero, we will make it our highest priority.”

I see, they could just use the raver market uniform as their base. I looked over at Yukina. She seemed like she was having fun with the other girls. If she had managed to enter middle school, she would have gone out shopping with her friends after school like this. Oh yeah, I had talked with the others about this before... I might as well take the opportunity to order school uniforms for everyone else as well.

“...Can I request the same for all five girls over there?”

“With a rush fee, we can get it done in two days.”

I exchanged a firm handshake with the tailor, then of course handed them a larger tip than Clena had suggested. When I walked back to the girls, they were just about to start picking out clothes for Yukina. They knew I’d be gone for a short time, so they went ahead and picked out underwear first.

“Okay, what do you want to look at first?”

“Pajamas!”

A cute pair of pajamas, huh? I wondered how clothes would work with her wings and tail, but her wings grew from her lower back, so they wouldn’t get in the way too badly. The tailors would help fit any clothing for her tail. Yukina picked out a cute pair of plaid pajamas, and then a female staff member helped measure the width of her tail. She then cut a hole in the pajama pants. Tail sizes differed greatly depending on the demi-human race, so they had this system in place. I expected no less from Ficus Brand—the legendary pervert wasn’t just a name. Rulitora’s tail looked about as wide as Yukina’s waist. I couldn’t imagine him wearing a cute pair of pajamas, though.

Yukina couldn’t fly if her wings were covered, so she looked through camisoles and tank tops that reached above her belly button. Also, she wouldn’t be able to fly in a skirt, so we stuck with pants. All the choices so far allowed her to enjoy an active lifestyle. She really has gotten healthier, I thought with a smile.

Yukina approached me with a camisole over each arm. “Hey hey, Touya, should I pick the pink one or the blue one?”

“I like the pattern better on the pink one,” I answered, which made Yukina grin. The pink camisole was decorated with cute fish drawings, befitting a southern country. She always did like clothing with cute illustrations.

“But... this one looks more refreshing, don’t you think?”

However, she then pouted while thrusting out her arm with the blue camisole draped over it. I see, the light blue color would feel cooler under the Neptune heat. But we didn’t come here to buy just one shirt.

“You can buy both, you know?”

“Really?!”

We came here to buy her a whole wardrobe. Two camisoles wouldn’t be enough, either. I pointed this out to her, which made her eyes sparkle as she darted around the store, picking out outfits. Clena and the other girls helped give her advice. We had only come here to buy some clothes, but this also served as a way for the girls to get to know each other better.

After completing a round of shopping, we went to meet with Cosmos. They were part of the reason why we were able to save Yukina, so I had to give them my thanks. They were currently staying at the Maiden of the Roaring Waves inn, but when we arrived, neither Ricott nor most of the royal guards were present. Sharp as ever, the princess noticed my confusion and told us that the guards were currently preparing their ship to set sail again. Ricott was in charge of all such practical matters.

I thanked them one more time for helping us save Yukina, to which Cosmos replied, “I’m glad!” with a pearly white smile. Impressive how he could act like that, even though he’d failed to retrieve his own target.

I mentioned that we custom ordered a sailor uniform for Yukina, which he unexpectedly became fascinated by. “Huh, so that shop can make sailor uniforms? Maybe I should have them make a set for everyone in my party as well.”

Wait, did he mean not only Princess Franchellis, but every last one of the royal guards as well? The princess covered her mouth with her fan as she stared exasperated at Cosmos, who had stars in his eyes. Cosmos then stood up and walked toward Foley and the other bodyguards. The princess took the opportunity to lean toward us.

“...Anyway, I’m glad you are here. We had been searching for you as well.”

“You were? What for?”

“We are looking for Balsamina, you see, but we don’t have any leads... You had fought with that demon general directly—might you have an idea of where he could flee to?”

“Unfortunately, we don’t know anything specific... Oh, and he’s only a former demon general, by the way.” Phoenix had plenty of witty comebacks, but he hadn’t blurted out any information about other possible hideouts. “...Well, Balsamina aside, Phoenix might be attempting to meet up with other survivors of the demon lord’s army.”

“...For what reason?”

