Chapter 10

"Mmm, hmm..."

Laterano. A country of art and sweets.

Gelato shops were everywhere, and I had an upset stomach three times during my stay.

However, even Laterano people seem to get overwhelmed with just sweets, and their coffee is surprisingly good. The instant coffee I bought for camping gives me a drowsiness as if I'm enjoying an elegant tea time.

"Would you like some too?" "We don't need luxuries... is what I'd like to say, but I'll take it. Being ignorant is unacceptable."

She takes the cup while saying something difficult.

Ah, wait, be careful when drinking...

"...It's hot."

Of course, you don't know how to handle hot things because you're not used to eating and drinking. Even in Laterano, you froze in surprise when you tasted ice cream.

"Is this... what you call bitter? I'm not sure I understand." "Do you even have taste buds?"

I've heard that fish may or may not have a sense of taste, but does that apply to Seaborns too? Watching Skadi sip her coffee, I still can't say for certain.

"This is C8H10N4O2 caffeine... a sedative? We don't feel pain, but the stimulant effect... perhaps it works differently for us? A gap in my knowledge..."

Well, at least she seems eager to learn.

"No, Shark... pineapple pizza isn't pizza... the Sicilian wolf will come after you..."

As we sit around the flickering campfire, enjoying the sound of sparks, Skadi suddenly starts singing.

"~ "

A low humming. She often sings like this.

It feels like this is the only time when the ferocious, cruel, and terrifying sea monster side of her is suppressed.

"'Light the fire, burn the veil of night' "

...I don't know how she learned such popular songs, but it's nice that they're familiar.

Before I realized it, a Seaborn had appeared and was climbing onto my lap. This one is also quite strange—I thought it was adjustable, but despite its large size, it's not that heavy. It's like holding something heavy underwater, as if someone has already taken on the burden of gravity...

"Have you already adapted to land?" "—?"

"'We will eventually appear...'"

Tilting its head cutely...

"Ashes—cough"

The song breaks off just as it reaches the chorus, and what seems to be a buff-induced excitement fades. Skadi is coughing. Enthusiastic shouting still seems difficult for her.

Because I like energetic, high-tempo songs, Skadi, who seems to have learned from me, has started humming such songs.

"Are you alright? You don't have to imitate inconvenient human functions." "...No, that's not it. There are no limits to our evolution, so we can explore all possibilities. The land dwellers' communication through air and sound is terribly immature and incomplete, but even a small evolution is not something we should miss."

I-I see...

For now, I prepare a drink for her. Skadi has come to enjoy food and drink. She doesn't seem particular about taste, but apparently she "needs to absorb as much as possible."

But you don't poop...

"—GWA!" "Whoa, sorry, sorry!"

"No, Captain... if you call a swordfish a tuna, you'll be killed... certainly he's a non-stop person, but... hmm..."

—Well. Despite all her talking, the Abyssal Hunter woman sleeping beside me still hasn't woken up.

The Abyssal Hunter Skadi—I'll temporarily call her "real Skadi" to distinguish her from this Skadi—her arrival was a bolt from the blue for me. It was an unexpectedly quick encounter right after I sent the letter to Rhodes.

I had thought that if I heard back at all, it would be through the Rhodes branch where I left my contact information (or rather, my temporary destination), so I was really surprised.

My encounter with the real Skadi resolved my only concern after learning about humanity's survival—whether this Skadi was a secretly mutated version of the real Skadi—so it was a welcome development. I completely lost track of Skadi's true identity, but at this point, it doesn't matter.

It's true that we had some communication problems from our first meeting. However, when I faced the real Skadi, I kind of had that feeling along with my surprise.

Because the real Skadi is, to put it mildly, socially awkward... and really doesn't say much... plus, there's no doubt that the woman clinging to me is a Seaborn, so it seemed like there would be no room for discussion.

As I was panicking internally, wondering how to convince her or how to escape if that seemed impossible—worst case, I wouldn't hesitate to draw my chef's knife, Hōchōmaru, though I don't think I could fight an Abyssal Hunter—this Skadi suddenly approached the real Skadi.

She whispered something in her ear, and the real Skadi suddenly mumbled, "Crimson sea, not yet full..." before collapsing.

It's only natural that I reacted with "What did you do?! Tell me!" For me, the more surprising part was that the real Skadi collapsed. What's this "crimson sea" anyway, a red tide?

By the way, when Skadi answered, she said:

"I just retrieved what was lost. Once, she and I were one. We were simply properly separated."

