Chapter 14 – Royal Promenade and the Store

Oasis of the Seas… 360 meters long, 64 meters wide, and 65 meters high, it looks like a castle. It looks more elegant than a castle, so maybe it’s a palace?

If it were a palace, I would be the king. I don’t have any vassals, though. I wonder if I should name it the Palace… The name is kind of similar to the S-rank adventurer Paris; I don’t like it… Let’s call it the Castle.

To the stunned ladies, I call out to them.

“Everyone, were you all surprised by the whole thing?”

The women respond to my words.

“Y-yes, it was amazing. We were joking about the ship looking like a mountain, but it was more than we imagined.”

Oh, that settled it before I could show them the facilities inside. I thought they could tolerate a big ship with a ferry, but it looked like it was bigger than they imagined. Okay, I’ll take that as a compliment. There is a good chance they will forget if I show them around the ship like this.

“Now, please give me your compliments on the thing.”

Alessia-san and the others remembered the promise I had made to them.

“W-wait a minute.”

“What should we do?” “Ilma, are you sure about this?” “I’m a little embarrassed.” “We made a promise, and we were so surprised, weren’t we?” “I’m fine.” “Are you sure?”

The subtle sound of Girasole’s discussion raises my anticipation. How will they compliment me?

“I understand. Wataru-san, come over here.”

Oh, finally. I stand in front of Alessia-san, who looks a little red.

“Well then, we’ll take it in turn to compliment you. …I-it’s amazing, Wataru-san; I’ve never seen a ship like this before.”

She stuttered a little, and after complimenting me, she gave me a kiss on the cheek. Oh, what? That’s the very first time; that’s what this is. I don’t know what the connection is between compliments and kissing cheeks, but I guess that Ilma-san was very good at getting this conversation going.

One after another, they gave me compliments and kissed me on the cheeks at the same time. Dorothea-san kissed me earnestly, Marina-san with Fuu-chan on her head without expression, Carla-san with a smile and a kiss, and Claretta-san with a face so red that I could hardly believe it.

Lastly, Ilma-san said, “I’m sorry for their inexperience, but did you enjoy it?” She gave me a kiss right next to my mouth after saying that.

Ilma-san is on my side. Well, I’m curious about her hidden agenda, but she is a valuable ally. She guides the inexperienced members of the group well. I’ll have to give her a follow-up later.

However, a kiss on the cheek from the shy big-breasted beauties, huh…? A different, happy, shy, faint feeling from doing erotic things is surprisingly moe. Ilma-san is really terrific.

“I’m so happy. If you see the inside of the ship and are surprised again, please do it again.”

It should be quite a surprise on board, and hopefully, I can enjoy the play now one more time.

“No, Ilma put us on board, and it was quite embarrassing. And if you think about it, I don’t understand the point of kissing someone on the cheek when you’re giving them a compliment.”

Alessia-san rejected me with a bright red face. Apparently, she had realized that there was no point. But what kind of life did she lead, getting all red with just a kiss on the cheek?

I guess she has been fighting off male adventurers ever since she formed the party, right? Is she sulking beautifully?

“Really? But I was very happy to get a kiss on the cheek, you know? I guess that counts as a compliment.”

“…It’s still not good.”

“It’s unfortunate and it can’t be helped. Shall we go on board?”

I can’t convince her very well, apparently. I wonder how Ilma-san managed to convince them. I repatriate the Castle, re-summon it and give permission to everyone and jump on the magic circle to go to the Royal Promenade.

“Amazing. It’s like a shopping mall.”

My first words aboard the luxury liner are somehow full of life, and I’m disappointed myself. But I guess it can’t be helped that I got that feeling from the rows of stores on both sides of the ship.

On the screen, it said that it was a reproduction of a New York cityscape, but I’ve never been to New York, so I don’t know, I guess.

It’s just us present in this huge space, and it’s subtle and scary. It’s not so bad because there is music playing, but it would be lonely if I were alone.

“Wataru-san, are we on a ship? There are so many things I’ve never seen before. It’s amazing. I don’t totally understand, but it’s amazing.”