“He was known as the undead king, but called himself Phoenix because he feared naming himself ‘king’ would make the demon lord angry. I think he’s actually very afraid of the demon lord.”

“I-I’m not sure what to say about that...”

Yeah, I was speechless too. But I was mentioning it now because it might be useful to know that even the demon lord’s subordinates feared him.

“To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were hiding among normal people in the city.”

“That’s impossible... oh, but it is true that Balsamina was hiding in Jupiteropolis.”

Just in case, I should mention that I wasn’t joking around right now. If Cosmos wanted to chase after Balsamina, he’ll have an inevitable run-in with Phoenix. I was giving them information on his personality to prepare for a possible fight—most importantly, letting them know that he was easily provoked.

“Yukina, we have some time right now, so could you tell them everything you know again?”

“Sure, I can.”

And so we relayed everything we knew about Phoenix to the princess. Yukina’s speech was more akin to a long rant filled with every complaint she had about Phoenix, but the princess listened with attentive ears. She knew how important this was. In the end, we didn’t finish talking until Ricott’s group came back. It had gotten later than I expected, so I opened the door to head back, and was already in the hallway when Cosmos called out to me.

“Touya...”

“What?”

“Seeing you has given me conviction. Just because the other party is a demon, that is not reason enough to fight. I’m sure Balsamina and I will come to a mutual understanding!”

“...That’s good to hear. Good luck.” His serious tone caught me off guard, so I was rendered speechless for a moment before I turned around and replied in kind.

“Of course, we both understand that cuteness is justice! —Guh?!”

Never mind, I was wrong. I slammed the door behind me, but it sounded like it hit him square in the nose. Yukina and the others looked stunned as well.

“I can agree that she’s cute, but that’s not the point...”

“Touya, that guy...”

“What about him?” If you say that he’s attractive, I’ll burst into tears on the spot.

But Yukina was thinking something completely different. “His personality, or I guess his vibe? It’s really similar to Phoenix’s. I bet Balsamina isn’t very good at dealing with those types.”

“I-I see...” She was persuasive, coming from someone who knew them both. But Cosmos supported our quest to rescue Yukina and wished for our success with all his heart. In that case, I’ll give him my support as well. I sincerely hope you’ll eventually find mutual understanding with Balsamina. I clenched my fist with determination as I turned away from the door, wails of pain still resounding from the other side.

The next day, I brought Rulitora and Shakova with me to meet with Kopan at the auction house. We were only going to reclaim our luggage, so I left Yukina with the others to watch over our room. The area was teeming with nobles, merchants, and people with influence, so I didn’t want to risk bringing her and attracting attention.

I witnessed the effects of my reputation as a hero yesterday, so today I wore a full suit of armor as a way of showing myself off. I wanted to give off the vibe of a warrior with battle experience. I put on the Magic Eater and equipped a tuna knife from the Goddess of Fire’s kitchen around my hips. The knife was about as large as a long sword and plenty gaudy since it was from the Goddess of Fire, so it was perfect as an actual sword.

Unsurprisingly, we attracted plenty of attention walking down the street, so Kopan was already waiting for us when we entered the auction house’s lobby.

“My my my, I heard all about your success! You eliminated the remaining demon army forces that were threatening our city! Oh, how wonderful to hear! Now Neptunopolis can feel at peace!” He shook my hand as he chattered in a loud voice. From the sound of it, he wanted to show off my accomplishments but also exhibit how friendly he was with me at the same time.

I let him put on a show for a little longer, then the auction house manager arrived and guided us to another room. The inside of the room was hidden by a curtain, so I couldn’t tell what was inside. The manager only opened the curtains after shutting the door behind us. He revealed a mountain of gold and silver coins and various goods that reached about as high as my chest. Rulitora let out a whistle in astonishment.

“Oh, so the curtain was so that no one outside could see this...”

“It’s just etiquette,” the manager smiled.

Not only that, I bet it was also to avoid potential trouble. We had plenty of eyes on us before we entered this room.

“So what’s the other stuff here besides the gold and silver coins?” They didn’t look like anything I had requested, nor old items that didn’t sell.

“We had asked for cursed items, so is that everything here?”

“That’s part of it, but nyot everything here is cursed.”

