Breakthrough with the Forbidden Master

Chapter 289 – The Morning Before Disembarking

Having done some moderate exercise, I slept pretty well.

As I rocked in the suspended hammock on the ship, I regained consciousness with a refreshing feeling.

But at the same time, I felt a weight around my stomach.

I wondered what it was for a moment, but I soon realized what it was.

“Oh, good morning.”

“…… Funyu…… un… Big brother, good morning.”

Espie was sleeping on my chest… hmm? Did Espie just wake up too?

That was why she looked so sleepy.

Her eyelids were almost closed, no, are those dark circles? She looked like she would fall asleep at any moment.

“…… could it be, Espie… did you have trouble sleeping?”

The ship was swaying quite a bit. I’ve trained my semicircular canals perfectly through training with Tre’ainar, so it wasn’t a problem, but could it be seasickness or something?

“Un… I didn’t sleep.”

“Huh?”

Did not sleep. Not that she couldn’t sleep. But didn’t sleep.

I didn’t know what Espie meant by that answer, so I tilted my head…

“I was watching Big brother the whole time so that boy wouldn’t take you away while I was sleeping.”

“…… Wh, what~? …… Pu, kuhaha, is that so…”

I was so dumbfounded, I couldn’t help but laugh.

I guess she’s still upset about me and Slayer playing tag and giving him Calories Friends last night when she wasn’t looking.

“It’s not weird. I’m Big brother’s sister. Big brother is mine.”

“Geez. Yeah yeah, okay.”

“Un, that’s right.”

Espie affirmed with a rough snort. I couldn’t help but laugh at how cute she sounded.

『Fufun, it seems the child is relieved to be so adored…』

「Ah, Tre’ainar…」

『If you think about it, tis preposterous that one of the Seven Heroes stood guard on you all through the night.』

「Oh… that’s right…」

After seeing all the jealousy and anger over the past few days, it’s easy to forget that this girl was one of the Seven Heroes.

Thinking that she was indeed a luxurious guard, I got out of the hammock with Espie in my arms.

“Now…”

“Are you up?”

“Oh.”

I looked around the ship. Some were still asleep, some were already up and yawning, and others had gone to wash their faces.

That guy… isn’t there… wait, he isn’t the type to sleep in a place packed with people like this.

“Espie, are you sleepy?”

“I’m not sleepy.”

“Got it, then let’s do some exercises and clear our heads.”

With Espie in my arms, I walked out of the dimly lit interior of the ship to the outside deck.

Then, unlike the morning sun in the mountains, the powerful sunlight poured in, the calm sea surface and the occasional breeze were pleasant… not really….

“…… stinky.”

Espie involuntarily pinched her nose.

Certainly, there was a fishy smell in the air, ruining what should have been a refreshing atmosphere.

“Is it because of that…”

The carcass of the Great Sea King, which was strapped to the back of the ship and pulled.

Overnight, it had become quite smelly.

Well, I got used to it when I worked part time at the fishing port, but for Espie…

“Espie, is the smell bad?”

“Uunn. I’m fine. I’m already used to it.”

“Huh?”

“War smells worse. You know, there’s rotten dead bodies, poop, organs and 〇〇〇 splattered all over the place.”

“Okay, okay, you don’t have to tell me any more.”

I retract my previous statement. Espie was more tolerant than I was.

That’s right.

But, as always, she calmly says such things with a blank expression on her cute face, so I couldn’t help but be surprised.

I mean, even though she had such tolerance, to get angry just because I’m around other kids, I guess she had the right balance…

“Ah…”

“Oh.”

“Oh!”

Just then, we spotted Slayer hanging out on deck, and the other party also noticed us as our eyes met.

“Yo, good morning.”

“…………………… Hmph.”

“Big brother, don’t talk to him!”

Even though it was just a greeting, Espie, who had been sleepy and sluggish, woke up and glared at Slayer with eyes that looked as if they were about to bite him at any moment.

“Hey, Espie. Say hello properly.”

“Uh~, because…”

“No because, it’s common sense, common sense.”

Geez, this is just like last night…

On the other hand, Slayer also seemed to have a lot on his mind about yesterday’s events, and had a rather unpleasant, yet indescribably complicated expression on his face.

“Oh, the voyage is going well! We will arrive at the Port Town of Genkhan around noon today! Let’s tighten our belts until the end, boys!”

“””Ooohhh!!!”””

And, in such an awkward atmosphere, the voices of the energetic sailors echoed.

It looks like this voyage is coming to an end soon.

“Hey, Slayer. What will you do when we arrive?”

“…… What is it, all of a sudden. Why should I tell you that? I’m just going to trade in my catch and go hunt the next target.”

“…… Oh, yes. What are you going to hunt?”

“It doesn’t matter what. Anyway, I’ll pick one that looks strong. I’ve heard that there are a lot of monsters from the Demon Realm on the Avosoa continent, I think it’s somewhere around there, but I’m not going to tell you that.”

“… I see… or… hmm?”

It was just a matter of creating a topic, but sure enough, this guy hasn’t opened up yet, so he doesn’t answer… or maybe he doesn’t even realize it himself, but he answered most of the time, didn’t he?

“By the way, not that I’m interested or anything, but what are you going to do?”

Moreover, he asked me while claiming that he was not interested in anything! Ah, this guy, he’s already sulking about a lot of things!

“Me… I’m heading to ‘Shiznautmy’.”

“…………… Huh?”

For the time being, I answered honestly, but Slayer tilted his head as if he didn’t get it.

“That place was destroyed by the Demon King’s army, right? I heard that it was now in ruins, but what are you going to do there? Are you going on a treasure hunt?”

“Something like that. Do you specialize in monster hunting? Don’t you go treasure hunting or something like that?”

“Nonsense. I wouldn’t take quests that are easy for anyone with luck, such greedy money-grabbers.”

When he said that, I thought Slayer had opened up a little, but he snickered at me in a kind of “disappointed” way.

Anyone can go on a treasure hunt, but I don’t think it’s that easy… in the first place, my purpose is treasure, but not money.

But it’s not something I’m going to tell him…

“Mmm~, Big brother!? You should be saying ‘Yes, yes, Espie. You’re a good girl.’ by now.”

For the time being, I pre-emptively suppressed Espie that he would come and get angry.

And this guy…

“Huh? But, I thought Hunters were not supposed to be able to operate on their own in Shiznautmy right now…?”

I heard some worrisome information.

“Huh? Is that so?”

“Sure… the Allied Forces were investigating, so should be off-limits to anyone except Hunters affiliated with the country or the Union, or who were not directly hired as investigators… oh, or were you hired?”

“Nope… I wasn’t, but…”

“Then, isn’t it impossible? Well, if you have the qualifications, you might be able to sell directly to them, but…”

“I, is that so?”

I was also confused by the unexpected words.

Even in modern times, I avoided the investigation team of the Union and the Demon Realm, but even here?

At that time, it seemed that Uncle Ben and Norja, the former Six Supremacy, showed up, but such a bothersome thing happened even here…

“If I remember correctly, the other day, Hiro, Mamu, and Benlinerve of the Seven Heroes were dispatched there by the Empire――――”

“”『We’re(We are) not going!! 』””

We should avoid any more top-class encounters.

Naturally, me and Tre’ainar yelled at the same time, but this time so did Espie.

Anyway, it was decided before we disembarked that we would wait-and-see for a while.

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