Alessia-san and the other women seemed a little confused. They seem to be excited by the atmosphere they have never experienced before.

“Alessia-san, please calm down. This is a place on the ship called the Royal Promenade. On both sides are stores where you can buy what they are selling. First, let’s have a cup of tea and a piece of cake at the café there to calm down. After that, we will take our time and look around.”

“Cake? Let’s go, Wataru-san.”

Claretta-san was ignited. I remember that she was very interested in cakes. The other ladies also like sweets, so we entered the café without any problem.

There are a lot of cakes lined up inside, and it looks like you can pick them out yourself.

“Wataru-san, it’s amazing. There are a lot of cakes that you can’t find on the Fortress or the Stronghold. I wonder how much they cost? I want to eat them all.”

Claretta-san is going wild. That’s unusual. She’s wearing normal clothes, but she’s so plump and voluptuous that I feel like I’ll be going out of control, too.

“Well, it looks like this restaurant is free of charge.”

“Free? You mean this awesome place is free?”

“Yes, this is a ship that you have to pay a lot of money to get on. So many places are just for free, except for those with special prices. Let’s just take a piece of cake, order some tea, and then sit down and talk.”

For the time being, I said at the counter for coffee, and it came out as if it had moved instantly. Is this the same system as the Stronghold?

“It’s delicious. This cake is delicious, Wataru-san.”

Claretta-san with a big smile on her face is lovely.

“Claretta, we came here to calm down. You shouldn’t get too excited.”

“Oh, that’s right. Thank you, Dorothea.”

“So, Wataru-san, could you please continue with your earlier explanation?”

That’s unusual. I’m not really involved in the conversation when Alessia-san is around. When I looked at Alessia-san in question, she was chewing on the cake enthusiastically with Carla-san… It convinced me.

“I understand. You can have your cake while you eat it, so please just listen to what I have to say.”

All the ladies nodded at my words, so there would be no problem.

“As I said before, since you pay a lot of money to board the ship, basic meals, and entertainment are free of charge. Well, even in shopping, casinos, and free stores, special menus are sometimes offered for a fee, though.

The women’s eyes glow suspiciously when they hear the word “free.”… I guess even A-rank adventurers will bite at free things.

“Everyone. No matter how free it is, as I warned you on the Fortress, I will ban you from this ship itself if you are binge drinking or eating. I think this ship, unlike the ferry, has a collection of alcoholic beverages from all over my former world. There are many places to drink alcohol. There are cocktails, too, so you won’t be able to count the varieties. You have to have moderation, or you’ll be banned before you can enjoy all of it.”

“I-I understand. I will be very careful. Don’t suddenly ban us all.”

Alessia-san and her group of drinkers look at me with sullen expressions. Basically, I thought my sexual preference was M, but there might be a little bit of S in me. I felt a thrill of pleasure when I saw their clinging eyes on me.

I feel that my personality has grown in a dangerous direction without proper growth since I came to the other world.

“Yes, it’s alright. I wouldn’t do such a thing if you didn’t do something reckless. Carla-san, it’s not just about the alcohol. There are many delicious foods on this ship, but if you eat too much, you will be banned from the ship.”

Carla-san, who had been eating the cake without any concern for me, looked at me as if she were shocked. She is cute.

“Yes, as we discussed last time, we will try not to eat and drink too much. But Wataru-san, we didn’t pay a lot of money to come aboard. Is that okay?”

Dorothea-san is very calm. That helps a lot.

“Yes. I am the owner of this ship, so I don’t think there will be any problem. If I have to take other people on board, I will charge them a higher fee. I don’t take money from the Girasole people. I’ll be happy if you enjoy the ship with me.”

Did I succeed in appealing that we are close friends?

“Fufu, thank you very much.”

Dorothea-san’s kind smile… It’s a success, maybe? At least it’s not a negative thing, right?

“Well, since that’s the case, let’s take a look around. There are probably a lot of things you don’t know about, so it should be interesting. It’s too big to look around all at once, so let’s take our time and look around.”

“Is it that big?”