“Oh yes, we would have had to gather far too many coins for you, so we converted some of the profits into easily sellable items instead. Oh no no no, I don’t need anything extra for this. This is just part of my services. Ah, and I’ll take the cut I was promised from this pile here.”

Shakova explained that 90 percent of the items in the pile were gems or metal ingots that were worth a lot of money. Apparently it was common for travelers to turn their money into gems since they were much lighter to carry around. In our case, Shakova and the other ketolts could turn them into items worth even more money, so it worked out well for us.

“And this is... a painting?” Rulitora peered at the remaining 10 percent of the items, which appeared to be works of art and various expensive-looking pieces of furniture and ornaments.

“Yes, this is my portion. Oh no no, I won’t ask for a bonus. This is more than enough for me.”

“I can provide proof that these items are worth ten percent when converted to gold,” the manager said, then handed me three pieces of paper. Each of them showed the results of the auction, the coins and treasures that Kopan gathered, and the price of the other items that Kopan bid on. It was essentially a receipt.

According to Shakova, Kopan could use his skills to negotiate his items for more profit. So he was using this to expand his trade, huh? What a capable... or rather, crafty guy. Well, the end results confirmed that leaving the auction to Kopan was the right decision.

We said our goodbyes to Kopan, and declined the manager’s offer to prepare us a carriage to transport the goods back. I instead put everything inside the Unlimited Bath and headed out. A normal person would need a carriage for all of that. My gift really was convenient in times like these.

“Let’s stop by the light temple on the way back.”

“The temple?”

“Yeah, to ask them about our carriage.”

We had originally bought the carriage to travel through the void and carry a large amount of luggage, but now that my Unlimited Bath had grown, we no longer had the need. The carriage made for quicker travel and we could store it inside the Unlimited Bath, but our next destination was under the ocean. Considering how much it would cost us to feed a horse, it just wasn’t worth it. Not to mention we’d have to discuss what else we needed to do before returning to land after reuniting with Haruno’s party. Letting the carriage go and buying a new one the next time we needed it was the more sensible decision.

We had sent the horse through the void and the demon lord’s former castle, but it was still just a normal horse. The light temple should take plenty good care of it if we told them that the horse came back alive from the demon lord’s castle.

And thus I met with the temple elder and asked if they could take on the horse and carriage. It’d feel wrong to ask them for money, so I made the offer as a donation rather than a sale. The elder happily accepted my offer. They had a pasture for raising horses for the temple of light’s pilgrims, so the horse could go there. The carriage could just be broken down, but they might also keep it as a memento.

“I hear that you are traveling by sea—are you planning to go to Ares?”

“Oh? Yes, that’s the plan.” Ares was the nation that encompassed Dragon’s Tail peninsula, which drew an arc from the west to the south side of the bay. Going there would be faster than returning to Neptune after we rescued Haruno’s party, so that was our goal.

“In that case, please be careful. The Goddess of Light’s protection does not reach that country.”

“...You mean it’s a country like Hephaestus?” I asked, puzzled. I recalled that their light temple was small and humble.

The temple elder shook his head grimly. “It is even worse. There is no temple of light in that country.”

I see, so faith in the Goddess of Light had been completely eradicated there. I bet the Goddess won’t be too pleased in my dreams.

“They are protected by the Goddess of Earth now, but they were once the first nation to fall to the demon lord, and served as part of his army until his collapse.”

“But that was only long ago, right?”

“That may be true, but it is rumored that many demons live in hiding in that nation.”

“...I see. I’ll be careful.” It was only a rumor that I should take with a grain of salt, but I should take it anyway. I needed to focus on saving Haruno right now, so I filed the information in the back of my mind. In any case, I couldn’t help but think that any country under the Goddess of Earth must be a good country due to the lady that appeared in my dreams. The head temple of the Goddess of Earth might be there too, so I couldn’t avoid going there if I wanted the blessing.

After we got back, I asked Rakti about what we’d heard, but unfortunately she couldn’t remember anything. That couldn’t be helped, though—of course her memories would be foggy after 500 years of being sealed. I put the topic aside until we needed to set sail for Ares.