So she says. I see—I don't understand.

But what should I do now? It's good that I've confirmed the real Skadi's existence, but my original goal was to hand over Skadi and all the trouble to Dr. Kal'tsit, or rather, to Rhodes.

It certainly wasn't to spend the twilight hours in the wilderness holding an unconscious real Skadi, nor to pass the days singing. On the other hand, I can't just leave the female real Skadi exposed out here.

"It would be unbearable to be attacked every time she wakes up saying she smells the ocean."

Ocean... the smell of the tide. Is my body odor that strong?

I sniff the collar of my clothes, but I can't tell. Let's see, Skadi...

"...In times like this, should I blush?" "Do you have that function?" "No. But if you need me to..." "I don't."

I smelled Skadi too, but I couldn't tell.

Or would she taste salty if I licked her? It's been a while since we left the sea.

The real Skadi... I decided not to smell an unconscious person as that would be inappropriate from a compliance standpoint. Still, I wonder what the difference is between Aegir, who's also from the sea, and this monster.

Smell... smell, huh.

"Maybe I should use some perfume?"

The problem is where to find such sophisticated perfume that could even mask the smell of the sea...

"Hey there, brother."

Oh, he's here.

"You appear out of nowhere." "I'm a merchant after all. You... Oh, looks like you've caught quite a large prey."

Cannot shows a slightly repulsed look when he sees the real Skadi. This Skadi... she's disappeared. Does she dislike Cannot?

But this is convenient. Even items that can't be found through normal searching might be sold by Cannot.

"I know you just arrived, but do you have any perfume or something? Something powerful."

Like a foggy dream oil, something like that.

Receiving my request, Cannot showed a troubled expression. Well, his face is hidden by a bucket and can't be seen, but the movement of his tentacles seemed troubled.

"Sorry, I'm out of stock today. Besides, my main business isn't commerce."

Saying so, Cannot takes out something like a flyer from his pocket and hands it to me. With a tentacle. I accept the flyer with suspicion, wondering if this is some new sales tactic. With a tentacle.

"Let's see... 'Cannot Traveling Store: Recall Notice'?"

Recall... voluntary withdrawal.

Huh?

"Huh?" "As you can see, there's a flaw in the merchandise. As you can see, I'm running around providing after-sales service."

A flaw, he says. Could it be that the Azure Heart wasn't good?

It was clearly a cursed item.

"No, this is mine." "—GRRRR!"

Stop being so childish... I'll seize it without mercy if it's subject to recall.

Well, let's see.

"'The Portrait of Breogan' was mistakenly sold as 'Sculpture of the Deep Sea Ruler'?" "We apologize for the great inconvenience and trouble to our customers."

I'm told how unfortunate it is to have bought such a cursed item. Apparently, it's spreading miasma or something ominous. Though I don't feel anything like that.

Anyway, I'm urged to hand it over, so I take it out as instructed and it's immediately collected. With a tentacle.

"My reputation would be at stake if people knew I sold such a thing. Let's keep this between us adults."

I was surprised at the time, and I hadn't been in touch with civilization for a while, so I wasn't in a normal state of mind and didn't notice at all.

"Here's a replacement. Take it." "That's quite the diligent service."

I think about how thorough this service is as I receive what Cannot calls a replacement. With a tentacle. ...A small Grandfaro! This is a delightful item.

It may be my prejudice, but I think Terra's world of survival of the fittest is full of unscrupulous merchants committing fraud and escaping, leaving customers to suffer. In that respect, Cannot's store is kind to its customers.

"As an apology, though I shouldn't call it that..." "Are you giving me something?" "I already did. ...You smell like the tide all over. If you want to live in civilization, you'll need this."

Cannot takes something out of his pocket. Something like a bottle containing liquid...

Opening the lid, he dabs the liquid all over my body.

"This is..." "It's called 'Welling Feast.' It's not for sale, but I'll use it specially for you. It should make things somewhat better."

You had it all along! Perfume! You had it all along!

"This should do. Even the hounds of hell won't find you now." "I don't quite understand, but... thank you."

I sniff my clothes. I hope the smell has improved somewhat due to this additional layer.

While I'm sniffing various parts of my body—arms, armpits, here and there—Cannot is already preparing to leave.

Hmm. If he's recalling cursed treasures, shouldn't he take the Azure Heart too?

"Don't you need THAT?"

He's gone.

"That person seems to understand reason."

You suddenly appear.

...Well, whatever. It'll be interesting to see what happens when the real Skadi wakes up.