Yeah, Yeah, Another World, Another World
“It feels different from the medieval port I had in mind.”
I understood what Okuda was trying to say.
She was probably imagining a port from the Age of Exploration.
She must have been picturing tall sailing ships like caravels or carracks floating in the harbor, but in front of her eyes were only simple, flat wooden boats.
“Ah, it’s because this is a lake, so they can’t have deep draughts.”
The sailing ships used during Earth’s Age of Exploration were built for ocean voyages, with tall sails and deep draughts. They also had a rounded shape to carry more cargo.
In contrast, the sails on these ships were uniformly low, with multiple masts about 5 meters high standing side by side. The ships had an unusually wide beam relative to their length, creating a strange ship design.
And most importantly, there was a significant difference from Earth’s sailing ships.
“Isn’t that ship moving under its own power with its sails folded?”
It seemed to be powered by magical artifacts.
There were several box-like objects attached underwater at the stern of the ship, which likely generated propulsion.
“So they use sails when the wind is favorable, and use magic artifacts when there’s no wind or inside the harbor?”
“Something like ‘Different places, different customs’?”
“This is another world, so things are bound to be quite different.”
To operate in shallow lakes, the ships needed shallow draughts, which meant they couldn’t carry as much cargo. Instead, they compensated by widening the beam to increase cargo space and attaching multiple magic artifacts in parallel. I wonder if it’s efficient?
“It’s nice to see things like this – it really feels like another world.”
“Next, maybe we’ll see dragons or beastmen?”
After observing these strange ships of another world for a while, we decided to look for the regular ship terminal to Romal, the city across the shore where we would likely board when searching for the seismic artifact.
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“What’s that over there?”
Looking where Okuda was pointing, I could see nearly twenty people crowding around one man.
“Therefore – it’s impossible to fix right away!”
“But we’ve already accepted requests!”
“Our employees will be inconvenienced!”
“When will the ship be operational?!”
Approaching the commotion and listening in, it seemed this was the ‘Romal-bound regular ship terminal’ we were looking for, and the ship was out of service due to some issue.
The people crowding around were passengers who had planned to board the regular ship, and the person being crowded was likely an employee of the terminal.
“It looks similar to train stations when personal accidents or bad weather cause delays…”
“It’s stressful to watch.”
“The station staff aren’t at fault, right?”
“I don’t think he’s a station employee.”
Listening further, it became clear that the magical artifacts on the ship had malfunctioned, preventing the regular ship from operating. And the station employee kept saying, “We can’t fix it immediately, so go somewhere else,” while the customers continued demanding, “Do something about it!”
“Only delay certificates and alternative transportation can handle this.”
“They probably don’t have anything like that here.”
Remembering the tense atmosphere during train delays in Japan made me feel down, so even though it was slightly early for lunch, I decided to eat something to clear my mind.
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We entered a restaurant with an open terrace not far from the regular ship terminal.
While waiting for our order, Okuda and I passed time with trivial conversation.
“Blunt weapons are good. Warhammers, morning stars…”
“Those are definitely bulky. A staff is enough.”
“Aren’t golems or turtle monsters coming up soon?”
Golems are one thing, but defeating turtles might be tough.
As Okuda passionately argued for the necessity of blunt weapons, suddenly a voice interrupted from the side.
“Oh? Didn’t I say not to approach the harbor area without a purpose?”
“We approached because we had a purpose…”
The speaker was the old lady from the magic artifact shop.
“Oh, is that so? My apologies for interrupting then.”
With that, the old lady laughed her usual cackling laugh.
Just then, a portly man appeared from the back of the restaurant and hurried over to the old lady.
“Please do something! We’ve kept many customers waiting!”
“I’d love to fix it, but with how it’s broken, the materials I have on hand are completely insufficient, hmmm?”
Suddenly stopping mid-conversation, the old lady put her hand to her chin and began pondering something.
“Junpei, have you finished registering at the adventurer’s guild?”
Suddenly addressing us.
“Eh? Ah, yes. I finished yesterday.”
When we answered, the old lady nodded satisfactorily, then spoke to the portly man.
“Chamberlain, I’ve found someone who might be able to repair it, so please wait at the trading house. I’ll contact you later.”
“R-really?! Then I’ll wait! Please take care of it!”
Saying this, the portly man called Chamberlain left the restaurant.
“Well…”
The old lady sat at our table and addressed us.
“You two, go to the dungeon now and bring back what I specify.”
Working on holidays is unpleasant.
“Isn’t this too sudden? Moreover, we’re complete novices at dungeons, having just registered yesterday.”
“What I want you to fetch are magic activation bodies, but I hear large numbers of monsters appear along the way, and the monsters that drop those magic activation bodies are quite troublesome.”
Ignoring our excuses, she continued talking.
“If we post a request at the adventurer’s guild now, normal parties won’t be able to reach it, and there aren’t enough people. Even if we request joint cooperation, it’ll take time to gather enough people. That’s why it’s you two. Don’t you have today off to celebrate finishing registration anyway?”
How does she know that?
“Indeed, we can move immediately, but as I said before, we’re newbies who just registered yesterday.”
Then the old lady narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice with a sharp expression.
“The six paintings and sunglasses you sold – they’re seismic artifacts, right?”
“!!!!!!”
Her words made my heart contract.
“And the translation magic artifacts for each of you. You’re not just young adventurers, are you?”
Hmm, this is troubling.
It seems the old lady has a pretty good grasp of our situation.
Come to think of it, wasn’t the translator we prepared for the seismic artifact user from the neighboring country ordered from the old lady’s shop?
“Umm, hypothetically, if we refuse this request, will you…”
She glared at us with a sharp gaze.
“Don’t underestimate me. Whether you accept this request or not, I won’t tell anyone about you.”
Indeed, her expression suggests she’s trustworthy.
“Hmm, alright. We’ll accept the request. The chamberlain from earlier operates the regular ships to Romal, right? Since we plan to use the ship soon, it’d be problematic if it isn’t fixed.”
“Oh? Are you leaving this town?”
“No, that’s incorrect. We just have business in the city across the shore.”
“In that case, it’s perfect timing. You should gather your companions now. I’ll go to the guild and post the request. I’ll arrange maps to the destination immediately. The reward will be generous. Anyway, that chamberlain will pay it.”
With that, the old lady laughed heartily.
“Then we’ll do our best to meet your expectations.”
With that, we left the restaurant… after finishing all our food and returned to the inn.
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