We had rented out the cabin by the riverbank again for tonight. Rakti hopped back to Yukina, who was enraptured by the fishing net. Roni and Rium also joined the fun. Rulitora was the one pulling the net. He was serving as the de facto father of the group for tonight. The ketolts were enthralled by the ingots, so I spoke with Clena regarding our next steps.

“Alright, so tomorrow we take a day off, then the next day we’ll pick up our orders and set sail?”

“It’s not a day off—we need to clean up the Unlimited Bath tomorrow. It got bigger again, so we need to reorganize everything and make space for the food.”

Our items and furniture never moved when the Bath grew larger, so we needed to move them by hand every time. It had grown even more than usual this time around, so I was getting exhausted just thinking about it. We also needed to sort the items we brought back from the auction house, so chores would take up a large portion of today and tomorrow. Clena sighed, as if she just arrived at the same conclusion.

“...Well, let’s start with organizing the treasures.”

“Can’t we just stuff them in the treasure boxes?”

“That would damage them.”

I imagined opening a treasure chest packed with shining treasures, but Clena brought me back to reality.

“That sounds difficult... Can I not be in charge of that? I can handle other stuff in the meantime.” I wasn’t making excuses, just trying to find the right person for the job... is the excuse I made.

“Yeah, yeah. We can have Shakova take care of the gems and accessories. I’ll organize the books,” Clena replied and smiled, looking as if she could read my mind. I felt like I lost this round, so I’ll plan a counterattack. In the bath.

And then, the day of departure arrived. We finished cleaning up the Unlimited Bath, picked up our orders, and placed them in the newly acquired space.

The sailor uniform was styled for summer wear, and we also bought the sewing patterns so that we could order it again at another shop. They apparently had a large order come in yesterday, so the tailors had a pile of sewing patterns on them. That was most definitely Cosmos. According to a tailor in Ficus Brand, they still had room for improvement. I had told them all the details I could remember about the uniform, but in addition, they tailored it so that it could be worn over a long period of time like travel clothing. The sailor uniform was actually made using the same techniques that were used on the traveling maid uniforms. The top was on the short side, but that couldn’t be avoided since Yukina needed her wings to fly.

“Ta-da!” Yukina changed into her uniform as soon as she could, then struck a pose in front of me. Her dream of wearing that uniform was my dream as well. She was adorable. I felt myself choking up, but I tried my best to hold back the tears. Yukina apparently felt the same, but she couldn’t hold it in and leaped into my chest. I embraced her back, and she looked up at me with a radiant smile.

“I’m so happy for you, Yukina.”

“Thank you...!”

It was worth being summoned to this world just to see her smile. Right now, I felt so from the bottom of my heart. I want to protect her smile from now on. With my newfound resolve, I squeezed her petite shoulders into a tighter hug.

“I’m so glad, Touya... Yukina...”

“Yeah... thank you, Clena.”

Clena and the others were in tears. Rulitora was trying his best to hide it, but failing. Rakti was practically sobbing.

I have a good family. That thought came to mind.

The Grande Nautilus’ maintenance ended without a hitch, and we had nothing left to do in Neptunopolis. Our next goal was to save Haruno and her party. We never heard back from them even after sending letters, likely because they were stuck in the water capital. There was a high possibility that they didn’t know we had saved Yukina yet, so I wanted to introduce them to each other quickly. I had multiple reasons to find Haruno as soon as we could.

We headed to Rondalan’s dock and boarded the ship, Yukina clinging to my arm all the while. Word had gone around that we were leaving today, so Rondalan, his neighbors near the port, clerics from the temple, and even Kopan and Cosmos’ party had come to send us off.

“Touya! Let us meet again somewhere in this wide world!!”

“Here’s to hoping you have Balsamina with you next time!”

“Thank you, my friend!!”

We shouted our goodbyes at each other, and he ended up recognizing me as a friend. Well, that wasn’t a bad thing. I waved my arm back at the crowd as the transparent hatch closed in front of us.

“Alright everyone, let’s go!”

At my signal, the Grande Nautilus started up and slowly submerged itself under the water. Our target was the water capital, where Haruno’s party awaited us. This was the beginning of our underwater adventure.