“If you just want to look around, I don’t think it will take that long, but there are so many fun things to see and do that it will take some time to explain them and experience them.”

“Yes, that’s right. If you take the time to enjoy this store alone, it will take you a while. I also want to take my time and enjoy the sweets here.”

Dorothea-san is talking calmly, but this is her third cake. She doesn’t look like she’s being stubborn, but she’s eating the cake quickly and naturally. It’s an amazing ability, in a way. Is it a skill?

“There are so many varieties.”

While we were talking, my coffee ran out. I was going to order some at the counter, but then I remembered the support staff and decided to give it a try.

“Everyone, I’m going to try out my new ability, so please don’t be surprised.”

“New ability? What is it?”

Alessia-san was biting into it. She had eaten some cake and had calmed down.

“I don’t know what to say. I heard that I can summon a being to assist me with the work in this spacious ship.”

And it was changed to something I like. Big-breasted beauties are moe. Slimes are moe, too. Which is it? I’m nervous.

“Support? Isn’t that different from appointing us as security guards?”

“Yes, staff appointments can ripen the job when you appoint them, but I heard that support can only do the bare minimum. Let me summon it first, shall I?”

“Yes.”

I summoned the support staff as an employee of the café. A magic circle of light appeared in front of me, and out of it appeared a… horned rabbit? A large, plush, deformed, stocky, horned rabbit-like creature with a small horn on its head appeared.

It was dressed as a waiter and carried a silver round tray. It’s very particular.

No, it’s not. No, Creator God-sama. What I like are big-breasted beauties and slimes. If you’ve been watching me, wouldn’t you know that? I like to hunt horned rabbits because they’re profitable, not because I like them, you know.

If anything, I’m afraid that they will take revenge on me because I was slaughtering them. Please, Creator God-sama, please. Please change it. Should I go all the way to the cathedral in Barletta?

I only hunted horned rabbits until I came to the other world and left the Western City. Why did you choose the horned rabbit? Was it because they looked so good when roasted whole? Is it because it can be turned into something like a food source?

Even if the big-breasted beauties were impossible, if you can do horned rabbits, you should be able to do slime, too.

“Ara, so cute. A horned rabbit? It’s strange since it’s a monster, but it’s not dangerous, is it?”

Cute? To me, it looks like there’s resentment in its eyes. Is it paranoia?

“I don’t think there’s any danger. At the very least, it can do the job it was summoned to do.”

Maybe…

“Well, let me ask it to do its job. Waiter, can I have another cup of coffee?”

It nodded its head, picked up the empty cup of coffee, and went into the back. If it’s the same as the Stronghold’s dining room, the dishes should disappear on their own… I’ll have to try a lot of things.

The ladies seemed to like the horned rabbit waiter and were screaming about how cute and pretty it was. The horned rabbit is a monster that attacks me, and I’m sure Girasole has defeated it before, but is it different when it is deformed?

The horned rabbit waiter comes back and puts the coffee in front of me. It’s not poisoned or anything, is it? I say thank you, and it nods and is about to go away.

“Kyaaa, cute!”

Alessia-san and Claretta-san couldn’t hold back and started hugging the horned rabbit waiter and cuddling it. Well, Claretta-san likes stuffed animals too.

The horned rabbit waiter is being cuddled and mofu-mofu’d as it is. I envy it. When I drank the coffee, it was an ordinary coffee. Was it really paranoia?

But you know what? I don’t have the mofu attribute. I would definitely prefer a smooth, soft, and supple one. I patted Rimu, who was eating the cake I’d brought over with all my heart.

“Wataru?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Is it delicious?”

“Yeah.”

“I see; that’s good.”

“Yeah.”

As I watch Rimu get absorbed in the cake again, I’m convinced that the slime is cuter than the horned rabbits. What’s that? If the support staff is horned rabbits, will they do musicals and stage performances, too? Will the horned rabbits going to do “Cats” and so on? I feel so uncomfortable. [T/n: Cats (musical).]

Well, let’s try it on the stage. Now let’s think about the future route of the luxury liner tour, shall we? It’s only the first one, right? When will we finish seeing them all?